Give all cyclists road tests, says lawyer Mr Loophole

Nick Freeman – nicknamed Mr Loophole – says cyclists should take a proficiency test

Cyclists should take a road test to help cut the number of deaths each year, according to a senior motoring lawyer.

Nick Freeman – nicknamed Mr Loophole – says cyclists should take a proficiency test and their bikes should have to undergo an annual mandatory MOT test.

He also called for all bikes to have some kind of licence plate and said car drivers should be taught how to overtake cyclists safely as part of their driving test.

Mr Freeman, whose clients have included David Beckham, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Ranuph Fiennes, has drawn up his proposals in a road safety charter which he believes will cut the number of crashes on our roads.

Among the ten-point plan he suggests smart cameras which would automatically flash middle lane hoggers so they are fined and receive penalty points.

He says the motorway speed limit should be raised from 70mph to 80mph and lorry drivers on three lane motorways should be confined to the nearside lane, rising to the two inner lanes on four lane motorways.

Mr Freeman also proposes that all newly-qualified drivers should wear special ‘NQ’ plates for two years or face immediate disqualification.

He also said Britain should reduce the limit from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to 50 milligrams – in line with the rest of Europe.

He says the move would cut the number of accidents and help save dozens of lives each year.

Mr Loophole’s ten-point road safety charter 

  1. Ban using hands free mobile phones.
  2. Reduce drink drive limit from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to 50 milligrams.
  3. Cameras should automatically flash middle lane hoggers so they are fined and receive penalty points.
  4. Lorry drivers on three lane motorways should be confined to the nearside line. This would rise to the two inner lanes on four lane motorways.
  5. A compulsory vision and driving test every two years for motorists over 70.
  6. Newly qualified drivers should have to wear `NQ` plates for two years after passing their test. If they don`t there should be instant disqualification and a compulsory extended re-test.
  7. Cyclists need to be identified with number plates, take a proficiency test, their bikes should have a yearly MOT and the wearing of helmets and tabards should also be compulsory
  8. Learning how to overtake cyclists should be part of the driving test
  9. Reducing use of fluctuating speed on smart motorways.
  10. Speed limit should be raised from 70mph to 80mph on motorways

He said: ‘I’ve long believed that the Government has been mistaken in the areas on which it chooses to focus its road traffic legislation.

‘Reducing the drink driving limit, which would be in line with most of Europe, wouldn’t be a costly move yet it could save so many lives.’

Freeman’s charter comes at a time as the number of people killed on Britain’s roads currently at a five-year high.

Figures released this week also show the number of vehicles on our roads has leapt by two and a half million in the last five years.

Another inexpensive move, says Mr Freeman, would be banning the use of hands free mobile phones (hand held use is already illegal)

He said: ‘Everyone thinks that if you’re using a phone and you’re hands free then you are safe but it is a major cause of distraction. 

‘Research shows it falls to the same level at which you’re permitted to drink and drive which means the chances of having an accident using hands free increases four fold. 

‘That’s why any form of use of a phone when driving, except for an emergency, should be banned. The stakes are just too high.’

Mr Freeman also branded smart motorways ‘dangerous’ saying the fluctuating speed limit on overhead gantries was ‘distracting.’

He also called for cyclists should have to take proficiency tests, put their bikes through mandatory MOT tests and be prosecuted in the same way as motorists if they jump red lights.



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