Are disc brakes to blame for Alaphilippe horror crash?; Kate Hoey says Highway Code changes are a “nightmare” for drivers; Cyclist chased by “crazy” kerb-mounting phone driver; Enough with the tunnels, Elon; Party like it’s 2009 + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Won’t someone please think of the drivers? Kate Hoey calls for more powerful motoring lobby after Highway Code changes
Fuck me. I’d hate to see what shit we’d have to put up with from drivers if they had a more powerful lobby. pic.twitter.com/FCSjypFQlB
— Katy (@TheBlueUlysses) April 25, 2022
As anyone who has followed British or Northern Irish politics in the last 25 years will know, ex-Labour MP Kate Hoey has some… let’s just say… forthright views on a number of issues.
A life peer – that’s Baroness Hoey to you – and former Minister for Sport under Tony Blair, the Antrim-born politician is known for her pro-Brexit, anti-LGBT, anti-immigration, pro-hunting stances, as well as recently cosying up to the more extreme elements of anti-protocol Northern Irish loyalism.
> Kate Hoey calls for bikes to be registered and cyclists to pay “road tax”
Hoey is also, she’ll have you know, a great friend of cyclists – she once said she wants “more people cycling”, for the record – who often has a funny way of showing it.
Way back in 2003, Hoey arguably coined that persistently repeated phrase “law-breaking lycra louts” (the world owes a great debt to her there) in an article for the Daily Mail.
And a decade later she called for bikes to be registered and for cyclists to pay ‘road tax’, after the then-MP for Vauxhall was caught driving her Mini through a red light. What was that about law-breaking, Kate? Maybe she was wearing lycra at the time…
> MP who called cyclists “law-breaking Lycra Louts” fined for driving through red light
Well, dear readers, I regret to inform you that the Baroness is at it again.
In an interview with GB News this week – another great friend of cyclists everywhere – she said: “I think there is a very well-organised cycling lobby in this country that will always speak out for the cyclist.
“And I’m afraid that we need some really strong people speaking out for drivers because quite honestly it’s a nightmare these days for a driver, especially now they have changed the Highway Code.”
Won’t someone please think of the drivers?!
I have to say, the thought of shouty, red-faced motoring groups like the Alliance of British Drivers growing in strength makes me slightly queasy…
While the ABD partied in the streets (sitting in their illegally-parked cars of course) after Hoey’s comments, some weren’t as impressed:
Yeah, those poor downtrodden drivers. https://t.co/Gns0ZualAE
— Katy (@TheBlueUlysses) April 25, 2022
I guess that’s proof that at least one other driver has acknowledged there’s been a change to the Highway Code.
Haven’t seen it apply in practice yet…— Johnny Plectrum (@johnnyplectrum) April 26, 2022
Has she thought of joining the AA or the RAC (both of whom backed the changes)
— James Craig Wightman (@its_life_jim) April 26, 2022
Sadly, I’m blocked by the former honourable member for Vauxhall who chose Brexit despite being MP for one of the highest remain constituencies in the country. Never knowingly right about anything. Perhaps she could take the bus?
— Scrap the Bristol Mayor on May 5th (@martin_frasehog) April 25, 2022
I forget who said it, but something along the lines of “it’s hard to ignore Kate Hoey, but usually worth the effort” is a maxim I find useful.
— Jacques Le Singe (@John_the_Monkey) April 25, 2022
Enough with the tunnels, Elon…
You’d think taking over Twitter – and possibly ruining 90 percent of the source material for this blog – would prove enough of a distraction at the moment for tech billionaire and Bond villain candidate Elon Musk.
But no, he’s still pushing his daft cars in tunnels idea on the world, despite evidence that the Las Vegas-based prototypes of Musk’s congestion-busting “future of transport” are already – you guessed it – experiencing congestion.
Tunnels anyone?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 24, 2022
For those of you scratching your heads, “Teslas in Tunnels” is Musk’s ingenious plan to “solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic” by creating a new subterranean network where users can hitch a lift across town in an electric car. Yep, that’s right – it basically means more roads for cars, only this time underground.
So to answer Belinda’s question…
Does Mr Musk like bikes?
— Belinda (@reallyspoketome) April 25, 2022
Although, maybe there’s hope yet. Back in 2018 – remember then? – the Tesla owner said that his vision for his underground network would actually prioritise cyclists and pedestrians over cars.
Now, I wonder if my 250 followers on his stupid bird app would be enough to convince him to reconsider…
Be less like Elon, and more like Grace
Reflecting on my 2nd at #LBL, I’ve had a lot of people comment on or question why I was so happy and smiling 😆. Simply, I’m always happy when I can give my best in a race no matter what the result is. This would be a devastating job if I was only disappointed when I don’t win!
— Grace Brown (@GLBrown321) April 26, 2022
Spartacus is back! (Kind of...)
Exciting day for 🇨🇭🚴♂️:
1. @f_cancellara is holding a pressconference (1pm): “Spartacus is back at racing”.
He will announce the promotion of @SwissRacingAcad to become a ProTeam. FC has acted as a mentor since july 21. Will be the first 🇨🇭ProTeam since @IAM_Cycling (2013-16).— Emil Bischofberger (@bischofberger) April 26, 2022
Cyclist chased by kerb-mounting phone driver in “bizarre and terrifying” footage
Bloody hell.
This video, uploaded to YouTube last night by cycling activist Mike van Erp – better known as CyclingMikey (or the bike riding Batman, as one motorist disparagingly referred to him) – highlights the real dangers inherent in trying to make the roads safe for those on two wheels.
The cyclist who captured the video, who then sent it on to Mike, had allegedly just filmed a motorist using his phone behind the wheel in the Forest Hill area of London in February.
As we can see from the terrifying footage, the driver took exception to this piece of helmet cam activism, chasing the cyclist in his car after what we assume is a passenger tried to initially catch him on foot.
The motorist even mounts the kerb at one point during the pursuit, as the cyclist desperately pleads for passers-by to call the police. The bike rider finally escaped by turning into a private drive and switching off his lights.
> CyclingMikey ends up on car bonnet during confrontation with angry motorist
According to Mikey, who claimed he was assaulted himself by a phone driver in January, the Met Police told the cyclist they couldn’t identify the driver.
Mike has posted the video to Twitter and YouTube in an attempt to track down the driver, with some cyclists responding to the “shocking” footage by calling for a life ban for the motorist.
“Insane. That calls for prison time and a life ban from driving,” said one commenter.
“I recently got chased in a similar manner after calling out to a driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road. He did a U-turn and chased me, overtaking and brake-checking me twice while yelling abuse. It was all captured on front and rear cameras with the car and driver clearly identifiable.
“I submitted the video to police but never heard anything more about it.”
Makes my blood boil as well as want to weep 😢
— AnnGreggs 💙 🇺🇦 (@AnnGregoryRN) April 25, 2022
That’s scary. The cyclist must have been terrified & worn-out
— Bernie (@Bernieadufe) April 25, 2022
And yet this does not surprise me that this kind of behaviour is so common in society today. People are literally triggered at any level into such aggression. I hope he gets caught.
— thisisthatian (@thisisthatian) April 26, 2022
This is why on any route I ride regularly I have a mental map of bail-out points where I can get somewhere a car can’t follow. I resent having to have this but there are a lot of dangerous angry people out there in possession of one of the world’s most dangerous weapons, a car.
— Rendel Harris (@Rendel_Harris) April 26, 2022
We’ll keep you up to date with this story if any more details emerge.
10 days until the Giro – how did that happen?
For those of us who base our year around the World Tour schedule:
It’s 10 days until the Giro d’Italia starts. How has this even happened? In my mind, it’s still mid-March.
— Sadhbh O’Shea (@SadhbhOS) April 26, 2022
There’s absolutely no chance that we’re almost into grand tour season already. Surely Omloop was only two weeks ago, right?
Which reminds me, better book my flights to Italy…
Are disc brakes to blame for Liège-Bastogne-Liège horror crash?
Bardet on Alaphilippe’s Liege crash on the front page of @lequipe this morning. Says the road was “like a descent from a ski station that keeps getting frozen all winter. There were lots of holes where the crash happened” pic.twitter.com/uF00eOJyIp
— Peter Cossins (@petercossins) April 26, 2022
Romain Bardet has claimed that new bike technology, such as disc brakes, is allowing pro riders to take more risks and resulting in more crashes in the peloton.
The in-form DSM rider sacrificed his own chances of victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday to rush to the aid of the stricken Julian Alaphilippe, after the world champion fell into a ditch during a shocking mass pile-up with 60 kilometres to go.
Alaphilippe suffered a punctured lung and multiple fractures after hitting a tree during the 80km/h crash.
Yesterday on the blog we reported that Bardet and Tom Pidcock, who also careered off the road, blamed TotalEnergies rider Jérémy Cabot for causing the crash, though the Frenchman defended his actions and said he had “never taken ill-considered risks.”
In L’Équipe this morning, Bardet called for a change in behaviour within the peloton, arguing that riders are now taking more risks than ever – a trend, he says, that is being assisted by advances in bike technology.
In particular, the Frenchman, who has twice finished on the podium of the Tour de France, said that the now widespread use of disc brakes was a major concern.
Bardet claimed that the increased stopping power of disc brakes has shortened the reaction time of riders caught behind a crash.
“You can brake at the last minute, except that human reaction times haven’t followed the technological evolution,” he said.
“The margin of error that was there before doesn’t exist any longer.”
From experience, if a crash occurred in front but I had stopped, safely, in time I would immediately be preparing for the, almost guaranteed hit from a rider who judged it a millisecond too late. Disc brakes are great n all but the grip that the tyre provides is still the same..
— Tom Portsmouth (@tompey_13) April 26, 2022
20-year-old British rider Tom Portsmouth, who rides for Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert’s feeder team Mini Discar, responded to Bardet’s claims, tweeting: “From experience, if a crash occurred in front but I had stopped, safely, in time I would immediately be preparing for the almost guaranteed hit from a rider who judged it a millisecond too late.
“Disc brakes are great and all but the grip that the tyre provides is still the same.”
> What’s wrong with Chris Froome’s disc brakes?
Bardet, who was visibly shaken by the crash and appeared distraught after the race, also told the French paper that, as he emerged from the ditch after making sure Alaphilippe was receiving medical help, “I was almost run over by a completely mad DS trying to get back up to the front. Sometimes, the humanity…”
He criticised the road where the crash took place, which he claimed was full of potholes, describing it as “like a descent from a ski station that keeps getting frozen all winter”, and said that he “feared the worst” when he saw Alaphilippe.
“Julian was struggling to breathe, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move… I was shouting out, but no one was listening to me. I felt like he was going to stay there, all alone, forever.”
Party like it’s 2009: Bertie’s still got it – Contador posts insane 270km ride on Strava
It looks like El Pistolero still has a few bullets left…
Seven-time grand tour winner – or nine, depending on what your stance on Spanish cattle farming is – Alberto Contador posted this frankly insane Sunday ride to Strava, and in doing so, made me feel a lot worse about my own weekend mileage.
The 39-year-old, who retired from the sport in 2017, covered over 270km of hilly terrain to the south and west of his hometown of Pinto, on the outskirts of Madrid, in under eight hours – averaging a mind-boggling 35km/hr.
Do I hear murmurings of a comeback on the cards? Hell, if 87-year-old Alejandro Valverde can still do it at the top of the sport, why not?
In any case, with both Spartacus and Bertie in the news, today has a strong whiff of 2009 about it. Let’s just hope a certain Texan doesn’t raise his head…
The poise, the panache – and Remco wasn’t bad either
Beautiful effort. Great timing, form and technique. Remco good as well. pic.twitter.com/GvKP33JdqU
— Phil Gaimon (@philgaimon) April 24, 2022
Team Climate Justice has more UCI points than Lotto-Soudal
— Fugue State Affiliated Media (@Eden_EdenEden) April 24, 2022
Harsh, but fair.
Hayter on fire, as Swiss rider comes a cropper at Romandie
Not a bad start to the Tour de Romandie for British time trial champion Ethan Hayter, who has smashed his way around the 5.1km prologue to take the race’s first leader’s jersey, beating former world TT champion Rohan Dennis by four seconds.
Felix Großschartner and Hayter’s Ineos Grenadiers teammate Geraint Thomas placed third and fourth respectively, ten seconds behind the flying Londoner.
Ethan Hayter absolutely smashing that prologue 🤩 #TDR2022 #TourDeRomandie pic.twitter.com/iljPXp4FWl
— Katy M is counting down to the GIRO (@writebikerepeat) April 26, 2022
Ethan Hayter absolutely drilled that TT. Gurned and churned his way round the circuit masterfully #TourDeRomandie
— The TT Podcast 🚴♂️ (@ttpdcst) April 26, 2022
But spare a thought for young Valère Thiébaud, riding for the Swiss national team, who came a cropper after misjudging the tight final bend.
“I'm sure those broken white lines are there for a reason…”
I’m sure those broken white lines are there for a reason. It’s a shame this driver didn’t know what that was though.
Even when you think you’re cycling in a safe place, there are drivers around to show you, you never are. @A38Cycleway
(Driver reported. Camera cleaned) pic.twitter.com/Jh4uGweV9c
— Your Average Joe (@FrankleyMan) April 26, 2022
Nice to know the camera was cleaned…
“Some people can’t cycle as they need to transport a cello”
“Some people can’t cycle as they need to transport a cello” pic.twitter.com/dHBy14jEMT
— Timothy (@westcountrytim) April 26, 2022
Go on Elon, you know you want to…
Comment of the day, from road.cc reader jh2727, on what the great genius of our time Elon Musk might think of next:
London should definitely get some of those tunnels Elon is always going on about, they could put electric, and even self driving vehicles in them. While they are at it they could design the cars to carry the maximum number of passengers and then couple several cars together.
But why stop there? Why not put those cars on rails, that’s what London needs. Thank goodness for the genius of Elon, thinking of stuff that us mortals would never have thought of.
In a few years’ time, genius will strike again and Elon will invent a light weight transport device – powered solely by the person being transported. Perhaps it will only have two wheels, perhaps it’ll have a small motor and battery to help with the hills.
I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
The President of the European Cyclists’ Federation came up with a similar suggestion for Mr Musk:
Will our new #boss take up his “boss battle” and get himself a #bicycle? pic.twitter.com/tn28XJRCAs
— Henk Swarttouw (@copenhenken) April 26, 2022
Reaction roundup: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”
Former MP and full-time controversialist Kate Hoey’s comments that motorists need a stronger voice to tackle the “very well-organised cycling lobby” got quite a few of you talking in the comments and on Twitter, to say the least.
Here’s a selection of some of your thoughts:
Kate Hoey clearly lives in a little bubble of reality separate to the rest of us. I mean even if we ignore the reality of her nonsense… cars need a bigger lobby group. Really?
That’s a bit like asking someone to stand up and fight for Shell’s tax rights, or asking Nigel Farage round for a meal because he doesn’t look like he gets to indulge himself enough.
To be fair, the cars are all getting bigger and bigger – it only makes sense that the lobby groups for them increase in size accordingly to accommodate them.
She also seems to overlook the fact that the AA and RAC are both big pro-motoring groups with lots of influence and were very much involved in pushing through the changes to the Highway Code.
I mean the Association of British Dimwits (sorry, drivers) only has a few hundred members and they seem to mostly be a bunch of reactionary nutters. It’s not as if anyone should take any notice of what they, or Kate Hoey, think.
Kate Hoey – Reliably Wrong About Everything. https://t.co/QKT4oNZkDP
— 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 (@overlandertheb1) April 26, 2022
how many more powerful lobbies does she want? Motor Industry, Oil companies, Conservatives….
— Gooseman (@Gooseman1250) April 26, 2022
“It’s a nightmare”?
Is it? I’m driving exactly the same as I always have. Nothing has changed for me.
— Bike Rogers (@bike_rogers) April 26, 2022
Yes it’s nightmare having to start complying with the rules of the road, far too long drivers have allowed their driving standards to slip. Now they’re struggling to readjust to actually follow the rules of the road
— Berkshire Cyclist (@BerkshireCyc) April 26, 2022
What a nightmare for drivers that 100 of them are killed by cyclists every year. Oh hang on…
— Sir Chris was once a Racer 🇺🇦 (@AracerRacer) April 26, 2022
Drivers. Never not being attacked, witchhunted & victimised since 1905.
— Karl Mullen (@JamJarJail) April 26, 2022
As they say, when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression
— Tino Oudesluijs (@TinoOudesluijs2) April 26, 2022
Romain Bardet’s concerns about the use of disc brakes in the peloton also, unsurprisingly, sparked some deliberation in the comments:
Right, then. I propose that all of the professional road bikes be refitted with olde style rod brakes. That should give them a margin of error for reaction time…
(I don’t disagree with him that if you have disc brakes that will stop you “instantaneously” then you are more likely to push it to the limit. Just as they did when everyone in the peloton was using rim brakes).
The thing that no one considers when complaining about discs being too good in the peloton – By the time the type of brakes makes a difference, reaction times will already be causing a crash in a tight bunch.
I’d disagree with you partially.
In my experience the biggest cause of group accidents is over-reaction in the bunch. You’re right in saying that reaction times are key; what tends to happen is there is an initial movement from a rider in the bunch. Around that first movement people need to make adjustments. Factoring in reaction time, the adjustments needed to compensate for that first movement get progressively larger and larger.
Ultimately this creates a ripple that will continually increase in size until someone either can’t move sufficiently/in time (and there is a coming together and potentially a crash), or the ripple reaches an area of the bunch where there is sufficient space to dissipate without contact.
What disc brakes do enable is greater initial, and subsequent, reactions in the bunch. This potentially speeds up the scaling of the ripple effect outlined above, so more ripples could reach potential accident-causing size more quickly, giving them less opportunity to naturally dissipate… so more crashes.
However, the bunch schools riders pretty aggressively, so any brake grabbing antics will have been beaten out of most riders long before they reach world tour level. Therefore, whilst I believe discs could be an accident enabler, in reality I doubt they are.
Regardless of your views on disc brakes, I reckon Gaz pithily summed up the general feeling around that most persistent of pro racing debates:
Disc brakes ate my hamster……. https://t.co/8Y8ptnDZtY
— Gaz. (@gazwagon) April 26, 2022
26 April 2022, 08:47
I was certainly missing “a healthy dose of sheer bloody mindedness” during my painfully slow spin in the hills yesterday…
Long Covid cyclist completes Etape Loch Ness carrying oxygen tank
63-year-old Gerard McLarnon spent 70 days in hospital with Covid, but battled through the 66-mile route with the help of "a healthy dose of sheer bloody mindedness"
26 April 2022, 08:47
26 April 2022, 08:47
26 April 2022, 08:47
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Latest Comments
Ards and North Down Cycling Campaign earlier this week held an event with local police encouraging drivers to leave a safe passing distance of 1.5m when overtaking cyclists This will achieve nothing whatsoever, because the drivers and the discouraged potential cyclists all know that the police postscript to the pretend encouragement is: 'but if you choose not to, don't worry because we have no intention of even thinking about enforcing the 1.5m distance, just like all the other UK police forces, and it doesn't matter if it's only 10% of that. Try not to hit them unless you have to get them out of the way, but if you do, scarper and you'll probably get away with it. If you've been drinking, just say you had a few drinks after you got home to calm your nerves after hitting what you thought was a fridge or a sack of potatoes, if they show up at your door.
Sadly, I feel that the reaction to this will be the same as the many multiple shootings that the US endures, every year - shock, tears and platitudes, swiftly returning to the status quo (untill the next time)
@Velo-drone I did not submit reports of either of the two heinous close passes I experienced with my daughter while on holiday there in half term But you could show them to us! I sent one to upRide today: it's the silver Kuga above, and will likely be viewable in a couple of days, and the long holdup on here can be sidestepped by simply omitting the 'h' from the https at the beginning of the link. It's all very easy to do. Other hosting sites are available.
@matthewn5 On which - I've not been there (and I've heard from a couple of cyclists online who say that they *are* good...) but I suspect the following blog post (from 2012 - As Easy As Riding A Bike) nails it: "They built it, and they didn’t come – the lesson of Milton Keynes" Verdict: the place was designed (1) for very convenient driving (not surprising - aspirational driving was the thing at the time, they had a blank canvas etc). (2) While the designer genuinely tried to provide for cyclists that comes across as "we need to get the cyclists off the roads because we fixed it for the cars to move fast". As is common (across the decades) in the UK it's nominal safety from motor vehicles but at major cost to convenience. Not to mention lack of social safety. FWIW there's also videos online by Alexei Sayle of him cycling around giant car parks there...
@mitsky Doesn't matter ..... Insurance / No insurance, License / No license These types will drive anyway!
@VIPcyclist Agree regarding cycle lanes, but the article is referring to cycle _tracks_ in Milton Keynes, which if I remember rightly are segregated but also don't run next to roads, so they're often quiet, dimly lit and secluded.
First, the actual change from issuing a bunch of "warning letters" to basically taking no action on anything is more or less no change to be honest. There is no evidence that sending a warning letter does anything. Not all forces even keep a record of warning letters. I'm aware of no actual empirical study of outcomes from sending a warning letter. Its main purpose therefore can only be to say that something has been done, rather than to actually improve road safety outcomes, because nobody cares enough to check if it achieves any outcome. It's the equivalent of finding a bike thief, and popping in a note through the door saying "please don't do that", and considering it an effective response. The apparent discrepancy between the NPCC position given early in the article, and the judgment later on that the Derbyshire policy "appears in line with the guidance" muddies the water considerably. There is a gaping lack of clarity over what police forces can and can't (or will and won't) do under the NPCC guidance. The suggestion for cyclists to provide speed measurements is silly - most cyclists don't have that capability, or won't be using it on e.g commuting rides. It's not clear why the speed of the cyclist is particularly relevant in any case? The Highway Code guidance relating to passing cyclists refers only to the speed of the motor vehicle. Saying you'll only take action in "exceptional circumstances" but not giving any indication what those circumstances might be is tantamount to saying "don't bother reporting, because it's 99% likely to be a complete waste of your and our time and we're not going to tell you how you might assess whether your case might be in the 1%" So, unsurprisingly the Derbyshire Police policy does seem to have at least one clear impact. I did not submit reports of either of the two heinous close passes I experienced with my daughter while on holiday there in half term. Why would I? Why would anyone? And why would it be a surprise that some drivers in Derbyshire choose to drive as if they have a free rein to endanger cyclists lives without fear of any consequence - because in fact they do. The notion that "forensic analysis" is needed to determine if a close pass is actionable or not is nonsensical. I would say laughable, but it's not really a laughing matter. It is not necessary to determine if the car is 140cm vs 151cm away. It is generally perfectly obvious whether the car is less than a car's width away, or more than a car's width away. That's sufficient to make a reasonable judgement on whether the driving could be considered careless or not - bearing in mind that the vast majority of actioned cases would be easily visually identifiable as substantially below that distance.
@Pub bike 10,000 men find out a year they’ve got prostate cancer too late. We need to get those numbers down. There’s no screening unfortunately in the UK There's no blanket overall prostate cancer screening because the experts in the UK National Screening Committee have decided that it would do more harm than good. It's not because of cost, it's because the PSA test is not that good. There are big trials in progress to improve testing. When it comes down to PSA testing of specific groups, such as those with a genuine family history, the risk-benefit balance may well be different. I suspect thar Sir Chris has had at least tacit approval of his "just google ‘prostate cancer UK risk checker’ and there’s three questions, it takes you 30 seconds and that will help you assess your individual risk. If you’re high risk, go to your GP and ask for a PSA, a blood test" advice so it's probably reasonable. I am 74 and have never taken a PSA test. I have no family history I know about. 'Better to be safe than sorry' is bad advice when it comes to prostate cancer screening.
As well as a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test another non-surgical test you can have is a Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) which a GP can do very quickly and gives some more indication about the state of the prostate. See https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information-and-support/prostate-tests/digital-rectal-examination-dre
45 thoughts on “Are disc brakes to blame for Alaphilippe horror crash?; Kate Hoey says Highway Code changes are a “nightmare” for drivers; Cyclist chased by “crazy” kerb-mounting phone driver; Enough with the tunnels, Elon; Party like it’s 2009 + more on the live blog”
Kate Hoey clearly lives in a
Kate Hoey clearly lives in a little bubble of reality seperate to the rest of us. I mean even if we ignore the reality of her nonsense.. cars need a bigger lobby group..Really?
That’s a bit like asking someone to stand up and fight for Shell’s tax rights, or asking Nigel Farage round for a meal because he doesn’t look like he gets to indulge himself enough.
To be fair, the cars are all
To be fair, the cars are all getting bigger and bigger – it only makes sense that the lobby groups for them increase in size accordingly to accommodate them.
Do you mean the lobby groups
Do you mean the lobby groups get bigger, or that the individual members of the lobby groups are getting bigger?
Ironically, the lobby groups
Ironically, the lobby groups are getting bigger, but they only have one or two people in them most of the time. If they all got together, there would be fewer groups and they’d get a lot more proper thinking done.
GMBasix wrote:
Wow, you’re an optimist !!
It’s a safe bet!
It’s a safe bet!
Self-driving lobby groups
Self-driving lobby groups using artificial intelligence are just around the corner. They’re already in use in the US. This will be a game changer. It won’t be necessary to have private opinions. People will be able to campaign without thinking. The lobby groups’ AI will be able to re-route as necessary to avoid conflict (is this right?).
chrisonatrike wrote:
I think maybe you have the wrong AI – artificial idiocy perhaps?
She also seems to overlook
She also seems to overlook the fact that the AA and RAC are both big pro-motoring groups with lots of influence and were very much involved in pushing through the changes to the HC. I mean the Association of British Dimwits (sorry, drivers) only has a few hundred members and they seem to mostly be a bunch of reactionary nutters. It’s not as if anyone should take any notice of what they, or Kate Hoey, think.
OldRidgeback wrote:
If that.
Based on the almost complete lack of fiscal activity over the last couple of years of the company behind the ABM, Pro-Motor, I suspect that the ABM has almost no members at all — it’s just the handful of noisy nutters you see talking to the press from time to time, and the directors as listed at Companies house.
The full membership roster would therefore be:
Paul Michael Biggs
Robert James Bull
Brian James Gregory
Brian Eric Macdowall
Ian Stuart Taylor
Duncan Bruce White
Not exactly scary, as long as you don’t have to share a road with them
The “cycling wars taking over
The “cycling wars taking over the countryside” according to the Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/cycling-wars-taking-countryside/
Paywalled, but a piece based on the recent Sheffield North West NPT action and that apparently cyclists like to ride in the countryside, and motorists dont like that, though I think they lose the heart for their argument piece halfway through.
Strangely, I got to read it.
Strangely, I got to read it. As you say, they gave up halfway through.
Many stupid comments though – banning bikes is the simplest and easiest thing to do. Yeah – let’s have more cars and more congestion, pollution and no where to park – got to be a winner !
It’s when they start quoting
It’s when they start quoting their own motoring editor for an opinion, you kind of realise they’re struggling abit for an angle. But the comments are just depressing not just from the normal cyclist bingo rubbish, but from others complete detachment on their responsibilities whilst driving a machine with the capacity to maim & kill vulnerable road users, and it’s not that they dont recognise their vehicle can seriously injure people, theyre abdicating completely their responsibility to make sure it doesnt.
I can’t read the article, but
I can’t read the article, but the comments are the usual “road tax” “insurance” “blocking the road” bingo card of anti-cycling prejudice and myths. I particularly liked these:
“I am cyclist and we need to be fined for not using cycle lanes, jumping red lights, weaving and have compulsory insurance. To stop the wannabe Bradley wiggins causing chaos “
“Policy created by 25 year old cyclists that live in Hackney and have no experience in the real world.”
“They just look so damned stupid in the lycra and those helmets, the more stupid because they seem to think it looks cool, like they’re in the Tour de France, as if anybody is interested in their lactic acid levels.
Hurrumph.”
But this one wins:
“Another made up ‘war’ by this awful rag, to create yet more divisions and to sell more papers. For god’s sake grow up!”
eburtthebike wrote:
Class comment!
Whatabout this one, if you
Whatabout this one from BTL of that article, if you want to get really het up?
Another motorist who thinks that all cyclists are Danny Macaskill…?
(edited)
That was so bad it was
That was so bad it was actually funny! The photo at the top of the article with the screaming driver, hand on horn, and cut-and-paste cyclists in the background. Ridiculous!
Then the poor Northumbrian country resident who is forced to drive carefully on country lanes, just in case there’s a cyclist around the corner!
Maybe Strava and Waze should collaborate. The Strava heatmap could be plugged into the Waze/Google routing and drivers could be offered an ‘avoid cyclists’ tick box, similar to the avoid toll-roads and motorways options.
I sent it to Cycling UK (&
I sent it to Cycling UK (& Road CC but I haven’t seen a story) and suggested action – as it borders on inciting hate and is so factually incorrect.
London should definitely get
London should definitely get some of those tunnels Elon is always going on about, they could put electric, and even self driving vehicles in them – while they are at it they could design the cars to carry the maximum number of passengers and then couple several cars together. But why stop there? Why not put those cars on rails, that’s what London needs. Thank goodness for the genius of Elon, thinking of stuff that us mortals would never have thought of.
In a few years time, genius will strike again and Elon will invent a light weight transport device – powered solely by the person being transported. Perhaps it will only have two wheels, perhaps it’ll have a small motor and battery to help with the hills – I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.
Go easy on the skunk! (Always
Go easy on the skunk! (Always good advice). As usual he’s simultaneously behind the times and too techo-fangled. The Netherlands has been hiding the cars underground for a while now.
I think he was watching too much sci-fi in the 80’s and 90’s. He’s just Alan Sugar but instead of being a bit grouchy about the tech he’s a wide-eyed enthusiast there. Hmm… not a good combination.
I forget who said it, but
I forget who said it, but something along the lines of “it’s hard to ignore Kate Hoey, but usually worth the effort” is a maxim I find useful.
Bob Monkhouse said “I’m a difficult man to ignore, but well worth the effort”
But where else would road.cc
But where else would road.cc find its daily dose of things for us to get outragd about?
We’d have to carry on talking about yesterday’s road sign.
“Someone filmed me doing a
“Someone filmed me doing a crime? Probably best to murder them…”
How do so many drivers think that cyclists are the law breaking road users?
As you should know, driving a
As you should know, driving a car on the pavement on the specific attempt to run someone down is exactly the same as pootling along an empty pavement at 8mph.
Regarding the kerb mounting
Regarding the kerb mounting car surely the registration nuumber might just possibly lead to who was driving the car?
Too dark to be picked up on
Too dark to be picked up on camera? Cyclist should have ensured they had filmed that before the person next time.
There’s a couple of
There’s a couple of speculated reg’s in the YouTube comments.
Top trolling! As any fule
Top trolling! As any fule kno knowing the registration number plates are impossible to copy or disguise. The system offers proof positive of who is driving and in no way allows people to wriggle out of legal consequences by claiming their car was borrowed / stolen at the time, refusing to say who was driving, for firms or hire companies to say it’s impossible to know who had the vehicle etc.
That’s why all cyclists must wear a registration number on their high-viz tabards. That’ll have those scofflaws bang to rights.
Well, at least it’ll stop lycrist infiltrators blending in with the general population.
Ahh, but the reg plate will
Ahh, but the reg plate will also be in hi-viz as well otherwise it won’t be seen.
Sorry genuinely not trolling.
Sorry genuinely not trolling. I would have thought the video would have a reasonably clear shot if the plate at some point and the police could use that to see if the registered owner of the car looked like the image on the video and perhaps have a conversation with him if he did?
We know you weren’t. Chris
We know you weren’t. Chris was having a veiled dig at the whatabouterists like the ABD and actual trolls on here who always state on video footage coverage that cyclists should also have reg plates on high viz tabards to be able to legally cycle.
Seventyone wrote:
It’s really difficult to get a good shot of a plate in the dark even with a good camera; you can see in the video that even when the car is directly behind the cyclist and close up the lights drown the plate. Additionally, many ne’erdowells nowadays use plates with illegal coatings or types of lettering that are designed to create “noise” and so confuse ANPR or speed cameras. That’s why on many videos you’ll hear the rider shouting out the registration in case the camera doesn’t catch it, obviously not an option for this poor guy.
Another possibility is that it was a false plate lifted from a scrapped car, one suspects the sort of people prepared to behave in this terrifying way aren’t exactly squeaky clean in other areas of their lives either…
According to the Youtube
According to the Youtube comments the car in the clip (SA59 XRT) has been scrapped or was using the scrapped cars plates. It would obviously be too much trouble for the Police to interview the last known keeper to see if any useful evidence comes out of it. I’m surprised the original rider didn’t put the clip on his own channel as i’m sure I’ve heard that voice with yellow panniers on the rear view cam before a few times. Whatever happens it’s a chilling video and a warning to all of us to be vigilant and take our own safety very seriously.
I wonder what else that
I wonder what else that motorist had done, for them to be so keen not to have their face shown to the police…
I’m going to the Giro! Just
I’m going to the Giro!
Just because no-one else has commented on it.
Re. Cancellara starting Tudor
Re. Cancellara starting Tudor Pro Cycling Team – presumably the kit will look something like this?
you’ve forgotten the ruff
you’ve forgotten the ruff
Quote:
Did he, though? That reads to me like he’s saying “If I slam on the brakes to avoid something right in front of me, I’m going to get hit from behind, disc brakes or not”.
mdavidford wrote:
Did he, though? That reads to me like he’s saying “If I slam on the brakes to avoid something right in front of me, I’m going to get hit from behind, disc brakes or not”.
the thing that no one considers when complaining about discs being too good in the peleton. By the time the type of brakes makes a difference, reaction times will already be causing a crash in a tight bunch.
I’d disagree with you
I’d disagree with you partially.
In my experience the biggest cause of group accidents is over-reaction in the bunch. You’re right in saying that reaction times are key; what tends to happen is there is an initial movement from a rider in the bunch. Around that first movement people need to make adjustments. Factoring in reaction time, the adjustments needed to compensate for that first movement get pregressively larger and larger.
Ultimately this creates a ripple that will continually increase in size until someone either can’t move suffinciently / in time (and there is a coming together and potentially a crash), or the ripple reaches an area of the bunch where there is sufficient space to dissipate without contact.
What disc brakes do enable is greater initial, and subsequent, reactions in the bunch. This potentially speeds up the scaling of the ripple effect outlined above, so more ripples could reach potential accident causing size more quickly, giving them less opportunity to naturally disspate… so more crashes.
However, the bunch schools riders pretty aggressively, so any brake grabbing antics will have been beaten out of most riders long before they reach world tour level. Therefore whilst I believe discs could be an accident enabler, in reality I doubt they are.
Maybe the meaning has been
Maybe the meaning has been lost in translation as it doesnt make any sense to say the disc brakes create the problem when its fundamentally about human reaction time to a crash.
Quote:
Right, then. I propose that all of the professional road bikes be refitted with olde style rod brakes. That should give them a margin of error for reaction time…
(I don’t disagree with him that if you have disc brakes that will stop you “instantaneously”” then you are more likely to push it to the limit. Just as they did when everyone in the peloton was using rim brakes).
Right, then. I propose that
Right, then. I propose that all of the professional road bikes be refitted with olde style rod brakes. That should give them a margin of error for reaction time…
No! Chromed steel rims with automatic wetting technology
“Ministers have pitched ideas
“Ministers have pitched ideas to tackle the cost of living, as record inflation pushes up food and energy prices.
Sources said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested relaxing the frequency of MOTs.” (BBC)
Surprised they didn’t mention MOTs for bikes and road tax !
Kate Hoey + Brexthick + 350m
Kate Hoey + Brexthick + 350m a week + Daily Express + Cyclists cause congestion + Motorists powerful lobby . . . . . . There always seems to be a pattern.