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A Bill to make provisions about whiplash claims and the personal injury discount rate will be debated in the House of Commons on Tuesday 4th September.
The Civil Liability Bill contains some changes which if passed could have a negative effect on cyclists who have been injured.
It would see a rise from £1,000 to £5,000 in ‘the small claims limit’ for anyone who has been injured in a collision on the road, with the aim to tackle the high number of fraudulent whiplash claims.
The bill would also look to introduce a tariff for the payment of compensation awards for people injured in a road collision that wasn’t their fault.
Campaigners against these reforms describe them as unfair and overly punitive, particularly so for vulnerable road users such as cyclists, who rarely get whiplash injuries, and where the incidence of fraud is negligible.
To draw public and political attention to this issue, the Vulnerable Road Users Group (VRUG) was formed with the aim of removing all vulnerable road users from the scope of the reforms.
Members of the group include Cycling UK and British Cycling, Brake, the British Horse Society, Living Streets and Roadpeace.
The VRUG also has political representation from Ruth Cadbury MP (co-chair of the All Party Cycling Group) and includes representatives from law firms who assist vulnerable road users seeking redress for their injuries.
