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Cyclists stay back sticker (CC licensed image by happy days photos and art:Flickr)Cyclists’ organisations unite against ‘stay back’ stickers
Cycling and road safety organisations have called on Transport for London to remove ‘Cyclists Stay Back’ stickers from its vehicles and to tell operators such as Hackney cab owners not to attach them.
The demand comes in a joint statement from the Road Danger Reduction Forum, CTC, London Cycling Campaign, RoadPeace and the Association of Bikeability Schemes.
The stickers have angered many cyclists who see them as putting responsibility for cycling safety on the victims and potential victims of driver carelessness, and as implying that cyclists are second-class road users who should defer to motor vehicles.
Those two points make up the first of the organisations’ comments about the ‘stay back stickers’, which in full are:
-
The ‘cyclists stay back’ wording is not acceptable for use on any vehicle, because of its implication that cyclists are second-class road users who should defer to motor vehicle users.
It also undermines the responsibility of drivers of such vehicles to use their nearside mirrors as required by the Highway Code in Rules 159,161,163, 169, 179, 180, 182, 184, and 202.
Non-use of nearside mirrors is associated with a significant proportion of incidents where cyclists are hit by motor vehicles. - It is not appropriate to have stickers aimed at cyclists on the back of any vehicle smaller than a heavy goods vehicle.
- Stickers are appropriate on the rear of high-cab lorries, because of these vehicles’ blind areas, and the resultant danger to other road users.
- Stickers on lorries should be worded as warnings rather than commands, with appropriate graphics. A suitable graphic [below] is attached.
The organisations have therefore called for the stickers to be removed from all vehicles except high-cab lorries by the end of March, and for more appropriate stickers to be designed for use on London buses and to replace the stickers currently on high-cab lorries.
Perhaps more importantly, the five bodies have taken the opportunity to reiterate what they see as a far better long-term solution to the problem of cyclist deaths and serious injuries in London caused by HGVs. Calling stickers, “literally, a sticking-plaster solution”, the five groups have called for TfL to promote the use of lorries that do not have blind spots around the cab, to engineer the highway to reduce potential conflict, and to ensure drivers are trained to check their mirrors properly when turning or changing lane.
The demands in full are:
- FORS [Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme] to instruct their members to remove ‘cyclists stay back’ stickers from all vehicles except high-cab heavy goods vehicles, by the end of March.
- London Buses to instruct operators to remove ‘cyclists stay back’ stickers from all buses, until such time as a more appropriate design and wording is agreed with cycling organisations, by the end of March.
- TfL to inform all other vehicle operators, such as Hackney carriages (London Taxi Drivers Association etc.) that TfL do not want such stickers to be used on their vehicles, by the end of March.
- TfL to develop and produce a more appropriate sticker for heavy goods vehicles, similar to the one attached to this statement, and agree the design and wording with cycling organisations, by the end of May.
- TfL to supply the new sticker to freight operators, with instructions only to use it on high-cab lorries. This should be in widespread use by the end of August, with no ‘cyclists stay back’ stickers remaining after this date.
- TfL to invest in designing and promoting use of lorries that do not have blind spots around the cab. Stickers are, literally, a sticking-plaster solution. The long-term solution includes designing out the source of the danger by engineering lorries to reduce or eliminate the possibility of cyclists and pedestrians being crushed in collisions with them, engineering the highway to reduce potential conflict, eliminating lorry driver “blind spots”, and by training drivers to check their mirrors properly when turning or changing lane.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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91 comments
Try making a vehicle Crossrail compliant. Fire extinguishers, spill-kits, spare bulbs, white-noise reversing alarms [Must be able to be disabled in residential areas at night], beacons and more bloody useless stickers and signs than you can shake a stick at. And then you have to send the driver on a one day course.
Luckily this is my employers problem not mine!
Re black cabs:
I've never seen one of these on a cab.
You're already forbidden unapproved stickers on cabs.
THE LTDA is a drivers' union, not a vehicle operator. There aren't "vehicle operators" in London.
Re stickers: Bored already.
Does anyone make a "Motorists Stay Back" jersey? If not, why not.
I've been in Tel Aviv Israel for the past 6 weeks...now here is a place that would scare the bejeebers out of any cyclist...that's not from here
...cyclists from here just get on with it...cycling down 1 way streets contra to traffic, use no lights, cycle on/off footpaths, whatever they fancy when they fancy
..drivers do the same...if there is 2mm in front of you, they will take it...there appears to be zero rules, except blast your horn, flash your lights and be as rude as is humanly possible....but get them off the roads and it's handshakes all day, hugs all round, hearty laughs and a finer more welcoming body of people you'll never meet...
Just stay away from the roads as much as possible...you even see 'serious roadies'...cycling along the hard shoulders of highway/motorways....and I've seen at least a half dozen serious wrecks and their aftermaths, alongside minor shunts..what can you expect when they have 70kph speed limits on main streets...and that appears to be a minimum speed limit for 99% of the car driving populace..
That's why I'll wait the two weeks until I am back in Ireland before getting back on two wheels....
Are the stickers thay much different from horse-ists wearing 'pass wide and slow' on their tops?
Allez Neg... The stickers are different in that one is on the vulnerable road user, one is not.
Cyclists know your place
"Blood is a bugger to clean off rubber."
I assume there is also a "Pedestrians get out of the way" one for the front?
Hang on! Where's my sticker for when im riding my bike? 'Incompetent driver keep back' I keep a fair distance back from motorists as you never now what they will do next! Still I think the stickers they are using are not written appropriately they should read 'incompetent driver behind the wheel for your own safety stay well clear' now that makes more sense. ...
Saw such a sticker on a tiny Datsun pickup recently. Basically no longer or wider than an estate car. Some motorists find the signs appealing as it gives them the feeling they are asserting authority. I'd like a gilet with Slow Down Moron written on the back but I can't see it helping the situation either.
I find these particular stickers to be so arrogant. Yesterday I saw a cement truck with a sticker that said something along the lines of, Cyclists, beware of passing this vehicle on the left That's great. It offers a warning to those of us on bikes who need a reminder without suggesting we are all idiot nuisances who ought not be on the roads. My natural reaction to reading, "Cyclists stay back," is to reply, f*ck off.
Ps. Why no colon? "Cyclists stay back" is an ascertion of fact. "Cyclists: stay back!" however, is a warning/instruction aimed at cyclists.
Quite tempted to get a bunch of stickers made up to stick on underneath them. Some wording like "In fact everyone stay back as I am a terrible driver". Should be easy to slap these one when the vehicles are stationary in traffic.
Exactly, the bigger the scheme the more useless tat that's required.
Don't forget the 400 page COSHH manual and sundry non conformance pads.
I wouldn't wear one. For the same reason I get annoyed if I see them on vehicles. They are almost more of a wind up than a warning. Just like I am pissed off seing them on the back of vans. I don't see how winding up motorists contributes to my safety.
Oh now I get it, they mean pass leaving a big gap and slowly, not pass because I'm wide and slow...
No it shouldn't.
*laughs*
Look, we have a few LWB vans and have been advised this is mandatory, and once its clear I will be applying them otherwise we will be in all sorts of insurance bother in the event of an accident.
So it's not a case of I'm applying stickers coz I can't be arsed, it's another stupid box ticking excercise from the nanny state.
Mandated by whom, backed by what law and/or case?
Sounds like your insurance company (I'm guessing) is trying to CYA with whatever they can think of.
If a driver has this, or any other of the 'cyclist warning' stickers that abound, on his vehicle, then he is acknowledging that his vehicle is a hazard to other road users. This means it should not be allowed on the road. In the case of an accident involving a vehicle with such a sticker, clearly the driver is aware of the hazard and has not taken account of it. In that case he is guilty of dangerous driving and has no discernible defence.
Sorry but as a cyclist I don't understand what the problem is. It's a simple message to give a little bit of room for the cyclists own safety.
This just seems to be another excuse for cyclists to kick off at car/lorry drivers. The truth is everyone needs to do better, cyclists included.
Like Giff and Bikebud...I too use this method of indicating to other road users that there is (either) a bottleneck or an obstacle that I wish to negotiate and to hang back until I'm clear...unfortunately it is only ever recognised and followed in about 20% of the cases I've used it. Likewise someone needs to educate drivers to slow and keep behind the cyclist instead of overtaking and pulling in immediately in front, such as a driveway or junction exit...that is just saying, yeah I did see you there but I REALLY DON'T GIVE A FqCK....
"The stickers have angered many cyclists who see them as putting responsibility for cycling safety on the victims and potential victims of driver carelessness, and as implying that cyclists are second-class road users who should defer to motor vehicles."
Absolute b*llocks! Cycling safety should lie first and foremost with the cyclist - do everything you can to keep yourself out of danger. If it's safe to do so, ignore the sign, it really is that simple. If you're going to get angered by this, you should probably adjust your perspective on life!
No it shouldn't.
Yes it should, we are all responsible for our own well being first. Don't just expect everyone else to look out for you because you want to rush up the inside or outside of motorised vehicles. Yet again it's everyone else's fault and never the cyclist who may have put themselves in danger in the first place.
As for the sticker, yet more fuss over bugger all.
This. Absolutely this.
Nope, absolutely not this.
In a society those with the most power have the most responsibility.
Who said anything about 'rushing up the inside of motorised vehicles'? That wasn't what was said, so why bring that in? What was said was the blanket statement that 'cycling safety lies first and foremost with the cyclist'. It doesn't, because the cyclist isn't the one with the power to create the danger.
Nope. We live in a society, with laws and moral rules. Therefore one has the right to expect others to take basic care with our safety. If not, then we are in a state of nature and we can forget all pretence of following laws or moral codes. One or the other - which is it then?
The problem of course is you refer to 'cycling safety', which is a bit of a slight-of-hand, as the issue is really 'motoring safety' as that is where the risk comes from.
The safety of cyclists depends largely on the behaviour of motorists, so its just daft to insist the responsibility lies 'first and foremost' with the one who has the least control over it.
With power comes responsibility. Putting the responsibility on the potential victim at all times is a convenient ruse for the powerful, it seems to me. Not something that only comes up in cycling by any means.
And as for 'rush up the inside or outside' - well the latter is usually called 'overtaking' and motorists do it regularly. And the comment of yours I responded to said nothing about 'rushing up the inside' so I don't see why you switch the subject like that. Indeed the problem, I'm now thinking, with the sign being discussed is that it doesn't really mention passing on the inside, it just comes off like a general 'cyclists stay the hell away from me'. 'Cyclists, don't pass on the left' would be fair enough, and I'm sure I've seen vehicles with variations on that very wording.
Except that's exactly where the road tells cyclists they should be. Those in charge of the roads need to stop painting cycle lanes and then telling cyclists not to use them.
Build proper cycle infrastructure and the whole problem goes away immediately.
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