road.cc live blog: Monday morning catch-up. Clarkson claptrap, clueless councillors and more
Some stories you may have missed over the weekend
Mon, Nov 20, 2017 08:29
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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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Latest Comments
eburtthebike 1 hour ago
@qwerty360 "Oh; Huge reduction in all injuries;....." Which reminds me of the original Thompson, Rivara and Thompson study about cycle helmets, which found that helmets prevented 85% of deaths, but when peer reviewed, it was shown that helmets prevented injuries to all other parts of the body. That study was absolutely the most awful piece of original research about cycle helmets, completely invalid, but it's still the most quoted. You don't say where the figures you quote come from, but I'm sceptical of their validity.
Rendel Harris 1 hour ago
@Nigel Garage Guess he's finding out that real life doesn't have an edit button, eh?
eburtthebike 1 hour ago
“The consultation showed a strong preference for Dryden Road to return to two-way traffic,........" But doesn't the council have policies which dictate that Active Travel routes should be adopted, preserved and promoted? From Devon CC's Roads and Traffic webpage: "Following a 2021 public consultation which showed almost 75% of respondents in favour of permanent changes to reduce traffic,........" So 75% of people are in favour of permanent changes to reduce traffic, but another consultation says take it out. Why aren't they going with the result of the 2021 consultation? "It followed concerns about the impact of displaced traffic on surrounding roads......" This is always exaggerated, and usually much smaller than the reduction in traffic on the blocked road, and of course, this is no exception: 'Devon County Council reported that closing Dryden Road to motor vehicles reduced traffic by 574 vehicles in the AM peak on Dryden Road itself, while increasing traffic on Bovemoors Lane by 180 vehicles in the AM peak. 'Impact on Surrounding Roads • Bovemoors Lane: Saw an increase of 180 vehicles during the morning peak hours following the modal filter/closure. (Devon CC) • Parallel Corridors (Heavitree Road and Topsham Road): Experienced no significant change in traffic volumes, with vehicle numbers remaining largely the same before and after the closure. (Devon CC) • Air Quality & Congestion: Critics and local campaign groups argued that the closure pushed congestion and fumes onto nearby residential streets, though official council data indicated minimal impact on major parallel routes.' (BBC) My guess is that some councillor has to drive an extra 500m because of the closure.
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@Blackthorne83 Please can you let us know what was said, as you apparently know that it was just "exercising his speech" [sic] and didn't deserve any sanction?
belugabob 2 hours ago
@jackcycles your biggest obstacle is a narrow mind - also caused by poor maintenance. Just Google "Cycling KSIs netherlands vs uk" to see how wrong you are.(not that you're open to facts)
belugabob 3 hours ago
@mark1212123 pausing before posting on social media would help a lot of folk. (not you, though)
belugabob 3 hours ago
@chrisonabike only in the brains of the hard of thing
Blackthorne83 3 hours ago
@jackcycles this whole thing is culturally deeply disheartening. Richardson was snitched on by a woke ‘whistleblower’ teammate for exercising his speech. Now British cycling is obligated to take performative measures to safeguard their image given their sins of the past. And a young rider sent to ‘re-education training’, reputation slandered without trial and career derailed. Everybody loses. Great job British cycling, propping up riders and then publicly throwing them under the bus.
No Reply 3 hours ago
@jackcycles Unfortunately now, people are guilty until proved innocent. Mud sticks. I am not saying he is guilty or innocent, but it is the way of the world now.
mark1212123 4 hours ago
@chrisonabike "more rational, efficient and dependable" The cost will explode across taxpayers. The administration could've used HS2 money as a beginning step, but they chose not to. Windshield bias will still be whacking the cyclist in 100 years. I don't see many cyclists bothered by it. I see many possible cyclists put off cycling by it but we know this already.
9 thoughts on “road.cc live blog: Monday morning catch-up. Clarkson claptrap, clueless councillors and more”
Currently sitting in a car
Currently sitting in a car dealership waiting area, Daily Fail and (behind) the Times have just been dropped onto the table. Against my better judgment, picked up the DF,,, inside is a piece with Clarkson saying driverless car nearly killed him. Which means in a parallel universe…
CygnusX1 wrote:
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem with driverless cars: no judgement.
davel wrote:
And that, in a nutshell, is the problem with driverless cars: no judgement.— CygnusX1
I don’t understand. Is it a problem that it only “nearly killed him” and it should have definitely killed him?
hawkinspeter wrote:
That would be one measure of intelligence progression.
There is truth in what
There is truth in what Clarkson says… paraphrasing; shared cycle/bus lanes are dangerous, and given the choice he’d ban buses due to NOx and particulate emmissions. Hard to argue with that…
PRSboy wrote:
“shared cycle/bus lanes are dangerous” – no they’re not
“he’d ban buses due to NOx and particulate emmissions” – do busses pollute more per passenger per mile than cars then? If the car journeys were replaced by bus journeys the efficiency would be greater as would be the ability to increase investment in better busses…
“Clarkson’s been telling his
“Clarkson’s been telling his fans once again that only poor people cycle” Not exactly.
What he said isn’t exactly wrong either. Busses are ridiculously overpriced (£4 for a return ticket that takes twice as long as my car to get from one side of Bristol to the other – no thanks, I’ll drive).
I fully support removing diesel buses and replacing them with electric ones. Or, as should have been done in Bristol rather than Metrobus, create an electric tram network – go look at Geneva!
Cycling also provides free travel for millions worldwide who can’t afford to run a car.
My Canyon Ultimate is way more than twice the cost of my car though – and my Whyte Wessex is nearly twice the price, so, you know.
Quote” Clarkson’s been
Quote” Clarkson’s been telling his fans once again that only poor people cycle”
No he didn’t. He said if you can’t afford a car, buy a bicycle. Not the same thing at all.
The article says that
The article says that Clarkson is 57, which seems rather young to be having dementia to this extent.