“Behold my new invisibility cloak”: Cyclist knocked off on way to job teaching kids to cycle on the road baffled by how driver “apparently didn’t see me” — left “thinking it’s more the parents than kids who need lessons” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
National championships round-up: A club rider wins in Italy (sort of) + Millie Couzens and Sam Watson crowned at home
The weekend before the Tour de France means one thing: a bumper round of national championships and jerseys to be won. Across the world, riders were racing for the chance to pull on their country’s colours for the next 12 months. Perhaps the biggest story of the weekend was in Italy yesterday where club team Swatt Club upset the might of the pro teams to set up Filippo Conca for victory.
Quelle histoire : Filippo Conca, coureur amateur, est devenu champion d’Italie ce dimanche ! Ancien professionnel, il n’a pas été conservé par Q36.5 la saison passée #LesRP pic.twitter.com/U6QScYmsX4
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) June 29, 2025
The story does come with the caveat that while, yes, they are technically a club team, Conca is hardly an amateur and has raced for Lotto Soudal and Q36.5 in previous years and finished fifth at a stage of the Vuelta in 2022. Regardless, star power aside, the idea of a club team winning one of the most competitive nationals in Europe is a great story. The race also gave us this absolute cracker, so there’s that too…
Keeping up with the peloton uphill is harder than it looks! 😅 pic.twitter.com/r8VlQitsUK
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) June 29, 2025
Back at home, Millie Couzens followed up her U23 TT success with an elite road race crown too, the 21-year-old impressively getting the better of far more experienced riders such as Pfeiffer Georgi and Anna Henderson.
It means the British women’s TT and road race titles went to two riders born in 2004 and 2003 respectively, and neither was Cat Ferguson. The future of British representation in the women’s peloton looks bright.
In the men’s race Sam Watson of Ineos Grenadiers soloed to victory. Talking of bright futures, Matthew Brennan’s was second and won the sprint behind. What better way to celebrate?
Over the Irish Sea, recent road.cc Podcast guest Rory Townsend took his second national title and skipped the ice cream post-race, heading straight for the Guinness.
“It was literally my first pint in six months so the first one was a challenge but after two and three it all went smoothly,” he said. “This is a race that has been a constant factor since I was a kid. It was a pipe dream when I was young and now I have won it twice. As a national champion you literally wear the pride of your country on your chest. You are not only riding for yourself or your team but for your country too. I can’t wait to show our colours in the biggest races.”
Weekend tech round-up: Eurobike, an impressive review for Cannondale's Synapse Carbon 4, Trek's "big gravel capability at an affordable price" + turn your turbo trainer into a rowing machine?!
Plenty of tech up on the website that you might have missed this weekend. First up, the team at Eurobike were finishing up, Rebecca putting together a round-up of all the most eye-catching stuff they spotted.
One thing on show was the attachment that promises to turn your turbo trainer into a rowing machine, I had some fun with that on Friday afternoon. Away from Eurobike, Aaron has been testing Cannondale’s Synapse Carbon 4. No spoilers, but he was very impressed.
Last night’s Bike at Bedtime was a closer look at Trek’s new Checkpoint ALR bikes: a bike the brand says offers “big gravel capability at an affordable price”. The third-generation Checkpoint ALR brings key features from its carbon sibling to a more accessible aluminium frame – with bigger tyre clearance, a tweaked geometry, and adventure-ready versatility. Check out our piece for all the details.
Remember your sun cream if you don't want to look like the idiot running today's live blog
Tell us you’re a cyclist without telling us you’re a cyclist…
Here’s my contribution to the ridiculous cycling burn line genre, the result of a six-hour shift in the sun yesterday. Nah, looks quite overcast, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t need to take any sun cream with me. What a mistake that was, this live blogger now typing away like a human Squashie sweet.
The mitt lines on my hands are arguably even worse, and that pic’s probably not doing the pinkness justice, so if I go quiet I’ll probably be going through the archives making myself feel better by reliving the times even the pros got it badly wrong, starting with a certain Chris Froome…
And Wout van Aert’s on-brand burn…
"Flying" cyclists riding "full tilt" into cars spark calls for barriers on bike path – but campaigners say road should be narrowed to slow down drivers instead
Police force deploys drone to tackle anti-social motorbike use on cycle path
Carlisle Police have responded to numerous complaints and concerns about anti-social riding of motorbikes on a cycle path between Dalston and Denton Holme, the force now telling the public it will deploy drone operators to identify riders, bikes and routes being taken.
"I still think he's a special rider": Patrick Lefevere turns his attention to Ethan Hayter... and suggests team's "poo sponsor" must love him... even if British rider gives Lefevere "the creeps"
Death, taxes and Patrick Lefevere penning an outspoken column in a Belgian newspaper. This time his Het Nieuwsblad comments were about British rider Ethan Hayter, the newly crowned national TT champ. Former Soudal Quick-Step boss Lefevere said: “I still think he’s a special rider: a big engine, but always at the back of the peloton.”
Things then took a bizarre turn, Lefevere revealing that the specialist term for the kit sponsor on a rider’s buttocks (in Quick-Step’s case Renson) is… the ‘poo sponsor’.
“Our ‘poo sponsor’ Renson is in the picture all the time, so they benefit from it. Personally, it gives me the creeps. Should Hayter go to the Tour? I wouldn’t do it…”
Tudor brings out limited edition Tour de France watch... because nothing says cycling like paying £4,650 to tell the time (apparently)
Tudor, the watch brand who also sponsor Fabian Cancellara’s pro team, has brought out 300 Pelagos FXD Chrono Yellow in honour of the Tour de France. Apparently Spartacus has already reserved number seven of the 300 individually numbered timepieces, but the remaining 299 are up for grabs for anyone willing to drop £4,650 on a watch.
Who knows, maybe we’ll see Julian Alaphilippe modelling one at the Grand Depart this weekend?
Shimano is trying to figure out why Europe has a "critical" bike mechanic shortage
> Shimano is trying to figure out why Europe has a “critical” bike mechanic shortage
Welcome to Cavendish City! Châteauroux gets a Tour de France-themed rebrand
😍 @Chateauroux36 laisse place à @MarkCavendish City ! 🚴🏼💨
3 victoires d’étape du #TourDeFrance à Châteauroux… Ça méritait bien un clin d’œil ! 👏🏼#TDF2025 💛 pic.twitter.com/lcrTWVQng2
— Gil Avérous (@GilAverous) June 30, 2025
Three Cav Tour wins — 2008, 2011 and 2021 — have earned the Manx Missile the honour of the French city of Châteauroux being renamed… Cavendish City. Mayor Gil Avérous wrote on Twitter: “Three stage victories in the #TourDeFrance at Châteauroux… That deserves a nod!”
"I would like to thank those who took part": Dorset Police praise behaviour at Dom Whiting's latest Drum and Bass on a Bike event
Dom Whiting took his cycling drum and bass event to the seasisde over the weekend, an estimated 2,000 people enjoying the rolling rave in the sunshine. Dorset Police had imposed a set route, but subsequently took the chance to thank those who took part and confirm no incidents were reported.
Chief Inspector Darren Harris said: “I would like to thank those who took part for following the route published by Dorset Police, which we felt was appropriate due to the expected number of participants and for behaving appropriately to ensure the event went ahead without any issues.
“Our officers remain committed to patrolling our towns, countryside and coastlines to ensure everyone can enjoy the wonderful things our county has to offer this summer.”
"Behold my new invisibility cloak": Cyclist knocked off on way to job teaching kids to cycle on the road baffled by how driver "apparently didn't see me" — left "thinking it's more the parents than kids who need lessons"
It’s a bit different to Harry Potter’s but a Threads user called scienceysophie reckons she’s got an invisibility cloak of her own, this bright purple coat and orange helmet apparently not enough to avoid being knocked off her bike.
Sharing a picture of the exact spot it happened, Sophie explained: “Was knocked off my bike in this exact position this morning. Apparently the driver didn’t see me.”
“Fortunately I was riding the sturdy bike [her city bike that’s “built like a tank” and has so far “seen off a Tesla and BMW”] and no damage beyond some scuffs to handlebar and mudguard and slightly bruised shin […] No actual harm done other than being in a bad mood for most of the day.”
You might have already made your guess, but the collision happened by a motorist turning right onto the side road “as quick as she could” (having been flashed by an oncoming driver), cutting the corner and hitting Sophie, a frustratingly common one.
Ironically, Sophie was on her way to work when it happened and she spent the rest of the day “helping children learn how to ride their bikes on the road”, something she’s now increasingly wondering if “it’s more than the parents than kids who need the lessons these days”.
I think most people who’ve cycled for long enough eventually get a ‘SMIDSY’ (sorry mate didn’t see you) story after a while, bonus points for if you were wearing something bright like Sophie was. It’s why commonly heard police advice to riders to wear hi-vis clothing can be frustrating. Yes, personally, I do prefer a brighter jersey in winter months and darker times of day, but that doesn’t mean people who don’t look are going to see it.
Someone else in the comments under Sophie’s post shared their story: “Happened to me at a roundabout a few years ago. I was wearing a bright orange top – lovely old couple who did come back round the roundabout and offered cash to fix the bike – then later told their insurance company that I rode into them. Of course one can pedal backwards on a bike…”
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@FionaJJ I agree with most of what you say. However, I would argue that Hedley could well offend again and may have assaulted people on previous occasions. These are not the actions of a well adjusted person.
If i remember correctly that case of the 'fixie" rider hitting and killing a woman crossing the road the judge summed it up by saying he was going too fast (19 in a 30) and had swarn at her (yelling get the fuck out of the way to get her attention when she stepped into the road without looking) and suggested that a fixed rear gear does not function like a break (not peddling stops the rear wheel exactly because it is a fixed gear, the laws of physics and the law of the land are not the same I know). The riders attitude was not great but from his testimony she was looking at her phone and stepped into the road, and from the prosecution and judges own logic, given the 50cm a bike takes up, if he actually had the stopping time with proper breaks then she must have remained in his path long enough to for him to stop else he would never have hit her so it sounds like she stepped off the curb and stopped because either she was looking at her phone as the rider suggested or perhaps there was motor traffic that she chose to avoid and therefore cycle traffic she chose to ignore. For the rider it's like the trolly eithics problem, if you're on bike and someone steps in front with no time to stop should you a) swerve into motor traffic for your own near certain death or b) risk hitting but usually not killing the absant minded pedestrian, what would you do? Shouldn't minimising harm, even your own, be accepted behavoir? I don't actually like victim blaming but I don't like the presumtion that a rider or yes even a driver have to be prosecuted for the outcome of an incident, rather than their culpability. It sounds like the same thing that happend in regents park or wherever, where the poor old lady forgot to look and just stepped out, she survived long enough to have the grace to tell the police it was her fault as she didn't look and the police had the audacity to say they didn't charge him due to lack of evidence, when in fact they did have evidence... that he did nothing wrong! Again why did the drunk driver, who split open a riders skull between their RR bonnet and a barrier and when being pulled out of the car announced they 'hate cyclists', get, iirc, a suspended sentance rather than life for attempted murder but a guy who was not speeding who slammed on his breaks and yelled out to warn the pedestrian who just stepped on the road without looking properly get two years under a 200 year old law from the isle of man? I think this wierd half law, half emotion approach is part of the problem, there's not a consitant message of what the right thing actually is, and you hear this from drivers when they say things like "there are no rules on the road, everyone knows that". Would it really be that hard to make all licence holders do a yearly hazard awareness course to keep their licence and likewise sending bad cyclist on manditory cycling courses? To start handing out longer and permanent driving bans? To confiscate the emotorbikes kids are riding at speed along cycle and non cyclepaths and procecute the kids and the parents who bought the damn thing? To actually accept that a pedestrian can be culpable for risking their own and others lives by crossing without looking? Shouldn't there be clear rules and clear consequnces: if you cause the accident it's your fault and you can be held accountable even if you are the one who gets hurt but if you try but fail to avoid an accident you didn't cause when otherwise using the road legally then its not your fault. I do think the fixie rider should have been fully protected for riding without a proper rear break fitted, but the cause of the accident was the pedestrian stepping into the road, his back break or lack thereof had no bearing on the pedestrians ability to perceive the bike and rider, no lights a night would be different. Surely "how will the daily mail spin this" should not be how we decide on whos at fault?
@Daveyraveygravey It seems incredible the woman was so calm if someone in the back of the car really were having a medical emergency, and if they really were in that much of a rush, why slow things down by getting out of the car when simply reversing to go around their victim would have allowed them to get under way much more quickly? I'm not for filling prisons with people who are unlikely to offend again, and a sort of semi-home arrest can be a reasonable punishment that saves the tax payer money. A night time curfew is probably fairly effective for the sort of person who gets into fights in pubs, but this was in broad daylight. No driving ban, presumably because on exiting the car it can no longer count as a driving offence, and yet this man was clearly experiencing road rage and the incident demonstrated, IMO, that he doesn't have the temperament to be responsible for a one and a half tonne killing machine. I'm no legal expert, but if it's not currently possible to ban someone from driving for actions that take place once they leave their vehicle, there should be a change. The assault happened on the public highway within a couple of seconds of the offender exiting the car. The offender didn't pause to talk or argue with his victim. Getting out of the car and assaulting his victim was all one movement. He was clearly in an unfit state of mind for driving whilst still behind the wheel.
@ROOTminus1 "The prosecutor - who puts the case against the offender in a trial - can appeal against a sentence if they think it is unduly lenient. In some cases they can appeal against a ‘not guilty’ verdict, but this is only when a judge heard the case without a jury and the appeal is about a point of law." public sentiment and support can lend weight to such considerations. you would need to direct any such supporting statement fao Faith Currie, COPFS. https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-information/disposals-and-appeals
@eburtthebike it's like another "I'm an avid cyclist but..." "I'm strongly in favour of supporting cycling/active travel but..." Oddly we rarely here "I'm all for mass motoring, but in this one specific case I don't think taking up this much space / spending this much just to (possibly) shave a few seconds off some motorists' journeys (temporarily...) makes sense". But for cycling, in each individual case, having carefully examined this from a local and national perspective, it's *never* the right place, time, design, we can't afford it now (pennies when we *have to* spend pounds on motoring), we've far more important issues, people don't want it here, the negatives will outweigh the positives...
@mitsky It's probably something like the revenue from fines goes to central government, where as maintaining the camera is paid for by the local council.
Genuine questions: Given convicted criminals can, and often do, file claims with the Court of Appeals, speciously claiming overly harsh sentencing to get away with watered-down punishments, does anyone know who has the prerogative to take a claim to the Court of Appeals that a sentence is overly lenient? And specifically in this case, does Mr Hedley's post-sentencing interview constitute evidence that he shows no remorse for his actions, therefore any clemency by Sheriff Thompson for Mr Hedley reportedly taking account for his actions, was entirely on false premise?
"columnist urges government to give active travel role to a “pedestrian next time, rather than an Olympic cyclist” " Cyclist urges media to give columns and breakfast TV roles to competent journalists next time, rather than addled hacks and rage farmers.
'unprecedented cycle use in kirkcaldy causing delays for motorists; man misses curfew' in less commercial times, community conscience might have had it's own punitive effect. denial of local service and hospitality, etc. what could be an equivalent now? maybe the local cycling clubs can arrange a regular exhibition tour past his domicile at 19:01 most evenings
Worth noting that his car is blocking the road. Either the cyclist was turning right and he pulled out to turn right towards Lothian Road and cut him up, or he was turning left towards the Pleasance and crossed into oncoming traffic. I don't see a scenario where the cyclist was in the wrong, and "in the way" simply means not diving out of the way of a useless angry driver. The nonsense about a "seizure" also needs to be called out. Unless she's related to Lazarus. Likely she had a light in her face because her pet primate pulled out in front of a cyclist with a front light on his bike.
43 thoughts on ““Behold my new invisibility cloak”: Cyclist knocked off on way to job teaching kids to cycle on the road baffled by how driver “apparently didn’t see me” — left “thinking it’s more the parents than kids who need lessons” + more on the live blog”
A bollard in the middle of
A bollard in the middle of the junction to prevent the turning right short cut across the outward lane:
That sign and the offence of
That sign and the offence of driving on the right has now been “decriminalised”
. Not even CyclingMikey bothers with Gandalf Corner now.
https://youtu.be/g5YfiQIMN0g?feature=shared
I had two drivers pass me by
I had two drivers pass me by bowling around to the right of one of those (on a traffic island – you know the pedestrian refuge set up) just yesterday. All either had to do was wait about 5 seconds…..
Anyway, firstly I was running front & rear cameras and have clear footage (including the reg no’s) which has been submitted to the five-o. I do however expect absolutely sod all to happen as a result.
Secondly though, instant karma for the driver of the second vehicle (a Tesla) that just blindly followed the first guy through. As the first drivers vehicle moved back to the correct carriageway it became apparent to driver two that they were now faced with oncoming traffic. Cue panicked swerve back to the left. And the rear passenger side wheel connecting with the concrete kerb of the traffic island. And – BANG. Instantly shredded tyre. I haven’t giggled so much in ages.
Looking forward to seeing
Looking forward to seeing that video.
I got instant Karma on a Tesla driver who deliberately very closed passed me last year. I turned up at his house just as he was getting out of his car.
No words were necessary, the look of shock and horror on his face said it all.
What really angered me, he was wearing a Whoop on his arm and I thought, “someone who cares about his own health, but doesnt give a s**t about someone elses!”
It would be a shame if the
It would be a shame if the police did nothing for the island hops.
I’ve had one driver disqualified for two weeks (after I attended court only to be told to go home by security whilst I was in the waiting area as the driver was shown the footage and THEN owned up to it so I wasn’t even asked to go in to give my verbal evidence), the other driver of the same incident owned up straight away to the NIP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaAGC38GDGY
and another driver on a separate occasion didn’t own up and got the max 6 points and £800+ in fines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjIB9hjpZ6E
and this PHV driver manged to delfate his tyre by hitting an island:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhLJEgq8WW4
(was the sound similar in Your case?)
yep that’s the noise. In
yep that’s the noise. In fact it’s a double noise on mine so they may have even done both passenger side tyres.
Ha ha! That would be extra
Ha ha! That would be extra funny for you. Of course, I’m sure the driver thinks it’s your fault
That bollard looks like it
That bollard looks like it may be lacking situational awareness – it probably shouldn’t stand in the road…
They only last a bit of time
They only last a bit of time if associated with very raised curbs or lampposts.
Great idea. They had one of
Great idea. They had one of those near me in the centre of a road on a blind LH bend which had a RH junction. It’s purpose is to stop vehicles on the road from overtaking cyclists etc on the bend and risking hitting oncoming traffic, or traffic turning left onto the road. After it had been knocked over a few times, it was removed.
There is some logic in there somewhere, but I couldn’t find it.
I have often thought of
I have often thought of selling hi-viz equipment as invisibility devices, along with extremely bright lights, as so many drivers can’t see them.
Has Sophie reported the driver? I’d feel a bit safer with people like that no longer being in charge of a lethal weapon in public.
To get a text message with a
To get a text message with a crime number along with a link to an “ask the police” general advice website, and to never hear from them again?
What the police do is out of
What the police do is out of our control, we can do no more than report it. Imagine how you would feel if you’d done nothing and the next victim was one of your pupils.
Soon as I saw the photo, I
Soon as I saw the photo, I knew what had happened to the rider; it’s become a real issue in the last 10 years or so – drivers cutting right hand junctions, and getting angsty if someone is there.
It’s been going on for longer
It’s been going on for longer than that, and many will do it to someone approaching in a car and just expect the other driver to hold back. It’s not even restricted to those wanting to take advantage of a short break in traffic – I see it when the roads are quiet.
For some it’s the mentality of not wanting to slow down to the speed limit, never mind a speed appropriate for turning into a side street in a residential area. I’ve even had to jump back onto the pavement when a van was cutting the corner so severely and at such speed that they almost took me out as I ventured across the double yellows. Obviously, not bothering to signal either, because they wouldn’t have registered the existence of a pedestrian.
Theres a lovely road near me
Theres a lovely road near me that people do this on. Most of the time they completely ignore their own side of the road and use the entireity of the wrong side of the road. Its one of those lovely side roads that invites drivers to act like twats. The entrance is genuinely 3-4x the width of the actual road because its got such a sweep on it. Encourages people to fly in and out of it. Bonus points for it taking 3x as long to cross it due to this and obviously cars are parked on either side of the junction on a main road blocking your view along with some trees. Oh and the final kicker, its a 20 on the side road so people who fly into it are obviously breaking the speed limit.
All in all, its just a fucking awful junction like so many of ours. I hate the argument that infrastructure is to blame for shit driving but at this point its the only thing that mitigates the shit driving. We seem to have no appetite to fix bad driving so perhaps we need to treat them like children and make the infra trickier for people to drive like twats through.
mctrials23 wrote:
Short: yes, yes we do. Even in the UK where most drivers are apparently “careful and considerate” and “otherwise law abiding”.
(The sustainable safety philosophy would perhaps phrase that as “make it impossible to do some very dangerous things, easier to do the right thing – and provide (safe) feedback where people start doing the wrong thing to direct them to do the right thing”).
The argument as ever is “why not just fix the source of the problem – the drivers”. Unfortunately this is in fact *really* hard to do. I’m not aware that this has in fact been done much better than the UK any place – given the pressures in the opposite direction *. I suspect not even “police states” have really sorted that – unless they’re just effectively preventing most people from driving at all.
For one there are lots of junctions but there are lots more drivers (who keep getting added to).
* For another we have a series of feedback loops driven by billions of pounds flowing through them, which has created a system which is designed to encourage humans to drive. And often to drive faster – or at least we have goals to “reduce journey times and congestion”.
All that money (and now the status of driving also) – that’s driving the conversation, the ads, the politics, even the dry bureacratic engineering standards. (So junction capacities, corner radii which are safe to drive at the faster speeds people do in fact go in reality because “we want to reduce accidents” e.g. motorists crashing, those outside the vehicles we’re less worried about).
So yeah “but drivers” … but perhaps we’ve just hit diminishing returns for “better drivers”. So cheaper and more sure to e.g. just make corners sharper so that some learn they can’t speed – by rolling their vehicles if necessary.
That doesn’t stop people simply taking the corner using both lanes of course… So where this is prevalent perhaps a physical divider between lanes at junctions is appropriate? And more (infra) protection is needed for cyclists. And indeed for small side-roads making the entrance a ramp up and down, with only room for one motor vehicle at a time…
They never seem to think they
They never seem to think they’re doing anything wrong whatsoever though (so I’m guessing that dangerously cutting corners is now permissible in the HC).
Man arrested after two hurt
Man arrested after two hurt in bike crash (BBC).
Obviously I clicked on it – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxlv4nz922o – and it is total clickbait: when you read the article, its a bloke on a motorcycle who hit two pedestrians
To the man on the Clapham Omnibus, a “bike crash” involves a bicycle.
This confusion of bikes and
This confusion of bikes and motorbikes is very common, and some road safety organisations use the former for the latter.
I saw this headline on
I saw this headline on Facebook. As you say total clickbait. When you opened the link, the person involved was charged with various offences, such as not having insurance. So they clearly weren’t a cyclist, but why let the facts get in the way
Yeah it’s the BBC though.
Yeah it’s the BBC though. Israel bombing the crap out of civilians in Gaza is also a “conflict” & not genocide. They just don’t like that sort of thing being pointed out to them.
The BBC seem to be
The BBC seem to be deliberately running a campaign to have ebikes banned or controlled, by continually referring to illegal electric motorcycles as “ebikes”. Given that they spent thirty years trying to depress cycling by emphasising the dangers and promoting helmets, I’m not surprised.
Got my complaint in about the article on Today R4, which continually referred to illegal electric motorcycles as ebikes, only interviewed someone (IDS) committed to more controls and changing the law.
No doubt the Beebs is
No doubt the Beebs is following a script and a pre-set agenda – more checks and controls, more expenses and taxes for ebikers.
The BBC are maybe trying to
The BBC are maybe trying to protect the credibility of their highly paid “talent” Adrian Chiles (aka “The Man In The Pub” – analysis through the eyes of a pignoramus, who is interested in very little outside of football and gets most of his info from chatting in his local) after his Panorama programme which confused ebikes and electric motorcycles.
But it wasn’t just Chiles.
But it wasn’t just Chiles. The article I heard on R4 Today a couple of weeks ago conflated ebikes and illegal electric motorcycles, only interviewed Ian Duncan-Smith, the author of the amendment about reckless cycling. They did say they were trying to get a delivery driver (sic) who rode a bike to take part, but couldn’t contact them. Even if they had contacted them, it would hardly be fair and balanced, with the author of the amendment versus a member of the public.
The comment about the parents
The comment about the parents needing educating is very valid, but I like to think that any kind of road safety education for children will be filtering its way towards their parents. In some cases, it’s going to be more effective than publicity campaigns aimed directly at adults.
Teach the kids the rules of the road, the Dutch reach and so on, and they’ll pester their parents about it.
Speed limit to be increased
Speed limit to be increased at fatal crash site (BBC)
Yes, you read that right
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn5kyq7q5kdo
Can’t have our ten year olds
Can’t have our ten year olds restricted to 30mph
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyvjjy5j35zo
Once heard a driver
Once heard a driver explaining, in all seriousness, that a fatal incident where a pedestrian was killed crossing a 40 mph road wouldn’t have happened if the road had been NSL, “because if he [the driver] had been doing 60 he would have been past her before she stepped into the road, wouldn’t he?” Wonder if that bloke is now working for Bradford Council?
You can not argue with that
You can not argue with that logic. A collision happens when two people want to use the same bit of road at the same time.
Our wise heads here who are
Our wise heads here who are believers in the “natural speed of a road” and worried about “bringing laws into disrepute and creating a culture of resistance to rules” will be nodding along.
On the one hand, they’re right about human nature. People *ought* not to break safety rules or get frustrated, but a significant number do, because humans – or rather because humans and the culture we have developed around driving and speed (and just being able to depress the speed pedal further). And again “because humans” some people *will* drive faster on wide straight roads (although real world measurements with 20mph limits show that merely changing signs does in fact bring the average speed down).
On the other hand this clearly illustrates why we have the rules. Since some people are reacting by doing something else more dangerous, surely part of the solution is simply to remove the temptation?
Of course a) as we’ve seen without physical barriers some drivers won’t stop. Crossing a double-white line can already be an offence – but there’s no feedback since many police forces aren’t interested (particularly in Lancashire?).
b) That still leaves the risk of drivers trying to “squeeze by” or just plain driving into cyclists from behind. There is of course a fix for that too…
This is a well-cycled route –
This is a well-cycled route – Moor Road is the continuation of the Cow and Calf, a great and popular climb.
It’s also a road with a LOT of blind corners, blind dips, dry stone walls, and sheep wandering onto the road. Frankly, cars shouldn’t be overtaking other cars on that stretch anyway, it is just unsafe to do so in pretty much any section of that road.
the little onion wrote:
Its clear from the BBC picture that, that bit at least, should be doublewhite lines. How car brains can consider raising the limit I have no idea.
Some old fool almost wiped me
Some old fool almost wiped me out on a country road yesterday in his land rover. He was too busy avoiding a pigeon to notice he was now driving at me. He just looked up in time.
Nice to know a pigeon’s life is more valuable than mine.
As soon as someone uses the
As soon as someone uses the SMIDSY defence that should be an instant ban – it’s an admittance that they should not be in control of a vehicle
You might think that. It
You might think that. It would be akin to working in a restaurant and when you kill someone with an allergy you just say “Sorry mate, I don’t really bother looking to see if the customer has any allergies”. I’m sure the courts would think that was completely OK.
“Happened to me at a
“Happened to me at a roundabout a few years ago. I was wearing a bright orange top – lovely old couple who did come back round the roundabout and offered cash to fix the bike – then later told their insurance company that I rode into them. Of course one can pedal backwards on a bike…”
Maybe the woman is the same as the one driving the car that hit me on a roundabout and broke my left leg. She admitted in front of several witnesses that it was her fault (couldn’t say otherwise as she joined the rouindabout as I was on it and going round). The told her insiurance company I just fell off.
Not a SMIDSY, but involving
Not a SMIDSY, but involving an old woman on a roundabout. About 13 years ago on the entry arm to a busy roundabout, I stopped (gave way) and the driver behind (old woman) stopped initially. The next car on my right was a classic old fashioned sports car (the type with large exposed wheels). So I continued to give way. Somehow, she thought the sports car was indicating off the roundabout (despite its big wheels saying otherwise), assumed I would go and accelerated into the back of me. Lol, her first words were ‘I saw You’, after I calmed down I actually felt sorry for her and offered her a cheap cash settlement (It was my cheap steel fixie) after I got it checked out by a LBS. The shop quoted me £175. So I sent it to her and got the response, ‘thats awfy dear’ and she elected to go through her insurance. I could tell the insurance company was rubbing their hands in delight and settled almost immediately. The poor old woman probably paid for it in the next few years with higher premiums. Actually I probably saved her a fortune, if I hadn’t been in the way she would have accelerated into the side of a classic car which would have been more than ‘awfy dear’ :-/
Yeah, I got caught at a
Yeah, I got caught at a roundabout when a car joining on my left as I went around just ploughed straight into me, sent me about 10 feet through the air before landing in a heap. The police asked her what happened and she said “I did see him but I didn’t think I’d hit him”. The police were actually very good, they ended up taking me to A&E when the ambulance failed to arrive and then called me to give me the choice for her: road awareness course or FP/3 points (I chose the former as it seemed a more beneficial outcome for all).
Quote:
From the items that appear regularly on these blogs, you’d think there were plenty of very critical mechanics out there.
> Tudor brings out limited
> Tudor brings out limited edition Tour de France watch… because nothing says cycling like paying £4,650 to tell the time (apparently)
If this alarms you, please do not check out the retail price on the Richard Mille watches that Pogi wears.
The gorse was popping this
The gorse was popping this evening. Not the first time this summer either.