Strict Liability

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 29 October 2013.

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Photo of Margaret Mitchell Margaret Mitchell Conservative

I begin by thanking Alison Johnstone for bringing the debate to the chamber. As the motion states, the number of fatalities and injuries to pedestrians and cyclists on our roads is unacceptable. According to statistics from Transport Scotland, 898 cyclists were injured on our roads in 2012, which represents a 9 per cent increase on the 2011 figure. There were also nine fatalities last year. Furthermore, although the same statistics revealed a welcome 5 per cent decrease in the number of pedestrian casualties in 2012, a shocking 54 pedestrians were killed and 1,950 injured. Given those worrying injuries and worse fatalities, it is clear that more must be done to improve road safety, particularly for the most vulnerable users. On that, there is no division of opinion in the chamber this evening.

The thorny question is around what should be done. Strict liability has been described as a road safety measure, but I do not accept that the introduction of strict liability will necessarily make roads safer or lead to fewer accidents. In fact, it could encourage irresponsible cyclists—despite the hierarchy of road users, cyclists are perfectly capable of causing a multiple pile-up—to be even more irresponsible, secure in the knowledge that the presumption of fault will lie with the driver.