A report from the Scottish Government has suggested that all residential areas should have 20mph zones to make them safer for cyclists. However, the idea that motorists should be force to prove they were not at fault in accidents with cyclists were turned down. The proposals were discussed as part of a series of commitments in the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS).
Keith Brown MSP
Transport Minister
The Transport Minister, Keith Brown, said the Government was “committed to the vision outlined in the updated Caps document for 10% of journeys to be by bike by 2020 and continue to invest in the infrastructure required to increase participation in cycling for everyday travel. Most cycling trips are local trips and we encourage local authorities to invest more in local facilities.”
With this in mind, he announced the money would be available for a series of local bike schemes. For example, the “cycle safely” project in Edinburgh will get £45,000 and an Aberdeen bike ride event will get £34,000.
Campaigners had asked for the UK to adopt the law in countries such as Australia and Denmark which have “strict liability” in accidents involving cyclists. However, the report questioned the benefits of such a change, arguing that the available data did not supply “robust evidence of a direct causal link between strict liability legislation to levels of cycling and KSIs (killed and seriously injured statistics), when countries like the UK and Ireland are clearly reducing fatalities in cyclists and all other road users without strict liability legislation in place.”