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news
Cycling in the dark (CC lisenced by Flickr user Boegh)Mum of cyclist killed in road traffic collision launches petition for all bikes to be sold with lights
The mother of a teenage cyclist who lost his life when he was hit by a van near Leeds last year has launched a petition calling on the government to make it compulsory for all bikes to be sold with lights.
The Yorkshire Post reports that at about 7.10pm on October 22, 2018, 14-year-old Charlie Fox was riding his bike with two 15-year-olds boys in Bullerthorpe Lane.
The driver of a Mercedes Sprinter van heading in the opposite direction attempted to overtake a white Volkswagen Polo on a blind bend and hit them.
A 28-year-old man from Castleford was arrested on suspicion by causing death by dangerous driving and released under investigation.
In her petition, Fox’s mum Rebecca Roe writes: “It needs to be made a requirement by law that bicycles be sold with lights.
“Cycling is encouraged by the Government, with more people using bicycles as their main transport. There are many cycle lanes on roads across the country but still legal to buy bikes without lights, despite it being the law to use them between sunrise and sunset.
“All vehicles sold must have working lights. The law needs to move with the times to keep cyclists safe whilst on our roads.”
The petition has so far attracted over 4,000 signatures.
Roe explained: "I don't want to change the current law of bicycles needing lights between sunset and sunrise, I just want bicycles to be sold with them so people and children can abide with the law a lot easier. At the minute, I believe people’s knowledge of the law is very little.
"I know some people consider this common sense but when children have been riding their bikes since the age of four, and you buy with reflectors, I think we are led to believe they are good enough for night – certainly dusk when this happened to Charlie.
"There are no signs up in shops when buying a bike to tell you the law, we are not told the law upon purchasing a bike and bike lights are not discussed at all.”
Among those linking to the petition has been the Labour MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad.
Please sign and RT this petition to keep young cyclists safe on the road. https://t.co/gkpltL9qM7
— Emma Dent Coad (@emmadentcoad) August 6, 2019
The tweet was criticised by a number of users who pointed out that Dent Coad recently opposed a proposed segregated cycle route through Holland Park.
“I've been campaigning on road safety for 25 years or so,” said Dent Coad in reply to one. “This was not a good scheme and wd destroy 27 trees.”
I cycle through your constituency lit up like a Christmas tree, and still I face two or three dangerous incidents every week
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) August 6, 2019
We’ve previously reported that Dent Coad left a public meeting about the Holland Park cycle route with a woman who had falsely claimed to be the aunt of a cyclist killed in Notting Hill.
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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41 comments
DOn't know about this one, but the driver who killed Professor Maria Bitner-Glindzicz died in his sleep before his court hearing so wasn't able to answer any charges
Is that killer driver Dr Helen Measures who showed no remorse and said it wasn't her fault if a cyclist fell over and she ran over them while overtaking on (coincidentally) a blind bend?
Just checking, for the search engine algorithms...
I have an issue with the term "Blind Bend" it implies zero visibility and I don't believe there is such a thing on UK roads.
There are however a number of bends where the driver is required to reduce his speed in order to negotiate the corner correctly. By correctly I mean in a manner that means they can always stop in the distance that is visible and clear ahead. Not neccessarily at the speed limit or the speed that their car will maintain grip.
So its not a blind bend, it is a driver going too fast for the conditions in front of them
Lighting the bike will not fix selfishness and impatience
Usual case. I get sick of hearing people talk about 'Dangerous roads'. There is no such thing as a dangerous road. All roads are made from tarmac. It doesn't move, it isn't alive. The danger comes from the fuckwits who use the roads. I would guess that the majority of motorists would fail their driving test if they took it again and drove like they do in everyday life. Most of my daily commute on the bike involves keeping out of the way of people with their phones stuck in front of them, on their laps, racing to beat the lights, going through on red, eating breakfast behind the wheel, putting make up on whilst driving at National speed limit etc etc etc.
I live in the same village as the poor lad who died, and have seen a lot on our local Facebook group about this sad incident. Sadly the petition isn’t the right way to go, there was discussion on the FB page about the best course of action, but the mother is determined that changing the law is the way forward. It’s really sad, but the law already says that you have to have lights on when it’s dark, and they don’t cost much at all, but the lad didn’t have any on his bike. That road is also notorious as a racetrack, it twists, turns, has blind corners and changes levels all over the place, so there are hidden brows. Lights wouldn’t have made any difference at all, where it happened the stupid van driver wouldn’t have seen a bus coming the other way.
From what I've read the crash was caused by a driver overtaking on the wrong side of the road on a blind bend. Dent Coad seems to be struggling to provide a link between this and the boys on their bikes. Looks like she's using this tragic incident to push her own agenda.
And the van driver was charged with causing death by *dangerous* driving. Given how infrequently that seems to happen, the police and/or the CPS must have felt that blame for this very definitely fell on the van driver and not on the kids on bikes.
Surely the problem is dangerous driving not lights? What use are lights it people overtake into blind corners?
Which is funny, because I hear conversations along the following line in my local bike shops all the time...
"Is there anything else I need?"
"Well, you do need to have lights after dark."
"Oh - what sort?"
"It depends - are you mainly riding in the streets in the city, or outside the city?"
I think the problem here was that the Sprinter overtook on a blind bend. A blind bend. So, one you can't see around. How were lights going to help?
Interestingly none of the reports of the original incident seem make any suggestion that the cyclists involved did not have lights on.
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