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Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, we are not accepting the amendment; we are resisting it, and therefore it is somewhat academic to look at the word ““cycle”” as opposed to the word ““bicycle””. But I understand the point that my noble friend makes. Certainly it is important to get the definition of a motorcycle absolutely right in any amendment, together with the fact that the motorcycle is a two-wheeled power vehicle, although some can be customised to have three wheels. I thank my noble friend for that information. With regard to the point raised by the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, in this case local authorities’ experience of their local circumstances is most important. People will be expecting a bus to be in a bus lane. A local authority knows about speeds and the timing of congestion and so on in certain areas. While it is not always so, I believe that in this case local authorities should be allowed to use their discretion in coming to a decision with that local knowledge. I can see the noble Lord’s point about there being confusion without a systematic set of standards across the country. However, if local authorities believe that their local circumstances make it appropriate for motorcycles to be in bus lanes, it will be safe for people if there is clear signage. So I think that clear signage is the answer to the noble Lord’s concern.