"A new low" - TfL refuses to order removal of 'Cyclists stay back' stickers

Its indicative of where the sympathies lies within the Establishment. Cyclists are viewed as more of a bolshy, do-gooder, protest group, who don't play by the rules rather than a vulnerable road user group. I've said it before and I'll say it again; Cyclists are more like pedestrians than they are like motor vehicles. Treating cyclists like motor vehicles is fundamentally wrong and until the idiots that run this country get that into their thick skulls nothing will change.

I read, today, in a professional safety publication, a readers letter from a so-called safety professional, who, whilst commenting on TfL's recent cycling safety initiative, described cyclists as an 'increasingly lawless class of road user'. If you get that sort of attitude from safety experts it's no wonder TfL treat the subject in the way they do.

The idea that cost and effort is the reason for not removing or amending the signs is ludicrous. If it cost time and effort to put them on in the first place it's surely worth making corrections now they have become apparent.

If there had been a misspelling and the signs read 'Cyclists Don't Stay Back', would TfL be making the same argument?

I think not.

[[[[[ Can of spray-paint in the bottle-cage? Just for the word "BACK"....and then it would be "far too much trouble" (for the registered keeper, or TFL) to remove. Note the "?" above, to show it's just a thought...innit. I am definately thinking, though...
P.R.

We just need cycling tops that have "Motorists stay back" on our backs, play them at their own game!

If you put this sort of crap on your car in Amsterdam you and your car would probably be beaten up by outraged cyclists...

[[[[[ Sorry if this has already been suggested above, but can't they just PAINT OVER the far king signs? Four minutes per vehicle? TFL--get your brains out of your arses and stop the delaying tactics.
P.R.

Too much time and money to remove them? I'd do a couple for nothing

This is truly sad if TfL think the answer to the lack of suitable cycling infrastructure is to patch it with a sticker!

I truly hate how such a stupid little thing messes up the peace I wish for - and normally enjoy - on a bike ride.

Horrible sticker - it would be interesting to know if its inventors and implementors have been on a bike recently??

Some of these signs are down right offensive, " Do not cycle on the inside".
Signage like this simply means that the driver is removing any responsibility from themselves without having to do anything.
Wrong!

On a more positive note, Bristol is trailing these things,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-27676723
I wonder what the main objections to installing these will be.

The easily offended are top of my list come the revolution.

It should be very easy to notice when a vehicle is turning left and may crush you. There are orange flashing lights attached to each corner, which flash when the stick attached to the steering column is moved in an anti-clockwise direction.

Sorry, sorry, just woken up. It was a lovely dream where people actually do what they should and indicate their intentions......!

Actually, I was surprised and suitably informed by a lorry shouting "Vehicle turning left! Vehicle turning left!" at me the other day. That did the job. I didn't undertake coming up to that particular junction. I survived to tell this tale - hurrah!

What is the legal position for if you're caught peeling the "Cyclists stay back" stickers off?

What's the difference in cost between having constantly changing advertising slogans slapped all over buses and removing small stickers?

Amusing as some of the alternative back pack / shirt slogan ideas are, I'm not sure I want to rile the many drivers who are courteous and don't see the need to try to kill me. Although, a supply of blank stickers to go over the offending TfL ones in a ready to reach pouch would be handy....

I know alot of people think I'm vermin when I ride my bike. But bugger the lot of them I'm going to ride anyway.

Like others have suggested, what about an extra sticker to put underneath the offensive (poss) illegal sign.

My favourite would be; Moron Driving.

I would gladly stick that on vans displaying the original signage

As well as the sticker on the back it should be mandatory to have a sticker in front of the driver stating 'Don't drive like a Bell End'
Saw a van with a Cyclists Keep Back sticker on the A303 on my drive to work the other day, tailgating every single vehicle it came up behind, when will the powers that be get it through their thick skulls to start clamping down hard on these idiots and take them off the road, for good.
We are not talking about the odd driver who makes a mistake, these are divots who think it is OK to endanger other peoples lives.

"Stay back" reads very close to "know your place" and is only one step away from "get off the road".

By the same "logic" that underlies these signs cyclists could wear one declaring "Motorists, stop clogging up the road" but the might-is-right principle behind these things means doing so would just provoke more aggressive behaviour.

The ONLY justified use of such signs, and even then its borderline, is to specifically give warning for large vehicles where the driver genuinely can't see you. Even then it should probably include an apology (for the crap vehicle design).

"Sorry, cyclists, I can't see you on my left" or somesuch.

I hope this works,

www.cyclingkitdesigner.net/cycling-kit-designer/60375/

Why not get one printed saying "due to my poor quality initentive shite driving i have to tell..."

I'd stick it on plenty of buses and trucks above that one

"Yes, I am going as fast as possible!"

I could see this working...

What about "I'm also someone's son/daughter*."

*Obviously gender specific.

A vehicle fitted with these signs means that the driver is fully aware of the risks his vehicle poses to other road users. It is a full admission of responsibility in any accident which occurs.

I'm going to get a large sticker that says "You're a c**t, f**k off." for my bag.

Is that an obvious enough command?

Saw a small van with a " Cyclists, Warning This Vehicle May turn Left" Sticker on it the other day.

Where do you start?

I think we should use the same stickers as stuck on the back of busses. Just put a line through the final s and stick it to your backpack.

"not aware of any evidence that suggests the design of these stickers is reducing their effectiveness in promoting safer behaviour among van, lorry drivers"

I'd be interested to hear exactly how these stickers influence van or lorry drivers' behaviour behind the wheel.

The most likely outcome is that drivers now think 'I don't have to pay attention any more or drive carefully because it's up to everyone outside the vehicle to read the warning notice'.

It's just yet another excuse for bad driving, and for the road haulage industry overall to ignore yet again its responsibilities to road safety.

“We also know of a case where a cyclist, who had been cut up and abused by a left-turning lorry driver, phoned up the company’s ‘How’s my driving’ reporting line, only to be told that he was in the wrong because the lorry had a ‘cyclists stay back’ sticker."

So lorry drivers believe that they are now exempt from Rule 182? Granted that this is not a 'must' the fact of the mater is that the driver on this occasion cut up the cyclist. The cyclist did not filter the vehicle. It is further proof that our supposed highly trained knowledgeable HGV drivers are not as well trained as they would like us to believe and their lackies in the customer care department have an even lesser understanding of the Highway Code.

I saw a local vehicle in Scotland with the message 'do not filter when I am turning left'. Felt that this was much more appropriate.

I've seen "Cyclists Please Take Care" stickers and "Cyclists - Don't pass on the inside" stickers, and I have no issue with those - although I still feel that more needs to be done with road design, as currently cycle lanes actively encourage cyclists to stay inside them and to go up the inside at junctions to get the ASL.

It's less of a problem for experienced cyclists who understand road riding, but for newer or less confident cyclists, it provides a false sense of security, and makes less enlightened motorists think that cyclists are being unreasonable if they ever stray outside of it.

But yeah, when I see a 'Cyclist Stay Back' sticker (whether I'm on the bike, the scooter or in the car), I automatically translate as, "The company running this vehicle don't give a shit if their drivers are terrible - expect sloppy lane discipline, mobile phone held to the ear and possibly a copy of The Sun across the steering wheel". The fact that these stickers are actually being referenced in accidents as being some sort of shield against sloppy driving is worrying, to say the least.

Why don't the cycling organisations do their own sticker say

CYCLIST
Pass Wide!
Pass Slow!

I would be more than happy to place one of these on my vehicles. Hell I will even pay for it and the profit can help fund further road safety initiatives

Fight fire with fire, there must be a huge amount of cyclists who own vehicles. More promotion of cyclist safety will eventually have an affect.

The cycle campaigns can surely deal with this, just start peeling every time you come across on stopped at the traffic lights.

I prefer the idea of covering up with a replacement sticker saying "take care - moron driving" though!

Its a shame TFL are being stubborn about it, all that is required is a memo saying "when you have a minute, pull these of any vehicle that isn't an HGV"... but that isn't the point, its dragging its feet deliberately because it thinks the stickers actually do something.

Pedestrians walk between barriers and large vehicles at junctions as well.

My problem with this sticker is that it is judgemental, discriminatory, offensive, misused and insulting.

A better alternative would be "Take care when passing" or even better "Please take care when passing" with no pictogram of a bike on it. An eye pictogram could be used instead. I'm sure this was covered by a campaign recently.

Yes it would probably cost money to remove all the stickers but you could just stop them being put on new vehicles. As vehicle fleets are renewed then the stickers would just quietly fade away. Crossrail are probably the biggest culprits for the overuse and misuse of these stickers by insisting that they are on every vehicle.