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Motoring news

Johnson urges driving test change to protect cyclists

29/04/2010

The Mayor of London has challenged the Government to protect cyclists, by adding an element to the driving test which forces learners to pay more attention to bicycles.

Boris Johnson wrote to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis after the death of the seventh cyclist to be killed in the capital so far this year, London's Evening Standard reports.

Thirty-one-year-old Zoe Sheldrake was killed on Monday morning on the A41 Edgeware Way. Her father told the paper that "she had been so safety-conscious" since he had recently bought her a cycling helmet, adding that his daughter had been spending a lot of time cycling in a bid to get fit and become a fitness instructor.

Johnson's letter said: "We feel that there is merit in examining whether the standard driving test for car drivers should be tightened further to ensure the needs of vulnerable road users are fully understood by new drivers."

It comes a day after the Institute of Advanced Motorists released its guide book, How to be a better cyclist, urging riders to "claim their lane". According to the organisation, cyclists should "stay nearer, but not close to the kerb on long, even stretches", but should take the initiative and assert themselves - where safe - when approaching a side road, moving further out to make drivers more aware of their presence.

Earlier this week, a poll released by the IAM suggested that the overwhelming majority of drivers would be happy for more public money to be spent on improving cyclists' safety.

In December, an academic study that looked at provisional figures for the second quarter of 2009 found that British cyclists faced 27 times the risk of injury of those travelling by car. In addition, Department for Transport figures released in November found that the level of cycling deaths and serious injuries had leapt by 19% in comparison to the same time in 2008, even as the overall number of those killed and seriously injured on the roads was falling.

Meanwhile, Warwick Crown Court yesterday heard how a motorist allegedly chased down a cyclist who had clipped his wing mirror, before mounting the pavement and ramming into him, motoring news? Why not follow us on Twitter.