Cycling UK is requesting bike enthusiasts to write the Members of Parliament (MPs), urging them not to raise the personal injury whiplash small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000 because it‘s believed it will affect vulnerable road cyclists, motorbikers, horse riders, and pedestrians the most. Car accidents involving cyclists is a problem not only in the United Kingdom, but also here in the United States.
According to Cycling UK:
“Broken bones and other injuries are the norm, and with 70 percent of cyclists’ claims being under £5,000, victims will be out of pocket once the legal wrangles with insurance companies are over, as they will have to foot the bill for their own legal costs.”
The government claims that raising the personal injury claim will help to end bogus whiplash claims. While Cycling UK agrees false claims need to be decreased, they worry that this bill goes too far and will have unintended consequences.
Cycling UK have created an online tool to automatically generate a letter from constituents to MPs expressing dissatisfaction with the increased limit.
In the United States, in 2015, over 1,000 bicyclists died and approximately 467,000 injuries occured.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
“…data from 2010 show fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries to bicyclists resulted in lifetime medical costs and productivity losses of $10 billion.”
If you’ve been in an accident, whether on a bike or in a car, find further reading on our blog on what legal action is available to you.
