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Abstract
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The author would like to thank James Holgate for the interest in the paper. The two points raised are relevant and important to the debate over the potential role of presumed liability laws in protecting cyclists and other vulnerable road users.
It is difficult to provide reliable evidence regarding the first issue of whether the change in strict liability laws will make a difference, particularly in terms of reduced injury to cyclists. The main reason is that presumed liability laws were often implemented in some European countries at the same time as other measures, including better infrastructure and reduced speed limits in residential areas. The package of these measures, including presumed liability laws, has been attributed to improved cycling safety in these countries. As a minimum, changes in liability laws as proposed in the paper have the potential to raise awareness about the dangers facing cyclists on the road and to highlight the fact that motor vehicles are potentially "dangerous weapons" that requires caution, particularly around vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
On the second ethical issue of how the proposed changes to presumed liability laws fit within the wider context of safe system, I don't believe that the proposed changes necessarily strengthen the paradigm of blaming the driver. As mentioned, the changes will ensure equitable access to compensation for damage. In addition, while safe system approach to road safety accepts that human error is inevitable, it also recognises the need for responsible road user behaviour, which includes the responsibility of drivers as the "more powerful road users" towards vulnerable road users. At the same time, there is a need for improvements in the road transport system that makes allowances for errors by drivers and that minimises the consequences on vulnerable road users. These include what was mentioned at the end of the paper regarding the need for traffic calming with an emphasis on reduced speed limits in residential areas and better cycling infrastructure with appropriate intersection treatments.
Language: en |