“Next you will be asking why cyclists don’t pay road tax”: Hampshire Police respond to anti-cycling bingo drivers; “Sexist” bike hire scheme tells users they’re “riding” Maeve; Mallett versus dead ends; An expensive bag of crisps + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Next you will be asking why cyclists don’t pay road tax”: Hampshire Police respond to anti-cycling bingo drivers
Lately on the live blog, we’ve been fairly critical of how certain police forces have handled themselves on social media regarding cycling (looking at you, Essex).
But credit where it’s due – on Friday evening Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit posted a compilation of close passes and details of the resultant prosecutions, alongside a call for motorists to avoid being “space invaders” and to show “consideration for vulnerable road users”.
👾👾 Don’t be a Space Invader 👾👾
Do you show enough consideration for vulnerable road users?
These drivers were caught on Cycle cameras putting riders at risk and faced formal action due to their lack of care.
We can’t be everywhere but we can be anywhere #SJU#HantsSNAP pic.twitter.com/GjXBSsg3Gn
— Hampshire Roads Policing Unit (@HantsPolRoads) August 5, 2022
While some cyclists bemoaned the seemingly lenient outcomes of one or two of the cases highlighted in the video (how the first driver got away with just three points and a £100 fine is beyond me), Hampshire Police nevertheless received some extra kudos for their handling of the plethora of red-faced motorists who invaded the thread to fill in their anti-cycling bingo cards.
When one highly original driver, in a since-deleted tweet, pointed out that cyclists can engage in “red light jumping, riding on pavements, using mobile phones, think they’re above the law”, the police’s retort was worthy of the road.cc live blog comments section:
Next you will be asking why cyclists don’t pay road tax.
Sure, a minority of cyclists do bad things but these were just innocent people going about their business being put in danger. #shareTheRoad
— Hampshire Roads Policing Unit (@HantsPolRoads) August 5, 2022
They also swiftly slapped down this attempt to fill in the more obscure edges of the bingo card:
A few things wrong with this comment that I would like to address but I think that the cycling community could say it far better than me so I will leave it to them pic.twitter.com/EC9JCttTaq
— Hampshire Roads Policing Unit (@HantsPolRoads) August 5, 2022
Hampshire Police’s prolific tweeting on Friday was enough to earn the attention of the notoriously pro-cycling advocates at the Daily Mail and GB News, who reported that the Roads Policing Unit sparked a “furious backlash” for simply asking drivers to treat cyclists like human beings, so they must be doing something right…
Dublin bike hire scheme accused of “everyday sexism” – after telling users that they’re “riding” Maeve or Mary
V few bike rental licenses given by @DubCityCouncil so how’d these gobs get one? All bikes now have female names, the app tells you how long “you’re riding Mary” & how much she costs.
I complained. They see nothing wrong w/ buying women for a ride. 🤷♀️ #EverydaySexism #IrishSlang pic.twitter.com/hKEuQM5pMj— Dr Eemer Eivers (@EemerEivers) August 6, 2022
A bike hire scheme based in Dublin will no longer give its bikes female names after one user complained that the company was reinforcing “everyday sexism”, Sticky Bottle reports.
Bikes belonging to Irish company Moby – which offers rentals in Dublin and Co. Westmeath, as well as in London – were named after women, with the scheme’s app informing the user that they were ‘riding’ Mary or Maeve, and for what cost.
Now – I’ve been reliably informed by some of my baffled English colleagues that the term ‘ride’ may have various connotations in different parts of the Atlantic Archipelago.
While our American cousins tend to use ‘ride’ to refer to getting a lift somewhere, in Irish slang… how should I put this… ‘ride’ more often than not refers to sexual activities.
Thanks. I’m not sure how fully this absolute shitshow translates to non-Irish ears. In Irish slang, ride = have sex.
So the original app screenshot basically says “You’re fu**ing Maeve”. 🤬— Dr Eemer Eivers (@EemerEivers) August 8, 2022
So, you can see why there might be some confusion surrounding Moby’s bike hire scheme.
Dr Eemer Eivers, a research fellow at Dublin City University, tweeted and emailed her objections to the crude use of language employed by Moby, which she argued implied that users were “buying women for a ride”.
Moby then initially responded to her complaint by suggesting that the use of women’s names for all of the scheme’s bikes was “empowering” – a reply which Dr Eivers, rather charitably, deemed “ignorant” and “sexist”.
However, Dr Eivers’ Twitter campaign appears to have paid off, as Moby then informed her on Monday that the scheme will revert back to its initial use of ID codes for its bikes.
🚨 Positive news. The bikes will revert back to their original numeric identifiers. I did suggest this to them in an email on Thursday, when I complained about ALL female names, but was told it wasn’t possible. Thank you Twitterati. https://t.co/ciHkIvFdJV
— Dr Eemer Eivers (@EemerEivers) August 7, 2022
I’m still utterly baffled by how this happened. Do they have any female employees? It’s a bit depressing. Although clearly a relief that they fixed it.
— Juliana Adelman is writing another novel (@AdelmanJuliana) August 8, 2022
“For all the Maeves I’ve known!” Eemer tweeted after hearing the news.
“Who thought up that bright idea?”: Timmy Mallett versus dead-end cycle paths
As Timmy Mallett’s two-wheeled tour of the UK comes to a close, the TV presenter took the time to point out one of the glaring flaws in the county’s bike network: the dead-end cycle path.
It’s brilliant to cycle close to the shore around the coast of Britain…
Until something happens to the cycle path.#roundbritain@WeAreCyclingUK @Sustrans pic.twitter.com/PgQ7TjDhOI— Timmy Mallett (@TimmyMallett) August 6, 2022
“One of the great joys of cycling the coast of Britain is finding that there is a cycle path right alongside the water,” he said on a video posted to Twitter.
“This is fantastic, brilliant. But then you come to this,” he says, turning the camera to face a metal fence and some overgrown weeds, “and you realise that the system isn’t joined up at all. It’s a complete and utter dead end. That’s it, no further.
“Who thought up that bright idea?”
Not so ‘utterly brilliant’, eh?
Cycling charity Sustrans, who Mallett tagged in his Twitter post, responded to the legendary entertainer’s complaint yesterday, and offered him a catch-up on the lessons he’s learned while riding his e-bike on stupidly steep Welsh roads and foreboding Highland tracks:
We’re sorry to see you hit a dead end on your ride. We’re working hard to get a joined-up network of paths to connect people and places, so we appreciate your feedback.
Now that you’ve finished your trip, we’d love to catch up with you. How best can we get in touch?
— Sustrans (@Sustrans) August 8, 2022
Revenge, a dish best served cold… and strawberry-flavoured?
To the driver who called me fat when I was riding today, hope you enjoy the milkshake I poured through the window you left open when you parked 😘
— Hannah 🚲 (@theeyecollector) August 8, 2022
The world’s most expensive bag of crisps?
A bit of a shocker this one, as a member of Bristol Road Club had their bike nicked right at the tills of a Tesco Express, by a determined thief who had followed the cyclist into the shop on the Whiteladies Road:
Goes to show, even taking your bike into the shop with you won’t deter some criminals. I’m not sure a packet of salt and vinegar could provide any kind of consolation after that…
If you have any information about the stolen bike – a Specialized Tarmac S-Works with SRAM AXS groupset and ENVE wheels – the rider has provided a contact number on the Facebook.
Matt Page is smashing London Edinburgh London
In the early hours of Sunday morning, almost 2,000 hardy souls set off from the Guildhall to take on the iconic, 1,500km-long London Edinburgh London.
Established in 1989, and back after a five-year hiatus, London Edinburgh London is a self-supported Audax event modelled on France’s legendary long-distance event Paris-Brest-Paris, first run in 1891.
#siltakerho triplana ja tietysti #LEL2022 puoliväli 🤩 pic.twitter.com/u6gLGwXd30
— Kalajärven Näädät (@naata_jengi) August 9, 2022
While formally known as a ‘cycle ride’, rather than a race, the event still features a 125 hour cut-off, which means you’ll have to keep the pace high and rest and recuperation to a minimum.
The cut-off certainly won’t be a problem for road.cc and off.road.cc contributor (and world-record breaking castle visitor) Matt Page, who is currently smashing the course to shreds at the head of the event.
1632 Huggate … starting to get lumpy #LEL2022 pic.twitter.com/pL2bx9zmWt
— London Edinburgh London (@LEL1500km) August 7, 2022
Matt is no stranger to enduring needless amounts of pain on his bike – in 2020 he raised over £4,000 for charity after completing Rapha’s annual Festive 500 in just 18 hours – so it’s no surprise he’s making light work (though I’m sure it’s very difficult) of LEL.
He was first rider to make the turn south and should reach Checkpoint 16 in Louth, Lincolnshire, by lunch time, about 50km ahead of the nearest rider on the road.
We have our 1st rider at Innerleithen!!! #LEL2022
He started in London at 5am yesterday and is already on his way south again 🤯🚴♂️ pic.twitter.com/lMtweoD4zL— EdinburghNightRide 🚴♀️🏴🌻 (@EdinNightRide) August 8, 2022
Not too shabby at all, Matt.
Although, yesterday evening two riders appeared to have sacked the whole thing off after 400-odd kilometres, with their dots – according to road.cc’s Simon – appearing suspiciously close to a pub inside York train station.
I think I know who has the right idea there…
You can keep up-to-date with all the dot-based escapades on the London Edinburgh London website.
Harsh, but fair
Strava is Pokémon GO for people with shaved legs
— Clément Shampoossin (without Zwift) (@killow_) August 7, 2022
Why don’t cyclists use cycle lanes? Part 698
Roll up, roll up! Come and embrace active travel with your family and leave the car at home. (This isn’t a joke, this is the finished cycle lane, on a major route, that @Hullccnews is trying to encourage people to use instead of driving). pic.twitter.com/Hgbyd87e0z
— HullCycling (@CyclingHull) August 8, 2022
Copenhagen crowds out in force (again) for major bike race
Another day, another bike race in Copenhagen…
Stage 1️⃣ of #TOSC22 is underway 👊 Huge crowd in Copenhagen 🤩
145kms on the menu – GO TEAM 💪
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) August 9, 2022
Unless you were living under a rock for the whole of July – or, you know, out on your bike – you will have gathered that Denmark is the new professional cycling capital of the world, after the 5.8 million-strong nation had the kind of racing summer that would prompt a national tabloid newspaper to encourage their readers to cut out a mask depicting Jonas Vingegaard’s boyish features and tape it to their face (Nah, that’s a bit too mad, surely…).
Anyway, the party continued on this morning in the Danish capital, which was playing host to the start of another top-level stage race: this time, it was the turn of the Tour of Scandinavia, a brand-new Women’s WorldTour event, built on the foundations of the Tour of Norway.
The six-day race will kick off with a stage each in Denmark and Sweden before four decisive stages in Norway.
FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope’s Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, a stage winner and seventh overall at the Tour de France Femmes, was predictably the star of the show, wowing the crowds in the City Hall Square, the scene of Vingegaard’s glorious post-Tour homecoming last month:
Huge applaus for @CUttrupLudwig 🇩🇰 and her team @FDJ_SUEZ_Fut 🔥#tourofscandinavia pic.twitter.com/uInSLZ1VlG
— Tour of Scandinavia – Battle of the North (@Battlenor) August 9, 2022
🇩🇰 Tak København !#TOSC22 pic.twitter.com/MWgRpXHAVF
— FDJ – SUEZ – Futuroscope (@FDJ_SUEZ_Fut) August 9, 2022
Jake Stewart takes first professional victory at Tour de l’Ain
Just when you thought the Selecter’s appearance at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony would be the last notable performance by someone from Coventry at a major sporting event this week, Groupama-FDJ’s Jake Stewart only went and took the first victory of his pro career today on the opening stage of the Tour de l’Ain.
The 22-year-old sprinter-classics rider, who finished second at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last year during his first full season as a pro, narrowly outsprinted Romain Cardis in Val-Revermont for a breakthrough victory after a year punctuated so far by illness.
A monstrous late attack by Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl’s Rémi Cavagna under the flame rouge looked like it was about to spoil the sprinters’ day, after the peloton had been put under pressure by the incessant attacks of the Frenchman’s world champion teammate Julian Alaphilippe, building his form following his horrible crash at April’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège, in the final ten kilometres.
But as attack after attack shot off the front, Stewart maintained his place near the head of the bunch, and Groupama-FDJ had enough in the tank to haul back Cavagna and tee up the Coventry-born rider’s maiden professional victory, and along with it the yellow jersey.
“I’ve been chasing that win for 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠” ❤️
An emotional Jake Stewart struggles to hold back the tears after his first professional stage victory 😭🇬🇧#TDA22 | @jakey_stewart | @GroupamaFDJ pic.twitter.com/9hO1RKzE0H
— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 9, 2022
Stewart’s landmark success follows a 2022 season that until now had looked to have been derailed by intestinal issues which saw the promising Brit miss the classics campaign and only race once before May.
“To finally get the win after chasing it for so long, it just feels like a massive weight off my shoulders,” an emotional Stewart said after the finish.
The 22-year-old is set to make his grand tour debut at the Vuelta a España, which starts in ten days in Utrecht, where he will be hoping he can carry this momentum into one of the sport’s showpiece races.
Zoe Bäckstedt signs pro contract with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
EF Education-TIBCO-SVB confirmed today that Zoe Bäckstedt has signed a full-time permanent deal with the team that she joined as a trainee at the start of August.
17-year-old Bäckstedt, the current junior world champion on the road and in cyclocross, raced with the American squad at last week’s CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, where she took the best young rider’s jersey as well as contributing to the team’s three stage wins (including a team time trial) and the overall title, taken by Krista Doebel-Hickok.
Stepping up from that brief spell as a trainee, Bäckstedt’s first pro contract will see her race for EF in both road and cyclocross races.
> Zoe Bäckstedt wins junior cyclocross world championships
“I spoke with a couple of other teams,” the Welsh wunderkind admitted in a statement released by EF today.
“I had a Zoom call with Linda, the team owner. Just the way I was speaking with her, the way she was speaking with me, how we got along, it seemed to work. I went downstairs after that call and I said to my dad, ‘That’s my team. I want to sign for them.’
“Just the whole vibe was what I wanted. Linda let me be myself, she was herself. I think we clicked a little bit then. I felt good, I felt confident.
“I looked at some of the riders on the team already. The likes of Abi Smith, I already knew. Lizzy Banks, too. I know a couple of people within the team already so it’s nice to know that if I find it a little bit hard the first couple of times, I still have someone I can talk to that I know already that can help me out.”
Bäckstedt also said that EF’s willingness to allow her to compete on the ‘cross field alongside learning the ropes in the World Tour peloton was one of the key motivations for joining the team.
“It makes life a heck of a lot easier if I’m being honest than racing for two teams because then you get the problem of being pulled in one direction for a road training camp but you get pulled into the cyclocross season and then nothing tends to coordinate,” she said.
“But with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, I can do road and then I can switch to ‘cross and do ‘cross for as long as I want to, as many races as I want to and then I can take a break and go back onto the road. That approach of ‘you do what you want to do and we’ll make it work.’ I get to do a full cross season like I want to and I get to race on the road like I want to.”
Lewis Hamilton admits he finds driving “stressful” outside of F1
He may be one of the most successful racing drivers of all time, but seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he’s not that fond of being behind the wheel out on the open road.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the 37-year-old said: “I just think that I find it stressful. I try not to do things that don’t add to my life.”
As part of the interview, which was published yesterday, Hamilton drove the interviewer around Nice in his Mercedes Smart car, an experience he didn’t find particularly pleasant.
“Look, we’re on these roads, anything can happen,” he noted.
As traffic began to build, as it tends to do, Hamilton said: This is now stressful for me. This road is crazy. So much going on here. I’m going to turn around in a second.”
> The best bikes of the F1 grid: take a look at what the fastest drivers on earth choose to ride
While Hamilton bemoaned the stress of driving, the British racer – unlike many of his F1 contemporaries – isn’t that big on cycling either, only occasionally taking to his mountain bike for some downhill fun.
Other F1 stars however, such as Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button (among many others), have long professed their love for cycling, which often stretches beyond simple training for the racing season. For example, Bottas’ partner is Australian Canyon-Sram rider Tiffany Cromwell (and has been spotted out training with a certain Texan), while Alonso has long been rumoured to be interested in setting up a pro team with friend Alberto Contador.
Maybe Lewis will see the light some day…
Drum and Bass On The Bike to make Irish debut this weekend
DJ Dom Whiting’s two-wheeled rave will be heading across the Irish Sea on Sunday:
IRELAND!!
Drum & Bass On The Bike heads to DUBLIN, this SUNDAY 14th August starting at DUBLIN CITY GALLERY (The Hugh Lane) from 2PM.
*FULL ROUTE TBA* pic.twitter.com/eat1ghaXR5
— Domonic (@domwhiting) August 9, 2022
Let’s just hope that any hire bikes used are all appropriately named…
Reader reaction: Hampshire Police and “sexist” bikes
Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit came in for some praise in the comments today, for their commendable attempt to slap down the usual anti-cycling bingo enthusiasts.
“Well done Hampshire Police for that tweet, more of this kind of awareness please,” wrote peted76.
Others, however, noticed a glaring omission from the force’s educational video.
“The Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit video is all very well, but where, I ask, are the videos of killer cyclists mowing down all in their path?” asked eburtthebike, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
“With so many pedestrians and drivers being killed by these arrogant, selfish, law-breaking, lycra-clad Tour de France wannabes, surely they must have plenty of material?”
“Motorists and pedestrians aren’t snitches though and obviously don’t want to create division or incite cycle rage,” chrisonatrike helpfully pointed out.
“They’re probably just providing hours of this footage to the police without comment (when did you ever see a driver stopping to confront a cyclist?). Although it’s a complete mystery to me why this hasn’t resulted in the courts being overwhelmed with cases against these criminal cyclists.”
When it came to the curious case of Moby’s Dublin bike hire scheme – accused of “everyday sexism” for naming all their bikes after women (with the added possible sexual implications of the term ‘riding’) – road.cc’s Simon suggested that a “tweak to the start of the message” would suffice.
“’Your hire bike is called Maeve’ or ‘You are cycling on Maeve’ would work, I reckon?” he pondered.
chrisonatrike went into some more detail: “Using names (or maybe even words) is often walking into a minefield. Of course now that AI is sentient I guess numbers will be just as bad.
“However another solution presents itself. Names *are* useful in that people recall them better, so drop the “ride” and just use names of both sexes? That was the case for Edinburgh’s Just Eat hire bikes. Made it simple to report all the ones that ended up on my estate: “Justin’s lying in the bushes here, he looks in a bad way”.
“Presumably to cope with the numbers of bikes as much as for diversity reasons I was pleased to see a wider choice of names (also reflecting local reality) e.g. “Marcin”, “Felizia” etc.”
From there the conversation deviated wildly, eventually ending up in A. A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood.
I’ll direct you to the comments section for that…
9 August 2022, 08:27
9 August 2022, 08:27
9 August 2022, 08:27
Another virtual cycling platform seems to be on the way…
"Most inclusive" virtual cycling platform CADEsport looks for Kickstarter funding ahead of release
Online cycling fitness game – which could be an alternative to Zwift – offers physical equalisation system that allows players of different strengths to play together; now looking for Kickstarter funding
9 August 2022, 08:27
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Latest Comments
Well probably not the bit when it's being lifted to tip into the truck.
Re : Operation Snap. The State treats cyclists suffering a nearmiss as the witness to an offence, the State being the victim. IMO this is one of the main issues that cyclists need to campaign against. Remember when indecent exposure was seen as a victimless crime ; you'd witnessed bad behaviour. Now I can use this comparison because as a 13 year-old boy living right next to Cliffe Castle Park , in Keighley, I was regularly flashed at . I ran away and was deeply distressed/disturbed by the behaviour witnessed. I'd say I was the victim of a crime but that's not how it was back then (>40 years ago) and that's how it is now for cyclists. Only concerted effort will change things. Let's start a letter writing campaign to our MPs. We could post the answers on the forum. A bet it's already happened.
I will bet money that it is procedure that the bin and bin-person have to stay connected at all times whilst the bin is being moved.
Whilst the company has noted the incident and is taking action ("training") I would hope they take this very seriously. Not just for public safety but their own bottom line. If the cyclist had been seriously hurt the company would have face a big public liability claim. And unless I'm seeing it wrong (the clip could be distorted), I think it looks like there could have been enough of a gap next to the lorry for the driver of a small car (or motorcyclist) to squeeze through. So any damage to a vehicle would also have been costly.
They'd probably refuse to take any action, so it would be a waste of time. It looks like he found a better disposal anyway - trash them through road.cc.
@lesterama Belgium team lucky ICE didn't shoot them
Wait. I didn't realise that the victim, Penny Bulpitt, was stationary at the time of the collision. (Not that it makes any difference, even if she was moving the major responsibility to avoid a collision is usually on the road user behind.) Quote Among other things, he said that there was, “a reasonable possibility that Mr Davies saw Mrs Bullpitt but did not register that she was stationary until a collision was unavoidable." End quote That line alone should be considered enough to charge the driver with careless, if not dangerous, driving. This makes the result of the whole case and Centre Parcs actions and the reporting almost entirely focussing on helmet use absolutely ludicrous. If the situation was the same but the victim was simply someone standing still, then this would have been a KSI leading to a 6 or 7 £ figure public/employee liability claim and also potentially involve the Health and Safety Executive. But no, as it involves someone on a bike, it is basically the cyclist's fault for not wearing a helmet. I am usually angered by reports of dangerous drivers facing lenient or non-existent punishments but this is something else.
This is pretty much the definition of motornormative. If you drive around a blind corner too fast to stop if there's an obstacle, that's reckless. Simple.
Belgium team lucky ICE didn't detain them indefinitely
@chrisonabike And of course when it's a cyclist who has supposedly contributed to their own demise by not wearing a helmet that adds an extra exculpatory factor. If he had come round the corner and hit and killed a toddler playing in the road in exactly the same position that Mrs Bulpitt was occupying, would he have been found not guilty?
46 thoughts on ““Next you will be asking why cyclists don’t pay road tax”: Hampshire Police respond to anti-cycling bingo drivers; “Sexist” bike hire scheme tells users they’re “riding” Maeve; Mallett versus dead ends; An expensive bag of crisps + more on the live blog”
Well done Hampshire Police
Well done Hampshire Police for that tweet, more of this kind of awareness please.
Interesting that one of the
Interesting that one of the drives got 4 points, I wonder if that took them to 11 rather than 12? I thought they normally came in multiples of 3?
Seventyone wrote:
Driving without due care and attention (e.g. close pass) can actually be sanctioned with anything from three to eleven points, just the authorities nearly always impose the minimum. The four pointer went to court, sometimes (don’t think it’s official policy though!) I think the magistrates might stick on an extra point for playing silly buggers and not accepting a 3-point offer when clearly bang to rights.
Erm, isn’t four a “multiple”*
Erm, isn’t four a “multiple”* of twelve?
*I’m assuming you mean factors
Sorry I meant multiple of
Sorry I meant multiple of three but somehow typed 12
Imagine if they’d built the
Imagine if they’d built the M25 but had put a big fence up so that you could go clockwise all the way round, or anticlockwise, but couldn’t actually go around and around…
RE: bike names. Using names
RE: bike names. Using names (or maybe even words) is often walking into a minefield. Of course now that AI is sentient I guess numbers will be just as bad.
However another solution presents itself. Names *are* useful in that people recall them better, so drop the “ride” and just use names of both sexes? That was the case for Edinburgh’s “Just Eat” hire bikes. Made it simple to report all the ones that ended up on my estate. “Justin’s lying in the bushes here, he looks in a bad way”.
Presumably to cope with the numbers of bikes as much as for diversity reasons I was pleased to see a wider choice of names (also reflecting local reality) e.g. “Marcin”, “Felizia” etc.
Didn’t notice many Gaelic ones / Scots – it would have been nice to see a “Senga” or how people tacked “Aisling”.
How about names that are more
How about names that are more commonly used for pets than people? Surely there would be less objection to Sparky, Rover, Fido, Spot, etc.
I was thinking that but I
I was thinking that but I realised that some (wtjs) would object to Sparky, Rover has car associations, Tiddles gives us a bad name and Socks will spark endless debates. I’m up for riding Tigger though.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Please stay away from The Hundred Acre Wood.
Rendel Harris wrote:
andystow wrote:
You’d prefer beastiality to be the status quo?
peted76 wrote:
What exactly are you planning on doing with them?
The Hampshire’s Roads
The Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit video is all very well, but where, I ask, are the videos of killer cyclists mowing down all in their path? With so many pedestrians and drivers being killed by these arrogant, selfish, law-breaking, lycra-clad Tour de France wannabes, surely they must have plenty of material?
Motorists and pedestrians
Motorists and pedestrians aren’t snitches though and obviously don’t want to create division or incite cycle rage.
They’re probably just providing hours of this footage to the police without comment (when did you ever see a driver stopping to confront a cyclist). Although it’s a complete mystery to me why this hasn’t resulted in the courts being overwhelmed with cases against these criminal cyclists.
Have a wee peek at their
Have a wee peek at their twitter feed, you’ll find there are a number of other road etiquette infringements there. It’s not all unquestionably pro-cycling and venomously anti law abiding road tax paying drivers.
I’m glad Dr Eivers has sorted
I’m glad Dr Eivers has sorted that one out. I for one would be disappointed if I used the Moby app to rent a bike to cycle to the station and a lady turned up instead.
It’s all fine until you
It’s all fine until you realise the maintenance costs.
The named hire bikes, just
The named hire bikes, just needs a tweak to the start of the message?
“Your hire bike is called Maeve” or “You are cycling on Maeve” would work, I reckon?
I wonder what verb Dr Eivers
I wonder what verb Dr Eivers uses to describe the act of sitting on a bike and pedaling it?
Cycling !
Cycling !
I never say I’m cycling. I
I never say I’m cycling. I always say ‘riding’. Tomatoes/tomatoes, I guess…
To add another angle: don’t
To add another angle: don’t cyclists drive their bikes (being the source of motive power) while motorists merely ride in their vehicles?
don’t cyclists drive their
don’t cyclists drive their bikes (being the source of motive power)
Many on here aren’t!
wtjs wrote:
EDIT: don’t cyclists drive their bikes (being part of the source of motive power) and there’s nothing wrong with them not contributing 100% of that although in an ideal world those fit and healthy enough might choose to get slightly more exercise by riding machines which are less resource intensive to manufacture but apparently riding e-bikes is overall more energy efficient than riding unpowered bikes when you account for the cost of food and transporting it...
…but that wasn’t so snappy.
According to many drivers, I
According to many drivers, I don’t just ride a bicycle, I wobble about all over the middle of the road 4 abreast without paying tax.
Mungecrundle wrote:
invisibly.
What a coincidence so do I
What a coincidence so do I apparently I also jump red lights, haven’t read the highway code, don’t have lights on my bike, don’t have a helmeet don’t wear high vis, don’t do this, do thank that…These non-cyclists ar so knowledgeable and they are mind readers too. Wow! I wish I wasn’t a cyclist.
chrisonatrike wrote:
Don’t you be coming on ‘ere with yer “logic”! 😉
brooksby wrote:
“Driving” doesn’t necessarily mean providing the motive power; it can simply mean controlling or directing that motive power. To use a topical example, the “drivers/driving” in “Drivers of carriages injuring persons by furious driving” refers to the person in control of a hourse-drawn carriage (the horse providing the motive power, not the driver). See also https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive
In recent months I’ve seen
In recent months I’ve seen good engagement from TVP Roads Unit, I believe they work/share with Hampshire. Not always the result I’d like but they will engage (normally they call me) with any follow up I might have and explain their reasoning. I also get the impression that they are listening to me as well. I would definately recommend making submissions to TVP but if you don’t follow up and ask what’s happening they don’t respond. As I said once you contact them they will get back to you and if you need clarification they will call you.
Northants don’t really engage they do produce monthly tables which will give you some reasons if no action is taken. Beds are really useless. No engagement on why they don’t think a report should be actioned. They will action close passes but I had one at the weekend – an overtake over speed humps, approaching a junction and a bend in the road (where of course a car appeared from), really clueless driving. Luckily my Spidey senses were tingling and I could keep myself safe but I thought the driver would at least get some words of advice on what the HC actually said about all three of their mistakes.
The story of six deaf men and
The story of six deaf men and an epic cycle mission
https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/video-the-story-of-six-deaf-men-and-an-epic-cycle-mission/
I was just thinking it would
I was just thinking it would take a skilled and brave signer to abuse a motorist after a close pass then realised this probably quite common!
Looks like Matt Page is on
Looks like Matt Page is on for a LEL finish this side of midnight….
I hope he’ll have enough in the tank to make some story notes whilst it’s fresh in his head.
Tesla’s self-driving
Tesla’s self-driving technology fails to detect children in the road, tests find
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/09/tesla-self-driving-technology-safety-children
Discuss (not sure why the pasted text went blue…, sorry)
One of the arguments for
One of the arguments for autonomous cars is that there will be fewer accidents, and they will be different ones, also that the product will improve with time.
I wonder if there is an option to punishment pass included?
You probably have to pay
You probably have to pay extra for that…
There’s lots of room for
There’s lots of room for conjecture here.
Complete the following matrix
Which is 1) More Dangerous 2) More Frightening
A punishment pass from;-
a) An Autonomous Vehicle b) A Manually Driven Vehicle
Cycloid wrote:
I wonder how they will react when they meet a cyclist on a narrow lane. I find it’s a lottery – some drivers are incredibly considerate, others don’t even roll off the throttle.
Will autonomous cars be programmed to not drive or park on pavements? That would be good.
Would they obey speed limits? That would be an improvement on the huge number of selfish people speeding where I live (including supermarket delivery vans, notably fuckwits in ASDA vans).
Having said that, I’m sure those humans could all manage to drive safely if their own child/relative was cycling or crossing in front of them.
Cycloid wrote:
That’s my betting – pros and cons. Overall improvement (safety, driving efficiency) but then systemic or random glitches. The consequences of which may be bad or worse as human failures. For one they maybe less predictable by humans as our mental models are partially based on introspection. It may turn out to be far harder to pin responsibility on anyone than it is currently – which isn’t easy. I could imagine even civil claims getting caught up in a tangle of whose service / software was to blame and to what degree.
chrisonatrike wrote:
With the various cameras and sensors fitted to autonomous vehicles, it should be easier to determine which party was at fault. I can imagine that fault analysis might be bounced around inside companies, but it should be quite clear cut as to who is at fault in any collision as claims wouldn’t need to identify anything other than which vehicle it is. It’s likely that manufacturers will provide their own liability insurance as otherwise owners might unearth trade secrets whilst trying to answer legal cases. That’s also a good example of ‘eating your own dogfood’ as poor collision avoidance will cost the manufacturer and provide an incentive to improve the software.
Quote:
I think all this is entirely dependent on what rules the manufacturers haggle the government to put into law. That includes “who is ultimately at fault” if all agree that “it was the car”. I don’t have an immediate example but I’m pretty sure companies selling complex tech products haven’t been above pointing at other companies and saying it was their fault.
So I sort of agree – although for cycling I think this is the usual “progress happens while we’re trying to get what we actually want“. All is speculation until we discover what our masters have signed us up for. Maybe the user licence agreement for these vehicles will also have a clause saying “it’s on you and if you’re not satisfied you’ve been had”? Or more likely “the government has agreed that you can’t take us to court directly and you have to apply to them”.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I know exactly what you mean about software providers pointing fingers (insert spiderman meme here), but I can’t see that being relevant for a RTC. Ultimately, the hurt party would be making a claim against the driver’s/manufacturer’s insurance, so it would only be necessary to prove that the vehicle/driver was responsible for the collision. The insurance company could then argue with various suppliers and/or the driver to get their money back, but that wouldn’t affect the original claimant.
I think aportioning blame
I think aportioning blame after collisions will have a moral and a financial dimension.
Suppose for every child taken out 1000 minor bumps in parking lots were avoided. If the cost of the 1000 bumps was greater than the compensation for the child then simple economics could determine the software version installed.
These two scenarios are not mutually exclusive, but consider the situation where a collision is unavoidable. Say a car is coming round a bend on the wrong side of the road, and a young mum is pushing a baby in a buggy on the footpath. Does the car go for the head on collision, or does it take out the mother and baby? Either way two lives are lost, but in the second case the person who has paid for the software survives.
I suspect teams of American Lawyers are working on get out clauses at this moment in time.
Cycloid wrote:
If the collision is unavoidable, then why would the car aim for the mum and baby?
Quibbling aside, that scenario is sometimes brought up and it’s extremely unlikely to happen. I would imagine that the autonomous car would detect the oncoming car earlier than a human driver and attempt to reduce speed as quickly as possible in a straight line to maintain full control. Swerving out of the way of a collision at speed is a poor evading tactic to use when it’s so much easier to just reduce speed.
Also, just imagine the bad publicity if the collision-swerving code has a bug and the manufacturer’s vehicles then have a habit of swerving wildly onto pavements when the only obstacle is a plastic bag in the wind.
Is this evidence that the
Is this evidence that the Teslas are actually becoming self-aware, and they find the Midwich Cuckoo bollards creepy too?