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Road Safety Bill [HL]

I am grateful to my noble friend for assisting in drafting the department’s reply to the noble Earl, Lord Attlee. Of course we will discuss the issue further and all factors will be taken into account, including the ones that he identified. My noble friend is right about policemen on bicycles. As ever, police act as a deterrent and it is an advantage if they are well equipped to deal with particular offenders on the mode of travel that they are using. We are all concerned not only about the number of prosecutions that we can effect but the degree of improved road behaviour we can have through deterrence. My noble friend alluded to that factor. I am sorry that I am not able to satisfy either my noble friend or the rest of the House with statistics relating to the prosecution of cyclists. I will do my best to find out the information, but my best might not be very good.