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Live blog: ‘make cyclists wear numbered bibs’, says former West Ham footballer, Belfast university gets a (timely?) EU award for being a cycle friendly employer, end of the road for Velothon Wales +more
All the news from the site and beyond as we start a new week
Mon, Nov 26, 2018 16:08
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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
mdavidford 2 minutes ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 33 minutes ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 34 minutes ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 50 minutes ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
Jakrayan 2 hours ago
I'm criticising them for not riding in secondary position, not primary. At least 60cms (2 feet) from the edge of the road as the HC explicitly recommends. Leaving aside the small minority of riders who find mounting and dismounting a bike difficult - which sounds suspiciously similar to the motorists "but, but what about disabled drivers?" when talking about LTNs - what's wrong with able bodied riders walking the few metres over that narrow, Victorian bridge? Sure, if there's clearly no-one on it I wouldn't condemn anyone for riding it slowly, but if it's not clear forcing pedestrians to stop and squeeze to the side is, frankly, a rather entitled opinion. Plus it's easy to hold a road bike a little ahead of you and hold the saddle - normally no need to hold the bars if it's straight - so you're really not taking up much more room at all. There's a railway underpass near me that links to a shared then segregated path. It's narrow, and the path approaches at an angle so you can't see if it's clear, but many riders still choose to pedal through despite the clear 'no cycling' signage. Why?? Personally I don't go that way, except on foot, preferring the surrounding roads.
bensynnock 2 hours ago
I think you're giving drivers too much credit. Many would not think twice about blocking the road if it makes their life easier, such as when turning right onto a busy road.
bensynnock 2 hours ago
They might have to, but they won't. What they will do is pull out over the cycle path while they wait for a gap in motor traffic.
Safety 3 hours ago
"We have enough regulation." I agree with the exception being legally allowed to sell something which is virtually illegal to use. How many purchasers own a suitably large piece of private land?
Tradescant 6 hours ago
@jackcycles I'm not sure my grandchildren got that memo. Cycling should not be just for hardened road warriors.
DS2025 7 hours ago
Chrisonabike There are a number of police forces in England and Wales that are using portable testing equipment already... How effective it is another matter, I haven't looked into the results of failing (I would hope they just seize and crush the motorbike without any faff but I am sure there are appeal processes, promises not to use them on public roads etc).
24 thoughts on “Live blog: ‘make cyclists wear numbered bibs’, says former West Ham footballer, Belfast university gets a (timely?) EU award for being a cycle friendly employer, end of the road for Velothon Wales +more”
The most informative quote
The most informative quote from the Frank McAvennie piece: “I’m no expert on road safety”
A quick google of ‘Referee
A quick google of ‘Referee books wrong player’ quickly puts Frank’s plan to bed.
More like: Who needs
More like: Who needs Handlebars, when you’ve got 3 Hetchins?!
I’m not sure Airbus would win
I’m not sure Airbus would win an EU award for being a cycle friendly employer, a colleague was handed this when arriving on-site.
very odd given the horrendous traffic in Toulouse, you’d think they’d be encouraging more people to cycle to work.
ChancerOnABike wrote:
I’d prefer brakes on the bike rather than any of the other advice.
ChancerOnABike wrote:
McAvennie is ridiculed annually in a BBC Scotland comedy show broadcast at New Year.
The two things his character is identified as.
He was a fine footballer in his Celtic days, but not the sharpest.
Edit – This is from Wikipedia
During his playing career he reputedly enjoyed a playboy lifestyle involving drink, drugs and womanising.[14][12][52] His lifestyle was the inspiration for a parody character played by Jonathan Watson in the Scottish comedy TV programme, Only an Excuse?[12][53]
In 2000, having been cleared in court of an incident involving the supply of controlled drugs,[12][54] McAvennie found himself in severe fiancial difficulties and resorted to selling his medals to Celtic-supporting businessman Willie Haughey for a small sum; these were later returned to him in 2017.[54]
On 12 January 2009, McAvennie received a four-month suspended sentence for affray following an incident in July 2008 in which he head-butted a man in Douglas on the Isle of Man.[55]
Ideal role model to take advice from.
Quote:
But they aren’t held to the same standards at present. He’s right. At present, drivers are dealt with a great deal more leniently…
Quote:
This one really annoys me.
Bicycles and cars are not the same things, and I firmly believe the rules and regulations should reflect that (which they don’t at the moment, for the most part).
Arguing that cyclists should be held to the same standard as drivers calls on that non-existent equivalence. We often hear demands that we should be held to the same standard, or be made to obey the law in the same way, or pay the same taxes, or be subject to the same enforcement regime (cf the proposed dangerous cycling law) and yet at the same time, we are also told that we should get out of the way of faster vehicles, ride in the gutter at all times, not ride in the centre of the lane and so on, and so on.
The law in this country should recognise the differences between modes of transport and allow for different regulations where appropriate (e.g. permitting cyclists to turn left through red lights, for one example).
brooksby wrote:
It is a fundamentally stupid thing to say. In almost every aspect of life, standards are stricter for owning and operating more potentially dangerous items of equipment. Hence it is easy (in the UK) to get hold of an air pistol but nigh on impossible to own an assault rifle. Pretty much any adult can buy fireworks but very few can buy Semtex. Anyone can ride a bicycle but very few people are allowed to fly jet aircraft (and then only after long and rigorous training).
A 10-kg bicycle, propelled by human power is potentially FAR less dangerous than a two-tonne steel vehicle propelled by anything up to 200 bhp. Anyone who cannot understand the difference between the two and the accompanying operating standards is an idiot.
Good of that footballer to
Good of that footballer to come along and confirm the stereotype of footballers being as thick as two short planks!
“At the moment, they have no
“At the moment, they have no accountability — and I have a brilliant idea to change that. Cyclists need to be held to the same standards that drivers are.
So, wearing a numbered bib would allow cyclists to cause the same levels of death & destruction as drivers? Really?
So, as an example from DfT statistics, on 20mph roads 86% of cars exceed the limit, that would have to be reduced to ~15mph to make it possible for 86% of cyclists to break the limit – genius!
I bet motorists would be happy with you mr ex footballer,
and I’d love to hear your ideas on BrexitWill the bib come with
Will the bib come with electric lighting?
Good to know there are no hit and runs by any driver.
hirsute wrote:
Yep: 100 per week motorised hit & runs in London alone. Maybe cars need bibs.
Can footballers also be made
Can footballers also be made to wear bibs, so they can be clearly identified as they are generally immune from prosecution due to the services of Mr Loophole?
National Cake Day, wish I’d
National Cake Day, wish I’d known. but I did start the day with a glazed knot ring doughnut, from my local bakery. And yesterday I did manage, on my 4th attempt to make caramel shards, which I used to make The Violet Bakery’s butterscotch blondies, which are very sticky and nice.
“I don’t want it to seem like
“I don’t want it to seem like I hate all cyclists…”
Is this a newer form of “I’m not racist but…”?
He’s a footballer. His plan
He’s a footballer. His plan for numbered bibs will run into trouble as soon as he gets past 10. Maybe 20 if he takes his socks off.
Mungecrundle wrote:
12 or 24 for his type.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Hey! I’ve got friends from Bridgwater, you know.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Sandwich city!*
*(All in bread)
And congratulations for being one of the 5% who can spell it right.
I’m sure Frank has thought
I’m sure Frank has thought this through rigorously but surely numbered bibs would be wide open to fraud
Sadly Biggins wrote:
Yeah – I’d get bib numbered 69 (dude) and after jumping red lights, I could just turn it upside down and get away with it.
hawkinspeter wrote:
You might also get some attention from ladies who misunderstand your sign.
burtthebike wrote:
I don’t think there’ll be any misunderstanding.