Yesterday in parliament Dan Jarvis, the Shadow Justice Minister, asked what the government was doing to encourage cyclists to wear hi-vis clothing. The Labour MP for Barnsley Central asked: "what steps [the Secretary of State for Transport] is taking to encourage cyclists to wear high visibility clothing."
He did not ask what steps the government was taking to make motorists paint their dark cars white or fluoro yellow.
Road safety minister Robert Goodwill replied:
"The safety of vulnerable road users is a priority for this Government and we recommend that cyclists wear clothing that makes them sufficiently visible to other road users. However, wearing high visibility clothing is a matter of individual choice, and I would want to resist imposing additional regulations which could lead to people choosing not to cycle and would be difficult to enforce."