Police Scotland shared this advert on Facebook over the weekend, raising awareness of the Highway Code and the need for motorists to give "at least 1.5m when overtaking people on bikes at speeds up to 30mph, and give more space at higher speeds"...
It's a familiar concept for a campaign promoting behaviour that will have a positive impact on cyclist safety — humanising people who use bikes as family, friends, partners of others, not just 'CYCLISTS'.
Simple enough, we'd say. Please make sure you do this small thing while driving a vehicle to ensure the safety of a more vulnerable road user who, like you, is a daughter/son/mother/father/sister/brother/wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend... seems fair enough to us. Apparently not, according to Police Scotland's comments section.
"It's not that when the bikers are squeezing in and out all the cars at lights to get by, they don't keep ther distance then! So why should we!!!!"
"When will you draw attention to cyclists who frequently disobey the Road Traffic Act, by non-compliance of red lights, one-way streets, and pavement violations."
Interesting mention of pavement violations on the day Edinburgh City Council begins enforcing a ban on pavement parking with £100 fines. Some more from the comments...
"Cyclists are a menace should pay road tax or some sort of payment to be on the road."
"Agreed, however the focus is always on the driver of the car but we all know the road (and pavement) behaviour of cyclists is appalling. Police Scotland need to start focusing on the cyclists and not always look to the driver as the problem. Oh and tell them to put lights on and stop queue jumping by going onto pavements then back onto the road and holding up traffic ..."
Fair play to road.cc reader Craig Robertson who attempted a quick explainer...
"Cyclists v Cars
"Are you about to comment on this post suggesting cyclists shouldn't be allowed on the road? If so, read this handy hints guide first. It'll save you tiring your fingers frantically bashing the keyboard in some kind of fact-devoid, blind rage.
"1. If your argument is centred around car drivers having a licence and cyclists not, realise that the vast majority of cyclists are also car drivers. Being a cyclist does not suddenly preclude you from owning or driving a car. Ergo, most cyclists also have a licence to be on the road.
"2. If you argument is about car drivers paying road tax to allow them to use the road, realise that 'road tax' does not exist. You pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). This is based on engine power and emissions. Cyclists have neither engine power nor emissions, so even if they were to be taxed, it would be in the lowest rate tax band. Yes, £0. And since it would cost money to administer this, that cost would be added to your tax bill. That's right, the road upkeep is paid for by your council tax. And cyclists, since they too live in houses, also pay council tax.
"At this juncture you may also wish to circle back to point 1 - most cyclists are also car drivers, so even if you don't believe that VED is for emissions, then you still have to accept that cyclists who own cars also pay VED, or 'road tax' as you seem to be intent on calling it.
"3. If you wish to argue that cyclists should be insured because 'who's going to pay when they bump into my car and cause damage?' then you should know that being a member of British Cycling (£35/year) brings with it up to £10million of third party liability insurance. Additionally, since we've already established that cyclists live in houses (apartments, flats etc.) they most likely have home contents insurance too. If they do, there is a chance that it includes some cycle cover that may extend to third-party liability. If a cyclist bashes in to your car, that would be a good start point. If they have a valuable bike, then they probably have specialist insurance too and that very likely includes third-party liability.
"4. If you think it's wrong for cyclists to ride two-abreast, please reacquaint yourself with the Highway Code. Specifically Rule 66 (handily copied here: 'never ride more than two-abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends') so two-abreast is acceptable on normal roads. Rule 67 is also a good one 'look well ahead for obstructions in the road, such as drains, pot-holes and parked vehicles so that you do not have to swerve suddenly to avoid them. Leave plenty of room when passing parked vehicles and watch out for doors being opened or pedestrians stepping into your path.' This is additionally pointed out in the official TFL advice to cyclists, 'Stay central on narrow roads. Try to ride away from the gutter. If the road is too narrow for vehicles to pass you safely, it might be safer to ride towards the middle of the lane to prevent dangerous overtaking by other vehicles'.
"5. If your argument is about cyclists riding badly — well, yes you're right, some do. They give the rest of us a bad name. Just like not all drivers are bad, just some of them. Unfortunately, a bad cyclist might slightly damage a car or get themselves killed. A bad car driver will kill other people, specifically vulnerable road users, like cyclists.
"The crux of this is simple — drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists all have a right to use the road safely. Those that do not adhere to the rules and those that drive or ride unsafely should be brought to task."
Further to the near miss motorbike rider at yesterday's Trofeo Palma we mentioned earlier, you know pro cycling is back when...
Someone gets the finish line wrong...
Trofeo Palma, with two laps to go. Was that you, Emil Herzog? 👀 just practice for the next race, eh? 😉 pic.twitter.com/KW4eeVUX1L
— Reno (@renovandael) January 28, 2024
Two laps to go on that one. Oh, you also know pro cycling is back when... Geraint Thomas is out sharing snaps of the (not) Welsh countryside...
Lovely Sunday spin up the Tumble 🌋 👍 pic.twitter.com/6756mjwjIv
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) January 28, 2024
Yep, that joke is going to keep rolling into 2024...
Two years on from the Highway Code changes — brought in to better protect vulnerable road users — more than half of drivers (51 per cent) surveyed by the RAC are still unsure whether the changes have made the roads safer for pedestrians.
Only a fifth (18 per cent) said they believe the new rules have made pedestrians safer, while 31 per cent believe the changes have made things even more dangerous for pedestrians at junctions.
Perhaps the biggest change was the guidance that drivers turning into or out of a junction should give way to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders who are crossing or waiting to cross (as demonstrated in the image at the top of this post).
Less than a quarter of drivers (23 per cent) surveyed said they always give way to pedestrians when turning in or out of junctions, while nearly half (48 per cent) said they do most of the time. Concerningly, the RAC noted, 19 per cent said they don't stop often while six per cent never do.
The research was focused on pedestrian safety but of motorists with at least 25 years experience, only 13 per cent said they believe pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders are safer now the changes have been implemented.
"It’s concerning to see there's still so much uncertainty, with most drivers not stopping for people crossing when they should and therefore many pedestrians seeing no change to their safety at junctions," RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said.
"Part of the reason may be that drivers simply don't know that the changes have been made, least of all the consequences of ignoring them. Most drivers probably rarely refer to the Highway Code once they've passed their tests, and that's where the problem could lie.
"We urge motorists to take another close look at the changes – either by visiting the Highway Code or RAC websites, or by picking up a printed copy. We'd also urge the Government to make another concerted effort in communicating the changes to all road users."
Here's what you might have missed this weekend...
Some positive news to kick Saturday off — Orange Bikes is set to continue after acquiring frame manufacturer and "streamlining" business.
In the same week it was revealed that Orange Bikes and its assets had been put up for sale by administrators, who deemed the company "unable to continue trading", the beleaguered mountain bike brand now appears to have been saved from permanent closure, after announcing that it is set to continue after acquiring its frame manufacturing partner.
Also on the news front this weekend...
Our Bike at Bedtime was Dylan Johnson's Felt Breed Carbon— a controversial gravel race bike with... mountain bike tyres...
And from mountain bike tyres to no need for tyres at all...
You know pro cycling is back from its winter break when... a bunch of riders are put in danger by some questionable driving from a moto rider following the race. Nope, doesn't look like that's been left in 2023...
Increíble la moto😱#ChallengeMallorca#TrofeuPalmapic.twitter.com/aIBNyMwLoD
— Las Gafas de Soldador (@lasgafasdesolda) January 28, 2024
This was at Trofeo Palma yesterday, the Challenge Mallorca race that gets the peloton over to its favourite sunny training destination (Calpe might have something to say about that) for some early season racing.
Fortunately, no crash in this case, but with riding like that we're saying more by luck than judgement. You can almost hear the: 'You see those mirrors on your bike, pal?' shouts (and some more explicit) from the pros as the moto rider sheepishly heads away to much gesticulating from the Intermarché–Wanty rider leading the peloton at that point.
Gerben Thijssen, also of the team named after a French supermarket and Belgian engineering firm (never change, professional cycling, never change), won the race, ahead of former teammate Alexander Kristoff.
The motorbike riders who lead and follow professional bike races do, on the whole, an incredibly impressive job — keeping riders safe, delivering cameramen to the crucial points for the most important moments, and just generally ensuring the race goes ahead as it's meant to. However, when things go wrong you've got a high-profile, headline-grabbing incident on your hands, last year's Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes punctuated by issues...
A few days later Tour de France hero Thomas Voeckler, working as a pundit for France Télévisions, was suspended from the race after his motorbike rider stalled on the steepest slopes of the Col de la Loze, causing a traffic jam which held up several riders and forced Jonas Vingegaard to stop and briefly unclip.
In the women's race a week later we had this...
I've really enjoyed watching @LeTourFemmes, but in what universe is a motorbike allowed to push a rider out of the way?? Or is it just to let her know the next motor is about to take her out? If you can't pass safely, don't pass. We need better education for some motorbike… pic.twitter.com/w3CkDGv6aX
— Adam Hansen (@HansenAdam) July 26, 2023
It's not just a recent issue, of course. In 2020, then-world champion Julian Alaphilippe's Tour of Flanders ended after a crash with a race moto.
Although in that case many asked: what could the motorbike rider have done to avoid the collision? Alaphilippe later adding that he does not blame the moto rider for the crash.