No cycling sign’s lack of grammar sends it viral; 10,000 FREE GCN+ passes for Tour de France Femmes; Ashley Neal goes cycling (+ chats on road.cc); But cyclists; 10 years since Wiggo won yellow; Return of the cycle lane; Stage 19 + more on the live blog

52 thoughts on “No cycling sign’s lack of grammar sends it viral; 10,000 FREE GCN+ passes for Tour de France Femmes; Ashley Neal goes cycling (+ chats on road.cc); But cyclists; 10 years since Wiggo won yellow; Return of the cycle lane; Stage 19 + more on the live blog”

1. York Museum’s garden is not

   York Museum’s garden is not the place for the young nor the elderly. This approach means they can discourage them without needing to employ security in these difficult economic times.

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2. Parents at Abberley school,

   Parents at Abberley school, are, however, allowed to drive as recklessly as they wish.

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   • It must be a bit discouraging

     It must be a bit discouraging for the less able children to be singled out like that, and with such a non-PC designation. I don’t suppose all the high achievers are brilliant at driving.

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     • Most informative sign ever,

       Most informative sign ever, and indicative of the intelligence of South Gloucestershire council employees, on a locked door:

       “This door is locked.”

       Sooooo useful.

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       • I recall traffic sign years

         I recall traffic sign years ago in Wexford in the SE of Ireland “Stop for the Red Light ” 

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   • IanMSpencer wrote:

     Parents at Abberley school, are, however, allowed to drive as recklessly as they wish.

     — IanMSpencer

     I am well known for making this kind of joke.  Years ago, a group of us arrived somewhere in two cars.  There was a sign saying “CHILDREN DRIVE SLOWLY” and I said they shouldn’t be driving at all.  When we arrived, the first thing one of the occupants of the other car said was “I bet Steve said that children shouldn’t be driving at all”.

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     • My favourite is a mate of

       My favourite is a mate of mine who drives his wife mad as they leave London on the A40, where there is a sign to a monument to the gallant Poles of WWII.

       “Oh dammit, I’ve forgotten to do it!”

       “Do what?”

       “Polish the war memorial!”

        

        

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       • When I returned to Spalding

         When I returned to Spalding where I went to school in the early 70s (“Ut Omnes Unum Sint” if people want to check my credentials as an attendee of SGS!)  about 10 years ago, I was initially baffled by the enthusiasm for specialist cleaning stores, till Mrs S V1.0* pointed out the error of my ways that they were “Polish Shops”.

         *This was indeed my last expedition with V1.0. I’m not sure whether the visit to Spalding and the rapid demise of my marriage thereafter were related. Contrary to my expectations as a software developer, V2.0 was easy to install and delivered many new features and improvements over the original version.

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         • But have you dared risk

           But have you dared risk testing V2.0 with a visit to Spalding?!

         • Given the scarcity of holiday

           Given the scarcity of holiday accomodation in the UK at a reasonable price, I may yet have to give it a try.

       • My local tip, sorry,

         My local tip, sorry, recycling centre, has a sign:

         “Please keep children and pets in your car”

         I have asked whether I’m allowed in as I don’t have either, let alone keep them in my car.

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     • Procter & Gamble’s advice is
       Procter & Gamble’s advice is to “always keep away from children.”

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       • Sriracha wrote:

         Procter & Gamble’s advice is to “always keep away from children.”

         — Sriracha

         As the father of an 11 year old girl and 9 year old boy, I can confirm that this is good advice.

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       • Which reminds of comedian on

         Which reminds of comedian on tv, ” my wife and I have decided we don’t want to have any children …. we’re on our way home now to tell them ” 

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     • “This building is alarmed at

       “This building is alarmed at night” has been a favourite.

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       • There’s a sign on a warehouse

         There’s a sign on a warehouse I pass in Bermondsey sometimes that reads, “This building is monitored by 24/7 CCTV and is alarmed.” Well it would be, wouldn’t it, enough to make anyone paranoid.

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         • I was told that a product

           I was told that a product similar to Vicks Inhaler was sold in West Africa with the instruction to ‘unscrew cap and push up bottom.’

3. That sign is indeed confusing
   That sign is indeed confusing. How have the cut off ages been decided upon and how will legitimate targets be marked out? I mean, it could be a bit embarrassing if you gave a Chinese burn to what you thought was a pensioner but they turned out to be someone with progeria.

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   • If we consider what I suspect

     If we consider what I suspect is the actual intended meaning of the sign, I really think that they are over-optimistic about the nimbleness of the average adult these days.

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4. Presumably only

   Presumably only considerations of space prevented the sign writer adding “Is that what you want, you monsters? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!” 

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5. It doesn’t say what you have

   It doesn’t say what you have to use the toilets for – perhaps you could demolish them on top of a child?

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   • “Use them” – is that a ‘MUST’

     “Use them” – is that a ‘MUST’ or a ‘should’?

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     • brooksby wrote:

       “Use them” – is that a ‘MUST’ or a ‘should’?

       — brooksby

       Depends – is it a number one or a number two…?

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6. The sign should probably read
   The sign should probably read:”you should injure” etc

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7. Rather like this story https:

   Rather like this story https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/not-insured-electric-bike-seized-by-police-after-colliding-with-taxi-in-london?fbclid=IwAR2sqjVCIiX8UUYmWRRzqPNL0-6mx6mBo61z4vAoLaoYYWpwaKR38FvQb2k

   “An electric bike was seized by police officers after colliding with a London taxi without the correct insurance.”

   Why was the bike seized if it was the taxi that didn’t have insurance?

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   • And would it have been fine

     And would it have been fine to have collided with the taxi if they did have insurance?

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   • And will there be an

     And will there be an investigation into how the police officers came to collide with the taxi?

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8. Driver in collision ‘may not

   Driver in collision ‘may not have seen’ OAP being pushed in wheelchair across the road

   https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/driver-collision-may-not-seen-7364092

   A jury has been told [Stuart Lefevre], driving his Honda Civic, collided with a wife pushing her elderly husband in a wheelchair as they crossed Cleeve Hill on March 6. Tragically, a month after the impact 91-year-old Raymond Powell died due to injuries sustained.

   …

   The jury has been shown dashcam footage from Lefevre’s Honda company car in which the Powells can be seen crossing the road from right to left. The dashcam shows the collision, which occurred after Lefevre turned right into the road and accelerated to an estimated 23mph.

   …

   [Stephen Burgess, an expert in collision reconstruction] told the jury Lefevre had just negotiated a busy road junction from Cleeve Hill Extension into Cleeve Hill. He told the court Lefevre’s attention would largely be to his left and rear.

   Mr Burgess said: “He had tasks such as steering and mirror use. He may have missed them (the Powells) coming into the road. He may not have seen them.”

   So now, the very act of driving can distract you from everything you should be doing while driving?  Alrighty then…

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   • It does bug me about the

     It does bug me about the language used with RTCs.

     “May not have seen” seems to be used as a mitigation, but it’s not – it implies at best that the driver was carelessly not paying attention to the road. Alternatively, the driver did see them and deliberately drove into them which seems unlikely although he did accelerate to ~23mph.

     I hope the collision reconstruction expert went into more detail than just guessing about why the driving was so sub-standard – he should at the very least state that driving into people crossing a road would most definitely fail a driving test and is woefully below the standard of just about every driver.

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   • I get it – on the other hand

     I get it – on the other hand this sounds like someone who might have been at or beyond the limit for driving safetly because of age.  Of course this does beg the question… (yes and I know young people are generally more of a risk than old people).

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     • The driver is 47.  Where do

       The driver is 47.  Where do you draw the line for driving safely because of age? 

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       • My bad, I misread that story!

         My bad, I misread that story!  But yeah, 47 is older than me so probably time for him to retire…

         It is interesting that sometimes we acknowledge – as the collision expert here – that actually humans are easily overtaxed by having more than one thing to focus on / do at once.  And that such situations occur regularly in driving.  To me this doesn’t say “so ‘accidents happen’ ” but that we shouldn’t treat driving as casually as we do and also we should be working much harder with design and regulation to prevent collisions especially where we mix modes.  Because they happen predictably.

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         • (No subject)

           

         • I think the odd thing is how

           I think the odd thing is how this expert is just writing off the fact that by his own argument, this bloke turned right into a junction and accelerated to 23 mph without looking where he was going.  And that’s a terrible thing but nothing to be done about it…  I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t turn into a junction before actually checking it was all clear to do so.

   • There was a link in the

     There was a link in the article to the police expert view (an earlier article) – my guess is the so called expert in this one is someone called by the defence to sow doubt in the minds of the jury.

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     • Oh you old cynic, you!

       Oh you old cynic, you! 😀

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   • [Stephen Burgess, an expert

     [Stephen Burgess, an expert in collision reconstruction] told the jury Lefevre had just negotiated a busy road junction from Cleeve Hill Extension into Cleeve Hill. He told the court Lefevre’s attention would largely be to his left and rear.

     Why would your attention be to the left and rear AFTER you’ve cleared a junction? Just seeing how much you made it by, so you can cut it closer next time?

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     • andystow wrote:

       [Stephen Burgess, an expert in collision reconstruction] 

       — andystow

       Stephen Burgess, an expert in collision reconstruction gettting careless drivers off the hook.

       FTFY & road.cc

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     • Best to save discussion till

       Best to save discussion till after the trial concludes although I doubt you will get extradited !

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     • The answer is easy, because
       The answer is easy, because it is what we do, and I do include myself.

       At a junction, if you pull out into heavy traffic, especially if you feel it is a risk, you check left and right. Turning left, you are wondering if another car is going to surprise you so you tend to be thinking about what’s to the right as you’ve seen your gap. So if circumstances change, your brain has extrapolated that the road is clear and you don’t check, as you start pulling out. It’s the cause of lots of accidents.

       Similarly turning right, a gap appears in the traffic travelling to your left, but you’ve convinced yourself the road to the right is clear, but you remain concerned another car might appear from your left, so you are more interested in keeping checking that someone isn’t bearing down on you. Your brain has noted that there was no traffic previously, so you accelerate. Again, if circumstances change, you are driving to the brain’s imaginary image of what is ahead rather than what you have seen.

       That last point is important. We spend our lives in a world where the brain makes up 99% of what we see. Our eyes focus on a tiny proportion of the world and all our peripheral vision is low quality. It is sensitive to movement but not interpretation. When you are driving, everything is moving, and you are moving your eyes, so there as not much to trigger your attention. So in driving, and cycling, if you don’t consciously and carefully scan your surroundings, your brain doesn’t gather enough information. However, rather than presenting you with black spots where it doesn’t have enough information, your brain presents a plausible image or simply does not admit nothing it there.

       People with macular degeneration can have massive holes in their vision, yet they do not perceive there are areas that they cannot see. When you have an eye test, they check for this.

       Long and short, get your attention distracted from where you are going, you don’t know where you are going, but you don’t realise it.

       As a cyclist, it is a classic reason for why the claim of “I didn’t see you” or “You came out of nowhere” is likely to be true. The brain is a con merchant. It creates an illusion of the world and is like a schoolboy who hasn’t done their homework when mum asks how it is going.

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       • But, that doesn’t explain why

         But, that doesn’t explain why you’d be checking left and rear after turning right into an empty road with no traffic (which is presumably why they thought it would be safe to cross the road).

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         • Ah, that part I’d put down to

           Ah, that part I’d put down to being a crap driver. 

       • IanMSpencer wrote:

         So in driving, and cycling, if you don’t consciously and carefully scan your surroundings, . . . . . 

         — IanMSpencer

         . . . . then you are a dangerous driver/cyclist and you may kill/die.

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9. “…but grey ones are nutters

   “…but grey ones are nutters!”.

   Regrettably necessary disclaimer:  I didn’t make this one up.

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   • Morgoth985 wrote:

     “…but grey ones are nutters!”.

     Regrettably necessary disclaimer:  I didn’t make this one up.

     — Morgoth985

     The problem is similar to fish in a tank – how do they reach the pedals?

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   • Gives me an opportunity to re

     Gives me an opportunity to re-use this.

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10. That Stockport cycle lane

    That Stockport cycle lane looks like fun… 🙁

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11. Note to eds – you have

    Note to eds – you have previously (in the comments here) promised Ashley Neal you won’t call him an ex-footballer. Calling him a “footballer-turned-driving instructor” might be following the letter, but certainly not the spirit. 

    “You’re right that the fact you played pro football isn’t relevant to the debate about the use of the horn, but I think that your background carries weight as to why we would decide to run the story. Perhaps your name and the subject matter alone was enough to get the story into the search engine feeds of people outside of our usual audience and I was wrong, so I promise that if you make the news again we’ll drop ex-footballer.”

    — Jack Sexty

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12. On Old Shoreham Road: it’s
    On Old Shoreham Road: it’s been a local Tory tactic to try and get people confused between the defeated temporary cycle lane and the planned permanent cycle lane (which has received public support in every consultation it’s been in).
    I’m not happy that road.cc seem to be unwittingly regurgitating this false narrative.

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13. “The Argus (link is external)

    “The council had previously said there was “no prospect of the temporary Upper Shoreham Road cycleway being restored”, but Cllr Neil Parkin has now said it has “not been ruled out”.”

    The difference, if any, being what?

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14. But cyclists run red
    But cyclists run red
    https://mobile.twitter.com/NaughtyDrivers/status/1550837368260902915

    How is this officer on a bike if he failed to spot what happened?

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15. Few things,

    Few things,

    lezyne bottle cage with built in tracker.

    Tyre mushrooms for permanent tubeless repairs, apparently cars and motorbikes have had them for years.

    And Hope giving away 3d printer files for useful stuff.

    https://singletrackworld.com/2022/07/10-most-eyebrow-raising-things-seen-at-eurobike/

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