Just two weeks since Grant Shapps first aired the idea of number plates for
cyclists in one interview, while simultaneously saying he opposed the idea
in another, the Transport Secretary has addressed the matter once more to
say the government is "not going to do number plates".

Speaking to The Times (link is external) newspaper, Shapps described
himself as a "very keen enthusiast" cyclist, if "not a mamil [middle-aged
man in Lycra]", and said "we're not going to do number plates".

"We’re not going to do number plates," Shapps said.

"There is no death by dangerous cycling on our statute books. At the moment
it has to be addressed through an old piece of legislation, which is
actually designed for horses and carts, which is deeply unsatisfying.

"When I pointed that out, some people said, ‘Surely then you'll need to
know which bike is which?’ But when there's been an incident generally you
know who it was.

"I’m a very keen enthusiast [cyclist]. I'm not a mamil [middle-aged man in
Lycra], I wear my ordinary clothes, but I do like to go out. I converted my
90-year-old dad’s old bike — it looks so old no one would want to nick it —
to electric for a bit of help going uphill."

Shapps' comments follow similar explanation from the Department for
Transport who told road.cc the minister's view in a previous Times
interview, saying he was opposed to the bureaucracy of bike number plates,
was closer to the truth than the Mail's all-out insurance, registration and
licence account.

On Wednesday, an MP who co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)
for Cycling and Walking said she had been assured by the Department for
Transport that there are no plans for cyclists to be required to display
number plates or take out compulsory third party insurance.

"The Transport Secretary's foray into the politics of cycling has certainly
generated much debate and again demonstrated the strength of feeling from
those pro and against cycling about how to best ensure the safety of all
road users," Selaine Saxby wrote in a magazine column.

"From a policy perspective I have been assured by the Department of
Transport, as the Transport Secretary has reiterated to the press, that he
has no plans to introduce number plates for bicycles or compulsory
insurance."

https://road.cc/content/news/grant-shapps-confirms-cyclists-wont-need-number-plate-295539

--
Spike