cars & cycles dont mix, the potential speed & weight differentials are too big. Whether the cyclist was in the wrong or the car driver, the cyclist always loses. People accidentally drive into motorbikes because they didnt see them all the time, cyclists are even worse, not least because some of them seem to have no fear, will go out on their bike in the dark in dark clothes & no lights or reflectors on their bike. I think they are going the wrong way with the rules.
Put the bicycles back on the pavements, make them give way to pedestrians. Cyclists should use cycle paths or lanes wherever possible & if none are available they should use the pavement, when riding on the pavement give way to pedestrians, slow down or dismount if its unsafe to pass or is busy, use pedestrian crossings. End of the day if a bike runs into a person its probably not going to kill them, if a car hits a person its carnage.
If they have to allow cyclists on the road, make them take an actual test & be licensed/ a CBT type test, have standards for the condition of the brakes/tyres & the riders gear. No helmet, reflectors, lights in the dark etc means you get stopped & fined if caught.
Its a contentious argument for some, I guess the government would rather add fuel to the car vs bike fire than invest in more cycle routes & segregated lanes to keep them safe. I wonder how many people dont even know the rules have been updated or changed, they didnt write to every driver in the country to inform them did they.
Anyway, it should be a 2 way street, more accountability for drivers, more accountability for cyclists.