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news
Live blog: Kensington and Chelsea turned against cycle lane after 450 emails; Video - Cyclist won't let motorist take shortcut down wrong side of the road, then the police turn up; MSPs vote against 20mph speed limit + more
SUMMARY
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Holland Park Avenue (via StreetView)14 June 2019, 15:41
Kensington and Chelsea turned against cycle lane after 450 emails
Even more on Kensington and Chelsea withdrawing support for the Holland Park cycle lane.
The Guardian reports that they did so after receiving 450 emails against the scheme. The newspaper points out this is under 0.3% of the borough’s population.
You can read Simon's account of what the road's currently like for cyclists a little further down the page.
14 June 2019, 15:34
30mph cyclists "more alarming" than 50mph motorists says Dartmoor Speedwatch Group
Our favourite quote, about cyclists riding within the speed limit: "I really think it’s about time something was done about this group of people who seem to be invisible to the authorities but pose a very real danger on the road."
14 June 2019, 14:15
A cyclist's view of Holland Park
Regarding Kensington and Chelsea withdrawing support for the Holland Park cycle lane, our own Simon MacMichael rides that way regularly.
He says:
I cycle through Holland Park Avenue regularly, and it is the single worst stretch of road for cycling between Ealing and the West End.
Westbound is fine - it's a slight downhill, there's no parking on that side, and there's a decent chance of catching a green wave on the lights heading towards Shepherds Bush.
Eastbound, though, is something else altogether.
More often than not, the motor traffic is queued up, the car parking along the parade of shops means there is a constant risk of getting doored, pedestrian islands cause pinch points but that doesn't stop motorists - including those driving buses or coaches - trying to squeeze past, and on top of all that you have to be vigilant at every junction for potential left hooks.
All this in a two or three hundred metre stretch of road.
The boroughs that *get* cycling - Ealing is one, even without Mini Holland money - are doing some terrific work.
Kensington & Chelsea, plus Westminster, don't - and given their central locations, that is an absolute disgrace.
I'm not a bike commuter, I don't ride a road bike in London, and I don't wear Lycra - the stereotype that opponents of segregated infrastructure would have you believe.
I just ride my ex-Royal Mail bike in everyday clothes with my little dog in the basket, and all I want is to get into town in one piece.
And every time I get through Holland Park and up the little kick to Notting Hill Gate, I let out a little sigh of relief.
14 June 2019, 14:08
Mail and Telegraph suggest Birmingham cycle lane has somehow caused congestion despite zero change to motor vehicle capacity
If you’re in a car, the road’s exactly the same. There was always congestion. This isn’t that complicated.
14 June 2019, 12:00
George Bennett has an opinion on Juan Jose Cobo
Cobo was stripped of his 2011 Vuelta a Espana win earlier this week.
In 2012 I was flying to tour of Beijing, I was sitting next to this fat mechanic from Movistar. About half way through the flight I realized it wasn’t a mechanic but the “winner” of the previous years vuelta. Everyone knew he was taking the piss- shame it took this long
— George Bennett? (@georgenbennett) June 13, 2019
14 June 2019, 11:13
Jim Davidson news!
To all you twitter moaners re my coment on my home town. It is purely the congestion and traffic I cannot bare but all you lefties can still call me racsist if if gets you off Charlton? You can bypass London and go through Kent.
— Jim Davidson (@JimDOfficial) June 14, 2019
Jim Davidson began trending on Twitter yesterday evening thanks to this charming post, in which he said he’s "never coming to London again" because of "khan" (sic). For the sake of argument we’ll assume he means Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.
Twitter then helpfully reminded Davidson - whose act features jokes about gay people and the disabled - that he was in fact due to appear at the Dorchester to ‘entertain’ people literally that evening.
This morning Davidson attempted to clarify his London boycott by saying: “It is purely the congestion and traffic I cannot bare”...
Why the entertainer might want to bare himself to traffic, we don’t know, but on the subject of moaning about congestion while driving around London, Davidson does have previous – he’s complained about the building of Cycle Superhighways in the past, and was caught on camera by the BBC shouting that “Jeremy Corbyn is an environmental disaster” during the Extinction Rebellion protests from the comfort of his large SUV.
14 June 2019, 10:54
People will die because of "cynical political stunt" says cycling commissioner after Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea ditches support for Holland Park cycle lane
Jeremy Clarkson and Felicity Kendal are among those who have spoken out against the proposed scheme.
14 June 2019, 09:48
Cycling Mikey's on TV now
A video's doing the rounds of a member of the public stopping a driver going the wrong way along a road to avoid traffic nearby.
Is it good to be a vigilante and call people out like this when they're breaking the law or doing something wrong? Or is it best left to the cops? pic.twitter.com/CZAUlDJr8u
— Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) June 14, 2019
The clip below is now up for debate on Channel Five show 'Jeremy Vine on 5' this morning. Responses on Twitter are mixed so far, we've stuck the telly on record to see what Jeremy's panel and audience make of it.
14 June 2019, 09:51
Congratulations...
14 June 2019, 09:45
MSPs vote against 20mph speed limit
We saw this one coming. The BBC reports that MSPs have voted down a bill seeking to make 20mph the standard speed limit on residential streets in Scotland.
Campaigners say a default 20mph in built up areas would improve road safety for the most vulnerable road users, and without a national standard, and a simplification of the “labyrinthine” process to reduce speeds, there will be a "postcode lottery" of safety on Scotland’s streets.
British Cycling said the bill, “presented MSPs with a golden opportunity to make our streets safer and more welcoming for people travelling by bike or on foot, giving them a real alternative to travelling by car.”
However, in a letter sent to Sustrans Scotland, the Scottish transport minister, Michael Matheson, said he would not back a blanket reduction of the national speed limit.
A majority of MSPs on Holyrood’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee then decided not to recommend approval of the bill, arguing that the “one size fits all” approach proposed was inappropriate.
MSPs voted accordingly. Friends of the Earth Scotland called the move "a damning indictment of a parliament that pays lip service to the need for a reduction in car use".
14 June 2019, 08:34
“That dent in your bonnet is your own fault”
“It's happened before and it will happen again,” we said when reporting a driver’s attempt to head down the wrong side of the road to turn right at a junction in Regent's Park earlier in the week.
Well, here it is happening again.
The video, which was again supplied by CyclingMikey, stars an irate Mercedes driver who simply cannot comprehend why the cyclist is asking him to go back.
After driving into CyclingMikey three times, he gets out of his car, at which point the police turn up.
The motorist was issued with two tickets – one for the driving offence and one for a public order offence.
The attempted shortcut cost him 25 minutes.
The driver from earlier in the week has also been sent a notice of intended prosecution.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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74 comments
What a tiresome troll you are. Go back www.rhafansite.com now... And brag about the cyclists you upset...
The 'might is right' attitude is the default. I'm at home today - one of the perks of being near the end of my tenure before the big move - and decided I fancied some snacks. The big Tesco is about a mile and a half from here. I drove. Because every single time I go out, it's aggro. Close passes, threats, left hooks. Dare to remonstrate - as I usually do - and they'll get out of the car to challenge you. Often, a knife is displayed or - as in one particular case that the police saw fit to ignore - a firearm.
This is the point where I should say something like, 'government policies are failing' because they're not encouraging active travel. But government policies are geared to make cycling as dangerous and inconvenient as possible, so as to increase use of the motor car.
In that respect, they are fabulously successful.
It does seem that way in practice. Generally they send the message that everyone is expected to be in a car most of the time - if you aren't, then it's made clear that you are a second-class citizen. What's most annoying is once they've finished making it as inconvenient and dangerous as possible to go anywhere by bike or on foot, then they start pronouncing that obesity and health is a matter of 'personal responsibility'.
I don't want a nanny-state, I just want a state that doesn't actively try to prevent me looking after my health.
And this is merely one of the astonishing things about the tory party election for who is going to lead our country; not a single mention of the environment, transport, NHS, just who took coke twenty years ago and what an utter twat Boris is but the tories prefer this pound shop Trump to the rest.
Only the driver can't see what is happening at the junction to the right and has no idea if any number of road users will appear. Then what will he do - I find that stopping is not an option for a lot of drivers.
I hoped you noticed that within 2 seconds of hte car being stopped a cyclist moves up the side of the car. Were they just supposed to get out of the way if Mikey had not beeen there? Do you really think the driver had clocked a cyclist was coming ?
My perspective on how roads work is that you should not drive on the wrong side of the road if it is not clear and you can't complete the manoeuvre safely nor should you overtake at a junction.
You seem to saying its ok to drive on the wrong side of the road if you can get away with it.
I can see his logic too. But are you really saying it is OK to ignore a keep left sign (mandatory order), drive the wrong side of a traffic island, on the wrong side of the road into the path of oncoming traffic whilst approaching a junction where visibility is compromised and out of which any traffic emerging is most certainly going to have their concentration focused on vehicles coming from their right, just to save yourself a few seconds and tell yourself it is OK to do that because a cyclist somewhere might possibly jump a red light later in the day?
Are you really saying that?
If you are, and if you have one, then please hand in you driving licence and get yourself retrained before before venturing out behind the wheel on the public roads again.
So in other words, ignore any parts of the highway code or law that you don't agree with?!
I have a driving licence, as well as a motorcycle licence. On my motorbike I could quite happily take that corner at 20mph, and I only have to check my right as I’m turning left. At no point in any of my training or testing for my licence was I told to look out for drivers on the wrong side of the road when turning left. In fact, looking left is pointless once you’ve confirmed nothing is on your inside and you’re positioned properly, your focus is traffic on the right because that’s where traffic is supposed to be.
Perhaps you should spend a little little time learning how the roads work for all users?
I always look left before turning left, just in case someone is crossing the road (particularly in an urban situation like that) or in rural areas in case someone is overtaking toward the junction, which has happened more than once.
As the old saying goes: -
There are Bold Pilots and there are Old Pilots, but there are very few Old & Bold Pilots. The same rule applies to Motorcyclist and from whay you've said about your riding style you're very unlikely to make it to latter category.
Beat me to it.
I've got a driving licence and a motorbike licence and I wouldn't take that corner without checking left, as there could be ANYTHING there.
Your instructor(s) may not have told you to look out for drivers on the wrong side of the road, but you DO get them, as evidenced by this video, and not just because they are impatient. You also get pedestrians crossing, traffic jams, parked vehicles, road works, oil slicks, debris, etc, occasionally waiting to catch you out...
Duplicated. Sorry.
Triplicated. Sorry (again).
P.S. How do you delete a post?
Umm, you can't. Best you can do is delete the content and replace with a full-stop.
You can now - or at least a delete button appeared on the button left of a post I wanted to bin (when editing it) the other day which seemed to work
You should look left though on a normal road.
Often now on side roads, parked cars mean to carry on along a road, you are on the wrong side and have to pass a junction too, so it's important to ensure that is it clear when you pull out.
I take care now as either party.
Although in the layout in the video, with the large concrete barrier, there would be no expectation of someone being on the wronog side. Well, I suppose there is now...
Except that the typical Mercedes doesn't come equipped with RADAR that allows its driver see around corners and it isn't fitted with sirens or flashing lights that might alert those who are approacing the junction. Also, you can bet that if they are approaching the junction on the wrong side of the road, and the wrong side of the traffic refuge island, they will also be cutting the corner.
What makes you think that the person recording the video has no driving licence, I don't know if the youtuber who recorded the video has ever said if he holds a driving license - not that a driving licence is required to use the road. Also, you can't really argue that the (presumed) licence holder is superior, when he does something that every instructor would fail him for - something which (according to the video) has already lead to a collision, at that exact location.
Or indicators, for that matter.
Except....
People (on bikes and in vehicles) come from that turning quite fast if theres no traffic coming up from Park Square East/Marylebone Road and do not expect traffic to be on the wrong side of the road.
It is used by a huge number of cyclists as a commuting route and from the early hours as a training loop.
You're defending a self-entitled idiot who was driving on the wrong side of the road and placed his convenience above other peoples safety.
You are an idiot and a dangerous one at that.
Stop wasting time on this oxygen thief. He's a troll - ignore it and move on
Really hoping (against all odds it would seem) that I missed the sarcasm in this post.
For info I have a driving licence and also a more than rudimentary knowledge of the highway code (having read it a few times both before my test nearly 20 years ago and since) and the driver drove down the wrong side of the road and even the wrong side of the traffic island because he couldn't be arsed waiting. There is no logic to the drivers behaviour just queue jumping arrogance, entitlement and lack of respect for others both other drivers in the queue in front of him waiting patiently and road users coming the other way including those coming round the blind bend into the lane he decided to use illegally.
For you to even try and explain it as logical reflects very poorly on yourself.
That's a deliberate collision and using the car as a weapon so hopefully more than a couple of FPNs.
Isn't Mikey the guy who pulled the emergency stop on a bus a couple of years back? Was also on this site.
However, he's going to end up getting seriously injured or properly lamped if he keeps doing that. Perhaps the Met should do an enforcement blitz there for a few days rather than leaving it to the general public?
That is a very dangerous closed junction, you can’t see much until the last minute of your approach from either side, and your priority is the check the right for traffic in your intended lane. It’s painted with double yellows for a reason, to keep it clear of obstacles. I’ve flown round there thousands of times when I used to ride the park, as I am entitled to do, it would be a bloody nasty collision for anyone hitting a car head or side on
My favourite bit about the whole incident was right at the end of the video when CyclingMike sees a bike go past and says "gorgeous bike". He's just a fan of cycling who has the means and cajones to confront these idiots.
I for one thank him for taking a stand against irresponsible drivers - hopefully a nice fine, some points, and a healthy dose of reflection are needed.
If I did something like that where I live, I doubt the police would find my body for a couple of months given the lack of resource my local police force has. Hopefully my wife would notice I wasn't around as much.
CyclingMikey, many thanks. We need more people like you. Perhaps cyclists need their own Extinction Rebellion?
You can see why he does this, as several cyclists are shown pulling out left into the middle of the road at some speed, because there is no traffic from the right. This is a collision waiting to happen, and CyclingMikey is saving broken bones and lives.
According to the video, it is a collision that has already happened.
Good for him, keep up the good work.
These drivers could easily collide with a pedestrian or cyclist or even another vehicle
. So his calm confrontational method is very effective in dealing with the self righteous
Yes, great outcome. Now would be a good time to quit the jumping-out-of-bushes bit while you're ahead.
I'm not generally a fan of deliberate confrontation, and with the wrong driver it could end very badly but my hat is doffed to Mikey - That is a thing of beauty. It could not have panned out better with plod turning up when they did, the driver getting a fine, points and a nice self inflicted dent as a wonderful reminder of the incident every time he looks at it.
Except that the only thing of which it will remind him will be the fackin' cyclist who got in his fackin' way when he wasn't fackin' doin' nuffink wrong, innit?
From now, until the day that he draws his last breath, that selfish c**t will never accept that he has done anything wrong. He is simply the 'victim' of a 'vigilante' cyclist. Of a 'lycra lout' who 'thinks he owns the road', but who 'doesn't know the difference between red and green', and who 'is always on the fackin' pavement'. And all of this without payin' no fackin' road tax.
And all of his friends will nod sympathetically, and tell him what he should have done to that 'cant', if the Old Bill hadn't turned up when it did.
I am constantly amazed that so many commentators on road.cc appear to completely underestimate the depth of the enraged, visceral hatred that the British driving public has for the British cyclist.
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