M25 cyclist (Surrey Police YouTube video still)
Just as premature news of Mark Twain’s death were, as the writer said, “an exaggeration,” so too it appears were reports yesterday the "chaos" caused by a cyclist sent onto the M25 by mistake thanks to a not-so-smartphone app.
That word was used in more than one headline - the Mirror and ITV Meridian News, for example - and some motorists took to Twitter to complain about the delay the cyclist’s presence had caused to their journey.
But it now seems that as on any normal day when bike riders haven’t strayed onto the M25, something else was behind the traffic jams they encountered.
A video released by Surrey Police shows traffic speeding past the unwitting bike rider with not a tailback in sight as he made his way onto the motorway, directed there by the app as he sought a shorter route home.
The video continues to show traffic flowing past smoothly as a police car is sent to intercept him, and it continues to do so as he is moved out of harm's way.
Sergeant Phil Dix of Surrey Police Road's Policing Unit, who was dispatched to intercept the errant cyclist, said: "The cyclist was apparently taking a short cut home and was following a satellite navigation system on his mobile phone.
"It is extremely fortunate that there was a safe outcome and that the cyclist was not injured, or worse - especially as he had crossed several slip roads coming off the motorway.
“This is a good example of why motorists should always remain alert and vigilant on the roads as you never know what you may come across on your travels."
He added: "I would urge all road users to use a common sense approach when using a satnav, whether that be on foot, two wheels or more."
The rider received a £50 fine for ignoring a sign prohibiting bicycles from the motorway, before Sergeant Dix helped him find his way back off it.
Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds with his miniature schnauzer, Elodie. He fell in love with cycling one Saturday morning in 1994 while living in Italy when Milan-San Remo went past his front door. A daily cycle commuter in London back before riding to work started to boom, he's been news editor at road.cc since 2009. Handily for work, he speaks French and Italian. He doesn't get to ride his Colnago as often as he'd like, and freely admits he's much more adept at cooking than fettling with bikes.
20 comments
So you're telling me that the media lie??? Oh the horror
Christ, what a nutter crossing the slip roads like that...
If he's a nutter for cycling on a 70 mph motorway, then what does that say about cycling on A-roads?
60 mph, single-lane A-roads are simply unavoidable in many parts, being the only roads in some areas (I can think of a good few examples in Scotland). Alternatives to 70 mph dual-carriageway A-roads in some places take very, very circuitous routes, leaving cyclists with an unpalatable choice. A 70mph dual-carriage really is little different to a motorway, from a cyclist's perspective. Indeed, the 70mph A-road is probably far more dangerous, as there is no requirement for a hard-shoulder on them.
Thanks for following up on this road.cc.
I wonder is there any plausible basis to claims like the below? Maybe all the motorists were so busy tweeting and texting that they slowed down somewhere?:
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/cyclist-caused-chaos-after-t...
It is not so much that the media lie, but that they blindly report things they are told by individuals or receive in official press releases without checking facts — despite that fact-checking is supposedly an elemental part of journalism.
Paul J makes a good point, I commute along the A303 everyday, it has no hard shoulder vehicles are regularly doing in excess of 70mph and yet you can legally ride along it. I have seen people cycle along it from small groups of road cyclists to commuters and even someone making their way to the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.
Now not that I would want to cycle along it but in my mind it would be safer to cycle down the hard shoulder (and don't condone it) of the M25 than cycle down the A303
Unfortunately facts don't appeal to the masses, whereas hyperbole does.
Only one difference, car drivers don't expect cyclists to be on motorways, as it is too many fail to understand that there might be pedestrians, horses and cyclists on the rest of the road network as it is.
How many motorists actually pay attention to what is going on around them, how many are on auto pilot and only looking for what they expect to see.
I work on the motorway and it isnt that uncommon to have someone cycling along the hardshoulder. Just normally tell them to carry on and get off at the next junction. Certainly no reason to cause any traffic "chaos"
Well her boss may want to look into this. Clearly she was at least 45 mins late for work and tried to blame a cyclist on the motorway.
You know what would have impressed me. If the cars really had slowed down to make sure that the cyclist stayed safe. Sure then they could moan but it would have been safety first recriminations later. But it doesn't look like any of them did that
I am sure that the press will correct their miss reporting and make certain that their correction will have equal prominence to their original story. Of course they will point out that not all cyclists are irresponsible etc
But, the big one, the question on the whole nations lips....... was he wearing a helmet??????
I wondered why some of your commutes were so quick, drafting the trucks
We were forced to ride on the hard shoulder of a motorway in Spain (typically, they closed a road and we were given no option).
We were very reluctant, but in the end it wasn't too bad at all. We missioned it for one junction, it was even enjoyable as we were a lot quicker than normal (on fully loaded touring bikes), and a hell of a lot safer than riding into Madrid.
Its no wonder car drivers and the media have a go at us. £50 fine is woefully inadequatefor someone whose actions in crossing the slip carriageways could have caused untold chaos in addition to endangering his own life. He ought to be banned from cycling until he has taken a safety awareness course.
He is out of order of course. But £50 is similar in nature to an FPN for driving whilst using a mobile phone. And the likeliest victim of any incident is going to be him.
Pull a u turn in a car then drive the wrong way on a motorway because your sat nav says turn round (similar sort of thing) £300 fine. And victimhood is unlikely to be limited to the offender.
Haha, why would it cause chaos? Not like anyone crashed because of it!
Said it before and I'll say it again - motorways are probably the safest place to cycle in the UK. Huge verges (with traffic prohibited in most cases) traffic in one direction only, wide lanes (so no squeezing of cyclists).
As others have pointed out, there are plenty of bike lanes in absolutely terrifying locations (like the tiny verge of the narrow 70mph A34) that seem to have been put in without a thought and as a sop to "facilitating cycling".
http://pedaller.org.uk/2013/10/14/on-cycling-along-motorways-and-a-roads/
An avoidable incident caused by an idiot relying on an electronic device instead of engaging his brain.
Luckily no drivers had to have accidentally hitting him on their conscience.
In California there are many highways where cycling is permitted specifically because it estimated and confirmed to be a good way to lower the cyclist death rate on high speed rural roads with inconsistent or absent shoulders.
If anyone was delayed by this riders error. They should stop rubber necking and slowing down just to be down right nosey! !!!