Motorists and cyclists warned to share the road properly or face a fine

Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are being encouraged to "Share the Road" - the title of a new Transport for London campaign, launched by the Mayor of London on Monday 4th September.

The Mayor wants to encourage all road users to stick to the rules of the road and to consider the impact of their behaviour on other people.

Of it is a minority of road users that break traffic laws, including parking in cycle lanes as well as cyclists who jump red lights and ride on the pavement.  Such actions cause animosity between road users, are inconsiderate, can endanger lives and spark heated debate if the current one on the ChiswickW4.com forum is anything to go by.

Share the Road is supported by a wide range of road user organisations including London Cycle Campaign (LCC), the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), Living Streets, the Motorcycle Industry Association and the Freight Transport Association.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who suggested that cyclists should be forced to place license plates on their bicycles so that they can be ticketed by red light and speed cameras, said "Overall London's roads are getting safer. But there is nothing more frustrating, and often dangerous, than road users who think the rules do not apply to them. I want to see a shift in the culture on our roads where inconsiderate behaviour by the minority is increasingly treated as unacceptable. The only way all road users can get about safely and fairly is everyone obeys the rules of the road equally.

He continued "Everyone must share the road, whether it is motorists who park on cycle lanes and occupy the "advance stop" box reserved for cyclists, or cyclists who think it is OK to jump red lights. All of these activities are inconsiderate at best and dangerous at worst. The vast majority follow the rules, but there is a small and visible minority who are irresponsible and risk everyone else's safety.

"This awareness campaign encourages everyone to obey the rules of the road and spells out the consequences of not doing so.  This will be followed by targeted police enforcement to catch those road users who still think the rules of the road are there to be ignored. As we build on the road safety successes in the capital and the growing enthusiasm for cycling, everyone on the busy streets needs to be considerate towards each other and to give each other room."

Jenny Jones, The Mayor's Road Safety Ambassador, said "We want to change the culture of both cycling and driving in London. 'Share the Road', is about mutual respect between all road users. Mutual respect also means sharing a respect for the rules of the road. We will be asking cyclists to stop at red and we will be asking lorry drivers to give cyclists extra space at junctions.

"We will be providing more cycle training and we will be clamping down on illegal drivers in London. I also want both cyclists and drivers to give way to pedestrians.  London is finally starting to invest serious money in cycle lanes and cycle training. We are still decades behind our European neighbours in providing people with the kind of cycling facilities they need, but cyclists are no longer seen as second class citizens on our roads."

Research for Transport for London, by the independent Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), showed that in London one in five cyclists jumped a red light and that motorists stopped in more than a third of advance stop boxes, both of which are against the law.

Road casualty figures from 2005 show that eight people were killed and 201 people were seriously injured after a vehicle failed to stop at a red light.

The police enforcement campaign will tackle road users who break the rules of the road, either by advising of infringements or giving a fixed penalty notice.

September 4, 2006