Wednesday 13th October 2010

(14 years, 1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
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Earl Attlee Portrait Earl Attlee
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My Lords, we will have to wait for the comprehensive spending review later next week to answer that question.

Lord Greaves Portrait Lord Greaves
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My Lords, I speak as a motorist and a cyclist who seeks perfection in both areas and fails miserably a lot of the time. Does the Minister agree that there is a real difference between traffic offences committed by cyclists or anyone else and breaches of the Highway Code? Simply breaching the Highway Code may be impolite, foolish or dangerous, but it does not necessarily amount to an offence. Does he agree that cyclists are far more vulnerable than drivers of cars, lorries, et cetera?

Earl Attlee Portrait Earl Attlee
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I agree with my noble friend and, returning to the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, the reason why the police concentrate more on motorists is because they cause more serious accidents than cyclists.