Traffic Wales South faced a furious backlash after advising riders ‘not to ride at night’* for their own safety.
The organisation is the Welsh Government’s traffic information service for the motorway and major road network.
Earlier this week they posted an image on social media giving ‘five safe tips for being a bicyclist’.
Controversially, it included the advice: “Avoid riding at night”.
This sparked an immediate backlash with people expressing their disgust at the apparent ‘victim blaming’.
Shortly after, Traffic Wales South deleted the image.
> 6 tips for cycling at night – don’t let the dark stop you riding
One man, Richard Lake, commented: “‘Avoid riding at night….’ that’s plain discrimination right there…
“Folk who commute to work do not have that choice at some workplaces. Victim blaming yet again.”
Another person described the advice, which also suggested people ‘avoid road hazards’ as ‘obscene’.
Traffic Wales South has not responded to a request for comment.
* Update, Monday 24th May: As covered on our live blog, Traffic Wales South has now responded to road.cc, saying: “We intended to convey the message “please avoid riding at night without lights” – this tweet was sent out in error. We have since apologised for the error and have removed the tweet so that it is not shared out of context. We want to encourage everyone to travel on our network safely by sharing traffic information and safety advice which is useful to all road users.”
41 thoughts on “Traffic monitoring group slammed after telling cyclists not to ride at night”
Just ill-considered ‘advice’
Just ill-considered ‘advice’ that was probably put together by somebody who doesn’t actually ride a bike in a worthless social media post, like so many others.
Apart from the ridiculous final point, the first is debatable and the middle three are just “how to ride a bike”, I don’t think any cyclist would make it far without them.
Some extra tips:
Some extra tips:
“Only cycle where there aren
“Only cycle where there aren’t any cars or lorries”
You say that like it’s outlandish rather than an excellent general approach. But who doesn’t prefer riding in such places? We all know that’s much safer where it’s an option.
Shut up now Dave, there’s a
Shut up now Dave, there’s a good chap.
Dave Dave wrote:
It’s almost exactly like telling women to avoid going out at night or wearing skirts etc to avoid being attacked by men.
hawkinspeter wrote:
You sound a bit rapey. It’s completely different.
Dave Dave wrote:
Precisely how is it different?
One is a piece of advice to caution people against going about their legal business due to the criminal behaviour of others (i.e. victim blaming) and the other one is…?
Actually, I don’t care for your opinions so I think I’ll add you to my troll block list.
never on a Sunday, right,
never on a Sunday, right, lads?
4 pm winter curfew, is it?
my other tips to you to not to be a stupid car centric victim blamer:
stop with the bike helmets advice – if I die, it will be because a driver wasn’t doing their job properly not because no helmet
lights at night are a very good idea and there are so many bright and cheap so make some suggestions about that
Get out on a bike yourself once in a while and see how your “advice” then feels; beyond a few basic safety tips, your main topics will be drivers, driver, and drivers.
I wonder if they ever post
I wonder if they ever post tips about ‘How to be a safe driver’?
And not just for those inside the tonne+ tin can.
Looking for the silver lining… perhaps this is an opportunity to engage constructively? Most people don’t actually want to be wrong but are more likely to learn if engaged positively, rather than just be shouted at that they’re stupid (even if they are).
To be fair, the advice to
To be fair, the advice to drivers is pretty decent, although what happened to point 6 – I think we should be told.
David9694 wrote:
I think point 6 was to sacrifice other road users to your deity of choice.
Seems OK, but then we stumble
Seems OK, but then we stumble across the passive attribution – in more subtle form, this time – that causes “cars to collide with cyclists” or “cars travelling along a road” (all of their own accord, of course).
In this instance, under “8. Be patient…”:
“If you’re stuck behind a slow vehicle or a cyclist it can be very frustrating”
Should read:
“If you’re stuck behind a slow vehicle or a cyclist don’t allow yourself to become very frustrated”
Agency is everything. Frustration is not an external constraint, it’s an emotional response to an external constraint. Let’s communicate in a way that tells motorists to be in control of their emotions, because our emotions influence how we drive. (Cyclists too, but, you know, we don’t generally kill people!)
What are people complaining
What are people complaining about? It’s true. It’d be great if it wasn’t true*, but it simply is. Riding at night is significantly more dangerous than in the daytime, and I would strongly advise novice/rusty cyclists – the people the police were aiming at – to plan rides that ought to conclude in daylight.
[*Yes, I know, it’s partly the police’s job. But mainly making roads safe for cyclists needs new legislation, and what police can do given current law is nowhere near enough even if they actually do it.]
I commute all year round in
I commute all year round in non-Covid times at least. Are you telling me I should stop cycling for at least a quarter of the year? And where does it say ‘if you’re a beginner cyclist’ on their post, or did you just make that up?
They gave some basic advice
They gave some basic advice for beginners. It’s obviously not intended for people who ride regularly, from the nature of the advice.
Dave Dave wrote:
How do you know it’s not aimed at regular riders?
And it’s still bollocks, it puts the emphasis on instructing the victim what to do while ignoring the real causes of the vast majority of collisions.
Why shouldn’t beginners ride at night? Who tells ‘beginner’ drivers to avoid driving at night?
IIRC accident stats show
IIRC accident stats show cycling at night with lights is safer than cycling during the day (yes, seriously…)
Probably because modern bike lights are so good they get confused for motorbikes etc so you are far less likely to be driven into, combined with less off road cycling (who rides singletrack in the dark (you know the one place helmets actually do something useful…))
qwerty360 wrote:
I suspect it has as much to do with roads being less busy, so drivers can overtake properly with no delay. Also it’s a bit harder for them to see exactly where you are when they come alongside, so they don’t try to prove the skills in the least fag papers (between car and cyclist) challenge
Lots of things are more
Lots of things are more dangerous at night – but not because of what the potential victims are doing.
Some activities and groups (cycling, walking, being female, old, being from a minority group, being alone, etc.) are more at risk in daylight too – again not because of their own actions.
Where is the line for putting the responsibility for harm and criminality onto potential victims going about their lawful business?
Dave Dave wrote:
What are you basing that statement on? It is fundamentally impossible to be as visible to cars during the day as you can be at night with good lights and a decent amount of reflective gear.
Just fuck off back in the
Just fuck off back in the hole you crawled out of please.
doesn’t feel that way to me,
doesn’t feel that way to me, I have far fewer close passes at night. any stats to back that up? Corrected to remove unlit (ninja) cyclists
Depends what you are trying
Depends what you are trying to do Dave Dave.
The greatest risk to a cyclist is at night, so advise cyclists not to cycle at night – obvious.
The greatest toll of injury to cyclists occurs during the day, so advise cyclists not to cycle during the day either – equally obvious.
The problem with both bits of well meaning advice is that they don’t address the cause of injury to cyclists, they simply eliminate cycling. That only makes sense if cycling were an activity we were seeking to eliminate or even reduce – it isn’t. Motoring, however…
So really, the advice should be to motorists, “Don’t risk the life of a cyclist, avoid driving at night.”
Have you got some statistics
Have you got some statistics to back up this statement that night time is more dangerous?
In this French study, 79% of fatal cycle accidents happened during the day: https://www.onisr.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2019-03/VOIESUR_Cyclistes.pdf (there’s a nice graphic on page 7 which is easily understandable even if you don’t know French). Of course, this wouldn’t prove that daytime cycling is more dangerous because more than 79% of cycle journeys might be made in daytime. However, looking at the table shows that peak times for deaths seem to coincide with peak times for motor vehicule traffic.
The bullets are written in
The bullets are written in “Title Case”, which could mean they link to a longer article elsewhere. For example, a quick browse on their website comes up with ‘how to stay safe on the road’ – https://traffic.wales/stay-safe-on-the-road. But yeah the Tweet was crap out of context.
The page is sub-divided,
The page is sub-divided, strangely such that cyclists are bracketed with motor-cyclists, so the advice is a bit of a mish-mash.
PS Just to confirm, the source is a branch of the Welsh government.
Whoeve wrote these “Top Tips”
Whoever wrote these “Top Tips” is struggling with the English Language!
There is also another gem in their Top Tips: “Choose a different day if inclement weather is in the forecast”, so they’re telling you to leave your bike at home unless the sun is shining. I read somewhere that it rains 270 days a year in parts of Wales, which means that you should practically never ride a bike in Wales, if you follow the official advice.
JN35000 wrote:
makes perfect sense, because cycling is an elective leisure activity. Another reason why cyclists really should not be getting in the way of motorists who are there of necessity! (yes, that was sarcasm – on my part. I assume the advice was given in all sincerity however).
This would be the same Wales
This would be the same Wales with the Active Travel Act would it? Maybe Traffic Wales South should concentrate on what causes the danger rather than the victims.
Honestly, trying to educate the highway authorities in the UK makes Sisyphus and his rock look inviting. We’ve been saying the same thing for at least forty years, all ministers have agreed, but still we need to explain things in words of one syllable for what feels like the vast majority of the people who plan and run our transport systems.
Amateurish advice bordering
Amateurish advice bordering on the negligent – they omitted “Avoid riding during the day”.
Sriracha wrote:
Looking at 2019 and 2020’s road fatality statistics we should also add…
It seems we should only travel by train, which is the safest form of transport (though I’m unsure how to get to the station).
This just shows what a
This just shows what a visionary force Northumbria is! It was weeks ago when they fired the first sally in this victim blaming war on cyclists by the police: they warned cyclists not to ride at busy times. I’m assuming this is part of a trial scheme by the ACPO, where different forces compete to be the ones to first issue the ‘advice’ on when cyclists are permitted to cycle to avoid being terminated by unfortunate motorists who are forced to damage their vehicles on cyclists who are not obeying the ‘advice’. Now we have ‘night’ added to the ‘No Go’ periods, while they see what they can get away with. What next? Saturdays can get pretty busy, but that’s already been taken care of by Northumbria. Still, the outlook’s bright for us between 2-7 am on Sunday mornings in November and Christmas Day as a special treat for children with new bikes.
Essex seem to be back on
Essex seem to be back on track
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19319433.watch-safer-essex-roads-partnership-releases-shocking-close-pass-footage/
“Where digital evidence highlights, Essex Police will not hesitate to take action against those who drive carelessly or dangerous near cyclists and fail to give sufficient space when passing. “
I have had more success recently and one of the ones in the video is very similar to my range rover one that they are doing something about.
I have had more success
I have had more success recently and one of the ones in the video is very similar to my range rover one that they are doing something about
Good news H! I’m glad there has been recovery at Essex Police since the nadir of ‘if the cyclist doesn’t wobble or brake, the pass wasn’t close enough’. I’m beginning to feel really isolated up here in Lancashire, the home of motor-vehicle worshipping backwoods policing where cyclists are viewed as equivalent to the canoeists in ‘Deliverance’ getting their just desserts, and the police officers are like the ‘other’ player in Duelling Banjos. Cycling Mikey is doing well in London- he shouts ‘you’ll get points and a fine’ and they do! He’d have a tougher time up here.
Trike riders & unicylists
Trike riders & unicylists aren’t covered by their advice, so . . . there’re opportunities to fight back 🙂
Trike riders & unicylists
Trike riders & unicylists aren’t covered by their advice
Good point! I missed that loophole for vigilante unicyclists and cavalier Hell’s Tricyclist gangs intent on flouting the restrictions- I wonder if Northumbria’s restrictions included the same error?
“Bicyclist” is a rather old
“Bicyclist” is a rather old-fashioned term, according to the Collins Dictionary, for someone who enjoys cycling. So it’s alright to cycle at night in South Wales if you’re not enjoying it, which you probably won’t be with all the dangerous motorists on the roads.
“See and be seen”
“See and be seen”
Are we supposed to police if dopey drivers are even looking at the road now too?
I can wear bright fluorescent clothing, but if a driver doesn’t see me then i can’t control that, and they probably shouldn’t be driving.
Someone posted this one
Someone posted this one recently
Contrast is important !
I know Wales is further west
I know Wales is further west than where I live, but I’m fairly sure people still finish work after sunset in the winter.
Are these people suggesting cyclists should be allowed to leave work earlier, because they think it is impossible to keep the roads safe during the hours of darkness?
wycombewheeler wrote:
I’ve had people working in my office who seem to get far longer and more frequent breaks by virtue (?) of being smokers… Only seems fair if cyclists can leave early 😉