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Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I rise only because my noble friend mentioned me, and I want to say that subsection (2)(b) has certainly improved since we last saw it, in that it ensures that the person who is to be made culpable for this offence is at least an adult. I have not had a chance to talk to my noble friend about this much, but I still have concerns, because I am not sure many parents would like it suggested that they either were in possession of the cycle immediately before the child rode it, or had custody of it. My recollection of my children is that half the time I did not know where the bicycle was, and I was jolly lucky when I knew where they were along with it. The amendment would pin a criminal responsibility on any parent if their child went out on the cycle without them knowing about it. None of this belies the importance of children wearing safety headgear. The difficulty we are encountering here is where and how you lay that responsibility, and where the culpable area is. I do not want anyone to misunderstand. A hat on the head is essential, but how you pin the responsibility is much more difficult in legislation.