Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to make bells or hooters mandatory on all bicycles and scooters being ridden on public highways.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that bells are fitted and used as necessary. All bicycles are required at point of sale to be “fitted with a bell which is of a category intended for use on bicycles”. The Regulations do not compel cyclists to keep a bell fitted to the bicycle after purchase. The Government has no plans to make bells for bicycles mandatory.
The Department for Transport is rapidly developing plans for e-scooter trials, having recently consulted on this. Electric scooters used in trials will be required to have a bell or horn.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cyclists breached rule 64 of the Highway Code by riding on a pavement in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The department does not hold figures for the exact number of breaches, but data from the Ministry of Justice shows that there were 200 prosecutions in 2017 for the offence “Pedal cycle – Riding on footpath”. However, this may not cover all incidents that breached rule 64 of the Highway Code. The figures presented relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.