At the national Green Party conference in Liverpool last weekend, the Green Party agreed to back the campaign for stricter liability (also known as proportional liability) to be applied on British roads. The legal change would acknowledge that the duty of care for one’s actions when using the road should be proportional to the degree of danger that you impose on other road users.
Jenny Jones, Green Party London mayoral candidate, said:
"This would be a significant legal change, but more than that, it could be a step towards a significant attitudinal change on our roads. If the law says to road users that not only do they have to obey defined rules such as speed limits, but they also have to take good care to avoid putting any vulnerable person around them at risk, at cost of significant civil penalty, then we could see a real revolution on our roads."
This is a move that is also supported by Road Peace, the Environmental Law Foundation, the London Cycling Campaign and many others.
London Assembly candidate Natalie Bennett, who moved the motion said: "As a pedestrian, cyclist and driver, I see many road users failing to take the kind of civilised care that they should: drivers who speed up on approaching a pedestrian crossing in an attempt to stop walkers going on to the road, drivers who squeeze past a cyclist when there’s inadequate space, just so they can get to the red light just in front of them a bit faster."
"In cases of civil compensation, the legal change would reverse the burden of proof in collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists. The onus would be on the drivers insurance company to prove that the casualty caused the collision.
This would also ensure that grieving families or badly injured people are not forced to launch difficult, complex legal battles, with the burden of proof resting on them, to be compensated for their loss or injuries. (See for example:http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24014991-cyclists-family-seek-witnesses-for-legal-battle.do)
More information on the Stricter Liability site.
