UK Transport Secretary: “Motorists are users of the road, cyclists use cycle lanes”

The UK Transport Secretary has clarified his thoughts on just who he thinks is entitled to use the roads in Parliament today and it seems those on two wheels shouldn’t feature, in his opinion.

Appointed by Theresa May in July, Grayling has got off to the worst possible start when it comes to building relationships with vulnerable road users. On December 15th, footage captured by a London cyclist showed Grayling opening a car door into the path of a cyclist, before leaving the scene without exchanging details. A simple Dutch Reach would have prevented such an incident.

Speaking this morning the Transport minister said in response to questioning from Daniel Zeichner, the Shadow Transport Minister: “Where you have cycle lanes, cyclists are the users of cycle lanes and there’s a road alongside and the motorists are the users of the road. It’s fairly straight forward, to be honest.”

The response has been met with dismay by campaigners for cyclists rights who have reminded the Transport Secretary that cyclists have every right to use public roads and do so in safety.

Mark Treasure, who was among those who spotted the guffaw, offered: