Met Police chief says he wouldn't cycle on London's roads but public transport costs mean some Londoners have no choice

Finally got round to read the comments, The story was great. The comments just show me that many people on this site are out of touch with real life....

Clearly Sir Bernard is not spending enough time on the beat - I'd suggest he takes a look down in the Square Mile, where on some streets during the peak commuting times over 50% of the moving vehicles are bicycles, and if he were to use the detective skills of his Police training (presuming of course he isn't one of those fast-tracked graduate officers), he would find that quite a few of the riders are earning several multiples of his annual salary, and riding bikes which cost a bit more than a basic Police patrol car.

They certainly are not cycling because they are short of a penny or two, although in doing so many are saving up to £8,000 per year in commuting costs. If anything it is the imperative to escape from time poverty which is driving so many to take to the bike. this is clear from the fact that over ALL London commuter railheads, the number of cycle trips generated has risen 400% between 2001 and 2011 (TfL figures) and my own observations that at certain stations the number of bikes parked, and parking provision has risen by 1000% to 2000% as a conservative estimate. I've done the monitoring - and have pictures to prove it.

I'm going to ask you all to call for Sir Bernard to get the Met Police to follow the example of Police Scotland (with their Scottish Traffic Commissioner) and agree a Memorandum of Understanding with Nick Denton the Traffic Commissioner for the Metropolitan & Southeastern Area, who is the regulator with powers to revoke LGV and PCV drivers' licences and likewise curtail the licences of operators, where driving and vehicle operating standards fall below an acceptable standard. Nick Denton relies on being informed about drivers whose driving record shouts out that they are unfit to hold a licence to drive vehicles with such potential to kill and maim. In the absence such of a formal process, and the ability to deliver revocation of their licences, we have seen drivers such as Denis Putz, still allowed behind the wheel with a history of 20 driving bans, and 6 significant motoring offences. So Sir Bernard I'm calling on you to make that connection, and whenever an C, D, E licence holder gets pulled over, for speeding, mobile phone etc the TC gets it logged in directly from your force.

I've a second ask for you as well as getting that handle on bad drivers. Your crash investigators obviously work to the highest standards, but we hardly get to see the results of their efforts, unlike the investigations that take place when crashes occur with trains, planes and boats. Here the Rail, Air and Marine Accident Investigation Boards aim to deliver an impartial review of the facts, and establish the causal factors, with the aim of identifying the actions necessary to prevent a repeat of the same type of event, and recommending the action that need to be taken. Yes it is a different emphasis to a Police investigation, which aims to inform a a decision to prosecute or not.

Perhaps the collected information can be shared with a report that does identify the ways to remove or limit the actions, and change any design features that delivered the tragic event. The numbers are thankfully small, so there may even be the option to use the resources of the RAIB to do a pilot series, and through this deliver some clear and possibly challenging reviews on the efficacy of some of the cycling measures being delivered.

You see crazy driving and crazy riding they're both as bad as each other.

As for helmets I wear one but I don't think it would do me much good if I was under a tipper truck.

Defensive riding works for me , and claim your space on the road . But l always work on the principle that motorists have not seen me and are likely to do something unpredictable or stupid ... without warning. so far I've not been Knocked off .

He has a point.

The extortionate cost of the tube in particular was one major reason why I started cycling.

Cycling is not only much cheaper but also much faster and more reliable than the tube - and even walking is faster than the bus!

But the cost issue isn't about individual circumstances, it just reflects the fact that there simply isn't room for everyone to travel on the tube (yet alone to drive), hence its simply essential that a good proportion of commuters in particular use bikes (or walk). We simply chose to ration the limited resource of transport by means of price, but its always going to be a finite resource, however rich or poor individuals are.

I don't know why this obvious point seems to be so difficult for many to comprehend. If London is to function at all, it needs to make cycling safer and more pleasant because there's not enough room for everyone to drive or even cram onto the tube.

Whenever one of our leaders, political or administration makes a statement it seem to reveal them as a bit of a cock.

From TfLs own statistics, in 2012 there were 14 cyclist fatalities and 657 serious cyclist casualties.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/casualties-in-greater-l...

Also in 2012 there were 69 pedestrian fatalities and 1054 serious pedestrian casualties.

So presumably Mr Hogan-How doesn't like walking in London either.

Motor-cyclists don't do too well either, 27 fatalities and 602 serious casualties.

So presumably Mr Hogan-How doesn't like riding motor-bikes.

Car drivers had 19 fatalities and 429 serious casualties.

So Mr Hogan-How also doesn't like driving cars in London?

Tipper trucks recorded no fatalities and only 10 serious casualties.

So based on this I assume Mr Hogan-How doesn't mind venturing out in a small armoured personnel carrier.

In case he didn't realise it, but his job is to enforce the law and not give out idiotic advice based on no experience or evidence.

His attitude that cycling is only done by the poor because they can't afford any other means of transport is a complete joke. He should look in the bike sheds in Canary Wharf.

London...built by capitalists for capilatists, the peasants are only servants. Commissioner says it all...he wouldn't cycle.
Defensive (not aggressive) cycling would sort it out

He evidently hasn't been acquainted with TfL's own research that suggests cyclists in London tend to be more affluent than average, so for them choosing to cycle isn't simply about cash.

Although it helps - I estimate that commuting to work in London by bike saved me on average £100 per month in public transport (not to mention gym fees), meaning that I had plenty of dosh spare for several holidays a year.

It's weird watching Brits from here across the pond. The answer from the top cop to a very a real and obvious safety problem in London is that people should just stop riding their bikes? The response to someone getting smacked by a bus and getting angry is to haul the victim into court and punish him? What is it with you English?

If he's that much of a wuss, then he's really not suited to being the head of the Met.

Do these people who cycle in London wear helmets if not why not! im sure it would save some lifes, I think it should be made the law especially in London where the traffic is bad.

Right, so apparently the only reason most people ride is because they're povo?

Reminds me of a line from Posh Nosh - "If you haven't got an Aga.... "

I see the CEO of TomTom riding his bicycle in Amsterdam to work every now and then, together with his wife. I also have seen them joggin along the amstel river. social minded people in.

As for Hogan-Howe he spoke the truth, it is dangerous and it does cost a lot of money to drive in London or get public transport.

Since when is speaking the truth a problem ? he has highlighted a problem thats been brought up numerous times on the forum "cycling in London is dangerous" and is basically on the side of the cyclist.

Oh yes i forgot, he's a cop and they are never right no matter what they do.

I have a colleague who cycles 20 miles a day to work and back and has just come back from a 4 week course in London.

He was astounded at how busy the roads were with traffic but what equally shocked him was the standard of cycling in the city. He could not believe how bad some cyclists were but he accompanied this by saying it was nearly all courier type cyclists who were the problem.

No doubt there will be some who disagree because they cant see past their own tinted views.

Poor dear. Benefits of my regular commute:

* better physical and psychological health
* increased concentration levels at work
* less illness
* it's quicker

Bernie mate, it's not the money, it's the awesome. Borrow someone's bike for a few days to pootle around, even if it's just to cycle to church or the shop for a pint of milk and a paper. Before you know it you'll be looking at hills with a big smile and rummaging through Aldi for bargain kit.

@Ush

Its not just in the Netherlands. The CEO of Denmark's biggest company (Novo Nordisk) cycles everyday in Copenhagen.

http://www.babusinesslife.com/People/Interviews/Business-life-meets-Lars...

Ah, yet another opinion from a non-cyclist in a position of authority, shortly followed by some uncomfortable condemnation, and bookended by a "clarification". These things happen, and I'm sure Sir Bernard is a decent chap who was put "on the spot" during an interview.

But what I'm slightly miffed about was when the Met Commissioner stated that, "If you get it wrong, or the driver gets it wrong, the person that's going to pay is the cyclist". Hardly an endorsement of the benefits of cycling in a city that's being crippled by the sheer weight of vehiclular traffic.

What he should have added, given the opportunity afforded him by the BBC today, is that the driver could also be paying dearly, ether financially, through a loss of licence, or even liberty, and that his force will be doing everything they can to catch the very people that are making London such a dangerous place to cycle.

Clearly, a policeman's lot, especially on the radio, is not a happy one.

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The odd day when I have to travel by public transport is miserable, stuck standing on a bus in traffic inhaling everyone else's breath, or squashed on the tube in a tunnel everytime I do it I consider what a difference cycling to work could make to the lives of the people travelling in misery and paying for the priviledge! "It seems to me there is a lot of traffic" - yes well done Bernie that's the chief problem, hence trying to get more people on bikes, hence all the fuss when they keep getting killed, keep up. The various comments from people in power this week have been astonishing.

In Holland it is not unusual for the chief execs of e.g. Shell to just ride: normally, for transport. Because driving a big fucking hydro-carbon burning vehicle doesn't make any sense unless you're hauling heavy loads.

Quote:

If you’ve got someone who can’t afford to take a car into the congestion zone - if they did, you can’t park it anyway. Some people, they’ve got limited money and they can’t pay for public transport. I understand why they take the choice. It wouldn’t be mine.

No Mr Hogan-Howe, when I was working in London I rode cos

1) It was farking great
2) I got to work buzzing and wide awake
3) 8 miles took me 25 mins by bike, 45-50 mins by train/tube and over an hour to drive.

How do these people rise so far up the greasy pole?

This guy is also implicated in the Hillsborough cover up as well.....
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/nov/18/hillsborough-bernard-hog...