Jeremy Vine hits back at senior cop “appalled” by behaviour of cyclists without helmets; Lucky cyclists narrowly avoid being struck by lightning; Alaphilippe to skip Olympics; Women’s Tour de France; Help a community bike project + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Jeremy Vine hits back at senior cop "appalled" by behaviour of cyclists without helmets
For context…
🚫 81% of drivers exceed the speed limit in 20mph zones.
🚫 53% exceed the speed limit in 30mph zones.
🚫 In 2019, 570 pedestrians & cyclists were killed by motor vehicles.I’m not sure ‘protect yourself because our society won’t’ is the right message here. https://t.co/nEA8OnumLf
— Jon Burke FRSA (@jonburkeUK) May 13, 2021
Jeremy Vine has hit back at a City of London Police superintendent who yesterday said he was “appalled by the behaviour of some cyclists”, particularly the ones “without a helmet”. The broadcaster, who regularly shares footage of his own experiences of poor driving on London’s roads, asked the superintendent to: “please think about this carefully. People who cycle need your protection, not condemnation for not wearing the protective gear you want to see them in. The danger they face is from law-breaking drivers. They pose very little danger themselves.”
Superintendent James Morgan had tweeted his disgust at the behaviour of cyclists, claiming they had been “endangering themselves, other road users and pedestrians” and that he was “shocked to see so many without a helmet; or, worse, a helmet clipped to their backpack!”
The superintendent’s tweet has been widely criticised by the cycling community but Morgan doubled down and offered this explanation…
If that offends you – you have my apologies.
Cyclists are the most vulnerable road users in my Force area, and we’ll do everything we can to reduce the risk to them. That includes seeking to change this sort of behaviour, as well as dangerous behaviour of other road users.
— Superintendent James Morgan (@CityPoliceJM) May 13, 2021
CyclingMikey was one of the many people to challenge the superintendent…
Just stop this helmet promotion nonsense. If you really cared about cycling safety, you’d get more segregated cycle lanes everywhere, and you’d actually get drivers prosecuted as a result of third party video evidence like the Met do. Real safety comes from infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/Rxa1nFvXjh
— Fully Vaccinated CyclingMikey. 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇿🇼 (@MikeyCycling) May 13, 2021
Since almost five times more pedestrians than cyclists were killed by cars in 2019, I’m just wondering if I need to wear helmet next time I walk up Threadneedle Street? Wouldn’t want anyone being shocked by my failure prevent drivers from killing me…
— Jon Burke FRSA (@jonburkeUK) May 13, 2021
No idea who Attila Valter is? You might remember him from this...
You would have to be a diehard follower of pro cycling to have known who Attila Valter was before he rode himself into the maglia rosa yesterday. However, there is something you might recognise him from…remember this spectacular crash at the World Championships in Harrogate a couple of years back? Well, he is certainly making a splash now…
Attila Valter. Leader of the Giro, and Puddle Surf Guy:https://t.co/dOsdUKZKLj
— Ned Boulting (@nedboulting) May 14, 2021
Raiders Gravel Galloway presented by Canyon: a new Scottish gravel adventure
Raiders Gravel is a new “uniquely Scottish” four-day gravel stage race in Galloway Forest Park and Southern Ayrshire’s UNESCO Biosphere. The inaugural edition will be held between 7-10 October 2021 and will see riders compete in teams of two over three gravel stages. An all-inclusive event, entries cost £375 per person which includes three meals a day, a camping pitch and all the good stuff that goes with taking part in a mass-participation stage race: GPS rider tracking, professionally managed routes, bike washes and Bioracer leaders jerseys…
Malcolm Smith, Golazo Cycling director said: “we’re stoked to bring this incredibly unique event to the stunning region around the Galloway Forest Park. As a gravel enthusiast myself, I was blown away by the wilderness and scenery here in Galloway. Paired with some of the best gravel tracks in the UK, riders are in for an unforgettable time in the South of Scotland.”
Cyclists on the frontline of Glasgow Kenmure Street protests
Community response in the southside of Glasgow stopping a Home Office dawn raid right now. A family inside the van. An activist is under the van to stop them moving pic.twitter.com/I65lmz1o2A
— Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) May 13, 2021
These were the scenes in Pollokshields, Glasgow, yesterday as locals successfully protested for the release of two people detained by immigration officers after an eight-hour stand-off. And, according to one attendee, there were a “weirdly disproportionately high number of cyclists”…
Cyclists were on the frontline! pic.twitter.com/y2W8B1riQo
— Toni Giugliano (@ToniGiugliano) May 13, 2021
Domenico Pozzovivo withdraws from the Giro d'Italia due to stage six crash
🇮🇹 #Giro
⚠️ MEDICAL UPDATE ⚠️
After crashing in stage 6, and following further medical assesment this morning, sadly @pozzovivod has been forced to withdraw from the @giroditalia.
🎙️”I went above the limit just to finish yesterday.”
🎥 FIGHTER#BicyclesChangeLives pic.twitter.com/Svn7DF9mmF
— Team Qhubeka ASSOS (@QhubekaAssos) May 14, 2021
Team Qhubeka Assos leader Domenico Pozzovivo has withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia ahead of stage seven after suffering a fall on yesterday’s stage. The climber, who finished fifth in 2018, crashed and came home more than 20 minutes behind stage winner Gino Mäder. Pozzovivo injured his left arm in the fall and after speaking to his team doctor, he has decided to withdraw.
The 38-year-old’s team should get another shot at a stage victory later today with their sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo. Stage seven is a little bit lumpy but should still favour the quick men. Nizzolo was narrowly beaten by Caleb Ewan on Wednesday, his 11th second place at the Giro…could today finally be the day he goes one better?
Cambridge is the UK's bike theft hotspot, according to ONS data
Bike Biz shared this data from MoneySuperMarket which shows Britain’s hotspot areas for bike thefts. Analysing data from the Office for National Statistics, the insurance comparison site found that Cambridge had the highest rate of reported thefts per 1,000 people at 18.4. Oxford and Reading were second and third with eight and 5.2 stolen bikes per 1,000 people respectively, a significant jump down from Cambridge’s alarming total.
Tunbridge Wells, Caerphilly and Dudley had the lowest rates, ranging between 0.2 and 0.3 per 1,000 people. In total, more than 72,640 bikes were reported stolen which is down 15 per cent from 85,285 in 2019.
Islabikes launches cargo bike trial in Ludlow
We’ve launched a cargo bike delivery service in our hometown of Ludlow! During the initial 8-month trial, we will deliver goods from local businesses to their customers.https://t.co/7Ioa87hrIT pic.twitter.com/HXaMbju69F
— Islabikes (@Islabikes) May 13, 2021
Islabikes has taken a step into the cargo bike market by launching an eight-month trial delivering goods for businesses and clients in Ludlow. During the trial the service will be free to local businesses wanting to deliver small goods around the town. The bike manufacturer hopes that if successful the service will expand permanently and be a template for other small towns.
The benefits of cargo bikes are obvious with them replacing polluting delivery vehicles negotiating narrow urban streets. Cargo bikes are non-polluting in terms of noise and carbon emissions and offer a sustainable alternative to vans and lorries.
Matt Baynham, head of sustainability at Islabikes, added: “With more home deliveries than ever, and more vans clogging our streets, we are keen to improve air quality and reduce congestion in our home town”.
Mark Christian makes the break on stage seven
Giro: Stage 7 — Good news! The Isle of Man’s Mark Christian has made the three man break that is gaining time (4 mins and growing) on the peloton. With him are Simon Pellaud and Umberto Marengo… pic.twitter.com/2mHD1tTCUH
— VeloUK Cycling Mag (@AussieLarry) May 14, 2021
Nottinghamshire-based filmmaker documenting 1,000-mile solo charity ride for mental health charity Mind
Jason Croxall is setting off on the famous Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge tomorrow. Over ten days he will tackle the 1,000-mile route unaided for the mental health charity Mind. As a sports filmmaker by profession, Jason will be mixing his new passion for cycling and documentary making by filming the best bits using a selection of cameras and a drone before editing them together once he is home.
“I got into fitness and running and cycling in the first place as an escape,” the 32-year-old said. “It made me feel better. It nursed my mental health and quite frankly is the best thing I have ever done for myself.
“So many of my friends and family including myself have been affected with mental health struggles and it’s really something that needs supporting and talking about more. While the ride will be incredible and really test me, I want to share it with many more people who are teetering on the edge of doing something incredible but need that final nudge. If this film can help that, it might just help me sleep better in the rain, wind and probably snow.”
Jason has already beaten the £500 fundraising target on his JustGiving page which had raised £767 at the time of writing.
Julian Alaphilippe to skip Olympic Games in favour of other goals
On paper the course for the Olympic Games road race looked bang on for Julian Alaphilippe to have a great shot at adding a medal to his ever growing trophy cabinet. However, the world champ has ruled himself out of selection, preffering to target other late season goals…
On Instagram he wrote: “After having thought for a long time, in agreement with the coach of the France team and my team Deceuninck-Quick-Step, not to be a candidate for selection for the next Tokyo Olympics. It’s a personal and well thought out decision.
“End-of-season objectives have been defined and in this sense choices must be made. I would be very proud to wear the France team jersey for the next world championships. Of course, I wish the best for the team that will be fielded on this occasion.”
Alaphilippe’s next big goal is the Tour de France in July and the Critérium du Dauphiné before that in June. The opening stage of the Tour finishes up a short, sharp climb in Brittany, opening the door to a third yellow jersey in as many years…
Women's Tour de France to be revived in 2022: race expected to take place after the men's Tour next summer
A quick nod to a big bit of news that slipped through our net earlier in the week…Tour de France organiser, Christian Prudhome, told the Guardian that there will be a women’s race from next year. It is expected to be held after the men’s Tour with more details to be announced later in the year.
“It will take place next year, that’s certain,” Prudhomme said. “It would have happened this year if it had not been for the Covid-19 pandemic, obviously, and above all if the Tokyo Olympics had not been after the [men’s] Tour, so the best riders may not be available. But the decision has been taken. There will be a Tour de France femmes in 2022 following closely after the [men’s] Tour.”
Prudhome did not sound completely sold on the idea, saying that all their women’s races lose the organisation money and that they have been making a loss on Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour of Yorkshire for the last few years. He warned that if they do not become profitable then “it will end up like the Tour in the 80s and it will die.”
Safe cycle infrastructure...Aussie style
Safe cycling infastructure Aussie style pic.twitter.com/dEd3I3IS4L
— 3gears (@ibikeAdel) May 14, 2021
Comments and reaction to Jeremy Vine dropping some facts on Superintendent James Morgan
Please think about this carefully. People who cycle need your protection, not condemnation for not wearing the protective gear you want to see them in. The danger they face is from law-breaking drivers. They pose very little danger themselves. pic.twitter.com/NKB2KdRXqp
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) May 13, 2021
Plenty of reaction to round up here…
David9694 commented: “cycle helmets are a distraction, yet another a way for drivers to blame others for their incompetence. I wear one – for my own mishaps, the occasional overhanging branch, and somewhere to mount my camera.”
Jenova20 added: “Sort the problem, not the consequence of the problem. If we all have to walk the streets with helmets and body armour careless/dangerous driving will continue to be rife.”
On Facebook, John Bremner suggested the superintendent goes on a holiday to Europe and takes notes on cycling while he is there…
Bristol Bike Project raising £35,000 to renovate new home and create new community workshop
The Bristol Bike Project is raising money to renovate its home in Easton and create a new community workshop. The much-loved community project has moved out of their old premises at Hamilton House to take on a new building in Easton. So far they have raised £20,000 of the £35,000 target which will help ensure the new premesis is well-equipped and ready to “feel welcoming and accesible for everyone in the community”.
Founded in 2008, The Bristol Bike Project has benefitted more than 2,000 people through their ‘earn a bike’ scheme. In pre-Covid times, the workshop was packed out with programmes teaching bike maintenance as well as operating as a bike shop.
Sean was reffered by Bristol Drugs Project in 2010 and has been a volunteer at the Bristol Bike Project ever since. “Finding the Project was such an important part of my recovery,” he said. “The bike keeps me clean. But the best thing about this place is that it is immediately welcoming. Anyone who has been an addict will know just how important it is to be accepted in that way.”
Here’s a link to their crowdfunder…
Aussie cyclists narrowly avoid being struck by lightning
Oof, here is a heart-stopping video to take into the weekend…a trio of Australian cyclists were captured on this driver’s dash cam narrowly avoiding being struck by lightning. The MailOnline reports the group was riding down a quiet outback road early in the morning when the lightning struck. They then calmly carried on their way seemingly oblivious to what had happened…
14 May 2021, 07:43
14 May 2021, 07:43
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Where does the article say he was wearing full leathers? I've bashed my unprotected knee a few times and been fine after a day or two. I don't want to think about bashing my unprotected head, though.
There's nothing finer than local facebook pages for recreating the angry villagers scene from 'Frankenstein'. In these troubling times it's almost comforting to have something so unfaillingly predictable.
Don't forget motorbike armour / knee / elbow pads. Since "he also suffered a shoulder fracture in three places and broken ribs," ... without full leathers he could have died from internal injuries / damaged his spine with terrible consequences also. Why take a chance?
Horrific story, but these days it's so silly to not be wearing a helmet. As the article proves, you literally don't know what's round the corner. His injuries may have been no different of course, but why take the chance?
Agree completely. It was great to see the diversity of the people trying the path on Sunday, including many families. Now that they've realised that Racecourse Hill is actually rideable, I hope that for those people the path has become normalised. An objective of the day was also to expose locals to increased traffic on the path so that they became practiced in giving way at the 3 crossings on the descent down through Pittville. Time will tell, but driver behaviours were brilliant and hopefully there's a growing expectation that there might be a rider coming down the path :) We need some good connectivity at both ends of the path now..
Or more accurately, it's a cheap, low attack on Starmer - active travel is just catching strays.
@steve1968smith I wondered why it was so busy. Well done for organising the event. As you say, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It really lifted my spirits. It seems to me that as long as the Stewards have been trained to appreciate the dangers and give priority to cyclists there will not be a problem but the concerns were raised because, as far as I can tell, there was no requirement for Stewards in the planning application and that is my concern. I have also been impressed with the number of cyclists using the route for commuting. It could be the weather but if the pattern continues over the winter then the aims of the project will be fulfilled. I also know of a number of families with small children who are using the path to get them on their bikes which bodes well for the future. Almost every non cyclist I have talked to in the past has told me that no one will use the cycle path. I hope that they witness the nunber of users for themselves and eat humble pie.
He is just a careerist we have to remember. He doesn’t give a shite about anything other than his career (like Farage doesn’t care about anything other than making money for himself) I understand why idiots vote for Reform, (other than because they are racist); they see politicians say anything to play the crowd. The problem is Farage is the epitome of a snake oil salesman. Streeting’s Daily Mail friendly comment is just a cheap, low and insidious attack on active travel, again. Even if he doesn’t mean it to be - cycle lanes are blamed for closing the high street, causing congestion, increasing pollution, busting the NHS and now, if it wasn’t for active travel, Blighty would still have an armed force to rule the waves. Fkn pathetic
@Pub bike - well, off-road (ICE) motorbikes have been available for decades, so you're right about the proposed law being too narrow. I've seen scrotes riding them in parks and on the roads, but they're much less common than the newer e-motorbikes.
@hawkinspeter I think my point buried in there somewhere is that the law being devised is too narrowly focused around electric bikes/motorbikes and it should encompass the sale of any kind of motorbike. The wording talks about "electrically assisted" which would seem to exclude throttle controlled bikes. The bikes I saw that had no pedals - and therefore the electricity does not assist but is the sole source of propulsion - would fall outside of this legislation, so already there is a loophole. It would probably help to have some technical input to this bill by people that actually understand the differences between bicycles, e-bikes, EAPCs and motorbikes before it goes too far.
69 thoughts on “Jeremy Vine hits back at senior cop “appalled” by behaviour of cyclists without helmets; Lucky cyclists narrowly avoid being struck by lightning; Alaphilippe to skip Olympics; Women’s Tour de France; Help a community bike project + more on the live blog”
Sort the problem, not the
Sort the problem, not the consequence of the problem. If we all have to walk the streets with helmets and body armour careless/dangerous driving will continue to be rife.
If the superintendent saw
If the superintendent saw dangerous, law breaking cycling he has every right to tweet about it.
Instead of whinging about it and trying to create division, Vine and the other Pro-EU virtue-signalling blowhards should acknowledge that dangerous cycling is an issue – but one that is dwarfed by road casualties caused by motorists… an issue which I’m sure the superintendent is already more than aware of and trying to tackle to the fullest of his capacity.
Bike helmets save lives. Deal with it.
Deal with this, Nigel, cycle
Deal with this, Nigel, cycle helmets are a distraction, yet another a way for drivers to blame others for their incompetence. I wear one – for my own mishaps, the occasional overhanging branch, and somewhere to mount my camera.
Didn’t do much for Ying Tao
Didn’t do much for Ying Tao though.
What evidence do you have that the superintendent is tackling vehicle related issues to the ‘fullest of his capacity’ ?
There is a 50+ post thread from yesterday on safety clothing where someone wants PPE as the main risk control. Are they your Dad ?
Helmets are just a distraction from the road problems and give limited protection anyway for low speed impacts.
hirsute wrote:
He already confirmed his commitment to road safety in his follow up tweet – “Cyclists are the most vulnerable road users in my Force area, and we’ll do everything we can to reduce the risk to them. That includes seeking to change this sort of behaviour, as well as dangerous behaviour of other road users.”
As for the troll post on visibility/ppe yesterday, I’ve no idea why you guys fell for it – clocked it straight away (as you’ll see in my post on that thread)
Nigel Garrage wrote:
TBH until that person got deeper into it, I genuinely thought they were one of the marketing researchers that turn up on here from time to time because its cheaper than paying for ‘actual’ research…
brooksby wrote:
I thought it was one of those ‘ad posts’. Fully expecting an immediate response from a one post account along the lines “Me too concerned about cyclist visible safety. Got good deal on fluro clothing here …”
Nigel Garrage wrote:
That’s the problem. His view is that danger to cyclists comes primarily from “this sort of behaviour”. It doesn’t, unless of course you are a victim blamer
Yeah fair cop, guilty as charged…..
Him making a claim which may
Him making a claim which may or may not give rise to any action isn’t evidence that according to you “the superintendent is tackling vehicle related issues to the ‘fullest of his capacity'”
Please consider that the
Please consider that the ‘fullest of his capacity’ may not be very much capacity at all. The super clearly made the best decision he was capable of making when he tweeted. The fact that it was a poor decision doesn’t mean it wasn’t his best.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Possibly, except of all the “dangerous” road behaviour, his biggest problems were not wearing a helmet, and (clutches pearls) clipping helmet to backpack.
The guy is clearly a tool, playing to the gallery, with no real grasp or care for road safety issues.
Don’t forget the medium he is
Don’t forget the medium he is using – he can’t write War and Peace on Twitter about everything he’d like to do on road safety – and simply noted some quick takeaways from his observations as part of the operation they undertook.
If someone is riding round without a helmet on but clipped to their backpack, it does strike me as illogical and noteworthy – and contrary to road safety.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
No he can’t, so it would seem that he would be best using his limited characters to highlight the major causes of risk on the road. Even if you ignore the obvious (*cough* cars) and just look at cycling, not wearing a helmet, or clipping it to your rucksack, does not increase danger to anyone (other than the rider themselves, and even that is tenuous as not wearing a lid doesn’t increase your chance of being hit)
His shrill whine of a tweet did nothing more than
This idiot is supposedly in charge of the police response to road violence in the City. He is demonstrating his prejudice and cluelessness – that’s fine for the usual twitter gammon, but this guy is in charge of policies whose outputs will directly affect people’s lives. And all he can blather on about is polystyrene hats……
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Given he’s a limited number of characters (and his is questionable); would it not make more sense to point out red light jumpers, illegal behaviours and not be ‘especially shocked’ by the attire?
Come on Nigel, you can do it!
“and simply noted some quick
“and simply noted some quick takeaways from his observations as part of the operation they undertook.”
You mention later on about an operation as well. Yet his tweet is:-
Appalled by the behaviour of some cyclists on my way in this morning: endangering themselves, other road users and pedestrians.
TBH anyone know if he posts regular “on my way into work this morning I saw…..” insert moan about taxis, buses, cars, electric scooters and all manner of items which is probably more dangerous then anything the cyclists have done? But as others have pointed out, the helmet comment is the main thing he has been called out on. Points out supposedly illegal behaviour and then adds and it is worse because of non helmets does seem to legitimise the non-cyclists moans. I’m surprised he didn’t mention Road tax as it did come across as that type of moan.
Captain Badger wrote:
Possibly, except of all the “dangerous” road behaviour, his biggest problems were not wearing a helmet, and (clutches pearls) clipping helmet to backpack.
The guy is clearly a tool, playing to the gallery, with no real grasp or care for road safety issues.— Nigel Garrage
You wear pearls?
(Will they protect you in a traffic collision??)
You don’t?
You don’t?
brooksby wrote:
Only at weekends darling.
People certainly seem to give me a wide berth….
Nigel Garrage wrote:
Yes he does. The problem is that what comes across most from his tweet is how appalling it is that cyclists choose not to wear helmets, which is in no way law-breaking.
As a society, we don’t deal with knife crime by shaming pedestrians for not wearing stab vests, and we don’t deal with inept customer service by just telling customers to be more careful who they buy from.
That is why many cyclist react the way they do in cases like this. It isn’t the calling out of law-breaking than rankles, it is the calling out of things that have no business being called out, while many police forces (City of London included) give the distinct impression that they have no interest in prosecuting law-breaking drivers even when they actively hurt someone.
And what the H E double hockey sticks does anyone being Pro-EU have to do with it?
Jetmans Dad wrote:
Yes he does. The problem is that what comes across most from his tweet is how appalling it is that cyclists choose not to wear helmets, which is in no way law-breaking.
As a society, we don’t deal with knife crime by shaming pedestrians for not wearing stab vests, and we don’t deal with inept customer service by just telling customers to be more careful who they buy from.
That is why many cyclist react the way they do in cases like this. It isn’t the calling out of law-breaking than rankles, it is the calling out of things that have no business being called out, while many police forces (City of London included) give the distinct impression that they have no interest in prosecuting law-breaking drivers even when they actively hurt someone.
And what the H E double hockey sticks does anyone being Pro-EU have to do with it?— Nigel Garrage
I think the underlying problem for police here is that they have automated methods for catching bad/ law breaking drivers due to cars being easily identifiable and traceable, but no such method exists for cycling (not saying it should by the way), and so the police have to mount specific operations to observe and stop law breaking or antisocial cycling. The superintendent believes – correctly – that wearing a helmet can save your life, and carrying one without putting it on (while not illegal) is grossly negligent. I don’t see anything wrong with expressing this.
The reason I brought up the stuff about pro-eu etc is because these people are trying to pitch cycling as a virtuous activity and thrust it centrally into a culture war, which can only make it more dangerous for anyone who cycles.
“Grossly negligent.”
“Grossly negligent.”
Good grief
So glad to see you took up my
So glad to see you took up my suggestions of getting troll training or looking up Socrapicyclists posts for inspiration; you’ve come on leaps and bounds.
Nigel Garrage wrote:
I do, cos it’s untrue. My understanding is that gross negligence is a criminal matter, and as we have established, not wearing a lid is not a criminal matter
Nigel Garrage wrote:
I think we can all be grateful for that. It helps Essex police find armed passengers who shoot from vans, Lancashire police respond instantly whenever wtjs films miscreants, and oh, about 570 other issues as we see from NMOTD. The automation is doing a swell job, and we are all seeing the benefit as dangerous driving has plummeted to almost zero.
Meanwhile, back in yer actual real life, the lack of anything other than automated policing, is a real problem.
And culture war? Who declared that? Is it those not in favour of more pollution, more inequality, less international cooperation, less decency? Or the other lot, who stress their freedom to pollute, their “I’m alright Jack”, their “England is an island without need of friends and neighbours” attitudes?
What did you do in the war, grandad? Oh, I carried on as usual, driving everywhere in my SUV, running over anything in my way, so I can have my British rights of pretend foreign lager without needing to see anyone not like me. Vote Conservative!
Essex police find armed
Essex police find armed passengers who shoot from vans, Lancashire police respond instantly whenever wtjs films miscreants
I should point out that he’s deploying irony, and I am pleased to see that LC is gaining in infamy. There are important points in this topic about non-apology apologies where the original sentiment was the one truly held by the apologiser before he realised he ought to try some weaselling. We saw the same from Northumbria Police, who clearly really believe that cyclists should stay off the roads when they might inconvenience respectable motorists, and be restricted to early Sunday mornings in winter- but not in the month before Christmas.
It is clear that in this case the unworthy Superintendent (see, it’s not always irony!) really thinks that the greatest sin is cyclists not wearing helmets. Fortunately, we have Boardman and the excellent Cycling Mikey (how does he convince the traffic police to get up off their backsides and actually do something?) to attempt to correct him- sadly, I feel the attempt to convince this member of the Filth that he is wrong in his conviction that injuries to cyclists are ‘all their own fault’ is doomed to failure. You just have to hope that the Police Dinosaurs will eventually retire and better officers will appear. I live, so far, in hope.
PS I should have noted that Jeremy Vine is still doing a good job, but I have not taken to listening to Radio 2
“blowhards”
“blowhards”
Here you go – one for the
Here you go – one for the archives, as you’d probably consider me a ‘Pro-EU virtue-signalling blowhard.’
Dangerous cycling is an issue, albeit one that is dwarfed by road casualties caused by motorists.
Now we’ve got that box ticked, back to today’s main programme: why a police superintendent shouldn’t whinge about things that are perfectly legal.
Don’t get drawn into Nigel’s
Don’t get drawn into Nigel’s nonsense. Posting intentionally inflammatory statements has a name….. if only I could recall what it was.
Is it the Socrapic method?
Is it the Socrapic method?
whiplash is one of the most
whiplash is one of the most common injuries recieved during a collision, isn’t it?
lets start a trend of shaming all motor vehicle occupants for not wearing a neck brace to proactively defend against it.
the infamous grouse wrote:
Don’t, I’ve suffered whiplash on more than one occasion coming off my bike. They’ll start telling us that we need to wear them, otherwise the insurance won’t pay out….
Captain Badger wrote:
nope too late. besides, poppy & penelope will look fabulously safe driving around in their fiat500 soft-top with summer dresses and accent-matched carbon fibre neck brace.
HANS devices, which would
HANS devices, which would work well with their 5 point safety harnesses and driving helmets.
And Nomex suits, I mean if it were to save just one life…
Should we all wear full PPE
Should we all wear full PPE with FFP3 masks when walking outside, because otherwise all pedestrians are just ‘endangering themselves’ ?
How would ‘not wearing a
How would me not wearing a helmet be endangering other road users?
You could always ask the
You could always ask the Southport Councillor who campaigned by saying cycle lanes ‘introduce a new level of danger for both pedestrians and car users.’
I just love the way the
I just love the way the Superintendent both back pedals and moves the goalposts when his idiotic post is called out.
Honestly, if the chief cop in charge of making our streets safe hasn’t got the faintest idea about helmets and safety, what hope is there?
First paragraph would have
First paragraph would have been ok if second paragraph had detailed the behaviour in question.
second paragraph “especially shocked…” stated that missing helmets was the worst misdemeanor
People attach far too much
People attach far too much prominence & importance to stuff posted on Twitter, it really isnt the window to the worlds consciousness social media platform it’s made out to be.
And it’s full of those style of bad instant thought takes that people think are deeply meaningful, when they are completely inconsequential and not worth the effort worrying about.
If the city police are that worried about cyclists safety and law breaking, then they should step in and do something about it, they do have the power if not the duty of responsibility to act and not spend their effort on sharing tweets to less than 2000 followers about, because they really arent communicating in the way they think like that.
Plastic hats all round for
Plastic hats all round for car occupants.
motoring helmet
motoring helmet
definitely a great deal of them!
Unfortunately stats like that
Unfortunately stats like that are meaningless without knowing their basis. It could just be telling us that cyclists make up only 1% of a hospital’s catchment, and 100% are suffering head injuries.
swldxer wrote:
This should include the stat about having a bath at home. Which is above cycling, in case anyone couldn’t guess.
Daveyraveygravey wrote:
I always wear a helmet in the shower. I’m starting a group to agitate for a law to make sure everyone wears one, the Shower Helmet Initiative Trust: if it saves just one life, it has to be worth it.
I hope that Superintendent
I hope that Superintendent James Morgan doesn’t visit Amsterdam. He may die of shock.
If he saw cyclists breaking
If he saw cyclists breaking the law, as a Police Officer, shouldn’t he have done something about it at the time the offence was committed and to the person’s committing the offence?
He (allegedly) saw cyclists
He (allegedly) saw cyclists not wearing helmets, or carrying their helmets strapped to their backpacks. Neither of which is an offence. Although I’m sure Priti Patel is working on it…
He later clarified his
He later clarified his initial tweet
pedestrian-pete wrote:
If only there were a way of saying what you mean first time round….
Oh yeah, there is. And he did.
pedestrian-pete wrote:
Is it the casualness that’s causing the problem? From what I’ve seen, when drivers go through red lights they tend to accelerate and blast through them as quickly as possible.
when drivers go through red
when drivers go through red lights they tend to accelerate and blast through them as quickly as possible
Yes, that’s what happens on the A6 in Lancashire. The 4 within 40 minutes that LC decided to just ignore were all speeding up as soon as they saw ‘amber’ and must have been doing well over 50 when they crashed the lights. If there is a collision as a result, it’s going to be a bad one!
hawkinspeter wrote:
They’re not dressing appropriately for the occasion. How do they expect to be taken seriously without a tie…..
I think he has a right to
I think he has a right to speak about a helmet clipped to a back-pack though..
That is just not so smart is it ?
I do not wear a helmet on my commute, allways on a road or mtb ride
These people are commuting.
These people are commuting. You do not wear a helmet when commuting.
What difference does it make where the helmet is if it not being worn?
Are we all so fixated on the
Are we all so fixated on the helmet issue that we stop reading at “helmet”?
The guy said he saw people breaking the law; it doesn’t really matter if it was in his first tweet, second tweet, or 10,000th tweet.
He saw people breaking the law and as a serving Police Officer, surely he should have done something about it at the time of the offence?
Oldfatgit wrote:
He was the one that brought helmets up, not us….
When people such as Nigel and
When people such as Nigel and his Dad promote them as first line risk control, there will always be a push back.
Too many drivers unable to execute the basics whilst in charge of 1.5 T capable of 0-100 in 10 seconds are far more of a risk to people and property.
‘i wasn’t expecting such a
‘i wasn’t expecting such a reaction!’…yeah this is part of the problem. A senior police officer with complete lack of insight. Followed up by the old conditional apology.
Lots of bikes are stolen in
Lots of bikes are stolen in places where there are lots of bikes. Who’da thunk?
Reading not so much. Just
Reading not so much. Just the lacksidasical attitude of TVP, British Transport Police and Reading Borough Council.
One of the station bike parks has the CCTV permanently pointed away from the racks for instance. I know this from bitter experience and so do the tea leaves.
Quote:
Mesis – the north-east winds. So the pre-mesis is to make sure they’re prepared for when the north-east winds come? Or does it reffer to something else?
mdavidford wrote:
Mesis – the north-east winds. So the pre-mesis is to make sure they’re prepared for when the north-east winds come? Or does it reffer to something else?
No, they’re talking about their sister.
The copper seems to be almost
The copper seems to be almost a big a twat as jeremy Vine, who seems to be going out of his way to antagonise people, but I am with him on this.
Supt Morgan seems to have
Supt Morgan seems to have previous:
https://twitter.com/CityPoliceJM/status/1383743391318478849?s=20
Yes:
Yes:
“Cycle-trained @CityPoliceCops officers routinely patrol the #SquareMile to respond to all manner of incidents, but they can and will engage, educate and if necessary enforce against cyclists behaving in this manner.”
Dan Bassford:
“Should we phone you when we see someone cycling without a helmet? You make it sound like the sort of thing you want to know about so you can “respond” to the “incident”. Is it a 999 issue? Or do you have a specific “no hat helpline”? “
Quite what ‘this manner’ means is unclear. Presumbaly it doesn’t include stopping random cyclists for not complying with a non existent law. Or even stopppinng pedestrians for not wearing hi viz.
Cycling in a loud shirt in a built up area, loitering with intent to use a cycle lane perhaps?
‘fully vaccinated cycling
‘fully vaccinated cycling mikey’.. what a prat.
grOg wrote:
That’s odd. He speaks very highly of you.
So he is promoting the vaxx
So he is promoting the vaxx as well as safe roads? Glad neither is your priority.
“Safe cycling infastructure
“Safe cycling infastructure Aussie style”
Looks pretty good for pedestrians too.