UCI looking into hookless rims safety as “matter of urgency” following De Gendt’s UAE Tour crash; Police calls video of “dangerous interaction” between cyclists and motorists “concerning”; Football fan vs works sign on cycle lane + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Councillor urges delivery riders to learn the Highway Code to ward off licensing or insurance rules that would have a “detrimental impact” on cycling
An SNP councillor from Glasgow has urged delivery riders to learn and obey the Highway Code, amidst concerns about traffic offences committed by such cyclists led to the proposal of license plates and insurance by his peer. However, the council said it will not support such measures, citing a “significant detrimental impact” on active travel.
Celebrating for personal reasons...
Not much (maybe a bit, actually), but one of the best places to cycle around in Cardiff (approved by your live blogger) is around Roath Park, and the council has begun construction for a cycle lane around it, which will hopefully make the experience even better!
And what’s even more fascinating is that areas surrounding the beautiful park have an average of less than 50 per cent car ownership, hammering home the point how important the cycling route could be, not just for leisurely reasons, but also for safer commuting.
Reminder that almost half of households in Plasnewydd (48.3%) & nearby Cathays (49.1%) & Adamsdown (48.1%) have NO access to a car.
Some of the lowest rates of car ownership not just in Cardiff but in Wales.
Improving pedestrian, cycling & public transport is essential & fair. https://t.co/B1owhEshHw
— G (@gomedia91) February 26, 2024
Pogačar to "race for the win" at Strade Bianche, but who stands in his way?
It’s March 1, the leap day of the year is past us, it’s St David’s Day here in Wales, and also it’s the day before Strade Bianche 2024, as the cycling season ushers into the sweeping vistas of Italy (the Tirreno-Adriatico also kicks off next Monday). Bring on the racing!
One such 25-year-old, now sporting frosted tips on his hair, would surely be itching to indeed bring the racing on. I’m talking about Tadej Pogačar, the mercurial Slovenian making his season debut tomorrow as he looks to start with a bang, winning in Piazza del Campo, before setting his sights on the coveted, hellish double of Giro-Tour.
Speaking to Cyclingnews, Pogačar said: “I’ve been patient and taken a bit of a slower approach to this year and started racing a bit later. It’s going to be a long season, including two Grand Tours, so new territory for me in that regard. But I’m excited by the prospect, it’s something new.
“My preparation has been really good and we’ll be racing for the win. You never know exactly how you’ll be in the first races and there will be big rivals but I think with our team we can be ready for anything.”
Standing in his way would be Visma-Lease a Bike looking to win the second classic of the season with Christophe Laporte and Sepp Kuss, as the team’s strongest rider Wout van Aert sits this one out, choosing instead to go for a lengthy campaign of altitude training to prepare for the few missing jewels from his palmares, the Flanders and Roubaix title.
Elsewhere, Tom Pidcock, who’s had a lively start to the season, finishing sixth at the Volta ao Algarve and eighth at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, will also be looking to make a mark at the race he won last time around with a tremendous solo outing.
Other favourites include the much-maligned-by-his-own-boss rider from Soudal Quick-Step Julian Alaphilippe, Lidl-Trek’s Andrea Bagioli, Israel Premier-Tech’s Stephen Williams, and the 20-year-old French dazzler from Groupama-FDJ Lenny Martinez. And don’t write out Ryan’s favourite in the peloton, Ben Healy too!
And unfortunately for you all, I’m not getting into the debate of whether Strade Bianche should be the sixth monument or not today… (although no one’s stopping you). In the meantime, here, enjoy this video from six years ago of a still-green Wout van Aert (remember when he used to ride for Vérandas Willems–Crelan?) doing everything he can and more to keep up with the relentless Romain Bardet on the agonisingly steep climb of Via Santa Caterina.
📺 Bardet & WVA on very steep Via Santa Caterina in 2018 Strade Bianche (mud festival). Benoot took his 1st pro win at #StradeBianche 6 years ago.pic.twitter.com/VcgTK7HRxj
— ammattipyöräily (@ammattipyoraily) February 29, 2024
Supersapiens cancels all memberships and stops shipping glucose sensors amid "strategic restructuring"
Supersapiens, the brand behind the continuous blood glucose-monitoring tech that has increased in popularity across the cycling world in recent years, has announced that it is undergoing a “strategic restructuring” amid “an increasingly challenging business environment”, with all memberships terminated and shipping of sensors stopped.
Promising 18-year-old cyclist from Alejandro Valverde's team dies on training ride in Spain
In an unfortunate incident, promising Spanish teenage cyclist Juan Pujalte who rode for Valverde Team-Ricardo Fuentes, headed by former world champion Alejandro Valverde, has died in a training incident in the Murcia region of Spain.
The tragic news was confirmed by The Cycling Federation of the Region of Murcia (FCRM), who released an official statement. The statement read: “With all the pain in our heart we have to report the death by accident of Juan Pujalte Martinez, member of the Murcia cycling team. The great cycling family will miss you.”
Con todo el dolor de nuestro corazón tenemos que informar del fallecimiento por accidente de Juan Pujalte Martinez
Miembro de la Selección Murciana de Ciclismo 🖤
La Gran Familia Ciclista te echara de menos 🎗
D.E.P. 🌹 pic.twitter.com/t5dKjDhqF9— Federación de Ciclismo de la Región de Murcia (@FedCiciclismoRM) February 29, 2024
El País reports that the nature of the fatal incident is yet unknown, but the police have launched an official investigation into it. Pujalte reportedly suffered damage to his spleen and kidney, as well as a head injury and internal bleeding.
In a post shared on Instagram, Valverde wrote that he was “shocked” by Pujalte’s death, describing the teenager as a “young man in love with cycling”. “A big hug and my deepest condolences to his family and friends in these difficult times,” the retired pro added.
Pujalte’s team released an official statement on social media, writing: “Broken by pain, we regret to confirm the death of our colleague Juan Pujalte, member of Valverde Team-Ricardo Fuentes’ under-23 team. Juan’s smile, his happiness and his passion for life and cycling will be in our hearts every day. Our thoughts are with your family, friends and your team-mates. Rest in peace, Juan.”
Pujalte joined Valverde Team-Ricardo Fuentes in the winter of 2023, and had just made the step-up into the under-23 squad.
He spent the previous two seasons in the junior ranks, racing almost entirely in his native Spain. Last year, he won the Junior Criterium Lorca and rode in the Spanish Championships alongside Murcia’s regional team.
Valves exposed: the whole squalid truth! Well, kind of...
We’re tackling valves – everything you need to know about them, including the options open to you and whether or not you should use the dust cap.
“If you want safety, it’s driver behaviour you need to alter”: Irish police catch flak for asking cyclists to take “personal responsibility” for their and other road users’ safety
If you were to ask me what use can the police force make of their brand-new, shiny new electric bikes, going around and patrolling cyclists probably wouldn’t be one of the first things that springs to my mind.
But Garda Síochána’s road/traffic account has drawn flak on social media, not just because they found this precise use of their e-bikes, but also for claiming that cyclists are responsible for not only their own, but also other road users’ safety.
This very interesting post on Twitter shows two Gardaí riding their new electric bikes in Raheny, a suburb in Dublin, to partrol.
So far, so good, right? I mean, the police using active travel modes to patrol neighbourhoods, seems like a win-win situation? But maybe not, for these were the next words in their tweet: “It’s crucial that cyclists continue to work with us by practicing good road safety, and taking personal responsibility for their own safety and that of other road users.”
Our two new electric bikes in Raheny are being put to use by Gardaí on patrol around Dublin 5.
It’s crucial that cyclists continue to work with us by practicing good road safety, and taking personal responsibility for their own safety and that of other road users.#SaferRoads pic.twitter.com/BigQEIlz08
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) February 28, 2024
Pinning all responsibility for safety on cyclists — not just their own, but also others! On most days, I would be convinced that it was one of those random fake accounts peddling anti-cycling non-sense on social media, only for the snazzy silver check mark to make me realise otherwise.
The air of the replies can be summed best as confused, annoyed, angry, and reproachful (I’m certainly not talking about my feeling here at all). The first comment under the post, made by Hannah Daly, a professor of sustainable energy at UCC, Ireland, reads: “In most cases it’s not possible to take personal responsibility for your safety as a cyclist because the infrastructure mixes you with dangerous vehicles.”
CyclingMikey, or Mike van Erp, mostly known for his road safety campaigning via reporting careless or unsafe drivers, also chimed in: “This is a very foolish tweet. Around 95% of KSI collisions between cyclists and drivers are solely the fault of the drivers. If you want safety, it’s driver behaviour that you need to alter.”
Dave Mathieson wrote: “We can take all the personal responsibility possible (and I try to) but in the absence of segregated infrastructure and proactive, effective policing we’re only as safe as whatever we get from the worst driver we encounter on our way to work, school or the shops.”
I cycle my kids to school every day. Motorists on phones, close passes, cars parked in cycle lanes, motorists breaking red lights, dangerous infrastructure/ lack infrastructure – how would you like me to take personal responsibility for this?
— Caroline Murphy (@Carofrances11) February 28, 2024
Does “work with us” include Garda sergents mocking and threatening me when I produce video evidence of road violence perpetrated on me as I try to cycle to work? 🤔 Cos that didn’t feel like it. Cop on and address the actual source of deaths and serious injuries, thanks.
— /Siobhán/ (mar dhea) 🚴🏞📚 (@Maulvirane) February 29, 2024
Another cyclist Phil Wright said: “It’s crucial that Garda Traffic work to ensure good road safety by prosecuting those endangering or inconveniencing cyclists when dangerously overtaking them – 24 FCPN issued per year is woeful,” referring to the fact that only 47 fixed charge notices were handed to drivers in the first two years of the dangerous overtaking of a cyclist legislation, meanwhile 5,000 of those were handed to cyclists in four years since FCPNs were introduced for cycling offences.
It’s crucial that @GardaTraffic work to ensure good road safety by prosecuting those endangering or inconveniencing cyclists when dangerously overtaking them – 24 FCPN issued per year is woeful pic.twitter.com/8tnQvKYZXi
— phil wright (he/him) (@ukwrightphil) February 28, 2024
What? I’m the one threatened by speeding cars almost everyday! Drivers on phones… footpath parking, breaking lights, close passing and horn and verbal abuse. Can u suggest how me ‘taking personal responsibility’ will help me with this?
— cormac mac gearailt (@Surfjuggler) February 28, 2024
This is not the first time the Garda has been involved in a deeply divisive cycling issue. In 2021, the police force fined a cyclist for “cycling without reasonable consideration” after he had submitted videos of unsafe overtaking to them, marking a precursor for a similar event that happened earlier this week, with Met prosecuting a cyclist for “riding in the middle of the road” and without due care and attention after he reported a driver using a mobile phone (who was let off with an advisory letter).
And just earlier this year, the Garda Twitter account posted a classic victim-blaming post, informing us that “while on patrol, Naas Roads Policing observed this pedal cyclist in dark clothing with no front or rear lights”.
However, as many – including politicians and cycling campaigners – noted on Twitter soon after the police’s post, wearing “dark clothing” is not against the law, as noted by the police itself when it responded “Oops, we got that wrong” following last year’s ill-advised hi-vis tweet.
It’s not just the police catching the flak from cyclists in Ireland. In January, minister Jack Chambers said that a significant number of motorists are ignoring the law and refusing to slow down, while also continuing to drive while drunk, following his commitment to introduce fast-track legislation that will focus on “life-saver offences”.
Following Chambers’ pledge to clamp down on dangerous drivers, campaigners and cyclists in Ireland were quick to point out what they believe to be the government’s inaction when it comes to road safety in recent years.
“A culture of recklessness has been ALLOWED to develop… There you go, Jack Chambers, fixed that for you,” the Safe Cycling Ireland campaign’s account wrote on Twitter.
Cycle lane watches on... as (presumably intoxicated) football fan launches himself through roadworks sign
This is definitely not going to be me come Sunday night…
Derby day ended right pic.twitter.com/lAqc2EYnss
— Chadbarclay75 (@Chadbarclay751) February 29, 2024
Breaking today's blog's trend...
If you haven’t noticed, we’ve had two groups of naughty police forces here on today’s live blog: First, it was Irish police force’s victim-blaming, and then, maybe a bit, tenuosly, it was Australian police force calling the shocking footage “concerning”.
However, Surrey Police seems to have bucked the trend, with a plan-clothes police officer on a bicycle informing uniformed officers when they witnessed offences. And guess what? In just 2 hours, the cycling officer recorded 23 drivers on their phones & 1 not wearing a seatbelt.
Tues, #SPCasualtyReduction Officers worked together on the A281, Guildford. A plain clothed Officer on a bicycle informed uniformed officers when they witnessed offences. In just 2 hours, the cycling officer recorded 23 drivers on their phones & 1 not wearing a seatbelt.#Fatal5 pic.twitter.com/5lwgtNnzyd
— Surrey RoadSafe (@SurreyRS) February 29, 2024
And of course, the comments were flooded with people disregarding the initiative and playing down the force’s operation.
No cyclists or other vehicles were seen travelling through red lights when the officers were in this location.
However, cyclists as well as other vehicles do get stopped when Officers see them travelling through red lights.
— Surrey RoadSafe (@SurreyRS) March 1, 2024
The team of officers are casualty reduction officers, they are working to reduce collisions and as a result, the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads.
— Surrey RoadSafe (@SurreyRS) March 1, 2024
Distracted driving (including using a mobile phone whilst driving) is one of the fatal 5 causation factors of collisions where people are killed and seriously injured.
— Surrey RoadSafe (@SurreyRS) March 1, 2024
In January, this was the same police force caught in a whirlwind of storm after they were blasted for sharing footage of a group ride of four cyclists ignoring red light, who were eventually stopped and issued fixed penalty notices by Surrey Police.
Matters got so tense that the under-fire forced to release the full footage of the incident showing the offence being committed, to address the hundreds of replies under its original post questioning the validity of the video as it was cut just after the cyclists had passed the red light.
"Their priorities seem all wrong": Calls for cycling ban to be lifted on key shopping street for "great boost to struggling high street"
The Chair of a cycling group in Bicester has urged the council to at least run a trial allowing cyclists access to a currently pedestrianised key shopping street in the town, arguing that it would be a “great boost to the struggling high street”, and pointing out that those who have objected on safety grounds “seem almost completely unconcerned” by heavy goods vehicles, vans and car drivers regularly using the route for deliveries.
"Rogue director" blamed and role terminated after women's cycling team suspended by UCI for "fraudulent" dressing of mechanic as rider to avoid disqualification
The women’s cycling team that made headlines across the sporting world this week, after the UCI dished out sanctions including a one-race suspension for the entire team, has blamed its “fraudulent actions”, namely dressing a mechanic up as an ill rider to avoid disqualification from a race, on a “rogue director” and said he would not be working with the team in the future.
Police in Australia comment on “concerning” video showing “extremely dangerous” interaction between cyclists’ group ride and passing motorist
Another day, another shocking footage involving cyclists on Australian roads.
Just days after former Aussie police sergeant advocated for the safety of cyclists by pinning the responsibility on them (much like our friends in the Garda today), and warning them to “stay off” busy roads and “don’t put yourself in harm’s way”, we’ve had another incident make the headlines.
Now, this recent video treads into waters that are slightly murkier, and we’d be interested to see what you people think. The footage posted on Facebook shows a motorist in Canberra approach a roundabout in the right-hand lane, with a group of cyclists on the left-hand lane in front of him.
“Don’t cut the f*****g corner, you d**k,” the driver can be heard saying in the 15 second clip, taken on February 9 on Fairbairn Avenue in Campbell, as the cyclist ends up spilling his wheels on the other lane, with the driver coming terrifyingly close to him.
The cyclist pulls to the left promptly, crossing back over the solid white lane. However, just two seconds later, another cyclist crosses over the lane and suddenly slows them, as the driver slams on the brakes and screeches to a near-halt from 53 km/hr to avoid clattering into the back of the cyclist, who looks back looking almost unaware of the motorist behind him.
“Jesus. F*** me,” says the driver, with the cyclist moving back into the left lane as the driver goes past.
The incident has led to Australian police calling the video “concerning” and calling for witnesses to come forward.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Police, speaking to Yahoo News Australia, said: “The video footage is concerning as it involves road users putting themselves in extremely dangerous positions. Anyone involved in the incident is welcome to speak to police to provide their details and recollection of this incident.”
The spokesperson added that cyclists and drivers must obey all road rules when riding or driving on ACT Roads, and “all road users, including cyclists and drivers, have to obey the same road rules”.
The footage, as you’d expect, inflamed reactions on social media and led to an outpouring of intense vitriol of all sorts of anti-cycling chatter one can muster up from the dark, dingy corners of the internet.
The comments include everything, from raging cyclist bashers claiming “this is why we need license plates and insurance” (because that has stopped motorists from doing all wrong) to people feeling that cyclists own the road (technically, public roads are in fact, owned by everyone, including cyclists).
And this is something knowing that the incident happened in Australia, you know, not the country best-known for its cycling-friendliness?
In fact, just last month, the country’s only Tour de France winner Cadel Evans spoke out about the dangers of cycling on Australian roads, after two 16-year-olds were arrested as part of an investigation into two horrendous hit-and-run incidents in Melbourne, which saw two cyclists mowed down as one of the car’s passengers filmed the collisions while “laughing”, before uploading them to social media.
In fact, Sky News Australia, just days after the hit-and-runs, did a segment titled ‘Are Australian cyclists annoying us?’, in which the aforementioned retired police chief said: “Cyclists – stay off the roads in the peak hour and use your common sense and find your places to ride, don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”
However, there were some comments from people which questioned the motorists’ actions. One person said: “Maybe give way to vehicles already in the roundabout,” while another added: “Tooting your horn because you feel hurt because you can’t get to top speed on the roundabout, that’s illegal.”
Meanwhile, another person said: “I regularly ride on the bike paths and I’d like to feel comfortable riding on the road. Unfortunately these clowns make it more difficult for everyone that would like to share the roads.
“It does look like this is an organised group ride and whoever organised this should be kicking at least two of these members from the group. They are wrecking things for everybody.”
What are your takeaways from the video? Should the driver have slowed down and been more patient, or does the blame fall on the cyclists? As always, let us know in the comments…
UCI looking into hookless rims safety in racing as a “matter of urgency”, following much discussion around Thomas De Gendt's “freak” UAE Tour crash
Narrow handlebars, pin-less number pockets, support car trickery, and “extreme” turned-in brake levers, we’ve seen it all. Now, the latest object of UCI’s keen attention seems set to be hookless rims, with the pro cycling’s governing body announcing today that it is going to examine their use in the peloton.
Quick refresher for those out of the loop: Hookless rims look like they’re the latest shiny things to come out of the cycling industry and the pros’ eternal chase for those valued tenths of seconds. These do not feature the conventional hooks to hold the tyre onto the rim, instead relying on tyre pressure, specially designed tyre beads and tight tolerances to hold the tyre onto the rim.
And together with the tubeless-specific tyres (not tubeless-ready, mind you), the whole rig is often referred to as ‘hookless’.
> What’s the difference between hooked and hookless bike wheels, and which is better for you?
Unfortunately, they’ve been back in the news following Thomas De Gendt’s crash at the UAE Tour — a freak tyre blowout bringing the Belgian veteran from Lotto-Dstny down.
Now, the UCI has confirmed to road.cc that it intends to reach a decision on their legality soon. The statement read: “In light of a series of recent incidents involving the use of hookless rims and tubeless tyres (a combination commonly referred to as hookless) in professional road cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has decided to study the situation as a matter of urgency with a view to taking a rapid decision in the interest of rider safety.”
UCI added that these measures will be communicated as soon as possible, with the review and the decisions that will follow to be part of the UCI’s policy to “promote rider safety”, which it called one of its major concerns.
After De Grendt’s crash this Sunday at the UAE Tour, CPA president Adam Hansen said that the professional cyclists’ association was “not happy” with riders racing on hookless system in the peloton. “There have been concerns from riders and teams with this new system,” he said.
The former Australian pro, who was teammates with De Gendt at Lotto between 2015 and 2020, said the riders’ union was “100 per cent against hookless rims”, claiming that they could potentially cause a “mass crash” in the bunch.
“When you look at the images of Thomas De Gendt’s bike, his tyre came off, the safety foam inside got caught in the fork, and that locks up the front wheel,” Hansen said.
“Some teams are racing with hookless rims. This crash is why the CPA are 100 per cent against hookless rims.
“Tyres should not come off a rim. The maximum psi these hookless tyres can have put in them is 73, and if you hit something for sure it goes above the maximum 73psi rating on impact. That is why tyres are coming off.”
He continued: “We have heard from some teams that they have put tyres on before, they left them out in the sun and their tyres just pop off.
“But the manufacturers really like them because it is much easier to produce the rim, you need less moulds for this. The rims are much lighter, it is easier for production, so they are pushing for this.”
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How dare you road.cc. Now I'm back to "0 days without seeing a MTB" and my Friday evening biscuit is a total write-off.
Amazing value for 30 bucks. Add a few stars there rockafella
How much of Halfrauds profits are due to them charging 15% commission on the cycle to work scheme they somehow have tied up so many companies to? Profiting off local bike shops and making more off sales than the IBD does, all because some clueless person in HR doesn't care what cycle scheme they choose, and employees get charged more too.
I'm currently sat next to a bike - but I'm not riding it, not is it on the road. Nor in Surrey. Remove me!
@MaxiMinimalist I see you retain your strange obsession with the claim that the only way Decathlon, a global entity with €16.8 billion revenues for whom the cycle team is an essential primary promotional tool for their kit and bikes, will be able to keep Seixas with a sugar daddy cheque from the owner of their co-title sponsor. Why is this? Incidentally Seixas is not winning the next Tour in any case unless Jonas and Tadej both crash out, so the question is unlikely to arise.
@ChrisA Just for info it's Bishops Cleeve. I think the bus lane bit is about the section along Lansdown Road going out of Cheltenham towards Gloucester. This "cycle lane" has been in place for many years. The surface is bumpy due to tree roots and eroded surfaces, cyclists are expected to give way at junctions and it goes past many driveways so you have to be alert at all times. There are bus lanes alongside some of this section and, yes, I still use the bus lanes and the road where the bus lanes run out. This section is not green like the rest of the path and when the green runs out getting through Cheltenham and onto the Gloucester section is hit and miss to say the least. The new green section from Bishops Cleeve to just north of Cheltenham town center is indeed well used and is much appreciated despite the lack of any cyclist priority at beg buttons. Cyclists do have priority at side roads, as in the picture, and motorists seem to be getting the idea. I don't know if it has anything to do with the OpSnap reports I sent in on the occasions I had to brake to avoid a collision when it was newly opened, but things are definiteley improving.
@MaxiMinimalist Ah yes, the good old "You are but what am I?" argument beloved of schoolboys everywhere. Anyone who calls someone a fascist must actually be some form of fascist themselves or other form of oppressor. Hitler and his vermin used this to great effect, claiming that all they were doing was saving the nation from the oppression of communists, social democrats and trade unions, frequently portraying themselves as the victims of said oppression. There's even a name for it in the psychology textbooks, DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.
It was when perce and that Clem Fandango bounced off one another that they both did their best work...
I don't believe that the Italian state under Mussolini was run particularly well. Their army were awful, their invasion of Greece failed, though their losses did draw Germany in because it threatened the flanks for Barbarossa. North Africa was also shameful, once again only saved by Rommel and the afrika corps. If your talking national socialist, I'm never going to dispute that German efficiency and bureaucracy, however stereotypical, will always rate highly, but the state was run on the whims of a madman, surrounded by sycophants enacting policies derived by attempting to ingratiate themselves from vague concepts and hints from the aforementioned madman. Often in competition with pointless duplication of effort.
Never mind that - they've gone and named the site road.cc instead of Surreyrider.cc - what were they thinking‽‽
36 thoughts on “UCI looking into hookless rims safety as “matter of urgency” following De Gendt’s UAE Tour crash; Police calls video of “dangerous interaction” between cyclists and motorists “concerning”; Football fan vs works sign on cycle lane + more on the live blog”
Dear Mr Policeman – as a
Dear Mr Policeman – as a cyclist, I am not responsible for the actions of motorists on the road. I’m not even responsible for the actions of other cyclists on the road – thx, Brooksby.
You still bear some
You still bear some responsibility for other road users’ safety, since you are sharing the road with them and your actions will affect them.
The onus is on those that
The onus is on those that bring the real danger onto the streets. Cars are 110 times more dangerous than bikes, and that’s before any offense has been committed. Do drivers get 110 times more tickets, fines, prosecutions, convictions? Article suggests otherwise.
Yeah, of course. I could
Yeah, of course. I could absolutely kill a driver by shunting into their solid metal box…
The statement was over actions not general safety. The force behind a cyclist means that the risk of KSI of other road users is significantly lower than that of a +1.5t motorised vehicle.
We do have a duty to ensure our own actions are within the remit of the law but the actions of potentially millions of drivers on a daily basis fall well short of that remit, and go unpunished. That has lead to an endemic level of complacency and entitlement among even the most courteous of drivers, which in turn puts more vulnerable road users in danger.
The statement was this: “It’s
The statement was this: “It’s crucial that cyclists continue to work with us by practicing good road safety, and taking personal responsibility for their own safety and that of other road users.”
I am not sure how you can find faul with it or with what I wrote.
john_smith wrote:
Must… resist… must… resis…
Go on then. Point out the
Go on then. Point out the errors.
Re-read the line I quoted
Re-read the line I quoted from your post.
Edited to add – it was just a gentle dig about your delicious typo. I actually agree with the substance of your post – cyclists need to take responsibility for their safety and others. But of course (1) cyclists are still at the whim of careless and dangerous drivers and there’s not much we can do to protect ourselves from that; (2) cyclists are a limited risk to anyone other than other vulnerable road users.
Well, if they replaced the
Well, if they replaced the word ”cyclists” with ”all road users” I wouldn’t find fault with it. As it is written, I would.
john_smith wrote:
Well for a start I could point out that the verb form takes an S on this side of the Atlantic, so it should be “practising”…
john_smith wrote:
Ah – so maybe the cyclists are not running over drivers, but they’re *causing accidents* (or trauma to the people they fall off under the wheels of), is it that?
Taken at face value their statement seems logical but considering where the danger is coming from, standards of driving and how our roads are it perhaps seems to … lack tact?
A perfect point to remind the
A perfect point to remind the internet of killer driver Dr Helen Measures
You’re perhaps referring to
You’re perhaps referring to the driver cleared of causing death by dangerous driving – who hit someone while overtaking and on the wrong side of the road? (I mean – there were some other cyclists in the way so she had to overtake…)
Thats genuinely astonishing
Thats genuinely astonishing that they doled out 52x more tickets to cyclists vs motorists. Drivers in Ireland are even worse than they are over here as well. Genuinely mindboggling.
mctrials23 wrote:
Institutionally anti-cycling
mctrials23 wrote:
It’s hardly surprising that when there is low enforcement of traffic rules, then driving standards will be low.
Although it is mystifying that this is the condition the police are hapopy with, since the traffic police will have to attend road deaths. However despite your allegation that drivers in Ireland are worse than the UK, both countries only have 2.9 road deaths per 100,000 people per year. Perhaps because the roads are relatively empty, so bad driving may happen sufifciently far from other drivers.
( for context Norway 2, Germany 3.7, France 5, USA 12.9)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
USA 12.9? That’s pretty grim.
USA 12.9? That’s pretty grim.
yes, 5x the UK population,
yes, 5x the UK population, 25x the number of road deaths.
I think they have to keep them high so that gun deaths don’t overtake them. road deaths circa 40k p.a. gun deaths (excluding suicides) circa 20k p.a.
UK approx 1800 road deaths and approx 600 homicides. (remember this when Americans state that London is dangerous with unchecked knife crime)
Miller wrote:
Some obvious reasons:
andystow wrote:
That doesn’t sound any different to here, in fact slightly more stringent, in the UK there is no requirement for any classroom time, there is no minimum amount of practice before you take your test, and you don’t have to spend a single hour driving with an instructor if you don’t want to, any adult age 21+ who has held a driving licence for three years can supervise.
wycombewheeler wrote:
2.2 million cars registered on Ireland’s roads in 2021 vs 33 million in the UK.
Population: 5 million vs 67 million.
Roads: 53 million vs 262 million km.
2022 casualty stats – killed & seriously injured: 155 & 1,424 vs 1,695 & 28,000.
Very roughly, the figures for UK are generally 10x those of Ireland except 5x the km of roads and 19x the SI casualties.
Why don’t the police just
Why don’t the police just ride their bikes on the roads like we normal cyclists do. It would be interesting to see how many close pass, careless driving, mobile phone use etc. prosecutions they could accumulate in a day.
I think if the police really wanted to crack down on dangerous drivers they’d do more cycling. It’d probably make drivers more cautious when they passed us normal members of the public too.
I wrote the above before the
I wrote the above before the article about Surrey Police was in the blog.
What a strange coincidence.
https://twitter.com/SurreyRS
Aussie clip. 1) The driving
Aussie clip. 1) The driving is TERRIBLE. Why would you not just hang back a bit when there is a bunch of cyclists on a roundabout?
2) That being said, what is the guy in the white jersey doing around 6 seconds as he exits the roundabout??? Has he just accidentally unclipped and swerved to the right as a result?
3) If the driver had been hanging back, the cyclist wouldn’t have been endangered.
Some appalling roadmanship
Some appalling roadmanship from a couple of those group riders … zero awareness of the possibility of other road users, mind boggling really.
However I think also a good illustration of the sense of UK Highway Code guidance to motorists to not overtake cyclists on a roundabout. Frankly the driver did well to avoid collision, but – while in no way condoning the bad cycling – if the driver had stayed behind the group he’d have avoided the need to emergency stop, and saved his nerves as well as potentially his rear bumper if anyone had been close behind.
That riding in Oz is ‘kin
That riding in Oz is ‘kin appalling.
The driving’s not great
The driving’s not great either though. He should have hung back until they were clear of the roundabout before overtaking.
Terrible cycling from at
Terrible cycling from at least two of those Australian riders, stupid choices initially to veer across the lanes and then awful control to slide out into the path of the car. However the driver, having identified that the cyclists may not have the best road sense and/or control, carries straight on into the situation without apparently seeing any need to slow or brake. His verbals seem to indicate he’s not the biggest fan of cyclists, the fact that he has a dashcam makes me wonder if he’s doing what camera cyclists are so often accused of, deliberately exacerbating the situation to get some footage. If I see someone driving dangerously, the first thing I do is try to get myself as far out of the potential crash zone as soon as possible, I don’t just plough on and then complain when things get worse.
A colleague and myself came
A colleague and myself came back from a conference once in a works car. Can’t remember who was driving but we both reacted the same to 2 drivers racing on the A12 – immediately slow down and get the hell away from them !!
Poor riding and poor driving.
Poor riding and poor driving.
People might say the driver
People might say the driver could have held back, but I think the cyclists riding like that will before long be taking each other out regardless of any driver involvement.
They’re the kinds of chopper riders in sportives you keep well away from.
A situation in which we need
A situation in which we need to remember the oft used: “most cyclists also drive cars” yep some people ride like they drive…the difference is in the reporting…all cyclists are expected to be considerate law abiding defensive and caring road users and a couple of dicks being dicks means all cyclists always use road space in a way that endangers all road users. How many times when going through a roundabout do you have to react to others drivers poor lane positioning and choice…pretty often and it isn’t news worthy just dick driving by dick drivers and we all know that most drivers are responsible road users but cyclists are all entitled
Assuming the recent highway
Assuming the recent highway code update about heirarchy doesn’t apply to that geography, even if common sense would indicate it should:
pedestrians then cyclists then motorists etc …
ie
Cyclists would be expected to be wary of more vulnerable road users: namely pedestrians.
Then, motorists would be expected to be wary of everyone.
Would the authorities every consider stating this….
“It’s crucial that MOTORISTS continue to work with us by practicing good road safety, and taking personal responsibility for their own safety and that of other road users.”
?
I won’t hold my breath.
Awaits wtjs comments !
Awaits wtjs comments !
I think you would say that I only know about Lancashire Constabulary, which is true. I do know that they employ a complete rack of dodges, one of which is binning cases after a NIP has been sent out and trying to keep quiet about that. Another is defining submissions to OpSnap Lancs as ineligible, for unstated reasons, and then excluding them from statistics
A quick look over your
A quick look over your shoulder is called a lifesaver for a reason.