Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says 'cyclists are not road users'

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has suggested cyclists are not road users, weeks after footage emerged of him knocking one over with the door of his ministerial car.

At Transport Questions in the House of Commons, Labour MP for Cambridge Daniel Zeichner asked him about a remark he had given in an interview with the Evening Standard, in which he said that, ‘Cycle lanes cause problems for road users.’

Mr Zeichner asked: “I was wondering if he could clarify for the house exactly who he thinks road users are?”

Mr Grayling told him: “Where you have cycle lanes, cyclists are the users of cycle lanes and the road users are the users of the road. It’s very simple.”

On Tuesday it emerged that Mr Grayling had not given his details to a cyclist who was injured when he opened the door of his ministerial car in their path last year, because, he said, “no one asked for them”.

Asked about the incident, Transport Minister Andrew Jones said “no details were requested at the time by either party”.

Mr Jones said the Tory minister “got out of the car, checked the cyclist was okay and waited until he was back on his feet".

“He spoke to the cyclist and apologised; they shook hands," he said.

“The Secretary of State has since been in contact with the cyclist and the matter is closed.”

However, cycling campaigners seized on the admission as evidence that the Tory minister failed to grasp the “basic issue” of exchanging details after a road accident.

Simon Munk, infrastructure campaigner at the London Cycling Campaign, said: “The law is very clear – in a collision you stop, exchange details and wait for the police if necessary.

“That the Transport Secretary appears not to understand this basic issue, let alone how important cycling and funding cycling is, should be of major concern to anyone who wants a healthier, better Britain.”

Video obtained by The Guardian last October showed the Tory minister “dooring” a member of the public as the cyclist filtered along the inside lane of traffic outside Parliament.

Mr Grayling was seen opening his door into the person cycling as the minister tried to leave a black car that was stuck in traffic in Parliament Square.

He was then shown walking over to check whether the person was injured before speaking with him.

After the incident he faced calls to resign and Cycling UK said there were “questions about why Mr Grayling has not been prosecuted”.

The former chair of the MPs’ cross-party cycling group, Ian Austin, said it would not be appropriate for Mr Grayling to stay as the minister in charge of cycling.

The Labour MP, who wrote to the Department for Transport to ask why no details were exchanged after the incident, said last year: “Opening a car door in a way that injures someone is an offence and can result in serious injury and even death.

“Despite this, Mr Grayling didn’t even provide his details so he could pay for the damage.

“Anyone can make a mistake, but I don’t think you can have a Secretary of State who has injured another road user, could have committed an offence and failed even to provide his details afterwards.”