Sick of close passes from drivers? Create your own ‘laser’ cycle lane; Urška Žigart goes agonisingly close at Tour de Suisse… only to be referred to as “Pogačar’s girlfriend” by Belgian newspaper; Cycle lane double parking + more on the live blog

They’re about a decade late to the party, I suppose, but this morning the Spectator turned its attention to camera cyclists who, apparently, are “out to get you” (“you” in this instance referring to law-breaking drivers, of course).

The article, written by the paper’s assistant features editor Robert Jackman, follows yesterday’s, ahem, interesting take on 15-minute cities and class politics from the New Statesman, and another Spectator columnist’s self-congratulatory stance on Italy’s “crackdown” on cyclists last week.

> "New Strawman": Op-ed labels 15-minute cities as a "working-class nightmare", questions "how will ambulances get to victims if cars are banned"

Jackman’s piece, it must be said, is rather more balanced than those two rants, and features quotes from Cycling Mikey (who else?) and other camera-using cycling activists regularly reporting law-breaking drivers. He even admits that drivers frequently break the law, and that the use of mobile phones behind the wheel can be as fatal as drink driving.

However, there are still classic anti-cycling bingo references to “vigilante cyclists” and “lycra-clad informants” (and no reference whatsoever to motorists with dashcams), as well as philosophical mutterings about whether camera cyclists should be so “enthusiastic” about “shaming” drivers breaking the law.

> Britain’s Got Terrible Cycling Takes: Amanda Holden says cyclists with cameras are “asking for trouble” 

“I first became aware of the phenomenon of lycra-clad informants some months ago when an acquaintance was fined for using her mobile phone at a red light,” Jackman writes.

“She was told that the footage had been recorded by a cyclist who reported her to the police. Legally, she was bang to rights. But it made me think: how many motorists are aware they could end up reported by their fellow road users – and with such enthusiasm?”

> “People need to see justice being done”: CyclingMikey says camera cyclists suffer online abuse because some motorists “feel they have the right to drive how they want”

On the subject of phone use, he offers this contradictory thought: “Around two cyclists a week are killed on British roads and a further 84 are seriously injured, with distracted drivers being the most common cause of death. But while someone using their phone in stationary traffic may well be distracted, are they really risking lives?”

“Awareness is one thing, but is public shaming really justifiable?” he later asks. “I’m not so sure. Some of the videos seem to blur the line when it comes to shaming. In April, one cyclist posted footage of a driver, who was wearing a wedding ring, browsing an escort website. Can the cycling reporters really defend that?”

> Not giving up — why a camera cyclist driven off social media by abuse won’t stop reporting dangerous motorists

And his last take on this “thriving subculture”? “Bad drivers be warned, then. That careless scroll might prove more costly than you think – and potentially in more ways than one.”

Some classic cycle lane double parking from Belfast here, the land that active travel forgot (or should that be the land that forgot active travel?)…

Cycling home from town yesterday. Not unusual to see cars in the bike lane but first time Ive been physically blocked. I stopped, took photo and then cycled towards cars till one reversed a little to let me past. Is it really true that @deptinfra@PSNIBelfast cannot enforce? pic.twitter.com/RnczQZK3Nx

— mauricycle (@mauricycle) June 18, 2023

Now, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed over the years, but here at road.cc we tend to talk a lot about close passes committed on cyclists by distracted, poor, or just downright dangerous drivers (believe it or not, there’s actually a whole series dedicated to this very thing. Who knew?).

And we also chat quite a bit on the live blog about the need to introduce more, and better, cycling infrastructure to protect riders from this kind of perilous driving.

> "Paint isn't infrastructure": Are unsegregated bike lanes more dangerous for cyclists?

Anyway, an undergraduate student at Brunel University London reckons he’s come up with the perfect solution to these classic road.cc problems: by creating the ‘laser cycle lane’.

Laser Lane, the brainchild of 23-year-old Ibrahim Cam, a final-year Industrial Design and Technology student at Brunel, allows a cyclist – through the touch of a button on their handlebars – to create two beams of light on the road 1.5 metres either side of them, indicating to passing drivers the recommended overtaking distance as noted in the Highway Code.

Cam’s new product, which was unveiled at last week’s Made in Brunel exhibition, showcasing gadgets and devices designed by final year students at the university’s Design School, also features touch-activated indicators, as well as front and rear lights.

“The laser lane is intended to increase the visibility of cyclists and to improve communication with other road users,” the student says.

“The capacitive touch-activated front and rear lights are on the end of the handlebars so drivers can tell the true length of a bike, and the laser will show motorists the clearance that they must give cyclists.

“The front lights are white and the rear lights are red, so drivers can tell if they are looking at the front or the rear of a bike. There is also a capacitive touch-activated indicator, so cyclists can clearly indicate when they are turning a corner.”

> Almost all drivers agree that close passes of cyclists put lives at risk

Cam says he was inspired to design Laser Lane after he started driving last year, when he says he struggled with overtaking and interacting with cyclists on the roads.

“I tried to give cyclists as much space as possible, but seeing how other drivers interacted with them made me think about it more,” he said. “I saw drivers overtaking cyclists around corners and not giving them the 1.5m that’s required. Many drivers don’t respect the 1.5m rule, and the wind of a vehicle alone can be detrimental.”

Though he recognises dedicated infrastructure is the way forward, Cam believes that making cyclists more visible to motorists – which he believes will aid drivers’ “judgements” – will improve their safety and perhaps encourage more people to get on their bikes.

“Drivers have air bags, seat belts, and metal between them and the roads, but cyclists have nothing. They just have their bike, their helmet, and the tarmac beneath them,” Ibrahim notes.

“There have been times when I haven’t seen cyclists in my blind spot until the last moment, and my heart sinks when I realise what could have happened.

“By helping to give drivers better judgements, cyclists will feel safer on the roads.

“Less experienced cyclists might not feel confident enough to cycle at the moment, but if they feel safer on the roads, then they will cycle.”

“Getting more people to cycle will reduce their carbon footprint and result in less congestion on the roads,” he adds. “The increase in fuel prices is making driving economically unsustainable for people, and cycling could now be an option for them.”

> “It’s problematic to have a value like that”: Researcher calls for better guidelines than “just 1.5 metres” for passing cyclists

What do you reckon? Could Laser Lane provide a useful reminder to motorists to pass safely when there’s no cycling infra nearby? Or would a red line on the road be ignored just as readily as the Highway Code?

I sense a new slogan coming on: Laser beams are not protection…