Please note that our live blog can sometimes be slow to load. If it seems to be taking way too long, please refresh you browser.
Live blog: Sustrans launch major overhaul of National Cycle Network; “It’s just not true to say the cause of congestion is cyclists,” says Mayor of London + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond
Fri, Nov 30, 2018 14:56
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
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.
14 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Miller 5 hours ago
Here's a photo I took on Alpe d'Huez at TdF 1991. L to R: Gianni Bugno, Miguel Indurain, Luc Leblanc. They would finish the stage in that order, Bugno winning. Yes, colour film was available in 1991 but that day I chose to use black and white knowing that many years hence it would look epic.
tomlew 6 hours ago
Riding a bike is green. Pro cycling is not. Don't greenwash us by confusing one with the other.
Rendel Harris 8 hours ago
The first 750 words of this article comprise a detailed explanation of the ways in which cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change. Perhaps more time reading what's actually written before rushing to spaff nonsense everywhere might help your comprehension.
60somethingcyclist 8 hours ago
Sadiq Khan and TfL cannot be accused of neglecting cycling. They have greatly improved provision in London. Yes there is a lot more that could be done, but we need to be patient. The public finances aren't in good shape, so things are going to b e tight for some time.
tomlew 9 hours ago
@Rendel Harris "ultimately football at every level is played on roughly the same size to pitch, the goals are the same size and there are eleven players on each team." Except they don't. In a senior team a 16-year-old plays against adults, under tougher competition, plays more matches and under greater mental strain. If your argument was vaild, I could easily counter it by sayng that riding the very same bike on the same roads as in training, 150 km a day, should not be such a big deal for a pro cyclist.
MaxiMinimalist 9 hours ago
The TdF yearly circus generates human and atmospheric pollution. Big time. Airplanes, choppers, trucks, cars for teams, media, VIP and other involved parties. But pro cycling is a profitable business, ask ASO. Don't spoil the party with questions about carbon footprint, side-road waste, recycling (pun intended). Also, why does ASO not have a plan B case of high temperatures - earlier departure times, shortened stages, ... ? Based on this week's weather forecasts, several stages are likely to be cancelled. Quote of the day : "But as cycling continues to feel the full force of climate change, ..." In what ways?
Pub bike 10 hours ago
@Podc I heard that Scunthorpe CC's experiment with wrapping the name around the jersey under the arm to make it fit didn't go too well either.
IanMK 11 hours ago
Be interesting to see if UAE chase down any breakaway today to ensure that Jonas stays in yellow.
Rendel Harris 15 hours ago
@Rendel Harris Interestingly, and it sort of supports my theory that UAE were being cunning, Pog has the mountains jersey today because he was the quickest up the final climb, which argues that he hadn't burnt all his matches when he got to the finish.
eburtthebike 16 hours ago
@JLasTSR It takes time. I got knocked off nine years ago in broad daylight on a roundabout, by a driver who was wearing very dark glasses, I'm suspicious that he was actually visually impaired. No prosecution. It took me a few years to get my confidence back. I wish you all the best in getting the enjoyment back.
14 thoughts on “Live blog: Sustrans launch major overhaul of National Cycle Network; “It’s just not true to say the cause of congestion is cyclists,” says Mayor of London + more”
“..the Association of British
“..the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says that a widely reported claim last week by the government that drivers who undertake cycle awareness training will benefit from lower motor insurance premiums is nonsense.”
I find that hard to believe. Surely the government wouldn’t lie to us? And I’m sure the 2014 review of road laws will be with us any day.
The news about the Unblock the Embankment Campaign is yet another demonstration of special interest groups hijacking our so-called democracy, a bit like fracking and Brexit. The majority of people support more spending on cycling and walking, but all the money goes on massive road schemes and ego-schemes like HS2.
Quote:
Maybe not, but it might have a meaningful effect on general road safety… But I guess “general road safety” isn’t a monetised quantity that the ABI is interested in.
brooksby wrote:
Maybe not, but it might have a meaningful effect on general road safety… But I guess “general road safety” isn’t a monetised quantity that the ABI is interested in.
If it was the have an effect on general road safety ( I’m not arguing that it woudn’t) the Government should be paying for it as they are the ones who would be benefiting from it, not expect the insurance industry to pay for it, for ( as it turns out) no benefit to the industry.
marcswales wrote:
The Government’s money is our money, from taxes.
So, if we want general road safety then we should pay for it as we would be the ones benefiting from it. Rather than expecting the insurance industry to pay for it because they’re the ones who would benefit (since they wouldn’t have to pay out so many claims…?).
brooksby wrote:
Maybe not, but it might have a meaningful effect on general road safety… But I guess “general road safety” isn’t a monetised quantity that the ABI is interested in.
It may not have much of an impact on insurance rates in general, but on a personal level, if you’ve taken the course you would presumably be a better driver, therefore avoid premium rate increases by avoiding accidents?
I work in the insurance
I work in the insurance industry and the first we heard of discounts for those who complete the bikeability course was when we read it in the press; the industry weren’t consulted prior to the paper being published. Surely, asking the industry what could be done should have been the starting point?
scouser_andy wrote:
Of course, ask insurers and they are bound to say ‘We aren’t paying for this,’ aren’t they? Don’t be fooled — this is just their first shot in a negotiation.
But there will probably be a proper consultation, when the industry can have their say and you’ll see how much public support there is for the idea. If enough people think it’s worth taking the training to get the discount, it’s more likely to happen, and the industry would be hard-pressed to argue against so many of their own customers. So they try to shoot it down before the idea gets established. Standard tactics.
If, to be fair, they do have a point, the government should waive insurance tax for people who have been trained. That is entirely in the government’s hands.
The Telegraph report is
The Telegraph report is quoting a press release from the ABI last week – as the industry wasn’t consulted then the other option is that the Government rebate part of the tax on insurance policies to those that qualify (and those that can manage a way to fraud the system)
Lots of nice words in that
Lots of nice words in that cycling safety review document – but virually nothing on funding. Not talking to the insurers in advance of the proposal kinda shows up how much of a priority this cycling review is for the DfT……
Sadiq – what tosh, can’t you
Sadiq – what tosh, can’t you see all those queues are queues of bikes ? All the cars have got home already as they are such space efficient vehicles, while the inneficient cycles are clogging up the roads. . . . . . Oh wait, I may have got those two means of transport transposed there.
Increased numbers of vans, and particularly PHVs (whom oddly get their licence to operate in the city from Sadiq’s TfL) don’t help.
Multiple “local collection points” across the central areas so people can collect parcels on their way to the tube home, and stopping the vast number of short stop/start runs by mainly diesel vans would be a big help. Offering incentives to the delivery firms to swap over to electric vans where they have to deliver in a stop/start cycle. And cutting the numbers of PHVs in the centre would reduce queues and make cycling a lot less dangerous.
StuInNorway wrote:
Except that’s not strictly true about the PHV licenses, there was a report earlier this year saying that there’s a loophole in the law being exploited by PHV operators which allows them to get a license elsewhere (say, Luton), but then only ever operate in London.
alexb wrote:
Time to introduce proper controls on that then…. along the lines of foreign truckers coming into Norway, they are allowed 3 internal jobs within a week before they leave the country again, to stop companies flagging out their fleet to eastern Europe and paying them a pittance, and on the jobs within Norway they have to pay the Norwegian minimum wage (about 6x what the eastern europeans are on)
I thought that looked more
I thought that looked more like a weasel.
If only there was a decent way to tell the difference…
The Sustrans story sums up
The Sustrans story sums up sublimely the problem with our transport system today; the government spends hundreds of billions of pounds of our money on road and rail schemes with very little benefit to society or public support, while walking and cycling schemes with absolutely huge benefits and massive public support are left to a charity.
Sheer lunacy and there is something profoundly wrong with our system of government.