Cycling UK has applauded a government decision to abandon plans to raise the small claims court limit to £5,000, a move which would have prevented many cyclists injured in road traffic collisions from obtaining compensation from a driver who was at fault.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had planned to increase the small claims limit for victims involved in “road traffic accidents” from £1,000 to £5,000.

Cycling UK, together with RoadPeace and Living Streets, argued that this would have disproportionately affected cyclists as 70 per cent of such claims are under £5,000.

As claimants’ costs are not recoverable in small claims cases, the increase would have left cyclists paying most if not all of their compensation back to their lawyers for legal fees. This would likely have meant many being put off pursuing a rightful claim for injuries received.

The changes were to be made in conjunction with other compensation reforms proposed in the Prison and Courts Bill, but this was dropped on Thursday following a significant response to the MoJ consultation in which over 6,000 people expressed support for Cycling UK’s “Road Victims are Real Victims” campaign.

Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s Senior Road Safety and Legal Campaigns Officer said: