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Bristol Bath Railway Path riders (copyrght samsaundersleeds:Flickr)Bath-Bristol path "not the place for reckless speed cycling" says Sustrans after 9-year-old breaks collar bone in collision
Active travel charity Sustrans has said that facilities like the Bristol Bath Railway path are “not the place for reckless speed cycling” after a 9-year-old boy sustained a broken collar bone in a collision on the extremely popular shared-use route.
Sustrans is discussing with the local council and path managers how the code of conduct can be better promoted after the father of Theo Delves-Broughton wrote to the organisation to call for better safety measures on the path.
According to the Bath Chronicle’s Laura Trem, Theo sustained a broken collar bone when he and an adult rider collided.
Theo was riding with his dad Nic, mum Emma and sister Ava, seven when they encountered two pedestrians on the path. Theo pulled out to overtake them and rode into the path of the oncoming rider, who Nic Delves-Broughton said was travelling “way too fast”.
Both Theo and the other rider came off their bikes in the collision. Theo’s family took him to the Royal United Hospital where doctors found he had broken his collarbone. The condition of the other rider, who stopped and was “very apologetic”, is not known.
Mr Delves-Broughton has written to Sustrans calling for better safety measures on the path, including warning signs to encourage people to slow down and take more care, and marshals at busy times.
Sustrans area manager Jon Usher said: “Traffic-free paths are not the place for reckless speed cycling; they cater to a variety of users by providing a safe, non-threatening environment to travel in.
“Unfortunately, a minority of people on bikes choose to speed as fast as they can on these routes, which makes them less safe for everyone else.”
Mr Delves-Broughton said: “It is a very popular path, especially with families with young children.
“Some cyclists go too fast, and accidents can happen.
“I want more to be done to make people slow down, more care needs to be taken on the path.”
Describing the crash, he said: “The other cyclist was coming way too fast for the crowed conditions on that afternoon.
“It was a terrible accident and both my son and the other rider where thrown from their bikes onto the ground.
“The other cyclist was very apologetic about it.
“If that other cyclist had hit an elderly, frail person with brittle bones the consequences could be dire and even result in a death.
“Something needs to be done to keep the speed down on this particular path.
“It is a very busy path, especially on a Sunday and it is packed with young families with learner riders, dogs, the elderly and infirm and also the idiotic who are unpredictable at best.”
Sustrans area manager Jon Usher added: “The Bath to Bristol path is a shared space so it is important that cyclists and walkers follow a few basic rules to ensure that accidents like this don’t happen.
“We are discussing the issue with South Gloucestershire Council and the Avon & Frome Valley Partnership that manage the Railway Path to see how the code of conduct on shared paths can be more widely promoted.
“As cyclists campaign for greater respect on our roads, it’s vital those of us using bicycles give respect to everyone using traffic-free paths.”
A history of calls to slow down
It's not the first time there have been calls for fast riders to slow down on the Bath-Bristol path. Last July Jon Usher blamed the rise in popularity of drop-handlebar road bikes for an increase in complaints along the path, and in May the organisation threatened to put barriers on some routes if riders did not slow down. In April there were calls for crossing marshals and a 20mph speed limit after Anne Tufney was hit from behind by another cyclist.
It has been pointed out that the Bath-Bristol path, completed in 1986, has been somehting of a victim of its own success. Its current popularity was unforeseen and it was not built with current best practice in mind, which would make it wider and have some separation between pedestrian and cycling areas.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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119 comments
There's a fair amount of critisism of the father and child, isn't there? All of it being read by all sorts of people on forums like these, no doubt forming their own opinions about cyclists' attitudes to other members of the public, and most likely "shared" on social media.
FWIW, this is how I feel.
Paths like these are ideal places for parents to teach their kids to ride, kids that could potentially be the top riders of tomorrow. But they're also a source of inspiration for adults who may be tempted to start cycling, but aren't confident enough to ride on the roads with traffic. And, obviously, these paths are increasingly used by pedestrians, runners, hikers, dog walkers and wheelchair users, many of whom may be hard of hearing, partially sighted, infirm or generally unpredictable.
Be sensible; enjoy the feeling of speed on deserted stretches of shared use path, but slow down to walking pace when approaching others. Allow a few minutes extra for each journey, be courteous, enjoy the ride, but, above all, remember that how we behave towards other people we meet momentarily in life echoes in minds long after we've disappeared up the road.
These Sustrans have me laughing, they have this dream of cycle paths only used by families and old codgers cycling 5mph, none wearing helmets and the sun is out and everyone is happy in larlarland.
Most of their pathways are covered in glass and dog shite
What a load of crap. So is this the best we can hope for, a segregated cycle network which is full of dog walkers and people teaching their children to ride bikes? I thought there was fields and parks for that?
I've commuted along the Bristol-Bath path and at 07.30 on a weekday morning, when there's clearly no-one around, you can get your head down and cover the ground at a fair rate of knots. But you still need to be aware of the dog-walkers and commuters on foot, because that's when things start to get unpredictable… it's obvious… and if one of them steps into your way, if you're going to fast someone might get hurt. It's exactly the same principle in a car on the road, 30mph might be the speed limit, but if you're driving past a bunch of kids on the way home from school then 10mph would be more sensible for everyone.
I'm staggered by the numbers of comments above that are throwing the blame at the child here… I agree that he shouldn't have crossed the path of another rider… but that cycle path is a magnet for families at the weekend, on foot and on bikes, and kids will always make decisions that surprise other people, not to mention their parents. Cyclists absolutely must adapt their riding style for the circumstances on the road or path they're cycling on.
If you're not happy to slow down to accomodate other 'less predictable' path users, then find somewhere else to cycle.
Anyone going out for a hard training ride on a shared use path is an egotistical, selfish twat.
It shouldn't be necessary to put chicanes in every 100 metres or so to persuade idiots to cycle at a speed appropriate to the conditions but if that is what it takes then so be it.
It would be a shame because there are times when these paths are empty and it is appropriate to go faster but as soon as you spot a group of people ahead, possibly with dogs off the lead (perfectly reasonable if they are well trained) and young children on bicycles you have to slow down to walking pace.
Why wouldn't you? Unless you really live for that next Strava PB, in which case pull your head out of your arse and have a word with yourself!
Not economically feasible now? Based on what? How much would it cost to do it properly? Also, how much more does it cost to do these things badly, then make it a bit less bad, then tinker some more and it still not be right, and then finally do it like the Dutch did years ago?
Which basically comes down to the path is not fit for purpose, assuming the purpose is transport, commuting to work,etc. If the purpose is a public park, then what you say is fine.
If the purpose is a public park then the path needs to be designed to control the speed merchants, If the purpose is transport then you path needs to reflect this and ensure that the dog walkers, kids etc are controlled.
Back to the Motorways, they are designed to get vehicles from a to b fast, look at housing estates with there twists and corners, they are designed to control car speed.
So what do you want?
Words aren't going to solve this, Sustrans, Councils, Government, whoever is responsible for these paths has to be very clear what they are. Take a track bed designed for trains to do in excess of 100mph and consider the sight lines, the incline, they are perfect for going very fast on! We are going to see ever more conflict simply because no one actually knows what the point of these paths is. No one is actually designing them.
You can not rely on people not to do stupid things, It doesn't work, it hasn't worked and It never will!
Parallel, an AC cobra doing 185mph on the M1 in 1964.
I doubt many do, but rolling alone at 20mph isn't that hard, but if you have a dog run out of the bush at the side of the path?
If the path is deemed to be a public park, where kids play and dogs get walked then that is what is needed, there really isn't an alternative.
If "motorists" didn't drive around with a attitude / bear with a sore head then perhaps this wouldn't be such a issue...
Who the hell are you, the bike police? Its you that needs to have a word. Dogs off the leads shitting all over, nice.
Sounds like an accident to me. Most of you youngsters won't remember accidents. They were things that happened that were nobody's fault.
First up, strava has no place on shared use paths, flag the segments and be done with it.
Whatever happened to common sense ? If you see a young child, why on earth would you not presume the child is relatively inexperienced and therefore likely to manoeuvre in an unpredictable fashion ? They are invariably learning how to ride for christ's sake.
Just as an aside, I often ride off road with my autistic son who "looks" normal but might struggle with close quarter encounters and the social norms of the shouty impatient strava segment hunter. Are the child blamers trying to tell me I shouldn't be on the path in the first place ?
tbh I mainly stopped using shared paths because of irresponsible dog walkers and zombie peds. They don't move over and force cyclists off the paths and allow their dogs to run wild without consideration for any other path users, don't get me started on them throwing their poop bags in hedges, thats just the zombie peds.
Its quite obvious the father in the story was passing the blame for not looking after his child correctly.
Its like them screaming kids in restaurants running wild whilst the parents enjoy a meal together at everyone else expense.
Well, possibly you could if you were _9 years old_! If we accept child cyclists on such paths then we have ride while allowing for their less than 100% perfect riding technique - young children always deserve to be "cut some slack" in relation to almost everything, in my view.
But true, the basic problem here may be "cycle routes shared with pedestrians".
It is not in any way 'perfectly reasonable'! Dogs are unpredictable and it is downright irresponsible to have a dog off the lead on a narrow path with cyclists. Why should I have to slow to walking pace and put all of my attention on some mutt that is darting in & out of the bushes just to get past safely? Isn't it safer (for cyclists and the dogs) for them to be on a lead?
If you want your dog to have a run around, go to a bloody park.
You could, arguably, remove the word "reckless" from the sentence in the title, as with all shared-use paths.
Its the dogs _on leads_ that worry me more. Almost invisible elasticated trip-wires stretched across bike paths don't strike me as an asset.
I commute on the Bristol Bath cycle path and these 'mud slinging' stories are just unhelpful. It was just an accident and it's a pretty rare occurence on the path so no action should be taken. It's a great facility; 18 miles from Bath to N Bristol and I only do 1 mile on a road. The alternative road options just aren't safe enough at that time of day and would probably take longer. Most people are doing a reasonable pace, but you need to in order to make it viable. If you come across pedestrians on your side, ring your bell and if there's an oncoming cyclist, just slow down and wait till he goes past. Children are a bit unpredicatable so keep an eye on them as you overtake. Everyone knows it gets busier at weekends with families etc so if you aren't prepared to accept going slower, get out on the roads. The Bristol Bath cycle path is a piece of transport infrastructure; not just a 'weekend play thing'.
In fact, come to think of it, the word "speed" could probably go as well!
"Its quite obvious the father in the story was passing the blame for not looking after his child correctly"
I can only presume from a statement like that you are not a parent.
So tell me Leodis, how do I look after my autistic child correctly on a traffic free cycle path ?
I don't agree those should be the only options. Particularly given:
Why is it that the cyclist has to accept the danger posed to them by sharing with cars, yet the pedestrian doesn't have to accept the danger posed to them by sharing with bikes? In both cases the cyclist is apparently there on sufferance.
Why do we not hear that the road (with cyclists) isn't the place for reckless speed from motorists?
Actually they were often 'things that happened that were the fault of someone with power'. Still are, in many cases.
If there are commuting cyclists on the path it is NOT TRAFFIC FREE!!!!!
Cycles are traffic.
So would you care to offer your guidance mrmo ?
Apples and pears. Bicycles and motorised transport are in one camp, pedestrians in the other.
Pedestrians are moving naturally at speeds that make it easy to avoid accidents with other pedestrians. Walking is the default mode of transport for human beings. It barely has any impact on the environment and has no need for legislation.
On the other hand, if we choose to transport ourselves around on any kind of unnatural contraption, motorised or otherwise, it is for us to accommodate the needs and rights of the natural movers, not the other way around.
Cyclists and drivers choose to share the same environment so we owe it to each other to obey the rules, behave courteously, indicate what we are planning to do before we do it etc. I do not believe for one moment that cyclists are a special type of road user that requires extra attention and nannying from drivers. We should be treated with the same care and attention that all road users deserve and of course, reciprocate.
You should slow to a walking pace out of respect for the pedestrian not the dog. Someone above mentioned rolling along at 20 mph as reasonable on a shared path. In the presence of pedestrians, with or without dogs?
That is just insane! Mobility scooters have a top speed of 8 mph, that is more like the speed you should be doing anywhere near pedestrians.
As for dogs, a well trained dog will not be running around like a lunatic on a shared path but dogs need exercise and joining their owners for a well behaved long walk away from traffic with some freedom to explore the sights and smells is perfectly appropriate. If you are cycling at under 1o mph because you have spotted pedestrians, a well behaved dog ought to give you no trouble.
It is a shared path not a cycle superhighway or Strava stage. Pedestrians are top dogs (pardon the pun) and we should be accommodating their needs, not the other way around.
Leodis, you are a weapons grade muppet and not worth the time of day required to reply to your ill mannered rants.
O god the stereotypical cyclist. You really think you are the bike police don't you, so far up yourself. By the sounds of it you have never cycled through rush hour traffic in a major city, no doubt the only time you go on the roads is when you join the CTC local ride!!
I used to ride this path a lot and it's quite narrow so you have to get used to passing closer to people/bikes coming the other way (as well as the loose dogs and walkers taking up the whole width but that's for another day) than you ordinarily would. You can cut the child some slack and accept that it was the child's fault and accidents happen, the fact that the other guy was on the receiving end of this child's wobble is not his/her fault and nothing to do with the speed. Has the child not veered into the path of the cyclist coming the other way, this wouldn't have happened, had the cyclist been going more slowly, it's still perfectly possible that this accident would have happened.
So why have pedestrians and cyclists sharing the same space?
You have misunderstood me, I am saying that on most cyclepaths it is perfectly possible to do 20mph without much effort, which is very different to you should do it.
I think you will find the law is quite clear on under control and leads, if It is not on a lead it is not under control. Law is also clear on dogs and public spaces,
https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public
your idea of a dog being friendly could seen by some as a dog attack. I don't like dogs, I do not like dogs jumping up at me, I accept it MIGHT be being friendly, but it might be trying to attack me. To be honest I don't really want to find out either way.
You might say a dog should be left to run off the lead, I think you'll find the law is a little less forgiving.
On your other point about under 10mph, so shared use cycle paths are parks in your opinion and are not routes for commuters?
If you believe he can not be trusted in traffic then go to the park, go somewhere like the forest of dean and use the family trail, or the trails at Sherwood pines.
Or use a tandem, etc. so you can control him safely.
Insane it may be, but here's the official government advice which Sustrans like to conveniently forget: "A design speed of 20 mph is preferred for offroad routes intended predominantly for utility cycling. [...] Routes with design speeds significantly below 20 mph are unlikely to be attractive to regular commuter cyclists, and it may be necessary to ensure there is an alternative oncarriageway route for this user category." (section 8.2, Cycle Infrastructure Design)
In the case of BBRP, it's a utility route connecting the two cities and is now pretty busy because there is no decent alternative up either the A4 or A431 to relieve the pressure. So if you want to let children meander around, use the riverside dirt tracks instead and press Sustrans and your councils to convert some car space on the roads into space for cycling.
But no, it's easier to blame an anonymous cyclist who doesn't get to put his side of the story, rather than fix this problem created by council failure to provide good routes.
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