Edinburgh solicitor Brenda Mitchell has been pitted against outgoing London Mayor Boris Johnson and Olympic gold medalist Chris Boardman for a major cycling award.
Ms Mitchell, who runs specialist legal firm Cycle Law Scotland and set up Road Share, the Campaign for Presumed Liability for vulnerable road uses, has been nominated for the Cycling Advocate of the Year Award in the Cycling Media Awards.
The event, to be held on November 12 at the Islington Metalworks in London and organised by BikeBiz publisher NewBay Media, will recognise the best UK media outlets, writers, bloggers, broadcasters and photographers in the world of cycling.
Ms Mitchell's nomination follows her two year campaign to change the current Scots Civil Law which it is claimed often fails the nation’s cyclists and pedestrians, frequently leaving those injured or bereaved following road traffic collisions battling for years to receive fair compensation.
The winner will be judged by a panel of 100 from the cycling media
Ms Mitchell, a personal injury lawyer with more than 25 years experience, said: "I am honoured to have been selected as a finalist for this prestigious award alongside two great cycling champions, Boris Johnson (above) and Chris Boardman (below, centre).
"It is testament to just how much our campaign has touched people in Scotland and in the UK.
"If we are to achieve an increase in safe active travel, we need legislative change that protects those who are most vulnerable to injury.
"We need to learn from our more forward thinking European neighbours who have for decades protected their vulnerable road users.”
The Road Share Campaign for Presumed Liability is supported by celebrities, cyclists and politicians and nearly 10,000 have signed its petition for change.
Proponents say a presumed liability regime would create a hierarchy of responsibility whereby motor vehicle drivers - via their insurer - would be presumed liable for any loss, injury and damage caused to a cyclist involved in a collision.
A cyclist would also be presumed liable for loss, injury and damage caused to a pedestrian in any collision thus ensuring fairness while protecting the vulnerable.
As well as Ms Mitchell, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip Mr Johnson and Mr Boardman, the former racing cyclist who won Olympic gold in 1992, the other finalists for the Cycling Advocate of the Year Award include Malcolm Shepherd of Sustrans, Ashok Sinha of London Cycling Campaign and George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol.
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