We asked: should cyclists and pedestrians be protected by a motorist's insurance?

I can only speak for the town I live in but... As a pedestrian I am sick to death of being run off the PAVEMENT by cyclists of all ages. It is time that cyclists were forced off the pavement and on to the road and had to take compulsory third party insurance and have their cycles checked annually as any other road user does.
Nicholas Kulkarni, England

Let's expect to see a significant rise in private prosecutions of pedestrians and cyclists by motorists as car-owners begin to use the legal insurance that's often bundled with their policies.
Justin Cartlidge, England

Why not make it compulsory to have bike insurance, like in Switzerland? This would then also cover cyclists against non-car accidents. Simple, effective, fair.
A. McCall-Judson, UK

Our 30-year old daughter was killed (crushed to death) two years ago whilst cycling to work. She was in the cycle lane, and wearing a helmet. She was a careful cyclist. The driver of the tipper lorry was not speeding, but he just didn't see our daughter when he turned left, across the cycle lane, at the height of the morning rush hour. Why did it happen? Who was to blame? The inquest verdict was "accidental death", but we feel that manoeuvres like this should not take place at the busiest times of the day.
Mrs D.J. Barker, England

I commute to work by bicycle most of the year, and while there are certainly more than a fair share of drivers who have no business being behind the wheel, I also frequently see other cyclists behaving badly. There's no good reason to assume the driver's always at fault.
Joel, US

This is clearly not English justice. How can one party be found to be always guilty not matter what the circumstances?
Cazz, England

Presumably this does not take away my ability to sue the reckless pedestrian or cyclist to recover the loss of my no-claim discount?
John Lewis, UK

Cyclists already have cycle lanes yet they do not contribute anything towards the costs of maintaining these roads and cycle lanes. Now they are going to punish the law abiding responsible driver for others failures!
Andy, UK

As a regular cyclist in London I dream of being treated as well as an animal by car and motorbike drivers - crisp packet is what usually springs to mind!
Mike, London

I used to cycle into work through rush hour traffic but gave up because I thought it was too dangerous so I agree that motorists are less than aware of cyclists. But I can see no justification in making someone liable for an accident if they are not at fault.
Ed, England

"Reckless cyclists" will not have any advantage. According to my continental cycling contacts, in countries which already have a law like that, if the cyclist is clearly at fault he still takes the rap.
Chris, England

Japan already has such a system, and is a legal matter, not just insurance. The driver of the larger vehicle always takes a larger part of the blame, regardless of the actual cause of the accident.
Marc Sheffner, Japan

Physics does not care who is to blame in an accident. If a car hits a cyclist or pedestrian, the car wins, full stop. In my opinion making the law reflect that is a good thing.
Ken, US

This sounds like madness. We all need to be more aware of cyclists, but in a world where cyclists seem to think they have the right to jump red lights, go the wrong way up one-way streets and ride on the pavement, it seems totally unfair to penalise the motorist in every case.
Nic, UK

This is a good idea to level the playing field a bit. I cycle most of the time and have to take special care to avoid being killed by a careless or reckless driver at least once a day.
Richard Ninnes, UK