Should cyclist discrimination be a crime?

We've all heard the stories about cyclists being treated unfairly, especially by car drivers that they share the roads with. Suffering from abuse while on the roads and many being injured in actions caused by careless driving. 

Campaigners are calling for discrimination against cyclists to be treated as a crime.  The campaign which has been launched in Cambridge is calling for a clampdown on abuse towards bike riders, including comments posted on social networking sites and websites.

The number of people cycling in Cambridge on a regular basis is higher than the rest of the UK, with 52% of residents riding their bike at least once a week.The Cambridge cycling campaign told the Get Britain Cycling inquiry that being labelled a ‘cyclist’ was one of the biggest reasons why people choose not to use bikes. The Campaign has said that cyclists should be treated in the same way as ethnic minorities.

Cambridge’s MP, Julian Huppert, has welcomed the campaign “Hatred of cyclists is not just extremely unpleasant and unnecessary it is dangerous because it causes conflict which can cause accidents.”

However Eddie Stadnik, chief officer of the Cambridge Ethnic community forum, said that he was not convinced that this was something that could be protected against discrimination.

This campaign is calling for more investment to increase the level of cycling paths and reduce speed limits to a default of 20mph in urban areas.

Information provided by the Cambridge News.