TWO SHORT STRAWS

• Wednesday, 19 December 2007
• Cycling Weekly
• 0 Comments

Is it true that the former Secretary of State for Transport, Dr Stephen Ladyman, wasn’t cycling friendly?

Is his replacement, Ruth Kelly MP, any better?

George Brawn, Worksop

Last year, Ladyman got angry with cyclists after he received 11,000 emails protesting at the new wording in the revised Highway Code.

This advised cyclists to use cycle routes and challenged our rights to the road. Had it gone through, motorists who ran into cyclists and faced claims for damages would have been able to claim contributory negligence because the cyclist wasn’t on the cycle path.

The CTC, after a long campaign, got the wording in the Code changed.

As for Ladyman, check out his CV. He has three times been caught exceeding the speed limit by speed cameras and once had nine points on his licence.

And in 2006, Ladyman was dropped from launching National Road Safety Week after he defended BBC’s Top Gear programme, which as we all know, glamourises speed.

As for Kelly, we can but hope.

Keith Bingham

Chief reporter. Keith has many years’ experience as a cycling journo and knows the politics inside out