Drivers who pass cycling test may get cheap car insurance

MOTORISTS who pass cycling proficiency tests will be offered cheaper car insurance under Government plans to make the roads safer.

Ministers want insurance companies to give drivers who have gone through the Bikeability cycle training programme a discount on their premiums so there is an incentive to learn about vulnerable road users.

The Government also plans to give new powers to councils so they can use surveillance cameras to catch people who park in cycling lanes.

Meanwhile, members of the public will be encouraged to send dashcam footage of road rage incidents to a new police unit that will sift through evidence to pursue viable prosecutions.

The proposals are set out in a twoyear action plan which contains a package of 50 initiatives designed to encourage more people to ditch their cars for short journeys and to cut the number of road deaths and injuries. Jesse Norman, the cycling and walking minister, said: “Greater road safety – and especially the protection of vulnerable road users such as cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders – is essential. We want to improve air quality, encourage healthy exercise, reduce obesity and boost our high streets and economic productivity.”

The Government also wants to work with courier companies to explore how their drivers can be incentivised to undergo training on how to drive safely alongside cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders.

Councils will also be told to spend 15 per cent of their transport infrastructure funding on walking and cycling.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at Brake, the road safety charity, said: “With cyclists and pedestrians among the most vulnerable on our roads, safety, and the perceptions of safety, need to be addressed to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and get active.”