Tuesday 24 April 2012 sees an important meeting of the Parliamentary Transport Select Committee, during which road safety, with a particular emphasis on cycling, will be under discussion.

The meeting will be screened from 10.10am on  and with The Times Editor James Harding taking part, alongside such cycling advocates as the broadcaster Jon Snow and Ian Austin MP, British Cycling member and Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, we can expect some tough talking on the highly topical issues surrounding the safety of cyclists on the roads. Transport Ministers Norman Baker and Mike Penning will be appearing this morning.

British Cycling will be watching the meeting and have asked BC member Ian Austin MP to impress upon the Select Committee the need for the Department for Transport to put cycling at the heart of all policy rather seeing it as an add-on. British Cycling believes that it is vital that all changes to policies that affect road users are preceded by an assessment of the potential impact on cycling and cycle safety.”

British Cycling Policy and Legal Affairs Director Martin Gibbs said “Too often cycling is bolted on as an afterthought to transport schemes and policy or ignored altogether. An example of this was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Mike Penning’s approval last autumn of a 10 year trial of longer articulated lorry trailers without consideration of the additional danger they would pose to cyclists. It will be interesting to hear what he says about this when he appears in front of the committee this morning.”

Have your say on this issue on Facebook at the foot of the page and don’t forget to watch the meeting on http://www.parliamentlive.tv/ from 10.10am on Tuesday. Updates from the meeting will also be available via @thetimes and @allpartycycling on Twitter.