Three quarters of Brits want drivers to retake their driving test; Alexandar Richardson smashes London to Brighton (and back) at 40km/h solo; Burgos organiser blames RIDER for crash; Fly tipper caught thanks to cyclist’s camera + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Surrey traffic cops add Brompton folder to force fleet
We use the phase 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 quite a bit.
The #VanguardRST deploy in an array of different vehicles, from pedal bikes, to unmarked HGVs.
Our latest edition, the @BromptonBicycle enables us to zip around… pic.twitter.com/jSe4YvNpAp
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) August 2, 2022
The Surrey Roads Policing Unit, known for its social media schoolings of ignorant road users, has managed to go up even further in our estimation after revealing it has added a Brompton folder to the fleet of crime-fighting vehicles.
> Surrey traffic cops tell driver spouting Highway Code whataboutery to return licence
Apparently “many people” in the Surrey town were pleased to see the “bobby on a Brommy” and ITV reports the force will also launch a road crime reduction team this autumn with the aim of reducing “the number of people killed and seriously injured on Surrey’s roads by targeting and reducing road crime”, specifically by reducing the so-called ‘Fatal 5’ — inappropriate speed, not wearing a seatbelt; driving under the influence of drink or drugs; distracted driving, such as using a mobile phone behind the wheel; careless driving.
All of us seeing Alexandar Richardson's Strava activity...
— Foxy (@FoxyN77) August 5, 2022
Fly tipper caught thanks to cyclist's camera
The Dorset Echo reports a man has received a hefty fine after a cyclist’s camera footage proved he had illegally dumped stones and gravel on a roadside verge in Dorchester.
Richard Dunn appeared at Poole Magistrates Court after a rider’s handlebar-mounted camera caught the act, with the cyclist reporting the footage to Dorset Council along with a statement.
The cyclist asked “That’s not being fly tipped, is it mate?”, to which Dunn replied “It’s stones” before driving away. Last May he was issued a Fixed Penalty Notice of between £200 and £400 (depending on how promptly it was paid), but this was not paid.
Dunn was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to violating Section 33 (1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. He was sentenced to pay £479, including £150 fine, costs of £300 and £29 compensation.
Count the cyclists
More cyclists on Vauxhall Bridge than motorists!#CycleToWorkDay pic.twitter.com/oGRy3gRy75
— CycleGaz™ (@cyclegaz) August 5, 2022
Vuelta a Burgos organiser blames THE RIDERS for huge sprint pile-up
So @VueltaBurgos director Marcos Moral blames the riders for crashing…
You should be ashamed of yourself.— Jos van Emden (@josvanemden) August 4, 2022
This from Jos van Emden, teammate of Jumbo-Visma sprinter David Dekker, who was brought down by the speed bump on stage two’s run-in, causing a terrible crash…
> “Disgrace”: Pro riders rip into UCI over “unacceptable” speed bump sprint crash
We haven’t yet seen any comments from the race director, so have to rely on Van Emden’s word for the accusations. We’ll see what we can find…
Burgos organiser blames RIDER for sprint crash
Okay I think I’ve tracked it down…
Speaking to L’Équipe the race organiser Marcus Moral (dubbed Marcus Immoral by some clever people on Twitter) denied the speed bump was a speed bump…
“It was not a speed bump, but a zebra crossing no more than 2.5 centimeters high. On a slope,” he said. “This obstacle was indicated by markings on the ground and by a signalman’s flag. In preparation we showed the last three kilometers to the riders. It is impossible to find a track by removing roundabouts or passages like this one.”
Brace yourselves… “It is a mistake by David Dekker,” he continued.
“He has since realised this and has asked for forgiveness. I do now. I’m not saying it’s just the rider’s fault. It’s everyone’s fault. But we cannot attack the race organisation if the obstacle is indicated. I think the last kilometers of the second stage were correct. We take our responsibility, but people should not demonise us for that.”
Which of these four WorldTour bikes is your favourite?
Which of these four WorldTour bikes is your favourite? 😍
1⃣ @INEOSGrenadiers Pinarello Dogma F
2⃣ @TrekSegafredo Trek Madone SLR
3⃣ @Lotto_Soudal Ridley Noah
4⃣ @TeamDSM Scott Foil RC pic.twitter.com/SqNGDqqRLd— Velon CC (@VelonCC) August 5, 2022
Alexandar Richardson smashes London to Brighton (and back) at 40km/h solo
Chances are if you live somewhere in and around London or the the South East, you’ve had a big day out on the bike down to Brighton and back. It’s a popular weekend route for riders in and around the M25 — you’ll normally clock up close to 100 miles, and have a photo-worthy halfway stop by the coast with the added lure of ice cream or fish and chips…
Or, if your name is Alexandar Richardson, you can smash there and back in four hours at a quad-burning average speed of 40.5km/h… solo.
To be fair Richardson isn’t your usual club rider spinning the legs at the weekend, he was third at British National Champs behind that guy from Quick-Step whose name escapes me…
Taking in a berg under 2,000m of elevation, the Saint Piran pro, who spent the last couple of seasons with Alpecin-Fenix, hit a top speed of 78km/h descending the South Downs on his way home and maintained a metronomic 91 cadence.
Brutally, the wind from the north meant a less-than-ideal tailwind out, headwind home, but he still managed to take six KOMs on the way out and a few top 10s back into the headwind.
Top of the KOM list? The 20km ‘London to Brighton fast section’ covered by thousands of riders at the annual charity ride (with the benefit of drafting and closed roads), which Richardson ticked off at 45.5km/h…as you do…
"It would be an achievement to average that speed on that route in a car, let alone a bike... astonishing": We're all in awe of Alexandar Richardson's speedy seaside smash
Local Legend on Turner’s Hill to Ditchling! Congratulations!
— CaptainDalgetty (@CaptainDalgetty) August 5, 2022
Of course, I’m sure that local legend is his proudest achievement from this one…
Under the live blog comments, PRSboy suggested it would be a decent average speed in a car, let alone on a bike, given the built-up nature of the route (and avoiding the M23/A23).
peted76 added: “London to Brighton and back at 25mph.. the more I think about it, the more impressive it gets. Chapeau sir!”
Secret_squirrel replied: “Doubly amusing to me as the First London to Brighton car rally had the cars limited to a top speed of 14mph.”
Over on Facebook, Mikael Rasmussen commented: “Yeah OK .. now try that from Central London. rather than somewhere south of the South Circular 😉” We’ll assume that’s tongue in cheek, but I’m sure Alex could arrange a two-up TT to the south coast if you think you’ve got 41km/h in you, Mikael…
Seymour Yang commented: “At first I was like, L2B in four hours doesn’t sound impressive, then I saw that it was L2B and back again. Wow!”
Want to host bike races? Sort your potholes out then
Editor Jack, having watched the Commonwealth Games TT visit his local roads, might baulk at the suggestion bike races only visit areas with good road surfaces…BUT Derby City Council is in the market for hosting a bike race, with the Tour Series, Women’s Tour and Tour of Britain on their radar, reports the Derby Telegraph.
However, concerns have been raised about whether the streets are “smooth” enough to host such events. With the Conservative council ready to approve a bid, Lib Dem councillor Lucy Care asked: “My question is about the renewal of roads to ensure they’ll be smooth enough to be ridden on at speed because some of our roads at the moment are not as good as they might be. Is there going to be an additional budget provided or do we have to find it ourselves to ensure the race roads are to a very good standard?”
Before calling the state of their roads “dubious”, aren’t they all, Lucy, aren’t they all…
Three quarters of Brits want drivers to retake their driving test
Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of Brits believe you should have to retake your driving test, with two thirds (66 per cent) saying this should happen before drivers turn 80. That’s according to research from personal finance comparison site finder.com.
There is currently no law that drivers must retake their test when they reach a certain age, although 74 per cent said there should. 10 per cent suggested this should happen before drivers reach 55 years old. Laws apply to drivers who have been disqualified or have certain medical conditions, but the research suggested only 18 per cent of Brits agree with the current regulations and think drivers should never retake their test at a set age.
In the age-specific breakdown, Gen Z (18-25 year olds) said 65 years old was the right age to retake a driving test, while those aged 74 and above said 76 years old would be an appropriate age.
Thoughts?
5 August 2022, 08:04
UPDATE: USA Cycling says Leia Genis was ineligible to race in the Elite Women’s category as she "had not completed the required steps to meet the UCI's Athlete Eligibility Regulations"
USA Cycling accused of "transphobia" after individual pursuit medallist stripped of national championships medal
UPDATE: USA Cycling says Leia Genis was ineligible to race in the Elite Women’s category as she “had not completed the required steps to meet the UCI's Athlete Eligibility Regulations”
5 August 2022, 08:04
5 August 2022, 08:04
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Latest Comments
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
80 thoughts on “Three quarters of Brits want drivers to retake their driving test; Alexandar Richardson smashes London to Brighton (and back) at 40km/h solo; Burgos organiser blames RIDER for crash; Fly tipper caught thanks to cyclist’s camera + more on the live blog”
London to Brighton and back
London to Brighton and back at 25mph.. the more I think about it, the more impressive it gets. Chapeaux sir!
peted76 wrote:
Doubly amusing to me as the First London to Brighton car rally had the cars limited to a top speed of 14mph.
peted76 wrote:
It would be an achievement to average that speed on that route in a car, let alone a bike… astonishing, particularly when the route included urban roads with junctions, traffic etc.
PRSboy wrote:
Looking on Strava 4:20:36 is his moving time, total elapsed time is 4:46:48, so that presumably accounts for lights, junctions etc.
Rendel Harris wrote:
True, but he’d still need to slow to a virtual standstill and accelerate away again, so presumably spent a lot of time well over 40kmh. Overall, its still 36.6kmh, 22.7mph. I wonder if he was on TT or road bike.
PRSboy wrote:
You forgot e-bike and support with spare batteries.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news
I tried to google it to find this ‘story’ somewhere else, but no luck…
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/19422100/lazy-brits-car-bus-forced-walk/
brooksby wrote:
Huh – I’d swear I’d walked more than that, loads of times. I guess I must have been mistaken.
mdavidford wrote:
Short legs?
Ten minutes to walk 500m?!
Ten minutes to walk 500m?!
This does back up what I’ve been saying for a while in that a worrying amount of people in this country would drive to their own fridge if they could, and that simply providing good alternatives to driving doesn’t cut it. People making a one-mile journey already have a free alternative to driving glued to the ends of their legs, yet they would rather pay for petrol and sit in traffic.
You say “lazy”, I say
You say “lazy”, I say “efficient”… but yes, people don’t get the “time efficiency” or “consistent trip time” you get with cycling (where you’re not subject to all the cars and traffic lights that is).
Change comes in baby steps. Knowing / hearing about it, seeing it, knowing lots of other people do it, having friends or family or role modesl who do it … and then there’s making cycling a range of journeys (can’t be just one or two) easier than driving. Part of the last is making the driving less convenient, at least initially.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I suppose, but I’m also looking at it from an environmental persective too, by which someone using a car for what should be a five minute walk to the corner shop for some milk isn’t just “lazy” it’s utterly selfish.
100% agree with this, and it’s something else I’ve been saying for a while. Providing active travel alternatives isn’t enough by itself – I bet if most people had an uniterupted cycle lane from their front door all the way to their office, they’d still drive. At the same time as we improve public transport and active travel infra, we also need to take steps to make driving much less appealing/bearable.
BalladOfStruth wrote:
If we had mandatory drug / alcohol / fatigue sensors in cars that needed 5 mins to complete tests before driving was possible, might that help? My jalopy has corrosion* on a rear wheel that means the tyre needs pumping before almost every journey, which is a great disincentive to use the wretched thing.
*Either that or a latex tube.
We need to get to a point
We need to get to a point where society accepts that the able bodied should not be driving less than a mile. Selfish prick shaming. The trouble is we’ve become so neo liberal and Thatcher’s ‘no such thing as society’, that people think they can do what they like. So government sets up ATE to do the messaging but stays well below the parapet themselves.
BalladOfStruth wrote:
I found my Father’s third heart attack and ten medicines daily to be fairly convincing evidence that active travel was my priority.
3.5 years C2W burnt more than 500,000 calories, provided 38bpm resting heart rate, and pulmonary embolism, but that’s another story…
BalladOfStruth wrote:
The average walking pace is 2.5 to 4 mph, so between 4.7 and 7.5 minutes to cover 500m
Point proved at any McDonalds drive through, people will rather sit in their car in the queue, engine running, than park up and walk to 25metres to get served quicker inside.
Just can’t get them out of their cars
wycombewheeler wrote:
A range can’t really be ‘the average’. Looks like that’s Nike misquoting a CDC report, which defines walking 2.5 to 4 mph as ‘moderate activity’. That doesn’t say anything about the average speed at which people (or even just Americans) actually walk.
In a motel in the USA I joked
In a motel in the USA I joked to the receptionist that we English thought Americans were so lazy they probably drove to the Burger King on the other side of the road. Turns out that people did! It’s about 500ft/152m
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Burger+King/Super+8+by+Wyndham+Oneida+Verona,+215+Genesee+St,+Oneida,+NY+13421,+United+States/@43.0784894,-75.646043,343m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89d976e0b4122881:0xb0b71c5deb47bd10!2m2!1d-75.6455964!2d43.0791284!1m5!1m1!1s0x89d976e0982b22f7:0x809fa273bf348b57!2m2!1d-75.644857!2d43.0777874!3e0?hl=en-GB
Pal of mine who lives in
Pal of mine who lives in Washington DC tells me that neighbours look at him with horror when he says he’s walking to the shops – “But it’s way over half a mile! And then you’ll have to walk back!” They actually offer to give him a ride; when he says he just enjoys a stroll they shake their heads at his Limey eccentricities.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Is it somehow inherited? Because as a US transplant I walk way more than the majority of my American friends and colleagues would be willing to. Maybe it’s because I was raised doing it. My dad used to have us walk home from church sometimes in the US, not every time, but I doubt anyone else was doing it. I remember it as a long walk when I was 8-10 years old, but looking now it was 1.7 miles. That’s about the same as I often walk to the pub now, although I usually cycle.
I’ve known several Americans
I’ve known several Americans who have become keen pedestrians since they came to the UK – same goes for some I’ve known in Paris – simply because it’s actually feasible to do. I remember a girl from Texas I knew in Paris years ago who absolutely eulogised the fact that she could get all her groceries just by walking around her neighbourhood, apparently in her hometown the only available options for shopping were edge-of-town malls reached by multiple lane highways with no sidewalk, literally you had to go in a car or walk along the culvert at the edge of the highway!
Rendel Harris wrote:
I wish I could say it’s walkable where I am, but it’s not really. Lots of roads lack any pavement at all, even in residential subdivisions full of culs-de-sac. Every time I go anywhere really I have to cross this stroad, with five lanes of 50 MPH traffic.
https://goo.gl/maps/b5GigLCFyGk1PXoK9
Lord have mercy, that’s what
Lord have mercy, that’s what you call a really autocentric neighbourhood!
Rendel Harris wrote:
Economic and planning put High Street against out of town development for a similar outcome in the UK. Active Travel must be supported by planning too.
Finland was smart enough to look at their health data and decide that all new build must include highways with separate side lanes for active travel; ski, skate, sledge, run, walk, cycle, scoot. Twenty years later improved health confirms that opportunity is a great investment. Some political courage and consensus required but absolutely possible.
A common trope – but it’s
A common trope – but it’s often true. Crossing some US roads – even a few UK ones – is practically impossible. These “breaks in the network” / “barriers to access” are not just inconvenient for disabled people, or people with young children, or if you have a non-standard cycle. They can make a journey impossible.
NotJustBikes has a good video presenting a typical story of this kind.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I found this in Atlanta – I was there on business for a week and my usual thing is to walk around a new place. It was less than a mile from the hotel to the office, but that involved crossing three eight-lane roads. It was a very lonely experience, made all the worse by unfamiliarity with the prevailing ‘right on red’ rules. Additionally, there were so few pedestrians that you had to be quick off the mark before they changed to let the cars go before they got fed up waiting for no-one. Electric scooters were the thing for those not in cars (no ‘scooting’ involved – just ‘twist and go’)
That was … horrific.
That was … horrific.
https://metro.co.uk/2022/08
and,
and,
Nasty looking (yet somehow
Nasty looking (yet somehow familiar) experience.
Of course, according to the BTL comments it’s all the cyclists fault – a car overtaking = bike undertaking, should be responsible for their own safety, think they own the road, something something road tax.
Have drivers killed as many people as cigarettes yet? Just ban driving already, it’s clearly way too hazardous for people’s health. Too extreme? well maybe we could just licence drivers for the protection of others and make sure that they understand the basics of road safety…..oh hang on
I’m not even going to click
I’m not even going to click on that, because I know I wouldn’t be able to stop myself scrolling down to the comments, and then I’d spend the rest of the day fuming….
https://twitter.com/road_ss
It’s Dash Cam Day 2022. With one in five vehicles now fitted with a dash cam, motorists are being warned to ‘drive like they’re being filmed’ every time they get behind the wheel
SNITCH !! GRASS !!
hirsute wrote:
They just go out looking for trouble!
hawkinspeter wrote:
Vigilantes! Just want clicks!
Daveyraveygravey wrote:
Disgusting behaviour! Just look at this cyclist, shouting at a poor motorist simply checking their phone whilst sat stationary at traffic lights! Not doing much for driver/cyclist relations, I don’t know why we all can’t just get along…
Seems to me like a new event
Seems to me like a new event in the Brompton World Champs.
Drive at high speed into the transition area in a marked police car, jump out, get Brompton from boot, unfold and chase down allocated perp. First one to capture their perp wins.
Does it involve cycling
Does it involve cycling through a pile of empty cardboard boxes?
What a shame D.I. Regan and D.S. Carter aren’t around to show us how it’s done
The war on cars is a war on
The war on cars is a war on women (maybe this could replace the trans debate on here !)
https://twitter.com/gazza_d/status/1555249654203285505
Why oh why won’t these
Why oh why won’t these LTN fanatics / infrastructure fascists / militant cyclists think of the children?
https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/tag/children/
That’s a reasonable argument
That’s a reasonable argument as long as you don’t think about it for even a quarter of a second.
Given Dejesky’s alleged
Given Dejesky’s alleged apologist position on Russia, this poster is practically compulsory.
Argos74 wrote:
She was writing crap like that more or less right up to the date Russia invaded Ukraine on 4 February. Now we know how accurate she was on that front we can make a judgement on how accurate she’s likely to be on anything else.
Re. ‘Which of these four
Re. ‘Which of these four WorldTour bikes is your favourite?’ – if you could send me over one of each, I’ll let you know.
Quote:
…
There is currently no law that drivers must retake their test when they reach a certain age, although 74 per cent said there should.
Well that’s two different claims – seems unlikely they’d be the same number. What about the people who think you should have to retake the test, but not at a set age (e.g. at regular intervals)?
So what about the other 8%? Does that include the people above, or are they all ‘don’t knows’?
I also wonder how many
I also wonder how many drivers would say they themselves should have to be re-tested? Probably zero, as every driver considers themselves to be virtually perfect, until that ‘momentary lapse of concentration’
I’d be up for a re-test…
I’d be up for a re-test… Problem would be getting the test centres up to speed for it. You would have thought some sort of online test would be feasible… Perhaps even a VR test in the future. Should be put to the government for debate.
Mandatory retests every 5
Mandatory retests every 5 years would be incredibly unpopular with drivers but realistically every driver on the road should be at a standard far higher than the driving test standard so a test shouldn’t be a problem.
The day you are worst at driving should be the day you pass your test, if after 5 years of driving you couldn’t sail through the test with no minor faults then you should be doing additional training, if after that your bad habits are so ingrained you can’t shake them then you shouldnt be driving.
It would save hundreds of lives and it would cost drivers almost nothing (around 4p and 2 seconds per day if you average the £69 and one hour over 5 years).
Patrick9-32 wrote:
I used to think that mandatory retests would be a good idea, but I’ve got my doubts now. Some of the poor driving behaviour is entirely optional (e.g. mobile phone use; speeding; MGIF; close-passing) so a retest wouldn’t catch those issues. I prefer the idea of better road policing, whether that’s actual police, increased dashcam usage or automated driving evaluation (e.g. black boxes).
Interesting. I agree it’s
Interesting. I agree it’s certainly not a guarantee of or quick fix for safety. And we could definitely do with (much) more immediate feedback e.g. enforcement, however delivered. I would like to see something in the way of retest / skills refresher however to:
I do appreciate that all
I do appreciate that all tests (and indeed black box monitoring) can be circumvented and indeed that may set up a market for “getting past”. Reminds me of Withnail and I too:
And it’s not an either /or –
And it’s not an either /or – doing periodic retesting doesn’t somehow preclude also improving / increasing policing and enforcement.
I agree. I see some
I agree. I see some ridiculously bad drivers, many are youngsters who must have only just passed their tests, so theoretically should be among the best drivers on the road. One lad wrote his car off up the road and killed a passenger a few years ago. He was speeding, on his phone, and had passed his driving test three weeks previously.
Most bad driving is sheer lazy driving. Not helped by modern cars being so easy to drive with so many distractions inside.
biker phil wrote:
The driving test should be considered the minimum standard – you pass the test and then gain experience and learn from it, but that doesn’t seem to apply to a lot of drivers. Certainly, younger drivers have far worse insurance rates due to their inexperience and lack of judgement.
biker phil wrote:
Where is the data to prove that there is an issue and that this survey ‘common sense’ is not just ageist nonsense?
100% of motor vehicle drivers are expected to be aware of their fitness to drive whether related to vision, reaction, DVLA notifiable medical conditions, alcohol or medicine side effects.
Similarly, responsible for checking the vehicle fitness for purpose before driving, yet how many do?
Not many if the number of defective lights I see are a fair guide…
PS: fog lights in fine weather seems an indication of people who either don’t know what all the vehicle controls do or haven’t checked the lights before moving off. Either way, incompetence.
I agree with this but would
I agree with this but would also like to see more co-ordinated adverts like drink driving or seat belt wearing campaigns of yester-year for mobile phone use at the wheel and drug driving, which now seems to be really on the rise.
However, they would need to be properly researched and organised so we don’t get the Twitter style, #cyclelikeyoudrive nonsense. I can’t believe it would be too difficult to get these signed off by all concerned, including the likes of Chris Boardman and markandcharlie etc
hawkinspeter wrote:
The sooner we get the wetware out of the loop, and software in control, the safer we will be.
The default corporate liability will provide a strong push to safety that isn’t there with plausible deniability that manufactures have now.
‘It’s not a dangerous product, rather people…’
Couldn’t agree more.
Couldn’t agree more.
My employer has to re-test all of us on any of the 6 different pieces of equipment we have licences for every 3 years to comply with the insurance policy and all of them are limited to 10mph.
There must be some tangible benefit.
EDIT: I forgot the yearly medical and eyesight test too, no idea if it’s insurance related though.
‘There must be some tangible
‘There must be some tangible benefit’
still non found. Mogg did mention something about Hoovers though.
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
Whilst this is very off-topic, newer vacuum cleaners do seem to have managed to get good performance with lower powered motors. I’m not sure Mr Victoriana 1876’s nanny is giving him good information about the state of below-stairs equipment.
With the price of electricity
With the price of electricity trebling then efficiency does seem to be a way forward.
Damn those protesters of Insulate Britain, if only they were not so disruptive we might of had to see they actually had a point.
ktache wrote:
But that’s the thing – everyone knows what they stand for and even those who don’t like their tactics must now know that insulation is an easy way to deal with a bit of the climate crisis. If the building trade and government schemes could be generally trusted, good things could be done.
TheBillder wrote:
You appear to have used genuine english words in a way that does not make sense.
I don’t think there should be
I don’t think there should be a 5 year practical retest until you hit your 60s, however there’s no reason not to have a 5 yearly online theory, awareness, and hazard perception test at all ages.
I’m not sure any of us would
I’m not sure any of us would love a retest, but it’s a real anomaly that in this world where so many risks are managed to the nth degree, these this activity that causes more harm than most of the others on a per-capita basis with absolutely no ongoing competence management or assessment requirement from initial qualification.
I don’t think that retesting is really the answer, but some sort of regular refresher requirement for continued licencing (like the ‘driver awareness’ course that people receive after an offence) would be pretty simple to implement and manageable through existing DVLA systems. Just make sure it’s free!
Mandatory theory retest every
Mandatory theory retest every 5-10 years, seems fairly obvious.
Car Delenda Est wrote:
The statistically safest transport mode, Aviation, has a safety first mentality including Fitness for Type, and Currency.
Fitness for Type means that in addition to the foundation of license for each level of conditions; visual flight , night flight, instrument meteorological conditions, multi-engines, etc. the pilot is fully trained on the specific type of aircraft e.g. 757-200 so fully aware of all peculiarities required for safe operation.
Currency means that the pilot has been flying recently enough to be sharp on all the practical skills and specific knowledge. So not: I used to, but not so much now…
So all of this is safety best practice justified by the low appetite for risk that is the consensus between manufacturers, operators, passengers and regulators.
I suppose, what is our risk appetite for road transport and is the regulation effective to deliver it?
Mandatory retests – not sure,
Mandatory retests – not sure, but I would be quite happy that anyone clocking up more than 2 driving offences must retest within a year or lose their licence and a 12 point is mandatory ban, though any exceptional circumstances could have a licence reinstated by retaking a test – possibly an extended test depending on the nature of offences.
Hopefully this will be a news
Hopefully this will be a news item on Monday.
https://twitter.com/MatBurnham/status/1556228868201218049
“So if I’m turning left or right and someone is crossing the road where I want to turn. I can just hit them because they put themselves in harms way, as long as I look like I’m not trying to hit them! Cool”
hirsute wrote:
That’s almost the definition of not doing their job. Matt Morris of Northants police should be sacked for that.
Hmm I don’t disagree about
Hmm I don’t disagree about the shoddy statements from the police but I’d like to see a longer video before making a call as to whether this is one sided or not. From the start of the video on twitter it’s not clear how the OP got into conflict with the driver in the first place.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
I’d usually agree, but the officer admits that it was assault. Even if someone deliberately lies down in the middle of a busy junction, no right-minded individual is then going to ride/drive over them without expecting consequences.
The message that Matt Morris and his sergeant are sending is that it is acceptable to assault people who are obstructing your forward progress. I think that’s incorrect and morally wrong.
Aggressive use of the horn.
Aggressive use of the horn.
How is using your 2.5T vehicle as a weapon a proportionate response even if it were one sided (although what would amount to being one sided ?)
edit: as per the twitter thread this one sided argument lead to a dangerous driving charge
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/insulate-britain-range-rover-dangerous-driving-huge-injustice-b2046363.html
hirsute wrote:
It does seem inappropriate. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the driver why they beeped their horn if there’s no obvious imminent danger. Could be they’ve noticed your QR is loose.
Let’s see the video. However
Let’s see the video. However it sounds like PC Morris is grasping a potential improvement on mere victim-blaming to avoid work. He’s got the logic to use the cyclist’s evidence to do them for e.g. obstructing the highway or threat of criminal damage to the car’s paintwork. I see him going far.
The video is on the Twitter
The video is on the Twitter link. Basically, the cyclist didn’t move quickly enough in a traffic jam for the Range Rover so got hooted (against HC 112 “Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively.”), turned his bike at an angle to look round and remonstrate with the driver, after some to and fro the driver attempts to drive round him but smashes into the front wheel. Antis (and the police, it seems) are clearly going to say he shouldn’t have stopped, not sure how that justifies being driven into. Also not sure how the police can write “there is an assault” and then follow that by saying they’re doing nothing. The police’s job is to investigate and charge assaults, if they admit there’s an assault it should be charged, deciding on mitigating circumstances is the job of CPS and/or the courts, not the cops.
Thanks. I think I can see
Thanks. I think I can see how this one will go now – “you could have just cycled onward and sent footage later. Instead you were blocking the driver – you moved the bike towards their car – while confronting them. They could have felt threatened by you. They made an attempt to move away from the confrontation and tried to avoid you and merely clipped the front of your bike. If they’d meant to hit you they could have driven straight forward”. Probably toss in a “man vs. woman” / “but the cyclist could have moved over into the gutter / onto the pavement before having a debate or to let them through” / “rather be safe than right” etc.
Of course you could also argue that the motorist shouldn’t have honked, the cyclist was clearly not threatening them (they’re behind the bike and make no attempt to move towards the driver after “establishing themselves”) and this was careless driving at the least as the driver could clearly see them, made a choice to drive forward and still hit them.
So this won’t go anywhere and we’ll have the usual suspects out in force on here.
Chief constable has just
Chief constable has just tweeted he is on to it.
I was bit worried they’d outdo lancs !
I was bit worried they’d
I was bit worried they’d outdo lancs !
I appreciate that my public is expecting me to rubbish this possibility- the responses from PC 856 are poor, but Lancashire has really upped their ‘cyclists are the rats of the road’ game and simply refuse to respond to anything sent to the abysmal OpSnapLancs. It is difficult for outsiders to appreciate just how thick these traffic officers are- in the days when responses were issued they were clearly not up to working out what a headcam is. They persist in referring to all cameras as ‘dashcams’ despite all my reports describing a ‘headcam’. I try to leave in sections of me looking right down at the cassette for gear ascertainment but despite that they invariably interpret me looking right, when the psycho Sainsbury’s or Stagecoach driver ‘cuts me up a treat’, as me swerving to the right. It’s not a difficult concept, but they just can’t grasp it.
What your Chief Constable is ‘on to’ is confirming to the officers concerned ‘keep it up lads, and I’ll talk my way out of it with the usual’. This is black Transit MC18 EHR cutting me up a treat at speed and avoiding collision with oncoming larger white Transit by pulling over much closer to me, but still earning a well-deserved blast of the horn from the other Transit. There will be no response from OpSnapLancs and I’m now in the 5th week of waiting for a reply from Lancashire PCC over the complete failure of OSL to respond or act. When it comes it’s likely to be really stupid.
hirsute wrote:
Oh! Let’s see then. I still think the most that’ll happen is a statement like “I’m sorry an officer misspoke somewhat; now, as you were”.
This is “failing a driving test”-level driving on at least one and likely more counts. Sadly I can see far too many “outs”. I doubt it’d even get to court and (although it’s a lottery) I’d bet on it failing for most charges should it do so. A civil action over bike repair costs might be a winner though. Can you recoup punitive damages on assault via the civil route?
I’ve watched the video and
I’ve watched the video and they clearly ‘placed themselves in harms way’. The entitled cyclist was actually in the road!
As I was told by a defence witness in Magistrates Court last week, I shouldn’t have wobbled away from a stop, gone slowly uphill or even been in the road when a perfectly good pavement was there.
If only there was some code for users of the highway that everyone could follow then cyclists wouldn’t keep stupidly and dangerously getting in the way.