How not to park: Tesco delivery driver just misses cyclist; Why don’t cyclists use cycle lanes, No. 9,473; Eight miles of closed central London roads; Milan-San Remo anticipation (Van der Poel starts); Dowsett’s pre-race nerves + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
How not to park: Tesco delivery driver just misses cyclist
‘Every little helps’ presumably refers to how much extra space you should give this Tesco delivery driver whacking the van into a space, regardless of the cyclist waiting to ride off.
Hello @Tesco. Broom Rd, Teddington, TW11 9PQ, 11.11 this morning. My bike is on the road, I’m about to mount and move off. Your driver wants to park where I am so he just pretends I’m not there. Unbelievable. @RichmondCycling pic.twitter.com/Hp23lxFuZZ
— hauntedbastardmeat (@hauntedbastard) March 17, 2022
“My bike is on the road, I’m about to mount and move off. Your driver wants to park where I am so he just pretends I’m not there. Unbelievable,” the rider explained after this incident in Teddington yesterday morning.
Reporting supermarket drivers is a bit hit-and-miss, pardon the pun, with another rider predicting either no response or an all-too-public ‘ask you to DM us’ to get the angry mob off their back…
They rarely respond, same for all the supermarkets, they have only one directive to their drivers, get the job done and we don’t care how you do it
— Urban_Manc (@MancUrban) March 18, 2022
We’ve covered our fair share of dodgy delivery driving in our time…
> “That’s a human being” – Chris Boardman slams Sainsbury’s response to close pass video
In 2017, a cyclist sued Tesco for more than £100,000 after a delivery driver allegedly drove into and then over her in London.
Kate McElroy was riding to work in December when the driver pulled out in her path at the junction of Southwark Bridge Road and Great Guildford Street.
McElroy was knocked to the ground and went under the van. The driver is said to have driven over her, crushing her pelvis.
Why don't cyclists use cycle lanes, No. 9,473
Why Don’t Cyclists Use Cycle Lanes, pt 9,473: Lancaster pic.twitter.com/Z9kb1I5MWk
— Rob Ainsley (@realcycling) March 18, 2022
Another classic for the folder….
Eight miles of closed central London roads — RideLondon FreeCycle returns after two-year absence
RideLondon FreeCycle is back, returning to eight miles of closed central London roads on Sunday 29 May. Aimed at families and riders of all abilities, the traffic-free route passes many of London’s most famous streets and iconic landmarks including:
– Bank of England
– Guildhall Yard
– Holborn Viaduct
– London Eye
– Piccadilly
– Pall Mall
– Somerset House
– Southbank
– St Paul’s Cathedral
– Strand
– Trafalgar Square
– Waterloo Bridge
– Westminster Bridge
– Victoria Embankment
The day starts at 10.00, finishing at 15.00 and includes four Festival Zones at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Waterloo Place, Guildhall Yard and St Paul’s Churchyard and Paternoster Square.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of RideLondon, said: “RideLondon FreeCycle is a unique day. It’s wonderful and uplifting to see London’s most famous streets handed over to bicycles with riders of all ages and backgrounds on all sorts of different bikes enjoying traffic-free roads.”
'Twas the night before San-Remo...
Unfortunately, @Sammmy_Be is sick and therefore unable to participate in @Milano_Sanremo this weekend.
Get well soon, Sam 💪🏼👊🏼
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) March 18, 2022
Sam Bennett won’t be on the startline in Milan tomorrow, he’s sick, but most of the other stars will…Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar, Caleb Ewan, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Filippo Ganna, Primož Roglič…take your pick…who wins? How?
I’ll go Wout van Aert sprinting from a small group…hardly putting my neck on the line, I know…
Alex Dowsett's pre-race nerves
At this rate Milan San Remo is getting closer to being an individual TT than a bunch race 😬
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) March 18, 2022
In fairness, I’d get dropped in the neutral start…
Mathieu van der Poel, on the other hand, seems to be treating the 290km Monument as a training session…
#MVDP was added to the roster for MSR due to the several sick riders in the team and because his rehab has been going well. However, he will participate without expectations. The 293 km race was preferred over a training session on Saturday.
(complete lineup will follow soon)
— Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team (@AlpecinFenix) March 18, 2022
So…50km three-up break? Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pog?
POLL: Put your money where your mouth is — who wins Milan - San Remo?
Caleb Ewan out of Milan - San Remo through illness
Due to an illness Caleb Ewan will finally not take the start in Milan-Sanremo. The medical staff and Caleb Ewan waited until the final moment to take this difficult decision, but in the end it was the only option.
— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) March 18, 2022
Bad luck if you’re voting for Caleb Ewan in our ‘who wins San Remo poll…the two-time runner-up is out of the race through illness, his team has confirmed.
Expressing his disappointment, Ewan said: “I am disappointed that I am not able to take the start. I was in good form and ready for a hard race, but like many riders, I faced a stomach flu at the worst time. Together with the team we had to decide that it is better to now focus on different goals.”
Lincolnshire Police and Keele Uni to explore dash cam tech to improve road safety
Lincolnshire Police and Keele University have received £150k funding from The Road Safety Trust to explore how ‘Dash Cam’ technology can be used to reduce road offending and improve road safety.
The Road Safety Trust, dedicated to achieving zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads, awarded over £1million of funding for technology-focussed road safety projects through its main theme grants in 2021.
By working with Police Forces across the UK and a variety of road users, this project will establish how using dash cam footage can be utilised to contribute to road safety and provide guidance on the consistent handling of it.
Andy Cox, Detective Chief Superintendent, Head of Crime at Lincolnshire Police said: “In the UK, five people on average die in a road crash every single day. Road death is preventable and therefore we do not have to accept this devastation.
“The police cannot solve this alone and must work collaboratively with partners to reduce road danger. Additionally, we need the public’s support and this project seeks to evaluate the impact of enabling the public to report road crime via dashcam, headcam or a similar method.
“The police cannot be everywhere all of the time but the public can be and therefore I am confident this crucial work will identify the many benefits and further improve our approach in this area.
“I am excited to work with and support Keele University in undertaking the project and hugely grateful to The Road Safety Trust for its funding which has made this possible. In time, I believe the results will help understanding in this vital area and, as such, be an important component in eradicating road danger and making our roads safe.”
"This is a colleague announcement, there's a cyclist in aisle 6..."
No noise from Tesco yet about today’s main story on the live blog…
The suspense is killing me…
Don’t worry. @Tesco will look into it immediately pic.twitter.com/7GemaKKkcI
— Lockdown Cyclist (@LockdownCyclist) March 18, 2022
Forget the 290km...this is the real Milan - San Remo challenge...
Long before the glory of the Cipressa, Poggio and via Roma comes the peril of Milan’s cruel tramlines – as Gatis Smukulis found out in 2015… pic.twitter.com/f920EAZoo6
— Graham Watson (@grahamwatson10) March 18, 2022
New cycle routes planned for Plymouth
The Plymouth Herald is reporting a consultation on the city’s Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan has been launched, with four new routes being consulted on.
Cllr Jonathan Drean, cabinet member for transport said: “We were delighted that more than 700 people responded to the 2021 Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan consultation last summer and we’d really welcome residents’ thoughts on the 2022 routes as well. The comments received on the 2021 Plan helped shape the final proposals for the routes and we’re sure that users of these four new routes will have invaluable insights to help make cycling easier as well.
“We are committed to investing in walking and cycling and know this is important to you as well, with over four out of five respondents to the 2021 consultation agreeing that it was either extremely or very important to promote walking and cycling within Plymouth. The LCWIP will help inform future investment in walking and cycling infrastructure.”
Your Milan - San Remo winner is...
Drumroll please…
18 March 2022, 09:18
18 March 2022, 09:18
18 March 2022, 09:18
18 March 2022, 09:18
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Latest Comments
That's... not right. The prosecution has to* prove beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed, but not that every single detail of statements made by their witnesses is accurate. And HoarseMann is correct that it doesn't mean the same as "with absolute certainty", otherwise it would be "beyond *all* doubt". [* More accurately, should have to. In practice, when it comes to offences against cyclists, the system often does seem to demand that it's proven beyond unreasonable doubt as well, but that's not what the standard is supposed to be, or what's applied to other offences. ]
Completely agree. Neutralising GC half way through a stage is just utterly absurd. What are they thinking? Imagine if Del Toro had not made it back on in time, what would have happened then? He'd have lost the white jersey *because* of ASOs dumb decision to try protect the starting GC standings. Either the GC standings are frozen at the gun (still requiring them to finish) or they should be taken at the end of the stage.
I'm fine with GC being taken far from the line. Those who want to race can, and by God they did, and those who want to kick back and enjoy the last hour of the Tour waving to fans can do that, and by God they earned it.
HoarseMann, Beyond reasonable doubt means precisely that. If a witness statement mentions a distance "he was less than a metre from me" then the prosecution needs to be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the distance was less than a metre. Can't do that, then no conviction. It's a function of us not having a minimum passing distance law in the UK, the highway code gives a guide figure but certain cycling accounts push for this as an absolute figure which it isn't. This mena that the more precise people try to be in statements the less chance they have of a successful prosecution. It's a case of being careful what you wish for.
A while ago I spoke to a team leader for the Met police's unit that deals with dangerous driving reports. They said that the Met police seniors spoke to court/prosecution staff to find out which cases were most successfull, to work out which reports to prioritise/NFA as they are now getting too many to handle in a timely manner. I think this might have been after the 2022 highway code update and the answer was phone use given it is pretty much a slam dunk with good evidence. So I guess Wales police are basically taking this approach to the nth degree.
That last stage was EPIC. But, by neutralising the GC, it almost becomes a classic at the end of a grand tour. I want a bit of jeopardy all the way to the final finish line.
Well, no, because if the times are taken before they get to the climb there isn't going to be the terrain on which to make a 20-30 second difference, so it would be pointless, just as it was when it was a flat stage.
Matches the trend seen in other sports as well (particularly marathon running) where the drop off/wall isn’t there any more. Nutrition would be the legal explanation for it, and it does seem to have ‘flattened’ the risk profile for going for it in endurance sports, people don’t blow up like they used to. The tour is also gradually getting shorter. Pre 2011 it was usually over 3500km in total, and pre 1985 sometimes over 4000km, whereas there’s only been 3 since 2011 over 3500km. (This year was the shortest tour since 1905). So you’ve got athletes better prepared, better fuelled and with less risk of failure from riding hard all day, racing over shorter distances on better bikes (again like how marathon runners now have modern super shoes). When you put it like that it’s not surprising they’re going a lot faster!
Someone needs to tell these police forces that "beyond reasonable doubt" does not mean "with absolute certainty", especially when the penalty is a minor fine or, more likely, an education course.
@OnYerBike Just scrolling past the thumbnail of that video, I assumed they were quoting minutes and seconds, not seconds! Though to be fair, they were using a mains powered angle grinder, I assume a cordless would take a bit longer.
33 thoughts on “How not to park: Tesco delivery driver just misses cyclist; Why don’t cyclists use cycle lanes, No. 9,473; Eight miles of closed central London roads; Milan-San Remo anticipation (Van der Poel starts); Dowsett’s pre-race nerves + more on the live blog”
Unfortunately, the most
Unfortunately, the most surprising thing about this video is the complete absence of loud swearing.
“Hey, driver, since you have
“Hey, driver, since you have such difficulty parking, you probably need some help unloading… OOPS! Butter fingers!”
“OOOPS! And again!”
“Oh, no! All over the road! That could have been ME, you f*%@&*g t*&t!”
The International Energy
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has just published a “10-Point Plan to Cut Oil Use” in response to the Russia/Ukraine supply crunch. Some ideas in there that will be familiar to many readers of this site.
https://www.iea.org/reports/a-10-point-plan-to-cut-oil-use
Strangely, they fight shy of
Strangely, they fight shy of suggesting people actually replace car journeys with bicycle journeys, and the small accommodations that would enable this – secure parking, relaxing the dress code, etc.
Essentially a good plan but
Essentially a good plan but it could be expanded with more restrictions on private car use. Filtered access, motor traffic bans/restrictions in towns/cities, removal of on street parking, road pricing, vehicle tax, etc.
It is OK to incentivise public transport, walking and cycling but that goes hand in hand with changing the environment to favour these forms of transport.
My car is off the road for a
My car is off the road for a week so my kids are cycling 12km to school at the mo. We have to get up early but it’s *awesome!
*teenagers have other opinions on the matter
And I made the mistake of
And I made the mistake of looking at the twitter comments…. it’s depressing that there are so many idiots who think that the cyclist is the one in the wrong not the tesco driver.
I’ve been berated by more
I’ve been berated by more than one driver for refusing to move on the pavement to allow them to park.
TriTaxMan wrote:
The ignorance and hatred demonstrated on social media is appalling. I think we’re some distance from a system where insurers are notified about the lack of knowledge or willful disregard for rules and safety that people have. However, we could surely have a system where someone ends up in front of the police, a view of thoer social media activity is considered as a potential aggravating factor.
E.g. near miss approaching a junction from someone who two weeks prior said on arse book they are looking forward to claiming another cyclist. Still want to nip?
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
Wasn’t that pretty much the reason Charlie Alliston got treated so harshly? His social media comments after the collision were, erm, ‘problematic’ (allegedly).
That and choosing to ride a
That and choosing to ride a bike instead of driving a car.
Words fail me
Words fail me
https://twitter.com/realcycling/status/1504724855983386624
I had the same experience
I had the same experience yesterday but with a white van instead of a car.
As I approached the van the driver appeared and apologised which took the heat out of the situation.
On the Tesco thing, I started
On the Tesco thing, I started watching it and genuinely thought, “That wasn’t so bad”.
And then the Tesco van appeared again, where the driver was reversing…
brooksby wrote:
Literally this
I’m surprised the cyclist did
I’m surprised the cyclist did not pistol whip the driver with the available produce. A swift cucumber thrashing across the jaw was in order.
Awful driver awareness.
I know this isn’t cycling
I know this isn’t cycling related but, on the basis that he probably drove past a number of cyclists, it probably is cycle safety.
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/judge-warned-for-conducting-hearing-while-driving/5111882.article
Shouldn’t he have been sacked? He was neither fully concentrating on his job nor on driving. The danger to other road users must have been high
In 2 minds about this one as
In 2 minds about this one, as when I caught him at half a mile later at the lights, he did immediately apologise. On the other hand, it is bloody close.
Nice to get an apology, but
Nice to get an apology, but seeing a van was coming the other way too. Yikes! Hopefully it has made them a bit more aware for the future.
Checked the return trip and
Checked the return trip and no better
Love the cycle sticker.
hmm, I probably would let
hmm, I probably would let them off with the apology, unless they were also speeding.
Passes like this are just so common I now ride in primary almost all the time. I suspect this Audi would have given me even less room on my last ride. Only me being in the middle of the lane meant they had to slam-on rather than pass at 60mph with the 2ft gap they were lining up for. Gave plenty of room when they did go by too.
Trouble is the road is fairly
Trouble is the road is fairly straight and NSL and uphill, so I’m only doing about 10 mph. I find the speed differential too great for primary. 30 is about my max for primary.
I still had the winter tyres
I still had the winter tyres on and not feeling great, only doing about 12mph on a NSL, so quite a high speed differential. I wouldn’t do this without a mirror, and it is a bit disconcerting watching cars approach at speed then suddenly slam-on. But I’ve got used to it now and prefer it to the alternative. Not for everyone though and you do get the odd ‘road rage’ pass that is probably triggered by my road position.
You ride in primary @ 12 mph
You ride in primary @ 12 mph on a 60 mph single carriageway? ballsy..
Looking at the picture of the
Looking at the picture of the Audi not sporty not very utilitarian vehicle next to the Polo…
On current car size trends, in 20 years will stupid people need both lanes of the road for their 20 foot wide 4x4s adventuring through the wilds of suburban jungles?
And how soon do those things get reclassified as needing a different grade of driving licence?
That was one of the ‘smaller’
That was one of the ‘smaller’ Audi SUVs too.
@grog Controlling the lane on a fast road like that is not as bad as you might think, but it does take some getting used to. I get much better passes and even the nutters have to slow down before they do their thing.
HoarseMann wrote:
I used to trundle down a 50mph limit, 70/80 mph in practice dual carriageway. There were a few close calls but generally speaking I think motorists were so shocked to see me that they gave me loads of space.
I knew where the cycle path was, just took me a while to work out how to get on to it (under pass, service road, gated back area of a large transport hub, and down the side of some buildings that looked like private land but wasn’t)
TheBillder wrote:
That made me think of this I spotted the other day. I wonder if the driver of this 2,000kg 4×4 realised they weren’t supposed to park in the leisure centre car park…
On current car size trends,
On current car size trends, in 20 years will stupid people need both lanes of the road for their 20 foot wide 4x4s adventuring through the wilds of suburban jungles?
Where these stupid people think they’re going, they won’t need roads! They will be looking down from their Flying Tiger Tanks powered by Magic at all the scum grovelling about on the few bits of land left above the waves
Another unsecured load.
Another unsecured load. Cyclist dodges half tonne hay bale. Sorry, can only find a DM link.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10622771/Cyclist-narrowly-avoids-crushed-half-tonne-hay-bale-falls-trailer-VIDEO.html
That could have been nasty,
That could have been nasty, unsecured load, unforgivable.
….then you read the DM comments section!!!
lllnorrislll wrote:
I’m not falling for that again.
Bloody hell, that was awful
Bloody hell, that was awful
Boils down to cyclist should have known the bale of hay would come off and had the foreknowledge to get his timing right
Should have stopped knowing the bale would not have fallen off at that point.
Cyclist was going too fast as opposed to the normal going too slow.
And these people have a vote…