Truth the first casualty in BBC's War on Britain's Roads?
Balance and objectivity also reported missing in action as BBC airs controversial documentary
London cyclist approaching junction.jpg
BBC One yesterday evening aired its controversial documentary The War on Britain’s Roads. By inaccurately presenting cyclists and motorists as polar opposites in a bid to sensationalise the issue, the broadcaster missed an opportunity to make a constructive contribution to the road safety debate that is being pursued elsewhere – most notably, in the press, led by The Times, and Parliament, due to the efforts of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group with support from cycle campaigners.
Much of the footage will already be familiar to road.cc users, having been widely viewed on sites such as YouTube for several years in some cases. For the vast majority watching, however, it would have been the first time they’d seen it.
Less than a month ago, AA President Edmund King had called for an end to the ‘two tribes’ mentality that polarises the cycle safety debate between cyclists and motorists. If anyone from the programme’s makers, Leopard Films, read his comments, it didn’t show.
There was no acknowledgement that most adult cyclists also drive cars. No hint that millions of motorists also ride bikes. Cyclists and motorists, it appeared, were enemies, as the programme’s title suggests, though even that was misleading – if there was a combat zone anywhere, it was largely on London’s streets.
We already knew, through feedback from those who’d been given the opportunity of previewing the whole show, that it was likely to be a piece of sensationalist programming that deliberately focused on polarised extremes rather than trying to present a balanced picture of the everyday reality of cycling.
In the past days, the BBC was urged to review some of the programme’s content, in particular a segment of six-year-old footage, which as road.cc recently revealed was shot by professional American documentary maker Lucas Brunelle, of alleycat racing through London’s streets. The footage was released commercially as a DVD through his website after originally being posted to YouTube.
In the final version of last night’s documentary, the programme makers mentioned in passing that it reflected “extreme behaviour” – certainly well short of the kind of clarification that had been sought and that use of the footage warranted.
Among those who pressed the BBC to review the content of the documentary, efforts intensifying yeterday as transmission time approached, was Carlton Reid, executive editor of BikeBiz, who in an article on that site catalogues those approaches made to the broadcaster to have the show’s content toned down. Handily, he sets out how you can complain, and provides some of the BBC guidelines the programme is said to have ignored.
We don’t know whether the London cyclist shown weaving in and out of a queue of near-stationary traffic at speed, before aiming for a non-existent gap between a double decker bus and a pick-up truck – it seems a miracle he wasn’t killed – was playing out exactly that kind of alleycat scene in his head. The BBC’s editorial guidelines, citing Ofcom rules, are clear though that reckless behaviour some might be tempted to imitate is out of bounds.
The single most powerful moment in the programme was also the one that gave its makers the opportunity to explore, briefly and inadequately, the road safety angle without resorting to sensationalising it.
Stop-frame CCTV footage showed the moment when cyclist Alex Barlow was killed by a cement mixer on London Wall in 2002. It was chilling viewing. The programme focused on the efforts of her mother, Cynthia, who had given permission for that footage to be used, to improve lorry safety, beginning with the company that owned the truck that had killed her daughter. Those segments gave a glimpse of what the programme could have been.
A surprising moment came at the end, when a taxi driver of five decades’ standing, who during the programme had pointed out various pieces of misbehaviour by cyclists such as jumping red light, revealed that he had actually come to realise just how vulnerable cyclists are on the city’s streets after his own grandson lost his life.
That vulnerability was clearly shown in the helmetcam footage provided by the likes of Cyclegaz, Magnatom and Traffic Droid, who have each developed a strong following among cyclists on YouTube, with near miss after near miss shown.
But constant references to cyclists ‘taking matters into their own hands’ made it sound as though it was the bike riders themselves who were doing something wrong.
Also lost was the reason why the likes of Cyclegaz perhaps come across as a bit shouty – any rider who has had a large vehicle pass that close to them, where a couple of inches nearer could result in serious injury or worse, will have experienced that rush of adrenalin mixed with shock and fear.
Pedestrians - whose casualty numbers far exceed those of cyclists, with more than four times as many killed last year in rioad traffic incidents, itself a 12 per cent increase on 2010 - were hardly acknowledged, other than one woman shown being hit from behind by a bicycle on a shared use path when without looking, she suddenly moved sideways and into the path of the cyclist who had changed direction to go round her.
By pure coincidence, the programme that preceded War on Britain’s Roads, an episode of the documentary series Supersized Earth contained a segment about a London bike courier called James. No footage of him weaving in and out of traffic, no angry encounters with motorists.
In fact, the only thing anyone could begrudge him was the fact that due to the 50 or 60 miles he reckons he puts in on a typical day, he can eat like a horse without putting any weight on. Cyclists, eh?
To my surprise it was in fact a documentary which - it seemed to me and others watching with me - to be pretty fair to cyclists. Good and bad on both sides, but quite clearly not about sensaisionalist nonsense.
The world seemed flatter years ago?
I'd say Brittleware's got it about right on this one. 'War...' simply contained lots of examples of bad behaviour from cyclists & motorists alike. All human, all a bit depressing, but nothing to get too steamed up about, especially if you're not in London where, as we already know, things would be better if everyone just slowed down a bit, chilled out, smiled and showed each other more respect!
Agreed with brittleware, I found it fairly balanced and thought provoking. It tried to just give a perspective from the point of view of those directly involved - road users and relatives. Because of which, I can understand why they didn't bring in Prof Ian Walker, or the CTC - that would have forced it to become a different programme.
Overall, a reasonable, good programme.
Edit: The things complained about, the alley cat racing and hip, alley-cat racer wannabes - that was real footage. While those are perhaps extreme examples, there are people who ride like knobs, especially bad when they do so around pedestrians (treating peds in the kind of way we hate when cars do similar to us). It's not unfair to show this.
Utter rubbish. Trash TV. How can they call this a documentary on a public service broadcaster?
Apart from the HGV bit, there was nothing on the solutions, or even decent analysis of the problems. Just a load of road rage porn.
Much of the footage was old and unlabelled, a lot was London and no, the pro footage wasn't labelled. I can't believe the BBC did that. Very worrying. What else shouldn't we trust on there?
I have to agree with Peacenik, nothing to get worked up about. I'm afraid some people will draw more partisan conclusions though.
I would however respectfully disagree with Paul that it was a good programme, I felt it was lazy televsion and an opportunity missed considering it was an hour long.
In terms of balance I felt the portrayal of the health risks vs. benefits associated with cycling was misrepresented. This may have been an unintentional by-product, but is unhelpful nevertheless.
To play devil's advocate the taxi driver featured on the show claimed he was on his way home and in a "calm and relaxed frame of mind", when he got out of his cab using threatening behaviour, shouting, finger waging trying to intimidate with his size etc etc.
I would hate to think how many people he's killed whilst slightly vexed!
The programme wasn't about the health benefits. Would it be nice to see a programme examine the relative trade-offs in risks, from those of cycling versus those of sitting in a car, fatty placques slowly building up and clogging your arteries? Yes, undoubtedly. However, that wasn't this programme.
This programme was about hostility on the roads, in particular hostility shown towards cyclists, and a few of the major risks to cyclists. A large part of the programme was taken up with showing clips of quite appalling driving, and with explanations from cyclists as to why this is frightening, why we take the lane, etc. That hostility is real, it definitely exists. Every cyclist in Britain will experience close passes, even punishment passes - if they cycle for more than a week. This programme was showing that, and explaining it, on *prime-time* british television!
The risks are of course a lot more minimal. Overall cycling is fairly safe, despite the dumb drivers. Once you take health benefits into consideration, cycling is most definitely a positive thing. The programme didn't go into that, it wasn't what it was pitching for, and perhaps it would have been a worse programme had it tried. However, both Magnatom and CyclingGaz did still touch on the positive aspects of cycling.
The programme did cover the major risk to cyclists - no, not going bare-headed - extensively: HGVs and passing on the inside. This is particularly a major risk to uneducated or more casual cyclists, ones who perhaps don't read cycling websites, who simply don't know any better when it comes to avoiding the blind-side (left side for UK/Irish lorries, but the *right* side for foreign lorries!). Further, much more remains to be done on outfitting lorries with guards to reduce risk of cyclists going under wheels, on better HGV driver training, on increased penalties for HGV operating companies who place time pressures on drivers that lead them to take risks, etc.
Cycling education, on prime-slot British television. Raising the profile of the *biggest* cycling safety issues, on prime-slot British television! Wow, progress! If you're going to decry this as an outrage to cycling, I can't agree.
Complete waste of a one hour prime time slot on BBC1. All heat, no light.
It was sensationalist, and something I would definitely qualify as trash TV.
But if people in cars, lorries, buses and on bikes are just a little more careful this morning, then maybe it wasn't a complete waste of time.
For me it was an unexpected surprise. Whilst there was of course a sensationalist aspect, there were also some thought provoking moments (from a cyclists and drivers perspective). Overall I felt it was a lot more balanced than the pre-program hype had made out. If it makes one rider or one motorist think enough to avoid a potentially deadly situation then great.
I had to especially admire, the bravery and determination of the mother of the young lady killed by a cement lorry. Her work with the company involved to improve their lorry design and driver training has already saved lives by the sounds of it and it doesn't seem as though she'll stop there. Deepest sympathy to her an her family, but a huge thanks from me as a cycling road user for never giving up on her quest.
Not sure if road.cc have written anything in the past along the lines of a road cyclists "survival guide", but I think it would perhaps make useful reading for all of us. Top tips for riders to improve their own safety on the road. A lot of it may be obvious, but again it only takes one person to read it and learn enough to keep them self safe.
Complete waste of a one hour prime time slot on BBC1. All heat, no light.
Exactly. Prime time reality tv. Thats all it was.
If it was such a fair and balanced programme investigating the conflict between cyclists and drivers, then where were the women? No female cyclists (except a dead one) and not a single female driver detailing conflicts she has had.
Absolute trash that set out only to provoke reaction with no investigation into causes (bad infrastructure, lack of (continuous) road craft training throughout all road users), or into any solutions.
Cheap, nasty, low production values television. I wouldnt expect anything more from the same company that produces "Cash In The Attic". At least "Rude Tube" knows its a pile of shit tv show that uses YouTube clips.
And the way it make a kicking boy out of CycleGaz was terrible, without even the slightest mention of his Silly Cyclists website http://www.sillycyclists.co.uk/
what do you expect from the bbc? very typical, unfortunately.
what do you expect from the bbc? very typical, unfortunately.
So do you really think that any of the other 4 major channels would have made (or have even attempted) a better job?
The use of the brunelle alley cat footage gave a false impression of cyclists behaviour in London.
The inclusion of anything like this would have made the programme better from a road-user 'education' perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzL0Kyk4m-8
I was shocked to tears by the fatal collision footage, but the opportunity for incisive 'lessons' identification was largely lost. Unfortunate.
I was expecting worse to be honest, the mothers tribute and efforts in honour of her lost daughter were humbling. What I think the programme missed and would have concluded things well is that whoever people percieve as right or wrong, whatever social sterotypes are made, there is only 1 person in that equation who is in a life threatening position. I think this is a thought that the programme makers could have ended with, whether you're in a car or on a bike it's important to remember
I missed the start of it but saw the second half. It could have been worse, but could quite easily have been a whole lot better had it been made by a better team.
There were some good moments and the mother of the girl killed by the mixer truck made very poignant comments. This was probably the high point, or it was of what I saw. The taxi driver who re-evaluated his opinions after his nephew was killed also made good points, as did the cement mixer driver talking about cyclists cutting up the inside of HGVs at junctions.
But there was a lot of misrepresentation. Much of what I saw was cheaply produced, sensationalist rubbish.
Had the program been better produced and more honest about the facts, it would have had significantly more impact.
OldRidgeback
This was a poor documentary. Aside from the programme-maker's evident po-faced schadenfreude in presenting these as invariably adversarial encounters, it was overly London-centric, and extrapolated the views of two riders, three motorists (2x taxi, 1x lorry) and a bereaved mother into 'the views of all road-users'. It would be amusing if it wasn't so lazily misleading. For me, the only credible element was Cynthia's moving story.
As a cyclist and a motorist, here's an anecdote: I live in a part of the country with lots of twisting narrow lanes. Approaching right-hand curves, I can usually see much further ahead from my position riding close to the verge than any following motorists can from their driving position in the offside of vehicles close to the centre of the road. If the road is safely clear ahead, I always give the following vehicles an obvious and lengthy thumbs-up. Almost without exception this is acted upon, and almost without exception I get a friendly wave, pip on the horn or flashed indicators as the released motorist zooms off. This doesn't make me a hero, but it does illustrate two facts which it didn't suit the programme-makers to acknowledge: that basic courtesy is usually appreciated and reciprocated, and that different road users aren't automatically antagonistic towards one another.
Turned it off after the first half hour, around the part where the guy in Glasgow nearly got hit by a tanker.
As above - lots of examples of bad behaviour from drivers and cyclists. I found myself giving a running commentary to my other half (who is paranoid about me cycling at the best of times) - "What's he doing up the inside there?" "Why is he stopping to argue, why not just sod off?" "That car's going to pull out, see, told you." "I've seen this bit before, he's going over the bonnet." (At the mini-roundabout). It wasn't helped by the cyclist at the start being so instantly dislikable.
Why can't we all just get along?
Scott Sportster '08 | Cannondale CAAD8 '12
Anyone who cites the alley cat footage as meaningless because it is extreme behaviour has their head in the sand. People ride like that all the time. It is part of their "bike culture". It is promoted and celebrated.
Noone is complaining about the other aspects of extreme footage shown last night, like drivers getting out of their cars and assaulting cyclists.
Anyone who cites the alley cat footage as meaningless because it is extreme behaviour has their head in the sand. People ride like that all the time. It is part of their "bike culture". It is promoted and celebrated.Noone is complaining about the other aspects of extreme footage shown last night, like drivers getting out of their cars and assaulting cyclists.
The alleycat racing has provoked such a reaction because it is exceptional and not the average cyclist behaviour. It showed a complete imbalance and a huge sensationalist slant because if the show was about 'balance' then it would have shown cars on organised races tearing about, or even this: http://youtu.be/MhFlw7r63R8
To argue anything else is plain ignorant.
Anyone who cites the alley cat footage as meaningless because it is extreme behaviour has their head in the sand. People ride like that all the time. It is part of their "bike culture".
a tiny, insignificant minority ride like that sometimes, you mean. it was specifically a race.
by the same token, there's a tiny, insignificant minority of motorists who like to race illegally. it's just not representative.
One positive was the story of the brave lady who after losing her daughter to a left turning cement mixer became a Cemex shareholder and achieved positive changes to improve road safety for us.
It's a lesson in activism - all of us involved in logistics and procurement should, as part of contract requirements, demand minimum standards and improvements in lorry design, proximity warning sensors, cameras and driver training to help reduce the exceptional risks posed by lorries.
Sudor
Sigh. Where was the footage of the cyclists attacking drivers then? It happens. I've witnessed it.
Like airborneyellow I've started in the past few months on country lanes to wave cars on and also give those that wait until it's safe to over take a wave of thanks. It works well. I often get a little wave and a beep back to show that my appreciation of their good sense has been appreciated back. It seems to reinforce in their minds too that I know they're there, I'm trying to help them on their way and I like to think they carry the mutual respect generated on to the next cyclist.
On the local club run we have a 2 lane road at traffic lights that has a right turn lane that turns into a a narrower road. Filtering to the front, as you turn in, quite often in the past I've been deliberately cut up by the first driver - incensed that I've come to the front of the queue got in front of him and added 5 seconds to his journey.
However, turning wide to allow as many cars through in front as you turn right and waving them on works wonders.
Weak? Maybe. But if I want to push in and demand to be recognised as in a hurry and entitled to go first at every set of lights am I not behaving as childishly as some motorists?
It adds 5 seconds to my journey but a line of drivers go home thinking that not all cyclists are self righteous wankers and next time they see a cyclist they expect to share the road again.
It is a war out there but sometimes you don't have to butt heads to get the right results.
MercuryOne
Sigh. Where was the footage of the cyclists attacking drivers then? It happens. I've witnessed it.
You really are a dullard, arent you?
Where was the footage of pedestrians walking into the road whilst engrossed in browsing their mobiles or locked into calls?
Or pedestrians that run out into the road despite having looked and seen oncoming traffic?
For me, that is typical behaviour I experience every day on the journey in and way home.
I think that programme was well suited to you because you come across as a short attention spanned voyeurist who enjoys road rage pornography, seeing as you're upset by the lack of it.
Arguing on the internet is fun. I'm out. Off to listen to some Frankie Goes to Hollywood
I don't get why Brunelle is referred to as a "professional" documentary maker, or why any of the riders involved in the alleycats he films are "professional". Brunelle is a profession IT geek who pumps loads of that cash into making amateur documentarys, and the riders are mostly fakengers whos closest thing to a profession is having a trust fund.
I mostly thought it was a reasonable documentary and agree with a lot of others that the Mother of the killed cyclist, the taxi driver who's grandson had been killed and the Cemex driver all made decent points.
I did have a bit of trepidation going into a few roundabouts on my commute this morning though! That HGV on the glaswegian guy was terrifying!
Utter rubbish. Trash TV. How can they call this a documentary on a public service broadcaster?Apart from the HGV bit, there was nothing on the solutions, or even decent analysis of the problems. Just a load of road rage porn.
Surprise, surprise! 
I saw about 2 minutes of it after watching the Revolution track racing on ITV4. It looked exactly as I had expected after reading Carlton's dissection - tabloid-style sensationalism with little of substance - so turned it off and went to do something productive.
Good point made above about pedestrians, they are the forgotten (silent?) majority. We're all peds at least some of the time. If towns and cities were designed with their needs uppermost then they would be a lot more pleasant places in which to live, work and travel.
if your going to show the alleycat racing, why not show the motorcyclist lapping the paris peripherique, or some footage of cars street racing.
It all happens and is equally illegal, only real difference is who and how many get killed if it goes wrong.
It wasn't helped by the cyclist at the start being so instantly dislikable.
This. I hope my family weren't watching, they'll be thinking I ride like him...
Agree it was London based. I see bad behaviour all the time from cyclists and drivers alike in London. Doesn't make one side more right or wrong than the other.
No headcam footage of commutes on the cold dank wet mornings either 
Was it all filmed in summer...? 
No headcam footage of commutes on the cold dank wet mornings either
Was it all filmed in summer...?
It was down south, they wimp out at the slightest hint of rain.
The young man who is first interviewed with his opinion, rides through traffic at 30mph loves keeping up with cars, is openly aggressive to other drivers and their property (car).
Who is he? 
To me this person is the worst example of a cyclist who openly feels he has a god given right to rule the roads with no respect to other traffic or the environment he's surrounded by. I've watched the first 6 mins and had enough. Some of the helmet cam footage shows him, the rider going far to fast. I've been riding/racing/training within cycling clubs in the Northeast for 20-30 years and never experienced this attitude amongst fellow sport cyclists. I've started to commute to work again, part of the problem I see is 'Joe Blog's' cyclists who ride to work only, no cycling experience and no bike handling skills whats so ever. Car's kill so at the average of 16mph my ride to work is as safe as I can possible make it.
I was looking forward to this BBC program hoping it would be a good opportunity for the BBC to generate a positive approach to cyclist from car drivers, truck, taxis and bus drivers, after watching it I am not totally sure it has, I ride to work most days and it has make me think twice on any risky manoeuvres as I weave my way through South Manchester streets in the dark, I just hope that anybody who is a vehicle driver who watched the program would take a look at themselves and may be be a bit more patient and respect that cyclist have as much right on the road as they do.
I thought this was more Channel 5 than BBC. Sensationalist and polarised, as if the beeb's editorial policy wasn't already under the microscope!
I didn't think it was a bad as it was going to be after reading some of the previews.
It was tabloid TV and was about as sensationalist as the Police, Camera, Action / Traffic Cops programmes - unfortunately there are some numpties in society who will believe that all cyclists are like this.
The cyclist they chose needed to lose the attitude and chill. (Maybe someone who was ten years, older and had a partner / kids / mortgage to worry about would have been a bit more realistic and have a little less testosterone )
I thought the segment regarding Alex Barlow's mum was worthwhile and if it was more like this it would have been more intelligent and constructive.
There ought to have been more on about how to ride safely and avoid conflict / getting mashed by a vehicle - not undertaking is a far safer option than relying on vehicles having proximity sensors and decent mirrors.
It wasn't as bad as I feared, until the courier race.
Still not much investigation as to what could be done, too much sensationalist footage.
I did wonder if Gaz and David thought their interviews had been edited to give a missleading impression. I thought it was.
If they felt the had to show the Lucas Brunelle courier race (which is completelt unrepresentative of London cycling), why didn't they balance it by filming the late night illegal motorbike races past my flat?
Letting that cabbie say thay he never see Police catching Red Light Jumper without mentioning that Police in central London regually have stings set up (This morning on Blackfriars bridge for example).
Gizmo_ wrote:It wasn't helped by the cyclist at the start being so instantly dislikable.
This. I hope my family weren't watching, they'll be thinking I ride like him...
Gareth is actually a very likeable guy and yet they made no mention of his website http://sillycyclists.co.uk where he documents exactly that, just as much as he documents bad drivers.
I found it incredible that they showed the incident with the cabbie, who claimed to be calmly going home, leaving lots of space and only pulling into the left lane when he had passed, yet the video showed he did not do that at all.
Nice bit of editing of the interviews and Gareth looks as though he is provocative and confrontational.
Terrible piece of TV and its a shame that people have come to accept such low standards.
No headcam footage of commutes on the cold dank wet mornings either
Was it all filmed in summer...?
My cam doesn't like the wet, or low light levels, so it was always going to be skewed to summer.
Interesting points above about giving way when you don't have to and whether riding a bike at 25mph is safe. Personally, I think 25mph can be fine as long as you're not "driving furiously" (even if I very rarely achieve such speeds any more) and I think it's good to give way if you can, but you're doing everyone a disservice doing things like letting a car overtake during a right-turn: it's against the highway code (rules 167 "DO NOT overtake...when a road user is indicating right" and 168 "maintain a steady course", and also 163, 212 and 213) and they may start to expect it and hit another cyclist who quite correctly doesn't swing wide to let cars pass.
I do agree with the "Why is he stopping to argue, why not just sod off?" (I have a camera, but I will ride away ASAP and give the police the recording, rather than confront them myself) and that the editing seemed dodgy.
After watching the program I'm just really glad I live out in the sticks. I'm unlucky if I see 10 cars on my 20 mile commute. Ooh arr.
The real issues seem to me to be:
- Not representative of cycling in general
- Very London-centric (as someone above said)
- Not editorially of high value
- Cheap television - the seeming lack of investment in this prime-time programme in terms of research, production and independent analysis and comment - which has led to a skewed, slightly off-balance and sensationalist programme
- Major reliance on contributors who have uploaded footage to YouTube - the self-selected. Interviewing (again as someone said above) others, women, fathers and mothers who cycle and getting a rounded piece would have not have been so dramatic but more accurate
- Finally - seriously: who would pay their licence fee for such a piece of rubbish. The BBC needs to ignore the ratings battle and stop watching cheap compilation clip programmes to get some really good ideas about making worthwhile programmes
Road.cc, did you write this before watching the doc? It comes across as the most biased, head-in-the-sand, one-sided drivel I've read in a long time. It was nowhere near a bad or sensationalist as you and others wrote it was going to be.
It did represent the more extreme ends of the 'conflict' on both sides, but it was all real examples of bad driving, bad cycling, and people being idiots. They let the first taxi driver embarrass himself in (incorrectly) talking us through the incident with CycleGaz whilst we could see different on screen. Conversely, the alleycat racing made me a little embarrassed.
Quite balanced overall I would say, unlike your write-up. Credit us with a little more intelligence in future please.
For those who say this was London centric, I recognised quite a few of the clips, a not insignificant portion, as being of Glasgow (magnatom's footage).
Wasn't as bad as I thought, could have been a much better programme but hopefully it will make some of the more moronic cyclsist and drivers think twice in future. Gaz came across as a bot of a kn ob imho, lots of the situations he was in looked like they could have been avoided
Finally - seriously: who would pay their licence fee for such a piece of rubbish. The BBC needs to ignore the ratings battle and stop watching cheap compilation clip programmes to get some really good ideas about making worthwhile programmes
Yeah, but...
Masterchef Professionals
The Hour
Last Tango in Halifax
Road.cc, did you write this before watching the doc? It comes across as the most biased, head-in-the-sand, one-sided drivel I've read in a long time. It was nowhere near a bad or sensationalist as you and others wrote it was going to be.It did represent the more extreme ends of the 'conflict' on both sides, but it was all real examples of bad driving, bad cycling, and people being idiots. They let the first taxi driver embarrass himself in (incorrectly) talking us through the incident with CycleGaz whilst we could see different on screen. Conversely, the alleycat racing made me a little embarrassed.
Quite balanced overall I would say, unlike your write-up. Credit us with a little more intelligence in future please.
You're entitled to your opinion. But it seems like most people posting on this thread saw at least some of the programme and most seem to agree it was poorly made, slanted and sensationalist.
OldRidgeback
Hmmm, I think there are several comments that agree that it wasn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be.
I'm not saying it was great, but it did at least seem reasonably balanced, unlike the review above.
All those going on about how 'balanced' this was - well, 'balance' is the problem, or rather the BBC's permanent and frustrating quest for it. The result was a prog that was nothing but counterposed tit-for-tat anecdotes without any context.
Adequate context might have included:
- the Highway Code and the duty of care it imposes on drivers for more vulnerable road users,
- the TRL stats which show the vast majority of RTCs involving cars and bikes are the driver's fault, and
- the fact that 'taking the lane' (which the prog suggested was just vigilantism) is recommended best practice from TfL/DfT/IAM/AA/Bikeability.
Without this kind of context, all you get is a lot of angry people in a room shouting at each other, and someone just telling them all to 'be nice', like a nursery school teacher.
When you are a motorist, you have extra responsibility because you have extra power - power to harm and to kill. Without recognition of that basic point, and the basic imbalance of the situation that follows from it, all 'balance' is just bollox.
Just watched it on iplayer and thought it was alright although I don't ride in London so the only real altercations I see are on youtube or through road.cc stories. It's a shame that the headcams skew the images enough so cars obviously don't appear as close as they were. Alongside Gaz's comment of "if I can touch your car then you're too close" made him seem a bit of a wuss perhaps. I definitely sided with the cabbie in the first piece.
Sq
Yeah, but...
Masterchef Professionals
The Hour
Last Tango in Halifax
None of these are documentaries nor editorially-led programmes which was the point I was trying to make.
War On...was a cross-over genre and didn't succeed in fulfilling any role very well. It certainly wasn't the sort of rounded programming one would hope the BBC would produce.
On a brighter note, Channel 4, having seen what a hash the BBC made of it will no doubt have something in the offing (we hope).
Road.cc, did you write this before watching the doc? It comes across as the most biased, head-in-the-sand, one-sided drivel I've read in a long time. It was nowhere near a bad or sensationalist as you and others wrote it was going to be...[SNIP]
... Quite balanced overall I would say, unlike your write-up. Credit us with a little more intelligence in future please.
Believe me, trying to insult anyone's intelligence was the furthest thing from my mind when I was writing the piece - as no doubt it was from yours when you suggested I'd written the article without having watched it 
It's an opinion piece. Feel free to disagree - many in the comments do, and that's fine. We don't all see things the same way. Others saw it more the way we did. One of the things we try and do on the site is encourage grown-up debate with the people who use it, so we're glad you're joining in.
Some general points. One of the more common reactions from cyclists to the programme is that it wasn't as bad as they'd feared it would be. That's not the same as saying it was a good programme. Nor is saying that it was more balanced than expected.
"Biased, head in the sand, one-sided drivel" - really?
Pointing out that instead of depicting cyclists and motorists as different species, most are one and the same?
Saying the programme was a missed opportunity to discuss the road safety debate?
Underlining that most of the footage is already widely known to many cyclists but wouldn't be to most viewers and would provide a sensationalist, misleading picture of what it's really like to ride a bike (and which goes back to the 'two tribes' myth which the programme didn't seek to dispel?
Highlighting why, in the aftermath of a near collision, cyclists may seem to lose their tempers (if I were going to be one-sided, I could have mentioned the drivers getting out of their vehicles and displaying aggression when they'd been at fault... I didn't).
We also mentioned that the issue of pedestrians was hardly mentioned at all, yet far more are being killed than cyclists.
The first draft of the article did mention that besides bad driving, there were also instances of bad cycling, somehow that got lost ahead of publication, so apologies for that.
I did mention however the guy who almost got himself squashed between a bus and pick-up truck. Perhaps I should have made it clearer that it's one of the most idiotic pieces of riding I've seen.
Like I said, it's opinion, and it's healthy that we can express different views on it, without, in the vast majority of cases, resorting to insults.
@ Robertj4
I know CycleGaz from his youtube channel and I'm surprised how the BBC's show makes you view him, I say this because I know that he cycles in a very professional manner and takes cycling safety very seriously, there is nothing wrong with cycling at 30mph on main roads when those roads are suitable as some are.
Other than that the programme was mostly pointless tabloid journalism and very uneducational.. I don't think it even covered cycling down the inside of HGVs etc in a very informative way.
"other than one woman shown being hit from behind by a bicycle on a shared use path when without looking, she suddenly moved sideways and into the path of the cyclist who had changed direction to go round her."
Disappointed with this comment as I feel it's down to the cyclist to make others aware of your presence, in this case the cyclist didn't use a bell or politley shout out. You can't expect everyone to walk in straight lines, we're not robots.
I cycle both roads and various types of shared cycle paths and it really frustrates me when I see other cyclists just bomb it without regard to others...kind of how some car drivers can be around cyclists on roads.
All those going on about how 'balanced' this was - well, 'balance' is the problem, or rather the BBC's permanent and frustrating quest for it. The result was a prog that was nothing but counterposed tit-for-tat anecdotes without any context.Adequate context might have included:
- the Highway Code and the duty of care it imposes on drivers for more vulnerable road users,
- the TRL stats which show the vast majority of RTCs involving cars and bikes are the driver's fault, and
- the fact that 'taking the lane' (which the prog suggested was just vigilantism) is recommended best practice from TfL/DfT/IAM/AA/Bikeability.Without this kind of context, all you get is a lot of angry people in a room shouting at each other, and someone just telling them all to 'be nice', like a nursery school teacher.
When you are a motorist, you have extra responsibility because you have extra power - power to harm and to kill. Without recognition of that basic point, and the basic imbalance of the situation that follows from it, all 'balance' is just bollox.
Nicely put.
At least Michael Hutchinson managed to put some sensible points across on Radio 4's Today this morning. 4-minute calm discussion here.
Edit: also some intelligent comments from AA President Edmund King in the Evening Standard http://bit.ly/RE6KCK
Disappointed with this comment as I feel it's down to the cyclist to make others aware of your presence, in this case the cyclist didn't use a bell or politley shout out.
Sorry about that Jimmy, I mentioned that piece of footage to illustrate the lack of coverage of pedestrians, and just said the straight facts as they were on screen. Personally, on a shared use path, I'll call out and make sure I've been heard, giving plenty of room as I pass, or slow right down.
Indeed, Sustrans made this point on Twitter last night while the show was going on: "@sustrans want to remind all watching #bbcwaronroads that shared paths are SHARED. Pedestrians always have priority, please slow down/stop."
I've been on the receiving end myself, and it's not nice - a road in Central Oxford that to all intents and purposes outside market delivery hour is used almost exclusively by pedestrians and cyclists, rider shot up there like she was doing an Olympic TT and almost took me, the wife and the dog out, not to mention a few other people walking down a 100 yards or so stretch of road.
And if you are going to ride like that, it's probably not the brightest idea to be wearing something that has the name of your college and the sports team you play for in big letters on the back
Possibly not as bad as I initially thought, but some very scary moments, most of which appear to centre on a clear belief by some of the cyclists featured that they were either completley invincible or owned the roads.
Comments about being brave and taking a strong position in the road smacked of the sort of idiotic antics performed by 19 year olds in hot hatch-backs.
Although jumping out of a car and whacking a cyclist over the head could never be justified, the guys comment at the end who was subject to that attack almost showed some empathy for some motorists when confronted with that sort of cyclist.
Some of these clowns need to understand road-craft, the Highway Code and human nature.
I thought the Scottish guys close shave with the tanker was frightening.
The traffic droid guy, just didn't know when to leave it.
One things for sure, I'm bloody glad I only have to contend with sleepy Shropshire, and I wouldn't cycle in London for all the tea in China. From what I could see of it, I'm more likley to be hit on a junction by some joker that has run a red light on his Brick Lane Fixie.
There was some balance to the programme in that HGV and Taxi man had their say, and they did raise some valid points.
Could have been worst.
I just wanted to throw into this into the pot. I was parked on Dover docks in an Audi estate with a 4 berth caravan attached to the back. A Belgian lorry to the left of me, set off, indicated right, and proceeded to drag his trailer over the front of my car. He didn't stop until some seconds after me blasting on the horn. Car a write off. His excuse... "Sorry mate........!" (fill in the gaps)
What chance do cyclists have?
@ Robertj4I know CycleGaz from his youtube channel and I'm surprised how the BBC's show makes you view him, I say this because I know that he cycles in a very professional manner and takes cycling safety very seriously, there is nothing wrong with cycling at 30mph on main roads when those roads are suitable as some are.
Other than that the programme was mostly pointless tabloid journalism and very uneducational.. I don't think it even covered cycling down the inside of HGVs etc in a very informative way.
I managed to watch the full program through the day which I believe only high lights cycling in inner cities. My point regarding 30mph is fine on open country roads if you have the thighs to do it (!) but in cities amongst traffic, madness. 'Cycling Gaz' did mention he likes keeping up with cars, there should be no respect for this type of attitude nor would I want to ride with people like this. One thing is certain commuting by cycle in London is growing to large in a short period of time. My heart went out to the lady losing her daughter and to the taxi drivers putting up with bad cycling and aggression because that's what we saw. Don't forget it's the courier riders who've started this, riding badly for years (how about New York City) and getting away with it so all other commuters follow suit. Also a growing trend now for single speed bikers in inner cities and videos on websites to boot promoting more bad riding habits, I'm not talking about the proper organised single speed road racing events but the 'general cycling public' see it as a trendy fashion status riding around showing little respect towards other road users
"other than one woman shown being hit from behind by a bicycle on a shared use path when without looking, she suddenly moved sideways and into the path of the cyclist who had changed direction to go round her."Disappointed with this comment as I feel it's down to the cyclist to make others aware of your presence, in this case the cyclist didn't use a bell or politley shout out. You can't expect everyone to walk in straight lines, we're not robots.
I cycle both roads and various types of shared cycle paths and it really frustrates me when I see other cyclists just bomb it without regard to others...kind of how some car drivers can be around cyclists on roads.
Well said sir! This cyclist was in the wrong again riding to fast and should have shouted out, the same situation when you've horse riders ahead of you, make other pedestrians etc in front of you aware your behind.
Comments about being brave and taking a strong position in the road smacked of the sort of idiotic antics performed by 19 year olds in hot hatch-backs.
[...]
Some of these clowns need to understand road-craft, the Highway Code and human nature.
You are a clown AICM5P.
So-called "taking the lane" is recommended road-craft, isn't it? The programme was wrong to make it sound anti-social. Another way it stank.
Two journos in the same room couldn't agree what colour the ceiling is... a lot of noise about nothing, the program was a "good effort".
PaulR
a "good effort"? or a good effort?
I thought the documentary was well balanced overall. In my personal view however as a cyclist I do think that some cyclist that post videos on YouTube do so for the notoriety of it all. Not all of them but some.
If anything it was a good bit of PR by the cement company who at least are doing something about the issue of large vehicles having a blind spot. If more firms could follow then that would be great but I guess like anything its down to money to invest in the changes needed.
With regards to alleycat racing on the bikes going in and out traffic they just give cycling a bad name. I understand the BBC may have used it out of context. However what is the idea about riding like that about a city? Sure it looks fun but personally the whole fixed cycling with no brakes idea on the road is just asking for trouble...I myself leave it to the velodrome.
Quite an educational bit from the BBC, so thumbs up to all involved.
Just to mention it is mad out there on the bike , car or foot lol. You just have to deal with it and smile, keep the head and get on with it or maybe move to Copenhagen
I enjoyed the programme as it showed we, as cyclists, are not all angels and likewise for drivers.
Hopefully this will have started other tv companies thinking and we will have similar ilk style programmes.
We have to face facts though and that is drivers will always come first until someone "famous or important", and i'm talking about the likes of a politician or major celebrity, gets seriously hurt before things will begin to change.
Stumpy
Can everyone stop using the "W" word. It just perpetuates the us and them mind set, these are all "road users". This program was as series of bad practice by both cyclists, motorists and the occational pedestrian. Not a balanced view of the roads as a whole.
Although this is unlikely to get beyond this column perhaps it's time that everyone reviewed the highway code and then applied the rules (when was the last time you read them?). Working to a common policy means that all others know what to expect and not have to interpret manouvres as they occur often in a split second.
Being both a cyclist and motorist I'm fully aware of who feels and IS the most vulnerable.
Perhaps Aunty Beeb can now put together a documentary showing the delights and benefits of cycling?
Ride/Drive safely.
Its not al bad - the evening of the show I was out on a ride. Firstly I encountered an extremely agressive bus driver who decided that turnig left into a cyclist was a "clever" idea. He then gave me "the finger" ( albeit well concealed from his on board camera ) which unfortunately I replied to! Two miles later he "calmly" asked me why I had given him sign language. I swore at him but luckily quickly realised he had his camera on me. Very cunning - some people are so brave when surrounded by three tonnes of metal.
Five miles later a car was across the cycle path ( legally as he exited a side street ). Upon seeing me he reversed to give me right of way. I thanked him with a wave of my hand and he beeped his acknowledgement - a real gentleman.
POINT - it is balanced out there but be careful we as cyclists are VERY vunerable. Don't provoke anyone - it could end up with you in hospital.
Johnnycookie FLP>DNF>>DNS
I've posted two blogs about this:
* The first was written before the show was broadcast, based on the preview version I had seen:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/blog/roger-geffen/war-on-britain%E2%80%99s-roads-m...
* The second was written immediately after it had been broadcast, with some quite important amendments. It suggests how we can best respond, given that all but one of the most serious bones of contention were edited out of the final broadcast version, thus averting a number of potential complaints under BBC's editorial guidelines:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/blog/roger-geffen/bbc%E2%80%99s-war-on-britain%E2%....
As you'll see, we have instead urged people to write to the BBC calling for them now to put together a positive programme, about the joys of cycling and the very real progress now being made to start a revival of a cycling culture in the UK.
To road.cc readers: do please join in!
Roger Geffen
CTC, the national cycling charity
www.ctc.org.uk/campaigns
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