Road safety – why not try these measures?

In last Saturday’s Times Giles Coren suggested fitting a six-inch spike to the middle of steering wheels to force drivers to drive with greater care. Having survived cycling in and around London for some twenty years I can see his point but would suggest two related and more humane innovations that would not only preserve cyclists and pedestrians, but might even save motorists from themselves.

We should adopt the procedures that follow accidents involving trains, boats and planes. Until an investigation has revealed the cause of an accident, all those whose might have been responsible are suspended from duty. Faced with the prospect of weeks of suspension drivers would pay far more attention to the road. If we could then oblige applicants for provisional driving licences to first pass a cycling proficiency test, and also require those convicted of violent or threatening behaviour anywhere to surrender their driving licences until they too had passed a cycling proficiency test, then roads would be much safer for everyone and the NHS relieved of much of the burden of over thirty thousand deaths and serious injuries every year on our roads.

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