An interesting letter dropped into the road.cc pigeonhole last night from personal injury specialists Cycle SOS, who are currently urging employers to consider flexitime for employees who cycle to work – in a bid to reduce the number of collisions involving cyclists on the roads.
“The peak time for pedal cyclists to be killed or seriously injured differs between the weekday and the weekend,” says Lena Farnell, Legal Team Leader at Cycle SOS, a cycling accident claims specialist.
“During the weekday, the peak time for collisions is between 7am and 10am and from 4pm to 7pm – in other words, typical commuting hours.
“Offering flexitime to employees would help cyclists to avoid travelling between conventional peak hours, where the risks of a collision are higher.
“[Flexitime] may allow cyclists to take a longer but safer journey to work, where they can avoid any particularly risky areas. It will also allow drivers to concentrate on safer driving rather than rushing into work, which will benefit all road users.”
Not sure how lowering the number of cyclists on the roads would prevent drivers from “rushing into work”, but okay…
> Better office facilities would get more people cycling into work, study finds
Farnell continued: “The most common contributory factor allocated to pedal cyclists in fatal or serious injury collisions with another vehicle was the ‘driver or rider failed to look properly’.
“This could be the case during peak traffic conditions, where there are significantly more hazards for both riders and drivers to look out for on the roads, which could lead to fatigue. Offering flexitime to employees could help cyclists to avoid travelling during peak traffic hours, which will subsequently reduce their risk of being in a road accident.”
But it’s not just motorists who pose a danger to cyclists during rush hour, according to Cycle SOS. It’s the cyclists themselves…
“Flexitime should also help to reduce the numbers of collisions caused by cyclists in a hurry, which was cited as the third highest contributing factor, as well as cyclists riding too fast for conditions, which was cited as the eighth highest contributing factor, as it will help to alleviate the time pressure of arriving to work on time,” Farnell says.
“It’s clear to see that, during the week, mid-morning and late afternoon are the most dangerous times for cyclists to be on the roads, which is understandable given the numbers commuting to work during conventional hours. Commonly cited reasons for collisions with a pedal cyclist include riders and drivers not looking properly or being in a hurry.
“We would encourage employers to implement a flexitime policy as it has the potential to reduce the number of cyclists involved in accidents on the roads. Not only will cyclists be able to take their time to assess hazards properly, but they will also be able to take a more considered route to work, eliminating any risky shortcuts.
“Ultimately, travelling outside of peak hours will vastly reduce the number of dangers posed by other road users and reduce the risk of accidents for cyclists.”
What do you think? Leaving aside some of the odder comments about cyclists impacting whether drivers are fatigued or in a rush and the one about ‘cyclists in a hurry’, is it a good idea?
Do you think introducing flexitime for cyclists would create a quieter and safer commute for people on bikes?
This year’s Giro d’Italia is shaping up to be a cracker, isn’t it?
While Primož Roglič showed little sign of winter rustiness at Tirreno-Adriatico last week, winning just the three stages in a row and the overall title (no big deal), his big rival for the pink jersey in May, Remco Evenepoel, has been busy enjoying the sunny weather in Tenerife.
But according to the world champion’s Strava account, the 23-year-old Belgian certainly isn’t spending too much time lounging by the pool.
Yesterday, Evenepoel – who already has a GC victory at the UAE Tour under his belt for 2023 – shared on Strava the details of a whopping 165.2km training ride on the Canary Island, packing in 4,335m of elevation in just under five and a half hours.
As part of that monster session, the 2022 Vuelta a España champion also destroyed one of the most sought after KOMs in Tenerife – the Chio to Teide segment on the island’s famous volcano.
The Soudal-Quick Step rider covered the 24.6km climb, which featured a 5.5 percent average gradient and came 100km into the training session, in a staggering 56:25…
That works out at an average speed of 26.1km/h, in case you fancy heading to Tenerife this spring to see how long you can match Remco’s pace (just don’t try to ride behind him for too long, as one amateur cycling videographer found out in January).
Evenepoel’s storming session saw the previous record, held by former Bahrain Cycling Academy prospect Jonas Hjorth, dismantled by almost two minutes, while Chris Froome’s time on Teide – set a few months before his almost career-ending crash at the 2019 Dauphiné – now sits almost three minutes down on Remco.
Other famous names, such as Miguel Ángel López, Dylan van Baarle, and Pavel Sivakov, now all have at least four minutes to make up on cycling’s boy king.
Tandis que Roglic domine ses adversaires en Italie, Remco Evenepoel s'entraîne en altitude à Ténérife, et n'est pas venu ici pour rigoler 🚀😳https://t.co/eULINLlAF7pic.twitter.com/Mz3aujCqVS
— Cycling Times (@cycling_times) March 11, 2023
And yesterday’s ride wasn’t the only KOM-busting session during Remco’s recent stint at altitude. Earlier on the same day, he beat Romain Bardet’s time on another 6.3km climb by one minute, while on Saturday, he tackled the popular 27.2km climb of El Portillo, on the northern side of Teide, in 1.08:42.
That 23.8km effort beat Giro podium finisher Damiano Caruso’s previous KOM by FIVE and a half minutes, Tour contender David Gaudu’s time by almost seven minutes, and Thibaut Pinot by almost eight minutes.
Like I said, the Giro’s going to be very good.
And, in case you were wondering, Remco and his teammates are still remembering to get in that all-important TT practice:
Training everywhere we can ‼️🤣🚀 pic.twitter.com/N197Y0bgBM
— Remco Evenepoel (@EvenepoelRemco) March 8, 2023