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OPINION

Stars in their cars – Criticising RideLondon road closures reflects wider view that car is king

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Tony Blackburn insists his weekend tweet was a joke – but safe speed limits and cycle lanes are also in firing line from celebrities opposed to closed road events

Disc jockey Tony Blackburn may insist that his online rant against the road closures associated with last weekend’s RideLondon, which brought tens of thousands of cyclists out onto the capital’s streets, was nothing more than a joke – but he’s not the first celebrity to use their status to criticise closed roads events.

Dig deeper into their social media posts, and you’ll find that it’s not just the once-a-year road closures that get their goat –schemes aimed at making Britain’s streets safe for everyone, whether that be through providing safe space for people cycling or walking, or reducing speed limits to try and minimise the consequences of crashes, are also in the firing line of stars in their cars.

> Tony Blackburn insists “joke” idea to replace RideLondon with “event for car owners” wasn’t a serious suggestion

Blackburn’s own Twitter biography contains the disclaimer that “These are my tweets and in no way are the views of people I work for,” which is useful to know given that the BBC, where he hosts a weekly show on Radio 2, is the host broadcaster for the event.

Indeed, many of us who took part in the RideLondon FreeCycle on Sunday on an 8-mile closed road circuit in the heart of the capital were greeted by a cheery wave from Clare Balding, who was hosting the TV coverage, as we passed the finish line on the Mall.

But for all the protestations that his tweet was a joke and not to be taken seriously – something we’ve seen before, for example when Sunday Times columnist Rod Liddle wrote that he was tempted to stretch wire to target cyclists riding on roads near his home in the Kent countryside, and it needs to be said that the ‘othering’ or dehumanisation of people who ride bikes, whether for transport, sport or leisure, does have real-life consequences.

> Press watchdog rejects complaints over Rod Liddle “piano wire” column

It would be nice to think that people in the public eye would think twice about taking to social media to air their views, or at least make themselves fully informed of the issues before doing so.

But as we’ve seen all too often, that seldom happens, with many celebrities unaware of what the Highway Code says and what the law is, or urging that cyclists be made to pay for using the roads, ignorant of the fact that public highways are funded from general taxation and that so-called “road tax” has not existed since 1937 (and currently, the owners of the least polluting motor vehicles are exempt from paying Vehicle Excise Duty altogether).

Four years ago, on the last occasion that RideLondon was held in its former late July/early August slot, it was singer Elaine Paige who had an online meltdown at the event, describing it as “an annual disruptive bike ride across the capital” in a subsequently deleted tweet in which she spoke of an “autocation” with an event marshal and called on cyclists to – you guessed it – pay “road tax.”

As Twitter user BicycleBen, who saved a screenshot of Paige’s deleted tweet pointed out, “Bad enough when ‘ordinary’ people show themselves up with their utter ignorance of what are very basic matters. I find it worse somehow when a celebrity or person of influence does it, spreading misinformation that will be trusted by way of a blue tick. Disappointing.”

More recently, the musical theatre star who, like Blackburn, also has a show on BBC Radio 2, Elaine Paige on Sunday, told her 40,000-plus followers on Twitter that a cycle lane installed on London’s Park Lane in 2020 was to blame for her sitting in gridlocked traffic in one of the three lanes there that remain for motor vehicles.

> Elaine Paige blames empty cycle lane for traffic jam woes and accuses Sadiq Khan of ‘killing’ London

She wrote: “Sat in horrendous traffic on Park Lane trying to get from Sth London to Nth London whilst staring at a wide empty cycle lane while there's another empty cycle lane adjacent in Hyde Park! @SadiqKhan despite a dubious appeal hearing” – a reference to Transport of London’s successful appeal earlier that week that the city’s StreetSpace initiative was legal – “you are killing this great city of ours!”

Back to Blackburn, and as with Paige, it isn’t just closed roads that provoke the DJ’s ire, either.

In April, he was metaphorically shaking his fist on Twitter over 20mph speed limits, breaking off from plugging his radio show and sharing dad jokes with his 11,000 followers: “Great news, more money for potholes. Now how about less money for this ridiculous obsession with 20mph speed limits everywhere? Who is it that decides that we motorists now are overtaken by cyclists?”

It was a theme he returned to ahead of driving into the West End from his home in Hertfordshire into London for his show on Sunday (a journey, by the way, that would not have taken him as far as the closed roads on the RideLondon route – BBC Radio 2 is based a few hundred yards north of Oxford Circus, nearly a mile from the nearest part of the route at Piccadilly Circus).

One curious aspect of the anger directed at some towards the closed roads that accompany RideLondon is that the same is seldom directed at the longer-established event run by the same organisers, London Marathon Events, with the 26.2-mile festival of running seeing widespread road closures along its route from Greenwich to Tower Bridge, into Docklands and back into the heart of the capital.

Perhaps that’s due to the fact that the event has now been held for more than four decades and is a perennial feature of London in springtime these days, perhaps it’s because locals are used to it taking place and make alternative plans for the day or stick around and enjoy the carnival atmosphere, or perhaps it’s because – whisper it – no bikes are involved?

Certainly, though for the 25,000-plus riders who tackled one of the RideLondon sportive routes last Sunday, or for the tens of thousands more, including families with young children and tourists jumping on hire bikes, who took to the traffic-free streets, as well as those who stuck around for the finale of the Classique Women's WorldTour race, a fun and festive time was had.

For one day a year, it’s not too much to ask for without someone in the public eye taking a pop, is it?

Oh, and in the meantime, that closed road event for motorists that Blackburn was apparently joking about? Well, we could always send him to Coventry … in the literal, not figurative sense.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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14 comments

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Sevenfold | 9 months ago
3 likes

My thoughts...

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Simon E | 9 months ago
7 likes

"people didn’t seem to get that I was joking"

He wasn't joking.

He later came to realise how much of a pompous, ignorant twat he looked (though I'm surprised he even cares). Perhaps he'd like to find out how much money those 25,000 cyclists raised for charities while having a nice day out.

All these me-me-me 'celebrities' with their entitlement issues and baseless anti-cycling rants can f&**k right off.

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mctrials23 | 9 months ago
3 likes

Every time someone complains about road tax in relation to cyclists someone should be sent to slap that person. Its not the fact there is no such thing, its the sheer lack of even a tiny bit of thought that would tell them that perhaps the vast vast vast majority of cyclists also own a car like they do and therefore contribute just as much towards everything that entails. 

Perhaps we should have a rating system on the road and if I have more cars than you or pay more vehicle tax for them I have priority over you at roundabouts and junctions etc. 

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wycombewheeler replied to mctrials23 | 9 months ago
2 likes
mctrials23 wrote:

Every time someone complains about road tax in relation to cyclists someone should be sent to slap that person. Its not the fact there is no such thing, its the sheer lack of even a tiny bit of thought that would tell them that perhaps the vast vast vast majority of cyclists also own a car like they do and therefore contribute just as much towards everything that entails. 

Perhaps we should have a rating system on the road and if I have more cars than you or pay more vehicle tax for them I have priority over you at roundabouts and junctions etc. 

not forgetting none of these people are raging about e-cars being exempt from "road tax". Almost like the fairness of vehicle taxation isn't the main issue that upsets them at all.

Just like they complian about cyclists not needing insurance despite many cyclists taking it up voluntarily, but not complaining about the uninsured drivers pushing up their premiums.

They just want cyclists off the road as they believe we delay them, all of the other complaints are just attempts to legitimise their prejudice.

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Simon E replied to mctrials23 | 9 months ago
4 likes
mctrials23 wrote:

Every time someone complains about road tax in relation to cyclists someone should be sent to slap that person. Its not the fact there is no such thing, its the sheer lack of even a tiny bit of thought that would tell them that perhaps the vast vast vast majority of cyclists also own a car like they do and therefore contribute just as much towards everything that entails.

Steady on! People who don't drive also pay the taxes that pay for road building, maintenance, emergency services, hospital treatment and the ~£2 million each road death costs taxpayers. [stats]

Cyclists and pedestrians also suffer the adverse effects of pollution, noise and other factors. Cyclists don't damage the roads but are considerably more vulnerable to defects such as potholes.

https://www.bristolcycling.org.uk/who-pays-for-our-roads/

People who don't have kids still pay for schools.

I'd argue that the fact that people use the term 'Road Tax' in reference to VED is not really the issue, it's the sense of entitlement that, because they pay that specific tax they deserve something extra that a cyclist or pedestrian should not. They are wrong.

One time I had an argument with a guy who stopped to remonstrate with me for riding secondary (yes, that's right) on a main road. Turned out he didn't even pay VED himself, so I actually paid more vehicle tax than he did. Dipshit. And of course there are classes of vehicle that are exempt from the tax so how does that work with the 'I pay Road Tax' argument?

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-exempt-from-vehicle-tax

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chrisonabike replied to mctrials23 | 9 months ago
1 like
mctrials23 wrote:

Perhaps we should have a rating system on the road and if I have more cars than you or pay more vehicle tax for them I have priority over you at roundabouts and junctions etc. 

I thought we did - it's who's got the biggest vehicle?

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chrisonabike replied to chrisonabike | 9 months ago
1 like

Edit - apologies, apparently this is not a kind of squirrel at all but a different kettle of fish.

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the little onion replied to chrisonabike | 9 months ago
4 likes

Gets my seal of approval 

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hawkinspeter replied to the little onion | 9 months ago
3 likes
the little onion wrote:

Gets my seal of approval 

I joined some seals for a night out and we had a great laugh until I suggested we go clubbing

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chrisonabike | 9 months ago
3 likes

Well obviously it's "cyclists vs. motorists" and only one can win (motorists).

Alternatively - "people complain because someone else's event inconveniences them".

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 9 months ago
3 likes
chrisonatrike wrote:

Well obviously it's "cyclists vs. motorists" and only one can win (motorists).

Alternatively - "people complain because someone else's event inconveniences them".

You forgot to put up a Highlander meme.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 9 months ago
6 likes
brooksby wrote:
chrisonatrike wrote:

Well obviously it's "cyclists vs. motorists" and only one can win (motorists).

Alternatively - "people complain because someone else's event inconveniences them".

You forgot to put up a Highlander meme.

Avatar
Adam Sutton | 9 months ago
0 likes

*YAWN*

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SimoninSpalding | 9 months ago
7 likes

That Motofest thing sounds epic!

"a parade of 30 UK and US police cars"

"approximately 50 SCD (Supercar Driver) members and their cars "

Certainly sounds like it's worth shutting down Coventry for the weekend anyway...

*Sarcasm off*

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