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Baroness bicycle basher
Nicholas Cecil, Political Correspondent14 Jan 2008
When a veteran Tory baroness spotted a cyclist jumping a red light and almost running her down outside the House of Lords she did not hesitate to act.
In the grand tradition of political handbaggings, Lady Sharples swung her bag and delivered the errant rider a sharp blow.
Today, the 84-year-old peer recalled the incident and said she wished she had hit him harder.
She has spoken out in Parliament about the encounter, sparking fresh calls for the Government and Mayor Ken Livingstone to consider forcing cyclists to put registration plates on their bikes.
Former publican Lady Sharples voiced the anger of many pedestrians who feel they face a growing threat from so-called rogue cyclists. She urged cycling groups to do more to encourage courteous behaviour on the roads.
Recalling the incident outside the Lords, shortly before Christmas, she said: "I had a bag and I swiped him. I did not hit him hard enough." She said she had been endangered by cyclists three times recently on the capital's streets.
"They are a ruddy nuisance," she said. "I know they need to get to work and a lot of them behave properly, but there are an increasing number that just don't obey the lights and it's not fair on pedestrians."
The peer, whose first husband Sir Richard Sharples, former Tory MP for Sutton and Cheam, was assassinated while serving as Governor of Bermuda in 1973, floated the idea of cyclists needing a licence but is concerned that such a lawmay not be workable. "It's up to cycling organisations - they should tell their members," she said. "Laws have got to be good. If they don't work they are worse than useless."
Men were a particular threat, she said, adding: "Women do, in general, stop at the lights when they see somebody crossing."
The baroness was concerned that she may have put herself at risk of being sued by the cyclist after lashing out at him.
But, surprisingly, the Government's transport spokesman Lord Bassam, backed her action, saying that she "probably did the right thing".
Mr Livingstone has floated the idea of introducing a registration plate system for bikes which would make it easier to identify cyclists riding dangerously. Backbench Tory MP Mark Pritchard urged ministers to investigate plates for bikes to curb accidents involving cyclists.
He said: "The Government needs to investigate ways which make it easier to identify cyclists who break the law. One possibility to be investigated could be to have a Swiss-style number plate system for bikes. Cyclist etiquette would improve if they could no longer remain anonymous."
Mr Livingstone has sought to clamp down on dangerous cyclists, with police issuing £60-on-the-spot fines for riding on pavements or jumping lights.
Last year, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on London's roads rose from 340 to 372, with deaths increasing from eight to 21. At least 300,000 people cycle in the capital every day.
Reader views (30)
How many pedestrians were killed by cyclists last year?
- Greg, London, 11/02/2009 13:28
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372 cyclists died last year on the roads your article says. Most of them from stopping at red lights to then be run over by drivers not paying attention. A recent report concluding this cannot be published because it demonstrated that riding through red is sometimes safer than stopping for it. The observation in your article that women DO stop for lights is also reflected in the death toll; most are women cyclists.
If I would have a pound for every pedestrian that crossed the road without looking or waiting for their green light and walking straight into my path while cycling I would be rich. And if I would have a penny for every car/van/hgv driving fool that did not indicate, went through red, made a dangerous manoeuvre or swerved into my path while cycling I would be even richer. How about solutions that are best for everyone and not just drivers and to a lesser extent pedestrians? Look at how Denmark and The Netherlands deal with cycling for good ideas. And don't rely on any politician here in the UK, including Livingstone, to come up with the goods they promised. I have yet to see a solution to road problems in London that benefits green long-distance commuting - i.e. cycling. I think cyclist-bashing has gone on for way too long here in the UK. When will people finally realise they are the solution not the problem? Does oil really need to run out first, forcing drivers onto bikes before all blinkered people finally awaken?
- Angry Cyclist, Richmond, 17/01/2008 22:35
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I was nearly killed last Wednesday by a car deciding to stop suddenly to do a U turn in the road, and I swearved onto my left side at 20mph to avoid hitting him. Thank god I had a helmet as I hit the road with great force. People don't understand that we cyclists don't have much control compared to cars, and when drivers and pedestrians obstruct our path it's usually going to be impossible to stop. I think this sort of careless driving, and thoughtless pedestrians cause far more danger than the occasional moronic cyclist running red lights, or riding on the pavement. Are pedestrians going to have number plates too?
- Philip, London, 15/01/2008 11:48
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Cyclists should abide by traffic rules considering they are on the roads. Duh!
- Charlie, London, 15/01/2008 10:41
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It seems the Tories are the only ones left who are not scared to do something!
- Lordy, London NW1, 15/01/2008 10:40
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Not impressed, assaulting a person who allegedly jumped a red light.
Had this person been anyone but a women of mature years a court case would have ensued.
She should be ashamed of herself...violence, for an offence that 'may' have been committed.
- Andy, London, 15/01/2008 09:09
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Vigilante action for perceived transgressions of the highway code is not to be encouraged by the example of this silly woman. Where did this happen? Was anyone charged, any witnesses, CCTV footage?
Good grief, what nonsense, a motorist was killed recently by debris thrown from a bridge, the cyclist could have lost control and hit someone else or caused a lorry to swerve, we ought not to encourage such behaviour.
- Doctor Ed Pryor, London, 15/01/2008 08:53
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So, when I'm on my bike and a car or bus driver cuts me up and nearly kills me, it's OK for me to assault them? Don't be stupid. A: Jumping red lights is wrong. B: Assaulting someone who has jumped red lights is wrong.
And as for licensing bikes, it's hopelessly unworkable. (They tried it in Singapore; it didn't work there, and Singapore is a lot more law-abiding.) Cars are licensed, and it doesn't stop over half of them openly speeding. You may as well try licensing pedestrians - I've lost count of the number of times some idiot on a mobile phone has stepped out in front of me without looking when I'm on my bike.
Look: I'll say it again. Cyclist jumping red lights is stupid and wrong and they shouldn't do it. But the current blaze of anti-cyclist hysteria, fuelled by approving reports of such idiotic and illegal behaviour as demonstrated by the old woman in the article, helps nobody and deflects attention from the real transport issues.
- Rob Ainsley, London, UK, 15/01/2008 08:40
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Is she sure she had the right of way, is she certain they jumped a red light? At 84 her eyesight and reactions are no longer so good, and I would proffer, her grip on reality.
What if she'd knocked the cyclist off and killed them. Would she have stayed around to give herself up to the Police? Made a playful pose for the photographer?
Yes, women cyclists do generally stop for red lights, it is born out by the statistics showing more female cyclists get killed by other traffic whilst waiting at the lights.
Maybe a woman in her position could do something about why these cyclists are ignoring the rules. People generally don't break traffic laws for fun. They know it is highly dangerous, but not as dangerous as obeying. People weigh up the odds, people in general are very good at that.
Or is she just lazy and thinks her position in the Lords is nothing to do with helping to serve the community.
- Threaded, Roskilde, Denmark, 15/01/2008 06:52
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Just this evening on the ride home a pedestrian looked me in the eye before stepping off the pavement into part of the road marked as a cycle lane - right in front of me so I had to swerve into traffic to avoid him. Would it have been right to hit him? Didn't think so. The Baroness is making a huge fuss and getting press because of her position. The rest of us have to deal with inconsiderate pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in a more pragmatic manner.
- Richard Lee, Bristol, 14/01/2008 21:20
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I have been very concerned for a few years now with cyclists going through red lights. I see this every day in central London. Many a time I have had to dodge them when crossing the road. If there are 4 cyclists at the lights 3 of them will drive straight on. It beggers belief. I am sick of dodging cyclists. I complained to Mayor Livingstone who informed me that cyclists that did this would get a fixed penalty notice for it. Why is it still happening? It would be interesting to know how many cyclists get these fines? Not many I bet. Someone will be seriously injured one of these days. I do not agree that any one should be hit with a bag but fines should be done every time. We need people on the streets doing this every day. Imagine how much could be made. Most cyclists are a nuisance on the roads.
- D Cruickshank, London, 14/01/2008 20:35
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Having been knocked off my bicycle no less than three times by pedestrians, would it be ok if I lashed the next one with my pump?
The last occasion was on a hill, I was going up, approaching a light controlled pedestrian crossing, the lights were green for me and red for the pedestrians. One pedestrian looked straight at me, and I'm dressed in fluourescent yellow, and walks into me!
- Richard Burton, Bristol, 14/01/2008 18:50
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She's a 100% right. Should have hit him harder.
- Greg Smith, London, 14/01/2008 18:07
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There is lots of built in confusion within the system. I have just cycled back from Chelsea along the embankment. The pavement on the river side is a cycle path for a lot of the way (and there are tiny little round blue signs to show this to everyone). Sometimes people don't see these signs and think that I am breaking the law.
Another confusion - do all pedestrians wait politely at their crossings for the green man? No, only the Germans -far far more pedestrians jump red lights than cyclists. This is not trivial as colliding with a pedestrian who has jumped the light could kill the cyclist.
- Jim Gray, London, 14/01/2008 18:01
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I have to agree with Roger. If you believe it is right to lash out at cyclists who jump red lights, then you can't moan if cyclists or drivers decide to thump pedestrians who walk out in front of them. This happens regularly - worst are mothers who push their prams and pushchairs out into traffic without even looking.
If you think that cycles should have registration plates, then so should pedestrians. And then we are just getting into the absurd.
- Greg, London, 14/01/2008 17:55
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I asked our local police if I had the right to walk over the top of cars which consistently park on the pavement. I was told that if I did so I could be arrested for criminal damage.
- Rod King, Lymm, UK, 14/01/2008 17:40
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Tom from Watford, "If they ever got behind the wheel?" Most cyclists have a car and the licence to use one, especially the lycra wearing ones. Cycling isn't about poverty, it's about not spending money you don't have to spend, and freedom.
And from what I have been able to see from wreck reports on the web, jumping red lights may be bad for pedestrians but it saves cyclists from getting killed by turning lorries and HGV, as the proportion of these deaths is inverse to the rate of jumping the red. Women cyclists hold at the red, males do not, and everyone gets killed in proportion to how often they hold at the red. Do something about that, before you complain about an annoying cyclist jumping the red light.
- Opus The Poet, Garland, TX, 14/01/2008 17:29
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I push them off instead, got 3 last year.
- Neil Grinsell, London, 14/01/2008 17:26
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This happened to me today and the cyclist gave me the finger when I pointed out that he'd run a red light. It's okay though, I told him I hope he'd break his neck, so he's probably in a morgue by now waiting for his kidneys to be removed and given to someone who needs them.
- Neil Mcphee, London, UK, 14/01/2008 17:01
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Thank you Chris. You are absolutely correct. Hit a cyclist and you are a hero. If a cyclist gets knocked down as I was by a car reversing at speed down a one way street you get attacked. There is obviously only one solution. All cyclists must be preceded by a man with a red flag.
- Patrick Griffin, Dalston, 14/01/2008 16:58
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Intellectually I welcome cyclists as doing their bit for the environment, but emotionally being mown down from behind by cyclists on pavements, narrowly avoiding being knocked over at red traffic lights, and pedestrian crossings which they choose to use as their right of way - get registration plates on bikes, that way we can get our own (legal) back.
- Mary, London, 14/01/2008 16:19
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Yes, I'm sure she will be summoned rather shortly to the European Court of Human Rights...
- Mike, London, 14/01/2008 15:04
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I can't believe it! There is someone else doing it! I have been doing this for a while now. Woe betide any cyclist who crosses my path while I cross at the green man. As for cyclists on the pavement... anyone older than a child gets pushed into the road. There is even a woman who rides a bike near us who has a fixed articulated tariler with a 4-5 year old child in. She goes through red lights often.
There was a police car at our local lights recently when a bike went through the red light. When I said "He went through a red light" the police passenger asked: "Where, where?". On pointing out that it was a cyclist slouched back into his seat and went "Ohh".
The government is always saying that "We will make it illegal". It already is, the same as "It will be a pullable offence to carry a knife". It already is.
We don't want rehashes of the law introduced! We want the old laws upheld.
- Eeddie Franklin, London, 14/01/2008 14:49
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I doubt that asking cyling organisations to tell their members to behave would do any good at all. These lycra-louts are not the type of people to belong to cycling organisations and the majority of people who belong to cycling organisations would probably not behave in such a manner.
Lycra-louts would behave in exactly the same way in a vehicle if they could ever got behind the wheel.
- Tom, Watford UK, 14/01/2008 14:41
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I wonder what the police will make of this case? I was crossing a zebra crossing when a car almost ran me over. As the vehicle past just in front of my toes I tapped the back of the car. It really was no more than a tap. The driver got out and punched me to the floor. Despite the fact I had witnesses, a huge black eye and have never been in trouble the police, our caring Met police force won't press charges and warned me off by saying that I could get jailed for criminal damage - preposterous! My front teeth are still numb 7 years later. Let's hope the cyclist here isn't an opportunist and Lady Sharples is arrested by our caring police service.
- Chris, London, UK, 14/01/2008 14:22
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That would be assult then.
Perhaps now, I can start lashing out at errant pedestrians who step out in front of me without looking (happens about 4 times a day, because if they can't hear me, I can't exist, right?). How about registration plates for pedestrians? Some of them are a danger to themselves and others the way they jay-walk and step off kerbs without looking.
And just to show how 'London-centric' this proposal about licence plates is, how many civil servants will they need to administer it?
When the police have one of their little crackdowns, it never lasts more than half a morning. They're too busy filling in paperwork to catch the dangerous cyclists, so they rely on publicity and little yellow signs on lampposts. There is no real enforcement.
I write this as a pedestrian, cylist, and car driver.
- Roger, London, 14/01/2008 14:20
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I understand the sentiment, but disagree that more regulation is required. The cyclists who jump the lights are already ignoring the law - what makes people think they'll bother with registration?
We simply need more policemen on the streets, for this, and a whole multitude of other reasons.
- Alan Tucker, London, 14/01/2008 14:16
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Last week 3 cyclists jumped the lights at the crossing from St Martins to the National Gallery. Cylists do not seem to understand that as well as the red light there is also a green man telling pedestrians it is safe to cross.
- Dave, London, 14/01/2008 14:09
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As much as I sympathise with Lady Sharple's frustration at errant cyclists, her assault on the cyclist could set a dangerous precedent. Can we all now physically attack road users who we believe to be breaking the law. The old saying "two wrongs don't make a right" stands true.
- Malcolm G, London, 14/01/2008 14:08
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All road vehicles must carry visible identfication markings. Not only for security but for identification.
- A.Winsor, Hants. England, 14/01/2008 13:52
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