Cabbie’s anti-cycling tweets backfire; Bora-Hansgrohe development rider killed while training; Pimlico Plumbers worker on phone at wheel; 12 hour TT record broken; Orlando Bloom’s unorthodox cycling attire; Audi slammed for ad + more on live blog
SUMMARY
Weekend catch-up
Enjoying cycling too much to read about cycling over the sun-soaked weekend? Here’s what you missed…
Cycling club chairman complains of being held up by cyclists riding two abreast
North Wales Police to hand out brightly-coloured gilets to “less visible” cyclists
Rapha criticised over Pantani water bottle text’s links to eating disorders
Police appeal after three cyclists killed in Cleveland area in less than a fortnight
Near Miss of the Day 448: Transit van driver in very close pass
£700 to go faster, what would you buy?
Engine
— George Bright (@halfrust) August 3, 2020
It’s a no-brainer.
Joe Skipper breaks 12 hour time trial record, reportedly riding 326 miles
CC Breckland 12 hour complete, Provisional British record with 326 miles! 👍👌 https://t.co/P47sPoHBHi
— Joe Skipper (@Noaveragejoe88) August 2, 2020
At the British 12 Hour Time Trial Championships yesterday, the triathlete claims to have completed 326 miles (524.5km) over the 12 hour period, which would give a monstrous average speed of 27.1mph (43.7km/h). Data from Wahoo Elemnt Live Track shows a ride of 342 miles, but the duration is 12:39:24, meaning that this presumably includes a warm-up and cool-down. If the effort is confirmed by Cycling Time Trials, this would better the previous mark of 321.44 miles set by Adam Duggleby in 2018 by almost five miles.
Skipper thought he’d broken the record and won the British title last year with a 325 mile ride, but the effort wasn’t recognised after he reportedly made a wrong turn during the ride.
The women’s 12 hour record is held by Alice Lethbridge, who completed 290.07 miles in 2018 to better her 2017 record by almost five miles – the 2017 record came 50 years after the previous mark set by the legendary Beryl Burton.
Cycling Time Trials have not published the official 2020 results yet, but we’ll update when we have the full details.
Join us at 7pm tonight on Zwift!
We’re back on Zwift tonight at 7pm for another chance to win some socks! It’s a category D week so the pace won’t be too hot, and the route is Watopia’s Waistband which is pretty flat. Should be well under an hour! Come and join us.
https://www.zwift.com/events/view/983776
Cyclist "deliberately" reversed over by driver in Fleetwood
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Lancashire Police are appealing for information as part of an attempted murder investigation, after a cyclist was left seriously injured after reportedly being deliberately knocked down and then reversed over by a driver in Fleetwood.
The police appeal says that a man in his 20’s was cycling on the pavement at around 1.35pm on 2nd August, when he was hit by a Peugeot 206. The driver then reversed over him and left the scene, leaving the cyclist with serious arm and leg injuries. Following enquiries, a man in his 20’s was arrested in connection with the incident.
Detective Chief Inspector Alisa Wilson of Blackpool Police commented: “We have launched an investigation after a cyclist was seriously injured in Fleetwood today.
“Our enquiries suggest a man was deliberately targeted and we are appealing for information.
“While we have made an arrest we are particularly keen to speak to any witnesses. Furthermore if you have dash cam footage of the incident, or CCTV which shows the area, please come forward and contact us immediately.”
Pimlico Plumbers worker caught using phone at the wheel by Cycling Mikey
Hi Mikey, thank you for reporting this, we will be investigating and the Engineer will be being brought in for a disciplinary meeting.
Regards
Pimlico
— Pimlico (@PimlicoPlumbers) August 3, 2020
Charlie Mullins, the boss of one of Britain’s largest independent plumbing companies, made cycling headlines last week when he tasked his PR staff with producing a poster saying that cyclists were “taking f**king liberties”, including an additional blog post that originally complained about “cycle fascists” and cycle lanes holding up traffic. He’s also made other headlines over the weekend for sacking some of his furloughed staff which is another story entirely, but today it’s back to cycling as prolific camera cyclist Mike Van Erp – otherwise known as Cycling Mikey – appears to have caught one of Mullins’ workers using a phone at the wheel.
According to Van Erp, the driver in the Pimlico Plumbers vehicle was scrolling through the website of luxury fashion house Balenciaga, and added: “He’s very lucky he was scrolling through pictures, rather than browsing online or messaging, so not enough evidence to prosecute under the current and very out of date laws. Otherwise his insurance would likely double at next renewal after a conviction.”
Hi Mikey, thank you for reporting this, we will be investigating and the Engineer will be being brought in for a disciplinary meeting.
Regards
Pimlico
— Pimlico (@PimlicoPlumbers) August 3, 2020
This morning Pimlico Plumbers have replied, saying they will hold a disciplinary meeting with the engineer in question. On the question of whether the driver was committing a prosecutable offence? More on that soon…
Breaking: Danish Tour de France Grand Depart moved to 2022
Meddelelse fra Grand Départ Copenhagen Denmark 2021 I/S Via Ritzau: Tour de France starter i Danmark i 2022 https://t.co/22hm2Ib2TQ
— Pressemeddelelser Via Ritzau (@ViaRitzau) August 3, 2020
The media in Denmark is reporting that the Grand Depart in Copenhagen that was set for the 2021 edition of the race has been moved back to 2022 – full story to follow.
Cardiff tops 'unsafe for cycling' list... despite being named 'best cycling city' in another survey last month
Is Cardiff very bad and very good for cycling all at once? Insurance firm Cycleplan have recently found that the Welsh capital is the city where most cyclists feel unsafe, with 71% reporting that they feel Cardiff is unsafe for cycling. This is despite a survey published by Komoot just three weeks ago suggesting that Cardiff is the UK’s top city for cycling, scoring an average of 3.12 out of 5 on a range of factors. Furthermore, research compiled by comparison site MoneySupermarket in June found that Cardiff is Britain’s bike theft capital, with 183 bikes nicked per 100,000 residents.
Cardiff: a city of cycling contradictions?
Orlando Bloom joins cycling boom: but his attire has raised some eyebrows
It’s great that Orlando Bloom is cycling, but… 😳 pic.twitter.com/Mt6jgIzaSw
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) August 3, 2020
The Hollywood star was papped riding around Malibu at the weekend, aboard a bike from boutique Czech brand Festka according to the Daily Mail.
Naw. That’s how you even it out after you’ve been wearing a jersey. 😉
— Colin Lynch (@FormerTTchamp) August 3, 2020
Shocking, looks very much like the arms of his shades might be inside the helmet straps.
— Edward Qualtrough (@QedwardRobert) August 3, 2020
Cycling Twitter is a little concerned about his choice of outfit, with the 43-year-old opting for (what looks to be) compressive arm sleeves and a tank top instead of the traditional jersey. Bloom has also allegedly committed one of the cardinal cycling snob sins of putting the arms of his shades inside his helmet straps; although he is commended for wearing white socks that appear to be of an acceptable length.
“As long as you’re riding a bike you’re doing it right. As long as…” pic.twitter.com/2d2RYsgL5Y
— al barcheski, jr (@alchemistbbc) August 3, 2020
We’ll echo the sentiment of the comment above: he’s riding his bike, which is always a good thing.
Audi score spectacular own goal with latest advert
With a top speed of 174mph this car should be illegal based on how many kids it will likely kill through both speed and contributory pollution. Instead you want to sell this car USING A CHILD? Probably Audi’s lowest moment
— HRM Safe Cities for Everyone (@safe_hrm) August 2, 2020
The post advertising Audi’s RS 4 has attracted hundreds of (mostly negative) comments, with many noting that the photo of a child leaning on the car’s grille is a perfect example of how the car’s design is flawed. One commented: “Nice that you show how easily children can be killed by your cars.”
Audi have replied to the Twitter thread, saying: “We hear you and let’s get this straight: We care for children. The Audi RS 4 is a family car with more than thirty driver assistance systems including an emergency break system. That’s why we showcased it with various family members for the campaign.
“We hoped we could convey these messages, showing that even for the weakest traffic participants it is possible to relaxingly lean on the RS technology. That was a mistake! Audi never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings.
“We sincerely apologise for this insensitive image and ensure that it will not be used in future. We will also immediately examine internally, how this campaign has been created and if control mechanisms failed in this case.”
Gran Trittico Lombardo: wet
Describe the feeling of these riders in one GIF😅👇#GranTritticoLombardo pic.twitter.com/wf0RGbJt9A
— Astana Pro Team (@AstanaTeam) August 3, 2020
Mood #GranTritticoLombardo pic.twitter.com/UnAIKN4yHo
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) August 3, 2020
As well as the riders themselves, coverage of the race on Eurosport 2 is also currently being interrupted by the poor weather. Riders in action include Vincenzo Nibali, Greg Van Avermaet and Gianni Moscon.
First ever British Gravel Championships to go ahead in September
One of the main hurdles Brits face when jumping on the gravel bandwagon is that we simply don’t have much gravel… but we’re told there is enough in Suffolk’s Kings Forest for the King’s Cup Gravel Festival to host the inaugural British Gravel Championships between 25-27 September.
Promising a “unique event”, there will be multiple categories for all abilities as well as the Championships themselves, including a Gravel Fondo, a team relay and family riding events. Director Tom Caldwell commented: “We’re thrilled to be hosting the first-ever British Gravel Championships at the King’s Cup Gravel Festival. This will be a truly exciting event, which will see all abilities of riders taking on various events throughout the weekend. Not only will those riders who like to ride on gravel and off-road terrains be able to ride alongside thousands of other riders but we’ll also get to see some top amateur riders race for the British title and jersey.”
To pandemic-proof the event as much as possible, participants simply register for free and pay later if the event goes ahead as planned. If the situation changes and it has to be moved, the organisers say there are contingency plans in place to move the event to October or 2021.
Pre-registration has just launched today, click here for more details.
More space for cycling = more space for everyone, says British Cycling
More space for cycling means more space for everyone 👍
#ChooseCycling pic.twitter.com/R7Q3WceEIN— British Cycling (@BritishCycling) August 3, 2020
The graphic serves to highlight how giving space to cyclists and pedestrians most definitely doesn’t mean reducing space for cars, despite what some service companies and radio presenters would have you believe…
Confirmed: Joe Skipper lands new 12 hour TT record
Cycling Time Trials have confirmed the 32-year-old pro triathlete is the new record holder, with his effort rounded down to a provisional 325.5 miles. On the day he finished 19 miles ahead of Tom Thornely in second place, who covered 306.5 miles. The women’s winner was Kim Barfoot-Brace of Bath CC, whose 272.7 mile effort means that Alice Lethbridge’s 2018 record of 290 miles remains intact.
Cycling Mikey's latest catch: could driver really avoid prosecution despite using a phone at the wheel?
He’s very lucky he was scrolling through pictures, rather than browsing online or messaging, so not enough evidence to prosecute under the current and very out of date laws. Otherwise his insurance would likely double at next renewal after a conviction.
— ⚫ CyclingMikey aka Bike Gandalf 🇪🇺🇳🇱🇿🇼 (@MikeyCycling) August 1, 2020
Mike Van Erp – aka Cycling Mikey – claimed that the driver of a Pimlico Plumbers vehicle who he caught using a phone could not be prosecuted, because there isn’t actual evidence that he was communicating with the device.
There is indeed a legal loophole that has been exploited in the past to get drivers off charges relating to mobile phone use. The BBC reported last year that Ramsey Barreto successfully appealed a guilty conviction for using his phone to film a crash in 2017, because his lawyers argued that the 51-year-old “wasn’t using it to communicate.” A spokesperson for Mr Barreto’s law firm commented at the time: “We’ve been arguing that unless police can prove beyond reasonable doubt that what someone was doing was actually communicating, it wasn’t an offence to be using a smartphone.”
High Court judges then complained that the law needed amending to account for the rise of smartphones, which of course do plenty more than communicate while being a dangerous distraction.
Grant Shapps promised an urgent review, saying that the law should also include browsing the internet and searching playlists while driving… but as far as we know, due to other events the changes haven’t yet come to fruition. It means that the driver in the footage above would likely escape six penalty points and a £200 fine for “using a hand-held phone when driving” if it couldn’t be proved he was communicating by browsing the website; although, on the lesser charge of ‘not being in proper control of a motor vehicle’ under the Road Traffic Act 1988 this would certainly qualify as an offence, netting anyone found guilty three penalty points and a £100 fine.
Funnily enough, the updated section on the gov.uk website now reads: “Section 41D is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 03 August 2020.”
Taxi driver's tweets featuring families cycling and a queue of cars backfire spectacularly
Is this what we really want to see on the morning school run ???? pic.twitter.com/5zJOm37321
— Streets Back, Or Buy Us Out (@thomasthetaxi) July 31, 2020
There we go, mate. Fixed it for you. Don’t mention it. 👍 https://t.co/4aYwH9bY7q
— Cllr Jon Burke (@jonburkeUK) August 1, 2020
Yes please! And even better: If we build protected cycle lanes children can cycle to school independently (just like the “good old days”)!!! pic.twitter.com/B3w2TbwYSW
— Toby Edwards (@IsSaddleThereIs) July 31, 2020
Absolutely wonderful, yes. No pollution, safe, healthy, friendly, for humans not machines.
What I can’t understand is how you got to a place where you think this is a bad thing. 🤷♀️
— Elisabeth Anderson (@velobetty) August 1, 2020
That is exactly what we want, replied almost 3,000 people to the owner of a Twitter account called ‘Streets Back, Or Buy Us Out’.
I see that the MAMIL’s are now claiming that it’s not the cycle lanes causing the extra congestion on Euston Road
They are saying it’s the cars
Well they would say that wouldn’t they 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2vAy9zBAiR— Streets Back, Or Buy Us Out (@thomasthetaxi) August 3, 2020
Seeing a lot of private vehicles there. Let’s hope they are not holding up emergency services or people who have no alternative than using a car.
— Kevin Clarke (@Kurako76) August 3, 2020
I’m loving your undercover pro-cycling posts. Very effective.
— Aoin kitzle mich da drunter Douglas (@aoindouglas) August 3, 2020
You’ve quite literally shown us a video of cars causing congestion.
— Matt Woods (@MatthewPWoods) August 3, 2020
If that wasn’t enough to make the account’s owner slightly consider his viewpoint, he’s struck again by posting a video of a large queue of cars on Euston Road – with no bicycles in sight – complaining that ‘MAMIL’s’ say extra congestion is caused by car rather than cycle lanes… although the footage appears to clearly demonstrate that the motor vehicles are causing the congestion in this instance. Is @thomasthetaxi a cycle campaigner in disguise?
Bora-Hansgrohe development rider, 17, killed on training ride
A 17-year-old rider for Bora-Hansgrohe’s under-19 development team was killed while training with his team-mates when, according to the team’s website, a driver failed to give way to the riders.
Jan Riedmann was taken to hospital in Würzburg by helicopter after the incident in Sugenheim on Saturday but died there yesterday, the team said.
It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Jan Riedmann, a rider from our U19 squad, Team Auto Eder Bayern, after a tragic accident this weekend.
Our sincere condolences to Jan’s family & friends.
In honour of Jan, our riders will wear ribbons at Milan-San Remo. pic.twitter.com/cFQNOiXVyH
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) August 3, 2020
3 August 2020, 08:44
Our cycle repair scheme is better than yours, Scotland tells England
Scotland Cycle Repair Scheme launches – with £50 repair and maintenance for free
No voucher required for scheme launched through Scottish government and delivered via Cycling UK
3 August 2020, 08:44
A cocktail of improved safety, more comfort and better ventilation, claim Kask of the revamped Mojito lid
Kask launches safer and comfier Mojito3 helmet with new shell shape
There's more ventilation and improved impact protection, claims Kask
3 August 2020, 08:44
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Latest Comments
@mctrials23 I wasn't thinking of identifying poor driving, which is obviously tricky without supplementary evidence, but given the huge amount of incidents that involve excessive speed GPS for keeping people to the speed limit is perfectly valid; even if there were issues with identifying the exact speed at any point, if it can be measured (as you can) that somebody has gone from point A to point B, a mile apart, on a 20 mph road in two minutes instead of three then get the fine and points in the post. Remove excessive speed and you remove the cause of numerous injury and fatality incidents.
@Sheen wheels I have a version of the R8100 and you definitively need ceramic for the socket Oh no, you don't! Ceramic sockets pretty rare and, as far as I know, only with ceramic and not metal 'ball' (femoral head)
@mitsky Its another one of those things that makes no sense isn't it. Someone was saying in another thread that we need a harder driving test. I don't think we do. Everyone who has passed in the last 20 years has done a test that is more than happy to fail you for behaviour that 90% of drivers exhibit every time they get behind the wheel. The test is fine. The fact that getting your license seems to be considered some weird proof that you will continue to drive safely is the issue. The fact that when you prove that you cannot drive safely its not immediately revoked is the issue.
@Rendel Harris The issue with GPS chips, as everyone who has one of those black boxes will attest to, is that they are crap. They interpret heavy braking as poor driving rather than someone else forcing it. They see rapid acceleration where there is none. All we need is a much higher chance of people being caught and punished for their everyday shit driving. I'm sure as a cyclist that every single time you go out on your bike you will have a dozen or more times when you think "that would have been a nasty accident if someone was coming the other direction". Eventually, when bad behaviour suffers no consequences it becomes completely normalised. Then we struggle to treat it as anything but a normal, unavoidable accident when that bad behaviour does incur consequences.
Drivers regularly pull out in front of me and cause me to slam on the brakes or avoid them. Very often they have seen me and just assume I'm not going very fast or they assume I will slow down/stop (which I do). Too many drivers don't look for cyclists, hate giving way to them or expect the cyclist to be moving slowly and just pull out.
@Rendel Harris By the time someone is looking at prison time its too late. As has been proven time and time again, the severity of punishment is a poor deterrent to bad behaviour if people don't think its going to happen to them or they don't think they will be caught. Now I do think that there should be far more severe and immediate punishments for bad driving when drivers are caught but this would need to be coupled with a massive push to actually act on information/proof of bad driving. As anyone that submits footage to the police knows, its a crapshoot and certain police forces are anti-cyclist. This would try to essentially put people off misbehaving whilst driving before they cause an accident rather than getting the tired old excuse of "it was a single dangerous incident, they definitely don't do this all the time and their luck finally ran out". Perhaps it should go even further and if you have a history of speeding and you hurt someone speeding, that is looked upon in a very dim light.
Can we talk about “Washing up liquid contains a lot of salt – not a great idea to use a corrosive substance on a bicycle”? This is an urban myth. I have washed all of our many bikes using Fairy liquid or Ecover for decades. I’ve never found any evidence of corrosion, paint, laquer or decal wear, or any sign of anything. I regularly service forks and bearings, swapping a lot of gear, and everything has always been fine. Here’s far too much info below - long story short, Fairy liquid in 5L of hot water has a borderline-homeopathic amount of salt, it’s fine to use on a bike. ============ The honest answer is that neither Fairy nor Ecover publicly disclose the actual sodium chloride concentration in the consumer products I could find. The safety data sheets list hazardous ingredients above reporting thresholds, but sodium chloride is not reported for either product. However, we can put some realistic bounds on it. Fairy Original The SDS lists: Sodium laureth sulfate: 20-30% Lauramine oxide: 5-10% Alcohol: 1-5% No sodium chloride is declared. 15 In detergent formulations, sodium chloride is commonly used as a viscosity modifier (thickener) and is typically present at around 0.5-3%, sometimes lower. The absence of declaration suggests it is either not present or present at a low concentration that does not require reporting. This range is an informed formulation estimate, not a value stated by Fairy. Ecover The Ecover ingredient information lists: Sodium lauryl sulfate Lauryl glucoside Cocamidopropyl betaine Alcohol Lactic acid Sodium octyl sulphate Again, no sodium chloride is listed. Ecover's formulations tend to rely more heavily on plant-derived surfactants and may use little or no salt for thickening, but I could not find a published concentration. 63 What does this mean for bike washing? Let's assume a worst-case 3% salt content in Fairy. If you add: 10 mL Fairy to a 5-litre bucket Then salt introduced would be approximately: 10 mL × 3% ≈ 0.3 g salt Distributed through 5 L water ≈ 60 mg/L salt For comparison: Typical seawater: ~35,000 mg/L Lightly salted winter road spray: often hundreds to thousands of mg/L The wash bucket above: ~60 mg/L So even under a pessimistic assumption, the salt concentration is hundreds to thousands of times lower than the salt exposure your bike gets from winter roads. From a corrosion perspective, the quantity of salt introduced by washing-up liquid is essentially negligible compared with: Riding on salted roads Coastal spray Leaving winter grime on the bike Therefore my practical conclusion remains: ✅ Fairy or Ecover in a wash bucket is extremely unlikely to contribute any measurable corrosion risk. ✅ The important thing is rinsing and drying afterwards. ✅ Winter road salt is the real enemy, not washing-up liquid.
Another example of a driver's actions that would have been a straight fail in a driving test but is barely likely to lead to a disqualification... I'm wondering if having a driving licence is like a "Get out of jail free" card...
Yes indeed. I have a version of the R8100 and you definitively need ceramic for the socket.
@perce I'm not sure I agree with that. I think thats just confirming that he is take fully responsibility and recognises that the cyclist could have done nothing to mitigate it.
38 thoughts on “Cabbie’s anti-cycling tweets backfire; Bora-Hansgrohe development rider killed while training; Pimlico Plumbers worker on phone at wheel; 12 hour TT record broken; Orlando Bloom’s unorthodox cycling attire; Audi slammed for ad + more on live blog”
One of the papers has
One of the papers has reported this morning that Pimlico Plumbers has sacked any staff who have declined coming back into the office as furlough is wound down.
Clearly a lovely company to work for, with a friendly and tolerant MD…
Well, didn’t they try to
Well, didn’t they try to claim that they weren’t ‘staff’, but were freelance contractors, in order to save them paying national insurance and the like? They lost that court case against HMRC.
The SportsDirect of toilets
the little onion wrote:
Thank you very much for that wonderful quote, it chimes nicely with “The Mike Ashley of <insert name of modern slave enterprise>”
First of all, the CEO looks
First of all, the CEO looks and acts like a total wanker most of the time at the moment and I love how he “Supports the NHS” but I wonder how much tax avoidance he does personally.
However the Furlough scheme was setup to try to keep jobs of anyone who literally couldn’t work during lockdown and for those companies who couldn’t justify full staff during these times. If his firm is now back to full business then staff can’t really be on furlough anymore. So if they refuse to come back (healthcare and other valid reasons not withstanding) then they pretty much are in a position where they can be sacked. I do wonder though why some have been sacked and some have taken voluntary redundacy.
However the fact he is wanting Furlough to be ended for all because his business doesn’t need it anymore shows what a C Nut he is. There are plenty that still need it at the moment. Surely he should pay back the government the money he claimed for his business if he is so much against it.
Didn’t follow mikey’s comment
Didn’t follow mikey’s comment on scrolling. It is the use of the phone by touch I thought was the specific offence.
Besides which it can still be prosecuted under ‘driving without due care and attention’. Obviously with video evidence, it will be easy to bring a charge.
The mobile phone law was just to make it easier to prosecute as so many were using it.
I’m slightly confused too,
I’m slightly confused too, although I think I know what mickey was trying to get at (obligatory i am not a lawyer)
The offence (as currently written https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/regulation/2/made) requires the telephone to be used for an “interactive communication function”. If you’re not using it in that manner, then that specific offence doesn’t apply (as you say other offences could still apply). For example, if you were using your phone to take a photo, or scroll through photos already saved on your phone, then it wouldn’t apply – in much the same way that there is no specific offence for using a handheld camera.
That said, accessing the internet specifically is included as an “interactive communication function” and therefore scrolling through photos on their website would be covered.
There’s also an argument that as modern smartphones are always connected to the internet – any photos you take are instantly uploaded etc – then you are always being provided with access to the internet and so any use would fall foul of the law. Although that might be harder to prove (you could argue flight mode was active).
You can claim what you like
You can claim what you like but it’s a doddle to determine whether there was internet access
This came up before when
This came up before when someone took some video on their phone whilst driving and who wasnt prosecuted or found guilty in court for it, I believe because the wording of the law differed from the way the law was debated in parliament, so that its specifically only using the phone as a phone ie calling people,texting them that is covered by the not use a mobile phone when driving law.
I thought an important point
I thought an important point was about the driver holding the device? I thought I’d read that if the policeman sees you, that’s enough, e.g. it’s no good trying to demonstrate that your phone (one of thousands, of course) wasn’t in use at the precise time.
In the case of Mr Accident-photographer, didn’t the police just bring the “wrong” charge? And didn’t get around to bringing the “right”one?
The self-employed model is not uncommon – I guess for plumbers it’s a brand to promote customer confidence, give you some network/ back-up and it’s main function is as a taxi rank for jobs.
FWIW, I’m currently in effect a zero hours contractor: no built-in sick pay, pension or leave, certainly no tax breaks (note, Mr Audi, a correct usage of this word) – but it has its rewards.
The law on mobile phones
The law on mobile phones should be changed, as any use of a phone, hands-free or scrolling, is a distraction. I will be commenting thus on the HC consultation and informing my useless MP of my concerns.
Well done Mike, poetic justice.
The difficulty might be that
The difficulty might be that most of us use our phones for sat nav, and if it is Google sat nav then it is probably not offline either, so the ‘communication’ thing still applies. Neither is it as straight forward as saying don’t touch a screen, since many cars now have screens as a radio/aircon interface etc (which I hate, but there it is).
You know what – I think the
You know what – I think the Govt should cover that in a, I don’t know, let’s call it a “road safety review”. What do you think? 😉
The Scottish voucher scheme
The Scottish voucher scheme is of course open to far more fraudulent misuse,an unscrupulous cycle shop could claim for 20 voucher repairs whilst not having to prove the people whose bikes they say they repaired ever actually existed…YMMV whether that makes it a ‘better’ scheme. It might not be perfect south of the border but 25million quid isnt an amount you want to rely on peoples inate honesty not to fraudulently claim for a piece of.
There’s not really any
There’s not really any information available as to what evidence the cycle shops will need to provide when claiming for the repairs, so we don’t know how open to fraud it would be. It does say they will ask you to ‘complete two short email surveys after the repairs so we can demonstrate the benefits of the scheme’, which might give some indication where there might be something dodgy going on (if the bike owners never existed, the response rate for repairs at that shop is likely to be much lower than normal).
Audi’s revelation that their
Audi’s revelation that their car includes ‘an emergency break system’ just prompts the question, what is it that it breaks in an emergency?
Consumer confidence?
Consumer confidence?
That’s not a ‘tank top’ that
That’s not a ‘tank top’ that Orloondo Bland is wearing, it’s a sleeveless base layer (specifically, this sleeveless base layer).
He’s obviously just been riding so fast that he rode himself right out of his jersey.
Well I clicked through
Well I clicked through expecting some kind of Bloom nakedness, but I wasn’t quite expecting that.
Hardly surprising that Audi
Hardly surprising that Audi don’t know how to spell “brakes” as their drivers clearly don’t know how to use them either.
iandusud wrote:
A bit like indicators on BMW’s. The guy who fitted them in the factory died but nobody noticed for six months.
Quote:
Amusing that Audi think that the advert [i]is[/i] the problem, rather than that it is advertising the problem.
Look Sriracha, Audi just want
Look Sriracha, Audi just want to get things straight!
“The graphic serves to
“The graphic serves to highlight how giving space to cyclists and pedestrians most definitely doesn’t mean reducing space for cars,…..”
It doesn’t. Possibly the most anodyne graphic ever; they need to change their advertising agency. Still, it’s nice that BC is catching up with CUK’s campaigns which have been running for the past thirty years.
Streets back or buy us out.
Streets back or buy us out.
I’ve messaged him offering 50p if he’ll send me his bank details, PIN and password so I can transfer the money. He’s so stupid it might just work.
He seems to think MAMIL’s
He seems to think MAMIL’s mean any cyclist looking at some of his other tweets. He has tweeted about all the “MAMIL’s” going through red lights on some Taxi propganda video and of all the examples, there might have been one who was in Lycra of some description and a small percentage who are middle aged.
Another classic from him as
Another classic from him as well. He does seem to be on a roll
https://twitter.com/thomasthetaxi/status/1289136552812130304?s=20
Inappropriate footwear and child strapped in with cable ties apparently……
Thanks for that one !
Thanks for that one !
I would seem, as raised in the tweets, it must be a parody account. I mean, no one could be that stupid surely ?
Aren’t schools closed by 31st
Aren’t schools closed by 31st of July?
Well unless his account has
Well unless his account has been hacked OR he has finally “come to his senses”, it isn’t a parody as some of the stuff on his facebook channel and on earlier tweets show he is/was a bit of a taxi gammon. He even allowed someone to post an anti semitic reply to a post about Google allowing workers to stay home until next year.
hirsute wrote:
You underestimate the human capacity for stupidity, which is practically infinite. The briefest examination of history confirms beyond any doubt that humans are both extremely clever and completely stupid; witness our current situation with climate change.
My wife sent me this the
My wife sent me this the other day
hirsute wrote:
Strictly speaking only true if you are considering the median, or if the distribution curve is symmetrical.
Strictly speaking, there’s no
Strictly speaking, there’s no such thing as an averagely stupid person, because stupidity / intelligence has multiple, non-comparable dimensions.
Ah, well, you could consider
Ah, well, you could consider a multidimensional space has a median ‘average’ at its centre of mass. Easier to comprehend for three dimensions, but mathematicians seem to be happy with more. The problem, however, is to decide whether any deviation from the average is “more” or “less”.
I did think about putting a
I did think about putting a comment about percentiles and lower quartiles but I thought, no, don’t need that.
That car advert is that
That car advert is that allowed surely somebody should have “proof read” the ad? using a small child in that way. Why not just get a Jimmy Saville voice over
Weird I know, but he did a
Weird I know, but he did a marvellous job promoting both the wearing of seatbelts (Klunk click every trip) and Intercity Train services (This is the age of the Train) were him.
Both astounding successes advert wise. Seemingly the british public trusted him, a lot.
Not only that, look at Audis
Not only that, look at Audis response. ‘
The Audi RS 4 is a family car with more than thirty driver assistance systems including an emergency break system.’ Break? Does the car fall to bits in the event of an emergency stop?