Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of Brits believe you should have to retake your driving test, with two thirds (66 per cent) saying this should happen before drivers turn 80. That's according to research from personal finance comparison site finder.com.
There is currently no law that drivers must retake their test when they reach a certain age, although 74 per cent said there should. 10 per cent suggested this should happen before drivers reach 55 years old. Laws apply to drivers who have been disqualified or have certain medical conditions, but the research suggested only 18 per cent of Brits agree with the current regulations and think drivers should never retake their test at a set age.
In the age-specific breakdown, Gen Z (18-25 year olds) said 65 years old was the right age to retake a driving test, while those aged 74 and above said 76 years old would be an appropriate age.
Thoughts?
Editor Jack, having watched the Commonwealth Games TT visit his local roads, might baulk at the suggestion bike races only visit areas with good road surfaces...BUT Derby City Council is in the market for hosting a bike race, with the Tour Series, Women's Tour and Tour of Britain on their radar, reports the Derby Telegraph.
However, concerns have been raised about whether the streets are "smooth" enough to host such events. With the Conservative council ready to approve a bid, Lib Dem councillor Lucy Care asked: "My question is about the renewal of roads to ensure they'll be smooth enough to be ridden on at speed because some of our roads at the moment are not as good as they might be. Is there going to be an additional budget provided or do we have to find it ourselves to ensure the race roads are to a very good standard?"
Before calling the state of their roads "dubious", aren't they all, Lucy, aren't they all...
Local Legend on Turner's Hill to Ditchling! Congratulations!
— CaptainDalgetty (@CaptainDalgetty) August 5, 2022
Of course, I'm sure that local legend is his proudest achievement from this one...
Under the live blog comments, PRSboy suggested it would be a decent average speed in a car, let alone on a bike, given the built-up nature of the route (and avoiding the M23/A23).
peted76 added: "London to Brighton and back at 25mph.. the more I think about it, the more impressive it gets. Chapeau sir!"
Secret_squirrel replied: "Doubly amusing to me as the First London to Brighton car rally had the cars limited to a top speed of 14mph."
Over on Facebook, Mikael Rasmussen commented: "Yeah OK .. now try that from Central London. rather than somewhere south of the South Circular 😉" We'll assume that's tongue in cheek, but I'm sure Alex could arrange a two-up TT to the south coast if you think you've got 41km/h in you, Mikael...
Seymour Yang commented: "At first I was like, L2B in four hours doesn’t sound impressive, then I saw that it was L2B and back again. Wow!"
Chances are if you live somewhere in and around London or the the South East, you've had a big day out on the bike down to Brighton and back. It's a popular weekend route for riders in and around the M25 — you'll normally clock up close to 100 miles, and have a photo-worthy halfway stop by the coast with the added lure of ice cream or fish and chips...
Or, if your name is Alexandar Richardson, you can smash there and back in four hours at a quad-burning average speed of 40.5km/h... solo.
To be fair Richardson isn't your usual club rider spinning the legs at the weekend, he was third at British National Champs behind that guy from Quick-Step whose name escapes me...
Taking in a berg under 2,000m of elevation, the Saint Piran pro, who spent the last couple of seasons with Alpecin-Fenix, hit a top speed of 78km/h descending the South Downs on his way home and maintained a metronomic 91 cadence.
Brutally, the wind from the north meant a less-than-ideal tailwind out, headwind home, but he still managed to take six KOMs on the way out and a few top 10s back into the headwind.
Top of the KOM list? The 20km 'London to Brighton fast section' covered by thousands of riders at the annual charity ride (with the benefit of drafting and closed roads), which Richardson ticked off at 45.5km/h...as you do...
Which of these four WorldTour bikes is your favourite? 😍
1⃣ @INEOSGrenadiers Pinarello Dogma F
2⃣ @TrekSegafredo Trek Madone SLR
3⃣ @Lotto_Soudal Ridley Noah
4⃣ @TeamDSM Scott Foil RC pic.twitter.com/SqNGDqqRLd— Velon CC (@VelonCC) August 5, 2022
Okay I think I've tracked it down...
Speaking to L'Équipe the race organiser Marcus Moral (dubbed Marcus Immoral by some clever people on Twitter) denied the speed bump was a speed bump...
"It was not a speed bump, but a zebra crossing no more than 2.5 centimeters high. On a slope," he said. "This obstacle was indicated by markings on the ground and by a signalman's flag. In preparation we showed the last three kilometers to the riders. It is impossible to find a track by removing roundabouts or passages like this one."
Brace yourselves... "It is a mistake by David Dekker," he continued.
"He has since realised this and has asked for forgiveness. I do now. I'm not saying it's just the rider's fault. It's everyone's fault. But we cannot attack the race organisation if the obstacle is indicated. I think the last kilometers of the second stage were correct. We take our responsibility, but people should not demonise us for that."
So @VueltaBurgos director Marcos Moral blames the riders for crashing...
You should be ashamed of yourself.— Jos van Emden (@josvanemden) August 4, 2022
This from Jos van Emden, teammate of Jumbo-Visma sprinter David Dekker, who was brought down by the speed bump on stage two's run-in, causing a terrible crash...
> "Disgrace": Pro riders rip into UCI over "unacceptable" speed bump sprint crash
We haven't yet seen any comments from the race director, so have to rely on Van Emden's word for the accusations. We'll see what we can find...
More cyclists on Vauxhall Bridge than motorists!#CycleToWorkDaypic.twitter.com/oGRy3gRy75
— CycleGaz™ (@cyclegaz) August 5, 2022
The Dorset Echo reports a man has received a hefty fine after a cyclist's camera footage proved he had illegally dumped stones and gravel on a roadside verge in Dorchester.
Richard Dunn appeared at Poole Magistrates Court after a rider's handlebar-mounted camera caught the act, with the cyclist reporting the footage to Dorset Council along with a statement.
The cyclist asked "That's not being fly tipped, is it mate?", to which Dunn replied "It's stones" before driving away. Last May he was issued a Fixed Penalty Notice of between £200 and £400 (depending on how promptly it was paid), but this was not paid.
Dunn was subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to violating Section 33 (1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. He was sentenced to pay £479, including £150 fine, costs of £300 and £29 compensation.
— Foxy (@FoxyN77) August 5, 2022
We use the phase 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 quite a bit.
The #VanguardRST deploy in an array of different vehicles, from pedal bikes, to unmarked HGVs.
Our latest edition, the @BromptonBicycle enables us to zip around… pic.twitter.com/jSe4YvNpAp
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) - Surrey Police - UK (@SurreyRoadCops) August 2, 2022
The Surrey Roads Policing Unit, known for its social media schoolings of ignorant road users, has managed to go up even further in our estimation after revealing it has added a Brompton folder to the fleet of crime-fighting vehicles.
> Surrey traffic cops tell driver spouting Highway Code whataboutery to return licence
Apparently "many people" in the Surrey town were pleased to see the "bobby on a Brommy" and ITV reports the force will also launch a road crime reduction team this autumn with the aim of reducing "the number of people killed and seriously injured on Surrey's roads by targeting and reducing road crime", specifically by reducing the so-called 'Fatal 5' — inappropriate speed, not wearing a seatbelt; driving under the influence of drink or drugs; distracted driving, such as using a mobile phone behind the wheel; careless driving.