- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
“I love you guys, but come on”: Jeremy Vine films bin lorry blocking cycle lane AGAIN, as company promises to “keep all road users safe”; Black Friday comes early to Chain Reaction; Helmets and hi-vis, Dutch style; Kuss homecoming + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
No Live Blog item found.
Bin lorry blocks Camden cycle lane (Jeremy Vine)20 October 2023, 08:09
“I love you guys, but come on”: Jeremy Vine films bin lorry blocking cycle lane AGAIN, as company promises to “keep all road users safe”
Considering the sheer scale of Jeremy Vine’s online database of cycling commuter clips and dodgy driving, which he publishes on social media on an almost daily basis, it’s understandable that a sense of déjà vu will creep in from time to time.
And that was certainly the case this week, when the pedalling broadcaster posted another snazzily edited video showing a bin lorry blocking a cycle lane in Camden – just over two months after Vine shared a clip of a driver working for the same company heading the wrong way down a cycle lane in, you guessed it, Camden.
While the waste collection company in question, Veolia, thanked the presenter last month for reminding their drivers of the importance of keeping bike lanes “clear at all times”, Vine claimed this week that they appear to be “quietly” resuming the “illegal and dangerous” practice.
September: rubbish collectors @VeoliaUK apologise for sending their vans the wrong way down cycle lanes in @CamdenCouncil.
October: they quietly start the practice again. This is illegal and dangerous.@sianberry @club_camden @WeAreCyclingUK @London_Cycling pic.twitter.com/sT8szvXGTf
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) October 16, 2023
“Bin operators do a hard job with great dedication and I respect them… But don’t park in cycle lanes!” the Strictly alumnus wrote in the video.
During the clip itself, captured by the ‘drone’ flying over Vine’s head at all times, as he says (because why not, it keeps the internet on their toes), the broadcaster – upon noticing the lorry blocking the lane – mutters to himself, “And now I have to go out into oncoming traffic here”, before telling the operators: “Guys, you can’t park in a cycle lane, I’m really sorry. People have to pull round you and they could get hit here.”
Meanwhile, recognising the cyclist (I suppose the so-called ‘drone’ helmet camera is a giveaway), one of the workers joked, “Where’s your bike? Didn’t it get mangled?” – a reference to an incident from last month which left Vine desperately banging on the back of a van as the driver reversed over his bike having turned onto a stretch of cycling infrastructure.
> Jeremy Vine's lucky escape as bike run over by reversing driver who turned onto cycle lane
“Listen I love you guys, but really come on, it’s not safe,” Vine said, before departing.
While his post elicited the usual complaints on social media – with some noting that the operators would only be stopped for a “short period” and that stopping in the road and wheeling the bins across the lane would still prove an “inconvenience” – Veolia yesterday apologised and promised to review its procedures while collecting bins near bike lanes.
“We continue to work closely with Camden Council and their highways team to determine best practice that keeps all road users and our frontline teams safe when collecting along busy roads with cycle lanes,” a spokesperson said.
"Health and safety is paramount to the work we do and we want to ensure the crew have limited contact with both cyclists and vehicles. We apologise for any inconvenience caused as we develop the safest course of action.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Camden Council added: “We are clear that cycle lanes must not be used or obstructed by vehicles and we are working with Veolia to ensure that our waste and recycling vehicles follow their set routes at all times and that drivers understand the importance of keeping cycle lanes clear.
“Where cycle lanes are repeatedly being obstructed by lorries, vans, and other vehicles we will seek to add additional road safety measures that keep our cycle lanes clear and all road users safe.”
Anyway… Same time, same place in December?
20 October 2023, 15:33
What the hell is going on in the bike industry? Wiggle Chain Reaction turmoil discussed on the latest special edition of the road.cc Podcast
Yep, I know we’re a week early, but desperate times call for special podcast episodes, as they say, and we managed to quickly gather around the microphone to discuss this week’s massive cycling story (no, I’m not talking about Jeremy Vine) in time for a bonus Friday episode…
In this week’s episode, George and Jack are joined by Rory Hitchens, a long-time bike industry stalwart and the founder of brand new agency Greenleaves Cycling, to break down what on earth is going on at Wiggle CRS, how it compares to trouble and strife within the bike industry in the past, especially this year, and – crucially – what might happen next.
You won’t want to miss it…
20 October 2023, 14:58
British cyclocross champion Cameron Mason joins Cyclocross Reds team after four years at Trinity Racing
British national cyclocross champion Cameron Mason has signed for pro Belgian team Cyclocross Reds (formerly Team 777), after four years at Trinity Racing.
The 23-year-old multidiscipline rider, who also finished ninth in his first elite world ‘cross championships in Hoogerheide in February, will make his debut for the Cyclocross Reds at this weekend’s Superprestige event in Overijse, where he hopes he can build on his promising performances in the British stripes on the biggest stage.
“I’m really excited to join The Cyclocross Reds team for this season”, Mason said in a statement today.
“To be in a top Belgian team with top riders, equipment, and knowledge would have been the dream of a young Cameron coming to Belgium for the first time as a junior. I’m looking forward to showing off my national stripes at the front of the biggest races.”
20 October 2023, 13:53
“I hope anyone who bought recently used a credit card”: Rumours spread that Wiggle Chain Reaction has stopped paying suppliers and is refusing to receive goods until further notice, as Black Friday turns blacker for beleaguered retailer
Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycle’s Black Friday – in more ways than one – continues as unconfirmed reports, stemming from people within the cycling industry, suggest that the beleaguered retailer has cancelled orders and stopped paying supplier invoices, and is also refusing to receive any more stock until further notice.
Those reports come as another of Signa Sports United’s companies, tennis and outdoor e-commerce brand Tennis-Point GmbH, has filed for insolvency following the withdrawal of funds from SSU by its parent company.
According to a statement to investors released today, other companies within the SSU umbrella “are currently in the course of preparing the initiation of insolvency proceedings”.
A letter sent by Wiggle CRC to business partners also asks “not to hand over new goods”, and that they are kept in the recipient’s warehouse “for the time being”.
As uncertainty increases around the future of Wiggle CRC, we analysed the current situation, giving you some tips on how not to lose your hard-earned cash should Black Friday turn blacker, with one chartered accountant – who assessed Wiggle’s predicament – telling us: “I hope anyone who bought recently did so on a credit card”.
20 October 2023, 14:32
Cyclist who rode through red light and was hit by taxi driver awarded €190k damages
A Dublin cyclist who sustained serious head injuries after he rode through a red light and was hit by a taxi driver has been awarded more than €190,000 in damages.
The High Court in the Irish capital set the amount of damages the 64-year -old will receive after the parties to the action agreed that he was 80 percent to blame for the crash.
Read more: > Dublin cyclist who rode through red light and was hit by taxi driver awarded €190k damages
20 October 2023, 13:20
Movistar stalwart José Joaquín Rojas set to retire after 18 years as a professional cyclist
Amig@s, se nos va una época… 🥹@jjrojillas se retira tras casi dos décadas de carrera. 17 años, prácticamente la totalidad, con Movistar Team.
Un compañero excelente. Alguien que supo ponerse al servicio de otros y aportar experiencia cuando llegó el momento.
UN CAMPEÓN. 🩵 pic.twitter.com/busrOXAwhV
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) October 20, 2023
Adding to the end of an era theme prevalent throughout this season of professional cycling, one of the peloton’s longest-serving member, José Joaquín Rojas, has announced his decision to retire from the sport after 18 years as a pro.
One of the bunch’s more charismatic riders (and arguably the owner of the most famous legs), the 38-year-old turned pro with Liberty Seguros in 2006 (the less said about that team and that year the better, however) before joining the then-Caisse d’Epargne team, with its super-cool black and red kit, the following year.
Rojas would spend the rest of his career with the long-standing Spanish squad, which became Movistar in 2011, earning a reputation as a solid if unspectacular sprinter – winning stages at the Tours of the Basque Country and Catalunya, and securing a handful of top threes at the Tour de France – before later developing into one of the team’s most reliable domestiques and road captains, supporting the likes of Alejandro Valverde and Enric Mas at the grand tours.
“17 years, practically all of it, with Movistar Team,” the Spanish team said today of their retiring rider. “An excellent teammate. Someone who knew how to put himself at the service of others and provide experience when the time came. A champion.”
20 October 2023, 12:35
VecchioJo’s latest opinion piece: We need to talk about overtaking
In his latest comment-provoking article, VecchioJo passes judgement on what should be a simple matter, but one that often drifts into what he calls “unnecessary bellendery” (now there’s a phrase for a Friday afternoon) – the etiquette of overtaking, or the lack of it among some cyclists…
Read more: > We need to talk about overtaking: All things must pass, so be nice about it on your next bike ride
20 October 2023, 11:53
Legendary Manchester bike shop Harry Hall Cycles closes down after 67 years
While online retailer Wiggle struggles in the face of a turbulent cycling industry, Harry Hall Cycles – one of the most well-known cycle retailers in the UK and one of the oldest businesses in Manchester city centre – has closed down.
The news was announced on the shop’s website this week by owner Graham Hall, the son of founder Harry, the long-time mechanic of the British national team who opened the shop in 1956, with his son taking over in 1985.
“We’ve many fond memories of working with the cyclists of Manchester (and around),” Graham wrote. “We’ve met many nice people and been lucky to work in an industry that was also ‘our past time’.
“We thank you for your custom, support, and friendship over the years. Harry Hall’s WAS a family owned and run business.
“We catered for most aspects of cycling; commuters, children and enthusiasts alike. Our aim was to provide good quality kit with a friendly service. I have been lucky to have worked with some great people who've helped the shop immensely on its journey.”
The shop was opened 67 years ago by frame builder and mechanic Harry Hall, who was still working as a lorry driver at the time, on Manchester’s Hyde Road, before moving to Cathedral Street in 1960, becoming the biggest bike shop in the city.
During that early period, Hall also established his reputation as one of the finest mechanics in the country, working for the British national team throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
It was this role that ensured Hall’s name would – tragically – be forever etched into British cycling history. While working for the British team at the 1967 Tour de France, Hall became one of the last people to see Tom Simpson alive, the mechanic helping the former world champion back onto his bike after he collapsed a mile from the summit of Mont Ventoux.
After imploring Hall, who had rushed to his rider’s aid and lifted him up from the Ventoux’s stony bank, to let him carry on and to tighten his toe straps – by faintly uttering “Me straps, Harry, me straps” – Simpson then infamously murmured to the mechanic “on, on, on, on” as he pushed him on up the road.
Just 500 yards later, Hall was there to catch Simpson, as the finest British rider of his age succumbed for the second and tragically final time in the blistering Provençal heat.
After his two decades fixing the British team’s bikes, Hall moved his shop into the basement of the Corn Exchange in the mid-1980s, when it was taken over by his son Graham. Harry died, aged 78, in 2007, while Graham continued to manage the shop, which relocated to its ultimately final location, the railway arches on Whitworth Street, in 2000.
20 October 2023, 11:19
Iconic British road race Perfs Pedal cancelled for 2024
While already thanking the many officials and volunteers who made the event such a success, seeing so many spectators around the circuit and especially at the finish for a National B was quite unbelievable 👏👏👏👏@BCSouthRegion @velouk @BritishConti @PortsmouthNECC pic.twitter.com/IbTYknAreh
— Perfs Pedal Race (@PerfsPedalRace) February 16, 2023
After we reported on yesterday’s blog comments from Yomp Bonk Crew founder James Hawkins – a new kid on the block when it comes to organising bike races in the UK – calling for volunteers to help revitalise the country’s ailing racing scene, it was confirmed that one of Britain’s oldest races, the Perfs Pedal, will not go ahead in 2024, bringing an end to its 60-year history.
First held in 1964, the Perfs Pedal National B race – which took place near Portsmouth, often in foul February conditions – quickly established itself as the annual curtain raiser of the British racing season, and lists Sean Yates and Alex Dowsett among its illustrious list of winners.
Jack Rootkin-Gray led home an ominous Saint Piran 1-2-3 at the 2023 edition which, organiser Mick Waite revealed yesterday, will be the legendary race’s last.
Perfs Pedal Race no more: Mick Waite says "After nearly 60 years of organising Perfs Pedal Race, I have taken the difficult decision to stop running this event. Suffice to say that organising a National B Road Race has become more complex over the recent years."#gutted pic.twitter.com/eAowzUTB5O
— British Cycle Sport (@VeloUK) October 19, 2023
“After nearly 60 years of organising Perfs Pedal Race, I have taken the difficult decision to stop running this event. Suffice to say that organising a National B Road Race has become more complex over the recent years,” the 77-year-old told Velo UK.
“I have only been able to keep Perfs going with the help of my family, friends, and many volunteers. I have great memories from this event over the years and I am pleased we have managed to keep it running for so long.”
Posting on the race’s own social media account, Waite added: “It’s been a great run and there are far too many to thank who have assisted over the decades.”
20 October 2023, 10:23
And now it’s Wiggle’s turn to jump on the Black Friday train…
In what can be hardly be described as the most earth-shattering, shocking news, especially in the wake of earlier developments, Wiggle has followed Chain Reaction’s lead in ushering in its Black Friday sales somewhat early this year.
As of this morning, the retailer is now offering some mammoth discounts of up to 30 percent on bikes, 40 percent off on wheels, and 60 percent off on clothes and bike parts.
A sign of troubled times or just some nice, early savings? You decide…
We’ve also recorded a special podcast episode on the latest developments concerning the future of Wiggle and Chain Reaction, and what all it means for you, so stay tuned for that this afternoon.
20 October 2023, 09:33
Black Friday comes early to Chain Reaction, on what could be a grim day for the troubled retailer
No, you didn’t black out and lose a month of your life.
While normal Black Friday – that American black hole of consumerism and sweet, sweet deals that has loomed over our shores in recent years – isn’t set to take place until the end of November, Chain Reaction has decided to jump on board a month early, in what appears to be an attempt to stem the financial troubles currently plaguing the cycling retailer.
> Wiggle reportedly heading towards administration due to parent company funding woes
Yesterday we reported that Wiggle Chain Reaction Cycles looks set to enter voluntary administration in the wake of a funding crisis that has engulfed its parent company, Signa Sports United, after the company that controls it announced that it would be no longer be providing a promised €150 million in funding to the business over the next two years.
Recent Companies House reports by Wiggle and Chain Reaction indicate that the company relies upon the troubled SSU for funding, without which the “group’s ability to continue as a going concern” would be subject to “material uncertainty”.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is currently considered the most likely candidate to buy Wiggle CRC should it be put up for sale.
We’ll have more on this development over the course of the morning, but what is clear for the moment is that Black Friday has commenced early at Chain Reaction.
The retailer will certainly be hoping that particular moniker only applies to the deals and big savings it’s offering…
20 October 2023, 10:53
Cycling a potential “pathway to improved health and well-being in adolescents,” study finds
A US-based study has found that taking part in cycling programmes in school is beneficial to the psychosocial wellbeing of children aged 11 to 14, supporting previous findings that have established a positive link between riding a bike and mental wellbeing.
“It was really encouraging to see such a positive student response to a cycling-specific physical education programme,” researcher Fletcher Dementyev said.
“This motivates us, and hopefully others, to continue investigating and developing cycling as a pathway to improved health and well-being in adolescents.”
Read more: > US study finds that cycling programmes at school boost mental health
20 October 2023, 10:02
Win a grand tour, lead a group ride, and sign some babies: Thousands turn out in Durango to celebrate Vuelta winner Sepp Kuss
America’s newest cycling star, 2023 Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss, returned home to a hero’s welcome in Durango yesterday, as thousands packed the small Coloradan mountain city to celebrate the country’s first grand tour winner for a decade.
The festivities included speeches, GC Kuss t-shirts (obviously), and a massive group ride led by the red jersey winner:
Celebrating Sepp Kuss! Share your favorite picture from today’s celebration in the comments below! pic.twitter.com/YjZwITaxyo
— City of Durango (@CityofDurango) October 19, 2023
Oh, and the very American tradition of – checks notes – signing babies…
The Sepp Kuss parade was so good. Even had a baby signing. pic.twitter.com/bwrA5Mu0TI
— Caley Fretz (@CaleyFretz) October 20, 2023
I have no idea either.
20 October 2023, 09:01
“You know you have a mainstream cycling culture when this is how helmets and hi-vis are used around young children”
With so much discussion on the live blog this week focusing on contentious road safety campaigns advising us that ‘safety is a two-way street’ and admonishing vulnerable road users for wearing dark clothing (equating it with texting and driving, no less), I thought it would be worthwhile to hop over to the Netherlands, in order to ascertain what role hi-vis and helmets play in a safe, mainstream cycling culture…
And this oldie but a goldie from Zwolle, shared again on social media this week, sums it up rather nicely:
You know you have a mainstream cycling culture when this is how helmets ⛑️ and hi-viz 🦺 are used around young children.
Meet the worlds happiest traffic controller: Johan Zandvliet from #Zwolle! pic.twitter.com/I7z7IObJVz
— Cycling Professor 🚲 (@fietsprofessor) October 13, 2023
Canada, take notes…
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
Latest Comments
- OnYerBike 12 min 33 sec ago
Where did you read the minimum tariff is 5 years? Sentencing Guidelines says it's 2 years (minimum disqualification is 5 years)....
- mike the bike 14 min 40 sec ago
My figures are about ten years out of date but I doubt if they have changed much since I retired. The overall PASS rate at that time was 28% and...
- chrisonabike 18 min 12 sec ago
Won't you think of the residents rodents?...
- chrisonabike 43 min 28 sec ago
That is some rustic sashimi there...
- wtjs 56 min 27 sec ago
I bought the excellent Edge 1040 last year with a good, but not sensational, reduction, and this year I have bought a couple of expensive academic...
- anotherflat 1 hour 48 min ago
Having been through redundancy due to an employer going bankrupt, it's good to read that the employees should get their redundancy and pension...
- andystow 2 hours 9 min ago
Well, my aluminium mudguards are looking a little beat up. Might as well make my wallet match them.
- brooksby 3 hours 30 min ago
There are a lot of people out there who seem to think exactly that. It's like all those times that the traffic lights change as you are halfway...
- hawkinspeter 4 hours 46 min ago
That still annoys me about the BBC - iplayer only keeps some programmes available for a short time, so we have to rely on people making copies to...
Add new comment
61 comments
Perhaps but its not really a practical alternative in this location, perhaps on a smaller side street (I would be all for it there) but its not really a reasonable balance in this location, especially with things just retrofitted, not designed properly like the Dutch, etc would do.
Why is it not practical that motorists have to wait a few minutes while essential work is being done, it's not as if they empty the bins every day or even week? You wouldn't expect the lorry to mount the pavement to allow impatient motorists to pass. The convenience of drivers shouldn't come at the expense of the safety of cyclists.
In the right place it is and a very good solution but I don't think that the right place. Ideally the place would have been designed to ensure that was the right solution but this is only a retrofit solution and folk sometimes have to weigh up the bigger picture IMO.
Genuinely - where is this "right place"? Been hearing this for years now - "of course we're in favour of more active travel / road safety / more pleasant streets, but..."
And it turns out that it is *never* the right place, wherever it is!
Further - although I'm sure any retrofit design will have issues I've looked at quite a lot and would say that while better or worse some are good enough. And yet it turns out I'm completely wrong! Every single one is fatally flawed according to some folks. Having analysed this it seems the key problem in each is it makes things marginally less convenient for drivers, even if that is simply learning a new layout.
Be honest - complete redesigns are going to be very rare.
If you've been hearing that for years it should tell you something. The right place for me is 90% of places and I'd rather concentrate/focus on getting them perfect (or at least the best it can be and be safe for all) than trying to retrofit 100% of places. I think thats a reasonable balance to encourage the mode shift we need to save the planet. Other folk will say the balance needs to be more orientated to movement but I'd rather concentrate on the sence of Place as I don't think their approach is enough to even start to address the 'Climate Emergency' that practically everyone has recognised.
I think it tells me that motornormativity is a thing and people don't like change - but we specifically see any change which *might* reduce driving convenience as a threat.
So far so normal - "if you're privileged modes towards equality feel like oppression".
Question for you - If you feel like 90% of places are "right" why do *you* think that lots of people think 0% of places are right? (Or more specifically - 100% of places that they may drive through / park in occasionally are the wrong place for changes other than more roads / more parking?)
It is a serious challenge to move from where we are - there are lots of forces keeping the status quo in place. So for any change we'll require multiple things working together, not just one "fix".
Specifically for cycling (and also reducing motor traffic - these are linked) there are places where this *has* happened. And what was required was not "perfect" but "enough everywhere - of *sufficient* quality". This has been the case in NL, parts of Scandinavia, Seville... it's not likely to be different here.
https://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2008/09/grid.html
It also takes managing and reducing the motor traffic.m (and because driving is private transport we will need in part a private alternative eg. cycling).
Talkng of "place" this is something that can work in favour of this kind of change.
https://robertweetman.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/i-want-my-street-to-be-li...
Of course in the UK we are used to even "nice places" being dominated by parked cars. And we will fight to ensure we have the ability to drive through *everyone else's places* to get to our destinations. Or even get there just 10 seconds quicker...
You'll need to ask them why! FWIW, To get change its all about reasonable balance, I don't think 0% is any sort of balance!
This would totally block car traffic (there is a central island) for a couple of minutes or maybe more, as the cars would have absolutely no other choice, but to stay still and immobilized. Cyclists, Vine including, could either wait without any emissions (a internal combustion car staying still, will pollute if it doesn't have a start/stop system) or could simply dismount and walk and lose like 10 seconds. I know dismounting is uncomfortable, but still an option.
So please mr Vine (and supporters) give me all the alternatives in this exact case.
I will try to have a few:
1) Lorry parks in cycle lane as in video, cyclists may wait, dismount walk, causiously overtake, or just pretend it is 2005 and no cycle lanes exist.
2) Lorry parks in car lane as ChasP proposes. Car gets stuck for minutes, total manhours lost in travel time increase compared to previous scenario, angry drivers mob cyclists increases even more, air quality worsens, cyclists get lung cancer and everybody wanders how they got it if they were never smoking and athletic.
3) Lorry parks in car lane as ChasP proposes, but now the Veolia HR department has hired olympic weightlifters from peaceful okinawa so that they are both super fast and having to be stressed from blocking car traffic. Instead of minutes they finish in seconds, everybody happy, but the tax goes +10% to hire these exceptional athletes.
4) 40000 drones of the video keep the lorry on the air, everybody happy, but now the tax goes +15% to keep all these drones running.
5) Any other solutions?
Maybe they do the action which is not illegal?
Playing 'Devil's Advocate' is it illegal though (there's double yellows but its impossible to read a timeplate) and whilst its not preffered it might not actually be illegal. See chapter 8 (p24) of the TfL's guide on protected cycle lanes and parking https://content.tfl.gov.uk/guidance-for-the-use-of-traffic-wand-with-cyc...
My interpretation of that is that it's illegal as that's a mandatory cycle lane which does not allow for vehicles to drive in them. Parking/loading could presumably be allowed in marked bays, but that does not appear to be the case from the picture above (apologies - I don't use Twitter so won't watch the video).
Section 8.2.4: Formal provision of parking/loading bays within a cycle lane requires breaking of the mandatory cycle lane marking.
I cant guarantee its definitely illegal or legal, for instance if you read the earlier paragraph:
8.2.2 Parking/loading can take place formally, in designated bays, or could be permitted informally by the presence of parking and loading restrictions.
Can you see any of those restrictions (which would be unusual for a mandatory cycle lane) that would allow the bin lorry there?
Thats what I said previously, its impossible to see the details of the parking an loading restrictions so hence playing Devil's Advocat it is impossible to say from the vid definitively if its illegal or not
Mmmm Devil's Advocaat
Lol, typo
Is that where the expression "snowball's chance in hell" comes from?
...and also the action that produces a slight delay to traffic rather than introducing a danger to some traffic (and potentially a much greater delay if someone is injured)
Quickly followed by a Vine video, a vineo? Of the bins being chucked back across the cycle lane towards the kerb from behind the truck unsighted
That's clearly dangerous behaviour whether or not there's a cycle lane. Certainly the recycling/bin people around my area don't throw the bins around.
I don't think that the law maker was thinking a refuse truck, on a single lane road next to a cycle route when the law was written. There are many stupid laws, and that is why laws change. Some are of such minor importance or so easily broken because there are no realistic other alternatives (as in this example) that no one bother to change them.
And to people worrying extremely about safety, and don't want to do Vine's swerve that can compare only with base jumping from Big Ben in levels of danger, they can just wait like the car drivers they dream of waiting in their unicorn world. But on top of that they have the super safe option of just dismounting and walking.
ftfy
Wel, there's an issue, I can see that.
But in a more general view - how on earth did we cope before when e.g. a refuse truck was collecting on a one-way street (I presume this is what this one is)?
Pretty sure people have been travelling in London and also delivering / collecting stuff for thousands of years. And for all of that time there have been "narrow streets". How come people haven't deserted this terrible impractical city for the country, or massacred the bin men / gong farmers / carters?
I mean - I know it's London so presumably everyone's 5 minutes is worth most of my year's salary, and that people being delayed by any time at all probably means the mayor or maybe the prime minister is summoned to answer questions...
If the cyclist just stop then the bin lorry cannot proceed to drive the wrong way on the cycle lane and therefore gets nowhere.
There are numerous streets in London, particularly in the City, that are too narrow or winding for bin lorries, so the residents/business owners take their bins to an agreed point on a wider street where they are collected. You might say that sort of effort isn't justified here, but it is a perfectly good alternative that is used in numerous locations across the capital. In this specific case Vine is on Tavistock Place near the junction with Marchmont Street; the latter has no cycle lanes and no parking and would allow the refuse collectors to empty the bins with minimal disruption to traffic, motor vehicle or bicycle.
Which is exactly what they do on the 98.5% of their round that doesn't have cycle lanes on it, so it's not exactly something new or unxpected.
Comprehensive cycle infra is rarer outside of London than you think - in the rest of the country, drivers have to wait for bin lorries to do their thing in the main carriageway every day.
'During the clip itself, captured by a drone flying over Vine’s head (because why not)'
Please tell me you're in on the gag here and furthering it, rather than falling for it?
Vine still gets the occasional perfectly serious genius on Twitter quoting the law about flying drones within certain distances of pedestrians or buildings and asking why he should be taken seriously for criticising other people for breaking the law when he's clearly doing it himself.
Ha! I never even imagined anyone would think it wasn’t a joke! Inverted commas now added to make that very clear… Can’t be too subtle these days, I suppose.
OMG, Jeremy: please please PLEASE stop adding all these "wacky" animations. A basic video with - maybe - some text to highlight your point is sufficient...
(maybe I'm just getting old...).
Pages