Labour peer, Lord Winston, is to call on the government to make it compulsory for cyclists to be licensed and insured when riding in the centres of towns and cities.

In giving reasons for his proposal, he stated: “We are only talking about a minority of cyclists but many people will have experienced problems because of people biking the wrong way down the road or on the pavement or not being careful or not stopping at a pedestrian crossing.

“It seems there is nothing to ensure adults cycling in town centres have to follow the rules.”

“The question is a probing one to see if there is any will in the government to consider changes,” Lord Winston said.

“It would specifically be about adults cycling in town or city centres, meaning they would need a licence and insurance.”

Roger Geffen, policy director of the charity Cycling UK, said that the proposals would hinder efforts to tackle pollution.

“Compulsory cyclist licencing and insurance would seriously undermine the government’s efforts to tackle congestion and pollution,” he said.

“It would either make it very expensive for anyone wanting to take up cycling, including children, or else the scheme would run at a loss.

“It’s not clear what it would achieve either. Many drivers also break the law, despite being licensed.”

In a House of Lords debate on air quality and vehicle emissions last year, Lord Winston said: “The reduction of lanes which traffic can travel down means that more cars are taking longer journeys than ever before at slower speeds.

“The evidence is of course that the internal combustion engine is less efficient and pollutes more at slow speeds, particularly when it is idling.”

He urged the government to provide “figures on the evidence of pollution being greater before bike lanes are introduced than afterwards,” adding, “this is an important issue in the future planning of our cities.”

Simon Munk of the London Cycling Campaign said that there was no evidence to support the claim – and that research showed that in reality, the opposite was the case.

“As a scientist I expect Lord Winston to back up his claims with evidence, all studies so far show that most cycle schemes in London have decreased pollution,” he said.

“Pollution monitors along the Embankment actually show a marginal decrease in pollution levels since the cycle schemes were brought in,” he added.

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

Following a survey by Go Compare, figures have shown how a massive 60% of young drivers admit to still using their phones when driving. Not being stationary, actually with the wheels moving.

Out of the 2,000 drivers surveyed, 25% of older motorists admitted to using their phones, albeit when they were in stationary traffic.

Matt Oliver, car insurance expert at GoCompare, said the findings were a clear indication drivers’ addiction to their devices.

“Smartphones have become an invaluable part of most people’s lives – helping us to do everything from communicating, paying for goods and helping us find our way around,” he said. “And, as our research shows, some people are so addicted to their phones they’re prepared to break the law.

“But using a hand-held mobile phone is one of the most dangerous distractions for drivers. It removes their attention from the road ahead, slows down reaction times and driving one handed can result in the driver not being fully in control of the vehicle – any of which could have potentially fatal consequences for themselves or other road users.”

Samuel Nahk, a spokesperson for road safety charity Brake, said those who used phones while driving were selfish and could cause serious accidents.

“Mobile phone use behind the wheel, in any form, is illegal and highly dangerous and those who do it are selfishly putting other road users’ lives at risk,” he said. “Anything that distracts a driver’s attention from the road, even for a split second, can lead to devastation.

“Using a phone behind the wheel should be as unacceptable as drink driving, with studies showing that reaction times whilst texting are double those of drink-drivers. This new research makes it clear that mobile phone use behind the wheel is all too prevalent and a crackdown is required to rid our roads of this menace.”

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

A collision between 2 cars and a bus has left 3 people dead and others in hospital.

The driver of one of the cars, a red Renault Megane, was charged with, what the police stated as, “road traffic offences”.

It is understood the 3 deaths were 2 women and a man, all passengers in the red Megane. None of the bus passengers were hurt.

The driver and passengers in the second car were all taken to hospital. Their injuries were described as “none life threatening”.

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

Figures published, following and Freedom of Information Request, have shown how over 400 drivers from Essex have received points for “hit and runs” over the past 5 years.

Since 2014, there were 430 drivers endorsed for the offence in our area. There were 14 cases in 2014, 107 in 2015, 138 in 2016, 114 in 2017 and 57 in 2018.

UK driving licences may be endorsed by court order if the driver has been convicted of an offence.

The law says that every driver that is involved in an accident must stop and provide their details.

For the crime of failing to stop after an accident , a driver can given between five and ten penalty points, and the endorsement must remain on a driving licence for a period of four years.

If a motorist obtains more than 12 points on their driving licence within a period of three years they will receive a driving ban.

Since 2014, 20,065 motorists have been given points for hit-and-run collisions across Britain.

The figure fell from 5,363 drivers in 2017 to 2,946 in 2018.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, says: “No one wants to be involved in a traffic collision, but the experience can be made all the worse should the other person involved drive off.

“Drivers who ‘crash and dash’ tend to have something to hide. It may be that they have no insurance, were using their mobile phone behind the wheel or were under the influence of alcohol.

“The sharp decrease may be due to concerted efforts to tackle those driving without insurance or road tax.

“There may also be a stronger realisation that it’s better to stay and exchange details as, inevitably, the long arm of the law catches up with them in the end.”

We often read in the press how celebrities and professional sports people seem to get away with speeding offence and other road traffic issues, but how do they do it? Is it a case there is one law for the rich and another for the rest of us?

Well, not matter how galling it may seem, common sense tells you that just can’t be the case. No matter how big the bank balance how powerful the role or how much celebrity is involved, the law is the same for everyone.

The difference is when they are facing charges, or have a win at court, they make the headlines. The papers aren’t that interested in plain old Dick and Jane.

So how do the celebrities avoid speeding fines and other such driving matters. In many cases the answer lies in the detail of the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP).

Should a driver be fingered for a speeding offence, the first they will officially hear of is when the NIP lands on their doormat. The NIP is addressed to the registered keeper of the offending vehicle and the identity of the driver needs to be confirmed. Failing to do this can end up with 6 penalty points and a £100 fine.

Now then, under the Road Traffic Act 1988, the NIP has to be delivered to the registered keeping within 14 days from the date of the speeding offence taking place. If the NIP should arrive after the 14 days you can send it back to the process office and reject it as being out of time.

Now, that all sounds very simple, however, there are still some delicacies and legal skills regarding these types of case. Although the law is the same for everyone, there is a reason why celebrities still contact a road traffic solicitor and that is because they know exactly how the administration and court system works. Many motorists can think they have their case nailed on but when they get to court, the wheels can quickly fall off if they have not followed the proper procedure or have a clear knowledge of the statute and case law surrounding the offence.

If you are facing a speeding fine, or any other motoring type offence, call Carl Millar today and get the lowdown on what you need to do.

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

A cyclist has called for a change in law after a driver who left her in a coma was merely fined £485. The change sought is the introduction of a new offence of causing serious harm by careless driving.

It was reported how the cyclist, Louise Callaghan, was left with a brain bleed, a fractured skull, and breaks to her collarbone, scapular, elbow and pelvis after she was hit by a car.

Her injuries were so serious that doctors placed her in a medically induced coma for 4 days. She says she is still suffering from the effects.

The driver pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a fine of £485 and 7 penalty points added to his driving licence.

Callaghan said: “He should’ve been charged with causing serious injury by careless driving – but that offence doesn’t exist, so the police had their hands tied.

“It seems quite a lenient punishment. The points are only on his licence for a finite amount of time, while I will be having physiotherapy for six months to a year or longer.”

Callaghan’s MP, Dominic Raab, has contacted the minister of state for transport, Jesse Norman, about the possibility of introducing a new offence for incidents such as this.

However, Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, said that it wasn’t as simple as introducing a new offence to fill an apparent gap.

“Introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving sounds common sense, but when the Government introduced a new offence of causing death by careless driving back in 2008, the number of prosecutions for causing death by dangerous driving dropped by 46% in five years.

“Cases which could and should have been charged as dangerous were effectively downgraded to careless, and there’s a risk that this will happen again if we have a new serious injury by careless driving offence without a full review of our careless and dangerous driving laws.

“Just bolting on new offences – whether it’s serious injury by careless driving or new careless and dangerous cycling offences, as the Government propose – won’t fix a broken framework for dealing with irresponsible behaviour on our roads.”

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

When some motorists spot a mobile speed camera van, they had straight to social media to post its location.

Some also check the registration number of the van to make sure that it is legitimate and not part of some wild scam.

When they check the details they generally find that the police van does not have an up-to-date MOT certificate. This can make their post escalate from one of mild annoyance to anger. However, what people don’t know is that police vans are exempt from the normal MOT process.

Recently, North Wales live has reported on the rules surrounding police vans.

For the average motorist an MOT test is conducted to ensure the vehicle meet the minimum safety standard required by law.

If your vehicle passes its MOT test then you can drive on the road illegally. If, however, it does not pass the test the car is not legally allowed to be driven on the road and your insurance it Could be invalidated were you to have an accident.

Now then, with regards to police vehicles, they are exempt from an MOT owing to their high levels of maintenance throughout the usage.

So next time someone checks the validity of an MOT for a police vehicle, you already have the answer.

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

It has been reported by the BBC how the number of prosecutions of drivers using their mobile phones behind the wheel, has fallen by almost half between 2012 and 2017.

A Freedom of Information request by the Press Association in 2017 found that, in the 10 years from 2007, the number of traffic officers in England and Wales fell by almost a third from 3,766 to 2,643.

A spokesperson for the RAC, told the BBC that the drop in prosecutions is because of cuts in traffic police.

The BBC current affairs program, “Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire”, had already reported how police officers were the top deck of double-decker buses to get a better view of drivers using their mobile phones. The program further reported how the police witnessed so many mobile phone users, they did not have time to take down all the relevant details to effect a prosecution for every offending driver.

The current affairs program also stated how drivers were still choosing to use their phones behind the wheel despite an increase in penalties.

Figures published by the RAC have shown a quarter of motorists admit to talking on a mobile phone whilst driving. A massive 40% admit to text.

RAC figures also show that there were nearly 2300 crashes caused by drivers using a mobile phone between 2013 and 2017.

Nick Lyles of the RAC stated: “What we’ve got to do in this country is to make the use of a handheld mobile phone whilst driving as socially unacceptable as drink-driving.”

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

A traffic warden in Leeds has been filmed, not only slapping a ticket on a car but then dropping litter.

The incident, filmed at Leeds General Infirmary, has caused a bit of a stir on social media, with many people calling for the traffic warden to be ticketed for littering.

Deemed a “litter lout” by the Daily Mirror, they reported how the incident was filmed by a hospital visitor, as the warden discarded a tear off strip from a ticket onto the floor.

It was reported how the parking ticket was for for a fine of £75, however, a ticket for littering would be £100, rising to a potential £2,500 should the matter go to court.

Following the incident being reported to Leeds City Council, they responded by saying: “We’ve looked into it and can confirm that the warden in the video is not an officer of Leeds City Council.

“We’ve alerted the hospital of the video as it appears to be one of their own enforcement officers.”

Leeds General Infirmary today said they intend to reminded staff of how to dispose of litter appropriately.

A spokeswoman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We expect all staff to dispose of litter appropriately and we will be issuing a reminder about this.”

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.

New research in has shown that a large amount of young drivers are using their mobile phones whilst behind the wheel of a car.

It should come as no sunrise to anyone, that using a mobile phone whilst behind the wheel and the engine switched on is illegal. And being found guilty has a starting penalty of a £200 fine and 6 points.

So what are they doing on their phones?:

• Checking messages and emails
• Changing music
• Setting satellite navigation
• Taking a photograph

Strangely, the reported research did not mention making a phone call.

Samuel Nahk, a spokesperson for BRAKE! said: “Using a phone behind the wheel should be as unacceptable as drink-driving, with studies showing that reaction times whilst texting are double those of drink-drivers.

“This new research makes it clear that mobile phone use behind the wheel is all too prevalent and a crackdown is required to rid our roads of this menace.”

About Carl Millar

Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.

Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.

With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.

Getting in contact with Carl and Millars Solicitors is really easy. You can call him FREE on 0800 999 5535 or in an emergency you can call on 07732 054827.