Cyclists 'should be given same penalties as drivers if they injure people'

Cyclists should face the same penalties as drivers if they seriously injure pedestrians, campaigners have said.

They want to see cyclists included in a new law which would see motorists jailed for five years and given unlimited fines for the offence of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, road safety charity Brake and the Institute of Advanced Motorists have all called on Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke to lift the proposed exemption on cyclists under the new law.

A cyclist who broke a pedestrian’s skull after jumping a red light in London was recently fined just £850.