The former Top Gear presenter and keen cyclist James May has said it would be “nonsense” to impose restrictions on cyclists after a fatal collision between a pedestrian and a rider in Regent’s Park.
Hilda Griffiths, 81, died from head injuries 59 days after being struck by a cyclist who was exceeding the speed limit for cars while making a timed lap of the London park in June 2022.
This month an inquest into her death was told that Brian Fitzgerald, a director at Credit Suisse, could not be prosecuted because the speed limit did not apply to cyclists.
The charity that maintains London’s eight royal parks has asked Strava and other timekeeping apps to remove the route Fitzgerald was using.
May, 61, told Times Radio that fatal incidents involving bicycles were incredibly rare and that a push to regulate riders with mandatory number plates or insurance would be a waste of time.
“I don’t think people should try to achieve personal bests through places like London. And I don’t think people should race around the park. I think that is disrespectful and irresponsible and can lead to accidents,” he said.
“The vast majority of people can’t achieve even 20 miles an hour on a bicycle. I ride a lot in London, and I’m not particularly fit and I’m getting quite old. But even so, my average speed is usually ten to 12 miles an hour and I’m putting my back into it.”
May said that number plates were not needed because bicycles could not inflict the same level of damage as cars, and that regulation was “completely against the spirit” of the activity.
“Trying to cure the world’s problems by adding more admin is pointless and expensive and makes life miserable,” he said.
“I’ve been listening to various debates, including one yesterday on another radio station … There was some terrible things being said on that about regulating bicycles, and bicycles were being blamed for drivers speeding and people were saying insurance would make bicycles safer and all sorts of things that were, to my mind, nonsense.”
During the hearing Fitzgerald said that he and his group of three other riders were travelling at up to 29mph. The speed limit in Regent’s Park is 20mph, and the park authorities ask cyclists to stick to this.
Griffiths, a retired nursery teacher, was walking her dog at the time of the collision. Fitzgerald said he had only a “split second” to respond, which “didn’t allow for evasion”.
Apps such as Strava utilise GPS technology to allow cyclists to record the time it takes for them to ride particular routes, known as segments. They are then able to compare their times with friends and other members of the public on a leaderboard.
The Royal Parks has written to Strava and other time-keeping apps asking them to remove the segment for the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park.
One segment is known on Strava as Regents Park One Lap and shows the circuit to be 2.75 miles.
The leaderboard shows that the record holder completed it in four minutes and 50 seconds, an average speed of 34.2mph.
The removal of the segment would prevent cyclists from recording and comparing their times, taking away the incentive to make timed laps of the park.
• Melanie Phillips: Protect pedestrians from these deadly cyclists
The Royal Parks said it was working with police to see if any measures such as raised crossing points and better signage could be introduced to make the park safer.
A spokeswoman said: “We were extremely sorry to hear of the incident which resulted in the death of Hilda Griffiths. We will continue to work with local stakeholders, including cycling groups, to inform our approach. We have made contact and will follow up with cycling apps such as Strava to request removal of the Outer Circle in the Regent’s Park as a segment on the app.”
