Cyclists are breaking the law in front of police officers in a biking “Wild West” in London, Parliament has been told.
Former Met Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe led criticism in the Upper Chamber of the behaviour of some cyclists on the capital’s streets, and pavements.
He told the Lords that as there was no registration scheme for bikes it was difficult to identify cyclists flouting the law and so there was little deterrence to stop such conduct.
Police were seeking to tackle the cycling law breakers.
“The best example I have found is in the City of London Police, where Sergeant Stu Ford is leading his small team of cyclists in combating road cyclists,” said Lord Hogan-Howe, who was Metropolitan Police Commissioner from 2011 to 2017.
“On the morning when I went with them, we walked just a few yards out of the police station to set up a morning check in the City.
“There were cyclists ignoring pedestrian crossings and red lights, and moving dangerously through pedestrians, despite the fact that they were outside a police station and there were six or seven uniformed officers on cycles, on the road and on the pavement.”
Former Tory minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe told how both she and her husband had been knocked over by cyclists.
“We have a Wild West,” she stressed.
“As a pedestrian, particularly in central London, you take your life in your hands every day.”
She accused some cyclists of “an arrogant culture of non-compliance” with the law.
“Scooters and cycles regularly ride on pavements and, because of electrification, they can go at high speeds, up to 70 miles per hour, according to the Sunday Telegraph,” she said.
“They cannot be heard and they steal up behind you, or approach at speed, making the pavement potentially as dangerous as the road.”
Tory peer Lord Blencathra argued that the proliferation of e-bikes had changed the threat from cyclists.
“In the past, it was my experience that it was a tiny minority of Lycra louts, the ones with their heads down between the handlebars and their backsides up in the air, belting through lights.
“I submit that I am certain that the majority of e-bike riders are breaking the law one way or another, either by excessive speed or by riding through lights or on the pavement.”
During a debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, Lord Hogan-Howe called for rogue cyclists to be slapped with penalty points on their driving licence and the introduction of a bike registration system to enable offenders to be identified and brought to book.
One London council has started fining speeding cyclists.
Home Office minister Lord Hanson told how when he was on a zebra crossing he was almost hit by a cyclist who was pulled over by a police car some 100 metres later.
“So it is possible for enforcement to happen,” he added.
“It is right that strict legislation is already in place for cyclists, and the police do have the power to prosecute if these laws are broken.
“Cyclists have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible way that is reflected in the highway code.”
The minister raised a number of concerns over the changes proposed to the Bill, including the cost and complexity of introducing a registration scheme for cyclists, with nearly 1.5 million new bikes estimated to have been sold in 2024.
