The Road Share steering group will have its inaugural meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 22 April) in Edinburgh and will be comprised of 14 representatives drawn from key cycling organisations including Scottish Cycling, Cycle Law Scotland, Pedal on Parliament, Go-Bike and the Andrew Cyclist Charitable trust among others and will be chaired by CTC Councillor and Consultant Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon, Dr Chris Oliver. They will be joined by the Glasgow Cycling Czar, Labour Councillor Frank McAveety, and former Edinburgh cycling champion, Councillor Jim Orr.
The aim is to use the group’s research to create a policy statement that could then form the basis of a Member’s Bill that will seek to introduce a system of presumed liability for road traffic collisions in Scotland. An online petition to introduce such a Bill has garnered over 5,500 signatures since its launch last April and the campaign has written to its existing MSP supporters urging them to commit to persuading two other MSPs each to back Road Share’s efforts to bring a Member’s Bill to Holyrood. Chris Oliver, Brenda Mitchell and Eachann Gillies
The moves come as new research commissioned by specialist law firm Cycle Law Scotland revealed that most cyclist casualties in road traffic collisions are due to errors by drivers, not by poor cycling.
Using an analysis of cases handled by Cycle Law Scotland and drawing on public data from the Department of Transport and Transport Scotland, independent researcher Malcolm Wardlaw found that cyclists are victims of bad driving in collisions rather than through fault of their own. He found that negligent cyclists’ actions are a minority factor in most road traffic collisions with motorists and that collisions are instead dominated by drivers’ poor turning manoeuvres.
These findings were backed up by a separate survey conducted by Cycle Law Scotland amongst their own community of cyclists, with 70% of respondents saying they had a recent “near miss” experience with a car.
Brenda Mitchell, founder of both Cycle Law Scotland and the Road Share campaign, said, “I am very pleased to see representatives from a number of different key organisations come together to work on this very important project.
“Countries with strong cycling cultures and safe environments for its cyclists almost always operate a system of presumed liability. This gets motorists to behave with greater caution and care towards vulnerable road users and works to create a safer environment for all and is something we should pursue in Scotland.
“It is also vital that MSPs know the depth of support that exists in Scotland for these changes. We are close to securing the support from the necessary amount of MSPs required to introduce a Member’s Bill and we are calling on each of our existing MSP supporters to persuade their colleagues to back our efforts.
“With their help, we will be able to act and introduce an important piece of legislation that I believe will bring about a positive change in road safety.”
Commenting on the formation of the steering group, Dr Chris Oliver, Consultant Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said, “I am excited to be chairing the Road Share steering group and to be taking a leading role in bringing presumed liability to Scotland. With careful, reasoned analysis that will stand up to scrutiny, I hope the group will advance the debate around presumed liability and help show politicians and the public alike that this is a sensible way forward for Scotland.
“It is vitally important that the Scottish Government does all it can to give as much protection as it can to all vulnerable road users on our roads and it is necessary to demonstrate that presumed liability can in fact make our roads safer for this group.
“The steering group aims to do just that and I am confident that our findings will show that presumed liability can make a positive impact on the safety and wellbeing of Scotland’s vulnerable road users.”
Presumed liability for road traffic collisions would mean that following a collision between a motorist and a cyclist or pedestrian, the motorist would be presumed to be liable for injury, damages or loss, unless they can demonstrate otherwise. The same would apply in cases where cyclists collide with pedestrians. It is fairer than the current fault-based system as it shifts the burden of proof from the vulnerable to the powerful.
The full list of members on the steering group are:
• Craig Burn CEO,
Scottish Cycling
• Margaret Dekker
Researcher/Secretary, Scottish Campaign against Irresponsible Drivers
• Patricia Fort
Convener, Go-Bike Campaign
• Derek Halden
Founder, DHC Ltd and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport
• Kim Harding
Edinburgh Festival of Cycling and Pedal on Parliament
• David Martin
Chair, Dundee and District Cycling Association
• Cllr Frank McAveety
Glasgow Cycling Czar, Glasgow City Council
• Ian McNicoll
Chair, The Andrew Cyclist Charitable Trust
• Brenda Mitchell
Founder, Cycle Law Scotland and Road Share
• Rod Mitchell
Marketing and Business Development Director, Cycle Law Scotland
• Bill Neilson
Member, Spokes - The Lothian Cycle Campaign
• Chris Oliver
CTC Councillor for Scotland
• Cllr Jim Orr
Former Vice Convener of Transport and Environment Committee, City of Edinburgh Council
• Martin Williamson
Editor, Veloveritas.co.uk