Dom Joly spreads bizarre (and completely false) story claiming CyclingMikey has been banned from reporting phone-using drivers; “Froomey told him never to f*** with him or the team again”: Luke Rowe on Froome vs Nibali; TdF S6 + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"Froomey told him never to f*** with him or the team again": Luke Rowe says "Nibali was s******g himself" after Chris Froome stormed onto Astana bus and grabbed rival "by the scruff of the neck" because of crash at 2015 Tour
Have I woken up back in time in 2015? Team Sky racking up Grand Tours, David Cameron in power and a Brexit referendum a year away, Serena Williams winning her 21st major title at Wimbledon, the England football team looking ahead to Euro 2016 with Roy Hodgson where things surely can’t get any worse than the World Cup in Brazil — they certainly won’t have to worry about minnows like Iceland, for example?
To mark the chaotic first week of the world’s biggest bike race, Luke Rowe has revisted a classic Tour beef in his new book ‘Road Captain: My Life at the Heart of the Peloton’, of which excerpts are being shared by Cyclingnews to mark and publicise the memoir’s release.
One particularly punchy part concerns the 2015 Tour, when Froome confronted Nibali over the Italian’s reaction to a crash on the stage to Le Havre. At the time, we saw the pair on the deck on the final climb, both unhurt and safe for GC losses, before Froome was pictured at the Astana bus. The following day, Nibali denied there was much in the confrontation, but Rowe has blown that up wildly with his account.
“There was a crash halfway up it, and Chris and Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali, who was the defending Tour champion, both went down, as did Tony Martin, who broke his collarbone and couldn’t start the next day,” Rowe recalled.
“Ian Stannard and I had led the team into the climb and then dropped back, so I reached the riders on the floor a few seconds after this had happened. As Nibali stood up, he took his bottle out of its cage and launched it at Froomey before riding off, because Nibali thought he was to blame for bringing them down.
“There were photographers all around us taking pictures of Froomey and I said, ‘Listen, mate, just take my bike and get to the finish.’ He had no concerns in terms of time because the 3K rule meant he would be awarded the same time as the winner. I told him, ‘Just get away from the riff raff.’ I could see as I gave him my bike that he was fuming.
“I went to our bus and asked if Froomey was there. Once again I was told that he’d gone by without stopping, so I sprinted up to the Astana team bus, leant my bike against it and started to climb the stairs on to it. As I did so, Froomey was coming down them.
“‘Are you all right?’ I asked him. ‘Yeah, all good. Let’s go.’ We made our way back to the Sky bus, and when we were on it I asked him what had happened. Froomey simply stated, ‘He won’t be fucking with me for a while’.”
Rowe says Froome marched onto Nibali’s bus, grabbed the defending Tour champion “by the scruff of the neck” and turned him towards the TV where footage of the crash was being replayed.
“The footage of the crash was on TV, and Froomey said to him, ‘Show me how I caused the crash,’ although he wasn’t quite as polite as that,” Rowe continued. “Although Nibali had blamed him for the incident, you could see on TV that it wasn’t Chris’s fault. Nibali, meanwhile, went as white as a ghost and didn’t know what to say. Froomey told him never to f**k with him or the team again, or words to that effect, and then stomped off the bus.”
[Dave B and a French police officer enjoy a less dramatic day later in the Tour]
Rowe also claims that through friendly staff on the respective teams they heard that “Nibali was s******g himself after that encounter.”
Although not s******g himself enough not to confidently attack on stage 19 just at the moment Froome was having a mechanical issue on the Col de la Croix de Fer, so maybe not that scared. Anyway, that was the second of Froome’s four Tour wins, while Nibali finished eight minutes back in fifth.
"Jonas simply didn't have the power": Visma-Lease a Bike count losses after punishing day against the clock
It was an undoubtedly tough day for Visma-Lease a Bike at the Tour de France yesterday. While Edoardo Affini’s podium was a cracking individual result, Jonas Vingegaard losing 1:21 to Remco Evenepoel and 1:05 to new yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar was a bit of a shocker.
“Of course we had hoped for a stronger time trial from both Matteo and Jonas”, Head of Racing Grischa Niermann reacted, referencing the fact Matteo Jorgenson lost 1:19 to Evenepoel and 1:03 to Pogačar as well, extremely disappointing results considering how well both time trialled at the Dauphiné.
It means Vingegaard is already 1:13 behind his great rival before the race has even reached the mountains, with more Pogačar-suited lumpy stages today and tomorrow for potential bonus seconds to extend that buffer.
The Dane admitted the extent of his time loss “surprised” him “a bit”, even if he felt like he “didn’t have good legs”.
“That’s part of cycling,” he said. “The result wasn’t good today, but luckily the Tour is still long. I believe in myself and in the plan we’ve created together. We can still win the Tour de France. In previous editions, we’ve seen that coming back from a deficit like this is not impossible.”
Niermann’s reflection was a bit punchier… “After just a few kilometres, we already realised Jonas was losing time, and that didn’t change. In a time trial like this, you need to push from start to finish and execute the technical sections well. That’s wasn’t the problem today. I think Jonas simply didn’t have the power. We’re now behind in the general classification and will have to chase to win the Tour de France. Tomorrow will be another battle.”
This is what’s on the menu today. Don’t be deceived, it may look only a little lumpy but with in excess of 3,000m of climbing this is a proper Ardennes-style punisher. Will UAE look to give the jersey away and let a breakaway have some fun? Paging Ben Healy, Mathieu van der Poel, Romain Gregoire, Julian Alaphilippe and the rest, it’s one for you guys… or maybe just another Pog day…
The beauty and beastliness of time trialling — Tour de France edition
First up, the beauty. Remco Evenepoel. A man so aerodynamic he actually makes me want to tune in for TT day. Aesthetically delightful…
Credit to Charly Lopez and Zac Williams for the spectacular shots.
Now, the beastliness… WARNING: IMAGE CONTAINS INCREDIBLY UGLY TT HELMETS, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK
"Today was our turn": Latest bike shop to discover this horror lurking beneath bar tape
New day, new bike: Remco's white Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8
"I believe Froome will win the Tour again more than I believe this": Sorry, Luke... they're not having any of your book-selling memoir
Right, let’s round up some reaction to Luke Rowe’s recollection of Froome vs Nibali: the team bus showdown…
On Facebook, Lee Wood came with the heat: “I believe Froome will win the Tour again more than I believe this.”
mdavidford: “Not clear what image Rowe thinks this story gives, but to me it just makes all involved look bad.”
Freddy56: “Imagine if that is the highlight of that book. Ride your bike and stay away from keyboards.”
If you could just tell the road.cc bosses that Freddy, I’d love the afternoon off…
KDee: “I downloaded the audiobook on Spotify (included in subscription) for my impending holiday. Think I might be un-downloading it.”
Tough crowd.
Judge rules cyclist's lack of helmet "of no relevance" as taxi driver fined €1,000 for breaking rider's leg in roundabout crash – after police noted cyclist's dark clothes and earphones
CHAOS! Stage six is absolutely relentless as everyone wants to be in the break
[ASO/Billy Ceusters]
It’s a tough one at the Tour. We said it would be like the Ardennes, an attacking bonanza, and so it’s proved. 80km down and still no breakaway, although not for a lack of trying. Mathieu van der Poel, Ben Healy, Quinn Simmons and many more have all tried their luck. At one point yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar was even chasing down Matteo Jorgenson himself.
The latest escape to try its luck has Healy, Simmons and Van der Poel again, but also Simon Yates, Eddie Dunbar, Michael Storer and a few more. Victor Campenaerts is trying to bridge, Visma-Lease a Bike noticeably making a massive effort to try and win today’s stage. A slight change in strategy from the ‘all-in for Jonas’ plan thus far? Or is it just a day that particularly suits their classics/climber-heavy superteam. A bit of both, I suspect.
Lorena Wiebes wins second Giro stage of the week... but not how we expected
If you only heard that Lorena Wiebes had won the Giro’s pan flat stage this lunchtime, you’d be pretty confident in guessing how the stage played out. Harmless break, easy day, sprint, win. Erm, not quite…
PROFESSIONAL WIN NUMBER 107! 🏆
Lorena Wiebes victorious on the circuit after the group of favourites went clear! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/YezLHTMS4e
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 10, 2025
Crosswinds blew the race to pieces, Wiebes’s SD Worx-Protime team prominent and getting numerous riders in the front group. In the sprint, much of the stress and chaos was taken away by the reduced nature of the group, Wiebes beating Marianne Vos and Liane Lippert and helping herself to her second stage win of the week.
Maglia rosa Marlen Reusser was safely in the front group too, as were Elisa Longo Borghini, Anna van der Breggen and Katrine Aalerud. The big losers were yesterday’s winner Sarah Gigante and Antonia Niedermaier, both shipping almost two minutes.
"We are taking a strong, symbolic step that will remain in the history of Paris"
A bike lane in the 3rd arrondissement now has a tribute to cyclist Paul Varry, the rider who was killed by a motorist in October, the driver accused of his death having been charged with murder in the aftermath of the horrific incident.
Witnesses reported seeing the motorist deliberately drive over 27-year-old cyclist Mr Varry, crushing him to death, after the rider had banged on his Mercedes SUV when the driver had veered into an unprotected cycle lane, driving over the rider’s foot.
Now a tribute to Mr Varry has been placed at the corner of Rue Réaumur and Rue Vaucanson. The bike lane where it is found has officially been dedicated in his memory, a move which Le Monde reports received the “unanimous support of the Council of Paris”.
“We are taking a strong, symbolic step that will remain in the history of Paris,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said during a service with Mr Varry’s family and friends.
The lane “is both a tribute and a promise: a promise that his voice will not fall silent, that his fight will not be forgotten, and that his city will continue, with determination, to build a safer, fairer and more humane form of mobility,” she added.
"A diverse workforce is good for business": Cycling industry group aiming to fill "gender data gap" to understand "feeling of women being underrepresented in sector" and drive real change
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Richie Porte touches down in Manchester... and immediately starts taking Strava KOMs
Ben Healy appreciation post
Ben Healy was on the attack from the flag drop. He was animating it early, pushing on with Quinn Simmons, then loads of others joined and he was swallowed back into a stellar front group. Well, he’s gone again, despite pulling all day, and has built up a minute’s advantage in 10km. That over a group including riders of the quality of Van der Poel, Simon Yates, Simmons, and Eddie Dunbar.
There’s no doubt it’s now a day for the break, the gap to the yellow jersey group well over five minutes. Mathieu van der Poel should be back in yellow by the end of the day, but are we heading for the first Irish stage win at the Tour since Sam Bennett on the Champs-Élysées five years ago? 26km to go, the gap’s 50 seconds, but Simmons and Storer are chasing hard.
Take a bow, Ben Healy — Irishman takes sensational solo stage win
“Hang that one in the Louvre!” 🖼
Ben Healy launched his solo attack from 42km and reaps the rewards as he claims his first-ever Tour de France stage victory 🙌 pic.twitter.com/D8CPY5XDu8
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 10, 2025
This is basically going to be a continuation of the previous post lauding Ben Healy’s remarkable ability to just ride a bike hard for ages. That might sound glaringly obvious, it’s the Tour de France after all, but Healy has such an incredibly distinctive style that he again utilised to win today, landing the biggest victory of his career so far — a first Tour stage win.
Sit in the wheels? Save your energy for one late effort? Ride in a group to get close to finish? Nah, in Ben Healy’s world you just chip off the front with 50km to go and gap some of the world’s best riders. What about if the group chasing contains Mathieu van der Poel, Simon Yates, Quinn Simmons, Michael Storer, Eddie Dunbar and more? Still, just go off the front at 50km to go and ride harder.
Simmons and Storer tried to drag him back, there was no lack of cohesion, but one Ben Healy is worth multiple top pro riders on lumpy breakaway days, it seems. An incredible rider, with an incredible style, who today landed that incredible win that EF Education-EasyPost have so craved at the Tour. For them it’s been a lean(ish) few years at the Tour. There’s been no shortage of ability to call on, Richard Carapaz, Neilson Powless and Healy going close numerous times since (and the Ecuadorian somewhat saving their Tour with a last-minute stage win last year) but perhaps it would be fair to say the boys in pink haven’t always got what they felt their efforts deserved. Today it all clicked.
Chapeau, Mr Healy, what a ride.
Mathieu van der Poel will be back in yellow tomorrow, the Dutchman clinging onto a one-second advantage from the breakaway, while Simmons bested Storer for second-place on the brutal final ramp to the finish line. There could well be a stage win for both of them later in the three weeks.
Talking of the brutal final ramp, by the time the GC favourites reached it the only question was whether Van der Poel would be in yellow, the climb and day’s fatigue not quite sufficient to break up the favourites. Tadej Pogačar won the uphill sprint (obviously) but little change among the favourites. Some did lose seconds, Primož Roglič lost five, as did João Almeida, Carlos Rodriguez lost 15 seconds on the Pogačar group, while a late puncture saw Mattias Skjelmose drop 40 seconds, but nothing too major to report.
"It's just incredible... hours and hours of hard work from so many people"
Let’s catch some reaction with the man of the moment…
“It’s just unbelievable,” Healy beamed. “It’s really what I’ve worked all for, not just this year, the whole time. It’s just incredible and hours and hours of hard work from so many people, [I got] to pay them back today.
“Last year was a real eye-opener and made me believe I could do it. I knuckled down, did the hard work and tried to refine my racing style. Lots of race footage watched and it paid off today.
“Maybe I spent too much trying to get into the break, but that’s just the way I do it. Once I was in there we really had to work for the gap, just on the pedals all day. I knew I needed to get away from the group, picked my moment. Caught them by surprise a little bit and just did what I needed to do.
“It suited me down to the ground, a stage I circled in the book from the start. I grew up watching the Tour, to even be here is an achievement and now to win a stage is so amazing.”
Those goddamn hire bikes again
Let’s finish the day with Dave Walker’s latest cycling-related cartoon…
Dom Joly spreads bizarre (and completely false) story claiming CyclingMikey has been banned from reporting phone-using drivers
Another totally normal day on the internet. Just Dom Joly, comedian and writer of Trigger Happy TV fame, sharing this bizarre ‘news story’ post about road safety campaigner CyclingMikey.
CYCLING MIKEY HAS BEEN BANNED FROM REPORTING TO POLICE… apparently. It appears to have stemmed from stories online making the claim, even though one with such a headline then goes on to state: “At the time of writing, the Met Police have not confirmed or denied the claim. There has been no official statement, and major news outlets have yet to report on the situation.”
So yeah, it’s spreading a bit on social media based off people seeing a screenshot of something that’s not true. A case of ‘don’t believe everything you read on Facebook’. Or perhaps ‘be wilfully ignorant and believe everything you want to be true that you see on Facebook’ would be more accurate. Anyway, it’s leading to social media exchanges like these…
Incredibly, Mr Sheffield United here has the social media bio, “Dont (sic.) believe everything you see on the internet- Abraham Lincoln”
Most of the thousands of interactions with Dom Joly’s post are the usual comments section fare, but encouragingly this is the top comment: “I’ve given this one a lot of thought as a car enthusiast but I also cycle for sport, fitness and I just love anything on wheels. When you’re on a bike you do see some terrible driving that puts you in a lot more danger than were you in your car. So I’m on Mikey’s side. If you’re the sort of sad muppet who can’t leave your phone alone in traffic then you’re also the sort of dangerous muppet who texts whilst driving. So all power to Mikey.”
Another well-liked comment added: “You might think differently if someone on a phone drives over one of your loved ones. There is no excuse especially as all phones now are hands free, or at least those that people who can afford to run a car would own. I’m not sure he takes pleasure in it, he would take more pleasure in a ride where he saw everyone complying with the law.”
The reason people seem to believe CyclingMikey has been banned is because of dodgy TikToks and AI-looking articles online.
Even Dom Joly is in on it. pic.twitter.com/zftfmPbxuC
— CyclingMikey the Unspeakable (@MikeyCycling) July 10, 2025
It’s not the first time we’ve covered Joly on the live blog… at least EdinburghLive hasn’t reported the Mikey ‘news’ as fact… yet…
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Latest Comments
That's where the convertible aspect comes in. I've got a gravel bike but the canal I sometimes commute on has roots under the tarmac and barriers. The mtb with 'drops' is more comfortable for this and fits through the barriers. If I want to do something more technical I can put the flat bars on.
@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.
Gustav Gullholm.. that's not a good look mate
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
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.
@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?"
@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.
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.
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.
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
27 thoughts on “Dom Joly spreads bizarre (and completely false) story claiming CyclingMikey has been banned from reporting phone-using drivers; “Froomey told him never to f*** with him or the team again”: Luke Rowe on Froome vs Nibali; TdF S6 + more on the live blog”
Imagine if that is the
Imagine if that is the highlight of that book. Ride your bike and stay away from keyboards.
I downloaded the audiobook on
I downloaded the audiobook on Spotify (included in subscription) for my impending holiday. Think I might be un-downloading it.
Yeah…so the main source
Yeah…so the main source Rowe has for his claim that Nibali (who comes from a not exactly un-macho culture and who was surrounded by his team) was “shitting himself” when confronted by the not-exactly-Mr Universe Froome is Froome himself. Going to need a shovel to take the pinch of salt necessary for that one I think…
After meeting him on the way
After meeting him on the way out of the bus and Froome just saying “he won’t fuck with us again”. Thats some elite level extropolation from Rowe.
It doesn’t say it was Froome
It doesn’t say it was Froome – it was ‘friendly staff on the respective teams’. (So still not exactly neutral sources.)
Not clear what image Rowe thinks this story gives, but to me it just makes all involved look bad.
I was extrapolating from
I was extrapolating from Froome’s statement that “He won’t be fucking with me for a while” which implies the same thing, although I agree it doesn’t say he directly said Nibali was having trouble controlling his bowels.
I also entirely agree it looks pretty pathetic, handbags – or maybe musettes – at dawn. One understands of course that in the heat of the moment in a sporting contest one can lose one’s self-control – I’ve done some things on the rugby field which in retrospect I think were pretty stupid and not representative of the person I try to be – but nobody crashes deliberately so certainly Nibali’s initial reaction was pretty pathetic, but best shrugged off, or ignored, or if they felt that strongly about it referred to the commissaires. See also the disgusting, bullying reaction towards Coquard from Philipssen’s teammates after he crashed on stage three, getting in his face and screaming at him. Whether or not you think it was Coquard’s fault (highly debatable) seeing him riding in on his own in tears after the treatment he’d been given was disgraceful.
Dom Joly has been abducted by
Dom Joly has been abducted by aliens and had his brain replaced by a Gummy Bear, at the time of writing no one has confirmed or denied this, I repeat, no one has denied this
As if the police would
As if the police would comment anyway.
According to Wikipedia “In
According to Wikipedia “In 2023, Joly published a book The Conspiracy Tourist, in which he travels the world investigating conspiracy theories and the people who believe them”. Perhaps he’s doing some sort of weird autobiographical sequel.
https://www.littlebrown.co.uk
https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/dom-joly/the-conspiracy-tourist/9781472146687/
Maybe he’s been radicalised…
Is that corrosion or mould?
Is that corrosion or mould?
It’s corrosion from salty
It’s corrosion from salty perspiration.
What a difference few weeks
What a difference few weeks makes from the Dauphine – when Pog was the dodgiest time trialer in the history of time trialling (if you believed the headlines). Now its Vinny’s turn.
plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
It looks as though there may
It looks as though there may well have been some set up issues with Pogacar’s TT bike at the Dauphine and he rode brilliantly yesterday.
Yesterday’s TT was not ideally suited to Vinegaard, being relatively flat with a headwind on the first part- he is much better on hilly, technical courses. I also read in the press that he didn’t feel at his best on the day. But seeing how much he was moving around on the bike, it may be that he needs to do more gym work.
Still a long way to go though. Let’s see what happens in the mountains in a few days.
He always moves around on his
He always moves around on his TT bike way too much, it’s just his results have hidden the focus on it, you dont have to pedal fluidly and be at one with the bike if your stomping massive watts out.
Yesterday he was so far forward on his saddle it looked like he was riding with an asssaver mudguard instead
I think having a strong
I think having a strong stable core gives you greater efficiency as well as maximising your power output.
And going by yesterday’s result, he needs to find some improvement somewhere. There haven’t been many flattish TTs of that length in recent years, so maybe his weaknesses were more exposed.
I did wonder if he had gone too deep in the first few K, trying to keep up with Pogacar and paid for it later.
Who would have believed that
Who would have believed that a stick insect could have bullied a shark.
Wow, (the then) team sky must have been overdoing the drugs that day.
The ‘CyclingMikey banned’
The ‘CyclingMikey banned’ fake story seems to be one of a number of strange fake stories circulating from London Taxi drivers twitter, another clamined a new bill restricted cyclists to having to ride in cycle lanes and not allow cyclist to use helmets cams. Not sure what the purpose is of these, as a quick google generally will show they are rubbish. But seems to entertain a certain sort of person (I wonder if they get disapointed when they realise it’s all made up?).
Quote:
Can’t really see why major news outlets would be reporting on it at all. Wouldn’t they leave that to the Mail and the Times?
Are they getting their
Are they getting their scripts from AI perhaps?
I’m not on FB but my wife is
I’m not on FB but my wife is and I sometimes scroll through her feed (the main ‘front page’ feed?). Half the stuff on there – more than half of the stuff which isn’t from people she and I actually know – is just AI slop. Horrible.
One potential benefit of the
One potential benefit of the fake news is that those idiots who believe that CyclingMikey and other camera cyclists can’t continue to report phone use behind the wheel and other bad driving will then potentially engage in those behaviours.
I’m not hoping that people get hurt by them, just that if they flagrantly break the law thinking they can’t be done for it and then DO end up losing their licences then we will actually all be safer for it…
if they flagrantly break the
if they flagrantly break the law thinking they can’t be done for it and then DO end up losing their licences then we will actually all be safer for it…
Except in those ‘No Action Ever’ police areas, where they have no fear of ‘being done’ for anything, so you won’t all be safer for it! Never mind the phone use, what about the LX14 LLK badly failed MOT ‘Repair immediately (major defects)’ continuing to deliver milk every day, I have no doubt? I’ll go looking for it in a few days
“We are taking a strong,
“We are taking a strong, symbolic step that will remain in the history of Paris,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.
Symbolic steps are useless and meaningless. They don’t improve road safety, they don’t stop reckless driving. A motorist who purposely kills a cyclist or pedestrian must receive a life sentence, with a minimum of 25 years in jail.
*
*
Well … your first point is quite debatable *.
Your second is a fine thing to say but a) that’s more than most murders, even some aggravated ones b) the notion of “purposeful” is exactly the point we struggle with. In fact assigning any culpability to drivers who injure or kill is often a sticking point – even when they effectively admit in court they’re not a good driver.
So that’s a mighty ask – and requires a big culture change, never mind a legal one!
* I’m somewhat with you here as most of what I’ve seen aimed at “encouraging cycling” in the UK is essentially “symbolic value” – and the biggest (easily visible…) effect of it seems to be to set all the usual suspects barking and shouting and make it appear as if we are still far from the “end of the beginning”.
MaxiMinimalist wrote:
No, they are not. They are symbolic of a commitment being made that means the politician or other leader making it can be held to account if they fail to honour that commitment. They are a step on a pathway towards a concrete goal, as Mme Hidalgo says, of “[making sure Paris] will continue, with determination, to build a safer, fairer and more humane form of mobility.” Something that will improve road safety, something that the measures she already has taken have massively and demonstrably done. Naming the cycle lane after M.Varry shows a commitment that the victims of road violence will not be forgotten and it will stand as a reminder of both how bad things have been and how much remains to be done.
Symbolic steps are useless
Symbolic steps are useless and meaningless only if they are not followed up with more concrete steps.