Police tell children to wear high-vis gear or get off their bikes and walk

done, thanks simon

Jon,

You should file an Incident Report at the station or online here.

It wasn't me, I couldn't afford an Apollo in the end, a Virus yes, Apollo, too rich for my blood!

It was reported to the nearest police officer who was with one of those pretend police officers (pcso) who said "you sure you didnt cut him up, I mean, its not likely he would react like that otherwise"

I explained what my job entailed and that I am an experienced cyclist...they said they would look into it. Strange that a "cyclist is being actively sought out in Bristol today because of a scuffle with a van driver"...he did leave his Apollo bike behind though

There are lots of aggressive and even some unhinged car drivers around. the cops need to crack down on the loonies, not kids on bikes. Why try and punish the victim? It makes no sense.

Regarding the driver in the Peugeot, this incident should be reported to the police.

Surly the difficult is with the drivers not paying attention and bad driving should be cracked down on hard especially around schools.

Lights I agree on, Reflective tops I think is down to personal preference. There should be education to why youd want to be seen and how vunerable you are but stopping cycling is going endager the kids who continue to cycle as people wont be looking as much.

Also by 8.45 isnt it getting light anyway? Its not as dark as it was a couple of weeks ago.

Its all very well cyclists knowing how vulnerable they are and having that drilled into them by the police but its hardly going to increase cycling numbers or safety.

The police need to rip into drivers who abuse, drive dangerously and generally show no consideration for anyone else. For example, today, riding to watch a cycle training course (children aged 7 and 8 being taught) I was riding along a busy road in Bristol. A black peugeot 307 OY57*** starts coming incredibly close, I mean within a foot of my rear wheel. No matter what speed I went at, he kept that distance pretty much constant. At lights he wound down his window and shouted (substitute words...) "Oi, you, cyclist c**t, im gonna f*****g kill you you c**t, get off my f*****g road...c**t" This continued all the way down gloucester road until he cut me up and sped off toward the m32. I wasnt about to try and lose him down the gloucester road in the light of what happened to a fellow cyclist earlier this week.

Be aware that I work for a road safety department and am a cycle instructor within that role...it isnt in my nature or best interest to ride badly, inconsiderately or to do anything other than maintain my own ground on the road.

My point is, it doesnt matter how bright you are, how well you ride, how safe you try to be or how much the police patronise you...nothing will improve until they start arresting and banning drivers for the way they act.

Outrageous, where do the police get the power to tell anyone to get off their bike and walk? Cycling is an inalienable right.
So as they don't have the time to enforce traffic law, all they can do is inconvenience potential victims.

And what will those young vicitms think of cycling in the future? Having been stopped by the police? They would rather be in a car surely.

To be honest, anything that makes cycling safer is a positive, even if not necessarily seen as best use of the Police's time.

What's slightly unclear is whether or not they're targeting kids with lights, but not reflective gear - I will assume they're leaving the ones with lights alone.

If that is the case, then there's value in what they're doing. Twice whilst driving in the past fortnight I've almost hit teenagers cycling along the road at night with no lights or reflectors. One was riding down a dark lane wearing a black hoody and grey jeans. He obviously didn't realise how hard he was to see, but if someone had hit him our local paper would have had a field day, not having a go at the driver, but in continuing their rant about this plague of irresponsible cyclists.

I do around 40 miles per week commuting by bike, on top of my proper riding, and I'm no fan of hi-viz tops or flourescent armbands. However, a proper set of lights and some key garments with strategically placed scotchlite, as well as some of the excellent Respro Black Diamond stickering (see links below) on the bike means you can take responsibility for your own safety without looking like a Belisha Beacon.

http://www.twitpic.com/yxci9 - Respro Black Diamond, no light
http://www.twitpic.com/yxcju - Respro Black Diamond, with light

If the police want to help young cyclists learn how vulnerable they are and how to do something about it, then that can only be a good thing for everyone that cycles.

"Sorry, I didn't see you. You weren't fluorescent enough!"

I had the feeling when during the recent bad weather I wore an orange windproof shell, that cars gave me less space when passing.

how about reflective clothing for the numpty residents
too ... pillocks. How much more draconian ruleings are
we going to get ... disengage rant mode ...

Why don't police tell cars to slow down, give more space and look out for cyclists?

Also, whilst they're at it - get off your mobiles too?