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Live blog: The end of cars parked in cycle lanes? Government dismisses mandatory helmet/hi-viz and compulsory cycle insurance suggestions; Cav’s unique Thanksgiving message, South African cyclist survives knife to the head + more
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Thu, Nov 22, 2018 15:12
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Latest Comments
wtjs 9 hours ago
@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn't even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury's, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.
bikeman01 11 hours ago
Gustav Gullholm.. that's not a good look mate
mdavidford 13 hours ago
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
jaymack 14 hours ago
As Mary Whitehouse never said - one doesn't have to read the article if one doesn't want to read about an off-road bicycle.
Rendel Harris 15 hours ago
@FionaJJ In London they're allowed to stop on single and double yellows to deliver packages or empty pillar boxes; in practice they take this as carte blanche to park wherever and whenever they want, such as this chap on the Brixton Road who pulled into the bus/cycle/motorcycle lane without indicating, as I approached at 20mph, to park on a red route, response to a remonstrance, "I suppose you never get post delivered do ya?"
FionaJJ 15 hours ago
@Rendel Harris We have a pavement parking ban, but around here at least, royal mail vans are already exempt, subject to certain caveats, such as allowing at least 1.5m, and only being stopped to do their work.
FionaJJ 15 hours ago
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right. I'm now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name - Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters. It's apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I'm not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they'd been given a demonstration with that equipment, they'd have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
Geoff Ingram 18 hours ago
Have put drop bars on a 2001 B1 mtb, a 2007 stumpy hardtail and a 2010 stumpy full suss. In all cases fairly basic conversións leaving gearing and wheels broadly the same and concentrating on correct positioning of bars and fit. Oddly, with all 3 I was happy with the result when recently done, but after a few months found that the extra speed on easy trails was more than offset by the lack of ability (probably mine) on tougher routes and finally preferred flat bar with slammed and inverted stem as best overall compromise. Good fun playing around, though.
mark1a 18 hours ago
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
mattw 19 hours ago
This is a strange reactionary knee jerk overall. But what is this "are essentially motorbikes in disguise" waffle? "One letter claimed that high-powered electric ‘e-bikes’ were “essentially motorbikes” in disguise, with many being used without lights, helmets, or any hi-vis clothing." Surely, they simply ARE motorbikes?
15 thoughts on “Live blog: The end of cars parked in cycle lanes? Government dismisses mandatory helmet/hi-viz and compulsory cycle insurance suggestions; Cav’s unique Thanksgiving message, South African cyclist survives knife to the head + more”
Interesting and welcome
Interesting and welcome approach. Typically BikeAbility training is free for kids, wonder how much it would be for adults? Needs to be priced right. Doubt that the DfT will fund it, needs an innovative approach from insurance companies/other providers.
kil0ran wrote:
How would passing a bikeability course reduce the risk ? bear in mind this is talking about people that have already been trained and passed the government approved driving test, so these people should already be aware of the dangers on the roads, and of how to safely pass other road users.
I can see people simply turning up for the course to get a discount and it making not a blind bit of difference to their driving. It’s not about people being unaware of the risks in many cases, it’s people who don’t care. Those who would be interested in taking the course to improve their driving are probably the last people that need to be on it as they already consider others.
StuInNorway wrote:
Might work if the course includes repeatedly scaring them sh:tless by being close passed by an HGV at 40mph.
StuInNorway wrote:
Like people who choose to do a speed advisory course when they’ve been caught speeding? (apparently, people do sometimes still get caught for speeding! Who would have thought?!)
kil0ran wrote:
Not sure they hand out Bikeability badges at the end of it, but my local council (Trafford) offers FREE one-to-one cycle training to adults.
There are also commercial outfits out there that offer Bikebility training to adults, suspect prices vary.
How is that going to work for
How is that going to work for those of us who cycle regularly but didn’t take the Bikeability course? Hoop jumping?
Luca Patrono wrote:
My daughter (just 12) said to me that she’d been offered Bikeability L3 at school, but that she really didn’t want to do it. I said that was fine, that I’d never even done Cycling Proficiency BITD, and that she’d pretty much pick up the skills taught by – you know – just riding.
(That said, I think that some sort of cycle training or cycling experience should definitely be mandatory for anyone planning to get an HGV/PSV licence).
Luca Patrono wrote:
Depends on what your insurance premium is and the discount offered. Might be worth taking it – should be an easy hoop to jump through…
Lets say it costs £50~£100 to take the course, and you get a 5 to 10% discount for passing
£500 insurance premium –
£2000 insurance premium –
So it may pay for itself or at least recover most of the cost at your next insurance renewal. And don’t forget to multiply the discount by the number of years you expect to continue driving 😀
CygnusX1 wrote:
Depends on what your insurance premium is and the discount offered. Might be worth taking it – should be an easy hoop to jump through…
Lets say it costs £50~£100 to take the course, and you get a 5 to 10% discount for passing
£500 insurance premium –
£2000 insurance premium –
So it may pay for itself or at least recover most of the cost at your next insurance renewal. And don’t forget to multiply the discount by the number of years you expect to continue driving 😀 — Luca Patrono
Fully comp for my Passat was £220, it’d need a fair few years to break even even if the insurers offer it. Those that offer discounts for advanced driving, camera fitted etc IME are more expensive at the base price so negates any ‘saving’.
I foresee quite an industry
I foresee quite an industry developing in fake insurance reduction claims either through dodgy training courses, downloadable fake training certificates or people just brazenly claiming to have taken the course.
Now if it was a new classification on the driving licence that required you to pass a cycling test it could be more robust and easier to verify on the roadside.
billymansell wrote:
It’d be in the insurance industries interests to make sure that the training courses are effective. They’re not going to be happy with fake training certificates if the underwriters have to pay out claims with reduced premiums.
Ouch! that photo of the SA
Ouch! that photo of the SA guy looks gruesome. Cue comments about how he should have worn a helmet…
Dooring a cyclist does matter
Dooring a cyclist does matter, so I can’t understand the “Near-dooring of a tandem” story. The tandem riders should be ashamed they didn’t try to educate the offending driver. The driver will just continue their bad behavior until another cyclist(s) gets hurt. They took the time to tell other cyclists with a video as documentation, which amounts to basically preaching to the choir about the drivers poor choices.
Wait, did the government just
Wait, did the government just make a rational decision based on facts and reasoning?
What is happening and can we have some more?
Canyon48 wrote:
All the big name politicians are tied up with Brexit shenanigans, so they can’t impart their usual wisdom over small issues like this.
Don’t worry, normal service will be resumed shortly.