Whiplash fraud

MOST readers will be unaware of the Government’s little known plan to remove the right to compensation for most road accident injuries.

The Government is intending to take a blanket approach to all road users in a bid to combat the ‘whiplash’ fraud and, as a consequence, has given little consideration to the impact on other road users such as cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

The new reforms propose to increase the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000.

By imposing stricter limits it will mean the most vulnerable road users will lose access to justice.

If passed, all injuries, including broken bones, worth less than £5,000 for any road users, will go through the small claims court and, therefore, claimants will not be able to recover any of their legal costs, even if their claim is successful.

A new tariff system is also being imposed for all soft tissue injuries with compensation levels set at just under half of the current level.

As a keen cyclist myself, I’m calling on support from the local cycling community to act now before it’s too late.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to crack down on perceived whiplash culture.

While we do not believe that there is whiplash culture in this country we think that it is wrong to target cyclists who are not part of the perceived problem.

Cyclists of the North West, we need you to add your support by visiting our website to download draft letters and send them to each of your local MPs and media now.