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Cowley Bridge Road, Exeter, approaching turn into Steiner Academy (source Google Street View).PNGExeter school run parents talk of the abuse they receive from motorists while cycling
Parents who cycle with their children to a school in Exeter have spoken of the abuse – at times physical – they suffer at the hand of motorists, leaving some too scared to continue to do the school run by bike.
In a report on Devon Live, some described how they had been targeted by vehicle occupants throwing objects at them, with one mother adding that a friend who was preganant had been punched as she rode to Steiner Academy.
The school, whose students are aged from four to 16 years, is located on the busy Cowley Bridge Road which was singled out in the report as particularly problematic for cyclists due to the number of motorists using it.
One parent, Arabella Greatorex, said: "Mums and dads just feel scared.
"There are so many people who have been scared off the road that had abuse thrown at them, they had been hit, people that have been knocked off their bikes.
"We do have some real issues with driver behaviour around here and a lot of people who would like to cycle to school are too scared to cycle to school,” she continued.
"Frequently we get doored on the road so people opening their car doors without looking behind.”
She added that a passenger in a white van had slapped her on her bottom as she rode along the city’s New North Road on her way to a work meeting.
"He obviously thought it was a joke but I went flying over the handlebars," she said.
Other parents revealed that they had been deterred from undertaking the school run by bike because of the behaviour of some drivers and used other means instead.
Beacon Heath resident Laura Casey revealed that she made the trip by bus, from which she could see the danger cyclists were exposed to.
"Me and my friend come on the bus and normally there are cyclists in front and cars are getting so frustrated they are beeping, almost nudging into them," she explained.
"You can see the riders are looking back really frustrated and scared so obviously that’s put me off."
Another mother, Jane Rae, said: "We have had an experience with a tanker behind me, beeping for just being on the road and I have got a four-year-old on the back
"I have seen it from all perspectives, being a driver, a pedestrian and a cyclist. Cyclists are not an alien species. We are just like anyone else trying to get our kids to school."
The school’s office and systems manager Alice Knight, whose biography on its website reveals that she studied planning and urban design, said it wanted to encourage parents and their children to cycle but acknowledged the problem.
"Obviously we have a big problem because Cowley Bridge Road is so busy," she said.
"Cyclists have a lot of issues with car and van drivers feeling they are holding them up. As a school we really want to encourage them, we have got cycle parking and we are in discussions with the cyclists to improve conditions as much as we can but our hands are tied with Cowley Bridge Road," she added.
Do you accompany your children to school by bike, and if so, what is your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
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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55 comments
Yeah I guessed that bit but was using it as an excuse to get out on lunch and see the resurfaced bit,
I guess they have done a better job that just taking the top layer off like they did on mamhead, sketchy coming down that one!
I hadn't thought about doing the hill climb, until now... maybe I change the ratio on one of my plastic MTB's and see how many places up from bottom I can be
**cant see the date for it on the Wheelers Website, when is it?
It's tomorrow, I don't think they accept entries on the day. Good event though!
Tried to blag an entry but apprently not... Might pop up, I'll be on the Orange Singlespeed "Holdsworth"
I can't make it this year. Have fun if you go!
Jeez this is bringing all the Exeter riders out of the woodwork! The road in question is certainly bad BUT it has just been resurfaced to an uncharacteristically good standard rather than the usual chipseal crap we get.
Resurfaced...you say, maybe I'll dice with death and do some Stoke Hill reps
No, Stoke hill is still shite. Cowley bridge road is what's been resurfaced. Are you planning to do the hill climb?
I know said woman...It probably doesn't help that she also rides a 78kg Dutch Double seat extra wide converted Ice Cream cart.
The road is a bitch, it's arterial and narrow and in a shit state of affairs, its a 30mph but the speed cameras are turned off so everyone including Tankers coming in from Crediton and Tiverton do 40mph down it.
The turning into steiner requires moving to the centre of the road...If you're not confindent, riding in the gutter in fear or not riding at 20mph + average, you're never going to make it as there will simply not be a gap in traffic.
it's a clusterfuck, Exeter has possibly some of the THE WORST driving i've ever seen...I can't pinpoint why, I cycled in Liverpool, London, Plymouth, Barcelona, Girona and countless other places but Exeter is just the fucking worst, the sense of entitlement on the roads is just incredible.
I'm loving the idea of filling up bottle with DOT 4 genius
You don't need much school to figure out on your own that it's not ok to slap/poke at a a cyclist.
The commute through the urban zoo continues.
Exeter - what do you expect? Aren't they all frustrated delboys, premiership footballers and wags in 4 wheel drives?
It's about time schools did more to encourage a change of behavour. Start offering cycling profficiency again and incentives for the kids. Kids can often be the instigator for change in their parents behavour.
As the school is down a cul-de-sac I am sure the residents are frustrated with all the traffic so maybe the school could co-ordinate a campaign with them to restrict traffic to residents only at school start/end times? At one of my local primary schools they have a PCO/PC outside regularly moving on parents who try to drop off/collect their kids by car.
Alternatively, organise a slow ride to school one morning and really piss them off.
Most schools where I live, Bristol, are extremely active in promoting cycling, and I can't think of a reason why Exeter should be any different. Perhaps you need a public meeting to discuss the situation, inviting all the parents and ask them why they drive, which is almost certainly a fear of motor vehicles. Then you point out that this is a self-fulfilliing prophecy and that they are the problem. When they are feeling thoroughly ashamed and contrite, have a vote on improving cycle access, pointing out that more bikes is fewer cars.
agreed. Bottom line is theschool has a problem (with the safety of it's pupils) and should be doing all it can to co-ordinate a change of behavour to get their pupils out of cars and walking/cycling.
Here's some KARMA for you all. Yesterday I was out riding and some numpty van driver was leaning across his seat spouting something that I couldn't hear, but was obviously being a twat! HE HAD GIVEN ME SOME SPACE THOUGH (NOT 1.5M), I then noticed something ahead and slowed, he didn't and promptly drove into the back of a car that had stopped to turn right.
I quickly came to stop, photgraphed the incident from behind, then from the side with him in view, as he was trying to reverse out and probably make a run for it. Then called 999 and police were there in 2mins, gave my statement as above and he was arrested on the spot.....RESULT!
I Have been told he will be prosecuted, as the driver he hit insisted on it!
There is a god. And he rides a bike.
"When he was riding independently I got several comments about being an irresponsible parent for putting him at risk".
That'll be from the 'It's not safe on the roads for my child to walk to school so I drive them' brigade. Should be shot!
My favourites are those wahoo speed up to the yellow 'school keep clear' paint, literally boot child out and speed off again with barely a check, shoulder check et al. Yep, I don't mind running anyone else's child over so long as mine is within 3m of the gate.
Unfortunately in Britain traffic laws are viewed as optional by most, and they view it as a human right to break the law. Just look at the attitude to speed cameras.
That is so sad and what the numpties can't picture is those folk scared of cycling become larger blocks which cant easily overtake (cars) and add to the congestion. If the numpties were fustrated before, they will become more fustrated
"If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others ?"
It sounds like an unsuitable place to ride a bike, let alone encourage a child to be there on one. Sometimes it's wise to accept there are just bad roads for cycling and are best avoided.
schoolkids not obese and polluted enough already for you?
Here's a radical idea: do something about the road so that it is a suitable place for children to cycle to school without their parents.
There's no such thing as an unsuitable road to cycle on in this country, but there are plenty that are unsuitable to drive on.
Accepting bad driving is effectively condoning it, and I for one, will never do that.
Why aren't you condemning the drivers for their failure to consider other road users and to drive to the conditions?
Bollocks!
No, this is the absolute worst solution, and your acceptance of it is both sad and worrying.
The solution is to remove the dangerous cars from the equation. Perhaps ban motorised traffic from the road between school hours. Perhaps have police patrol the road at busy times and look out for the more vulnerable road users, but of course the Police don't give a shit about cyclists and would rather make sure they get locked up than protected.
But until they do transplant wings onto a pig, just keep safe out there, read the road situations and judge the best safe course of action. If that means not cycling on certain roads, then so be it.
It's a shame that in Exeter the general car driving public seem like knuckle draggers (the Exeter stereotype proves itself), personally I'd be tempted to fill up a household cleaning spray bottle up with brake fluid and any close passes or numpty drivers would get a squirt or two.
Why should we? The road is not bad (well the surface may be), its the attitude of the drivers that is bad.Its a slippery slope if you accept bad driving and intimidation - it normalises it and makes it worse for everyone.
Surely all it takes is a couple of police officers on bikes to patrol the streets on the school run? Attitudes can only change through education.
Great news, looks like Devon and Cornwall Police have taken action: http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/covert-cycle-cops-stop-motorist...
Nice work!
Exeter is growing with no easy way to add more arterial routes in, and I for one can't wait until the city is properly broken as far as driving cars is concerned. It's just a shame we've got to put up with this kind of shit while we wait for that unavoidable eventuality.
And this, I fear, will be the only solution for towns and cities across the country. People are just too wedded to their cars. Not that I'm advocating giving up, you understand, and maybe it's just a grey morning and I'm miserable or something, but I just can't see any political momentum to fix this. It will only be when every city and town permanently chokes on congestion and pollution so nobody can even leave their driveways before the average driver would even vaguely think about any kind of alternative. And possibly not even then.
In Germany and many other countries, the speed limit is 30km/h to 40km/h (20mph-25mph) around schools and residential areas. Enforceable with hefty fines (and licences revoked for repeat offenders). But Britain is "different", people don't need policing, we're told.
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