Cycling: Crimes against the Person
The question
To ask the Solicitor General, how many cyclists have been prosecuted under the provisions of Section 35 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 in each year since 2000.
Answered by Lucy Rigby
The safety of our roads is a key priority for this government.
We have amended the Crime and Policing Bill to provide for new offences and penalties for dangerous cycling, updating legislation that is over 160 years old, to ensure that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full force of the law.
Cases of causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless driving have usually been prosecuted under section 35 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA 1861), but this offence applies to any person ‘having charge of any carriage or other vehicle’ and therefore does not solely apply to cyclists.
The earliest data held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for prosecutions of offences under s. 35 OAPA 1861 is from 2005. Between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2024, the CPS authorised charges for 362 offences of causing injury by wanton and furious driving contrary to s. 35.
Of these charges, the CPS is unable to identify which offences involved defendants who were cyclists, without a manual review of each case, which would incur disproportionate cost.
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