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Cycle path (CC licensed by C:Flickr)Sustrans calls for action after 11 cyclist deaths in UK this month
It might be Road Safety Week, but for cyclists it’s looking more like Black November. Six cyclists have died on London’s roads so far this month, and elsewhere in the country there have been fatalities in Sheffield, Nantwich, Bath, Bristol, and Middlesborough. Active travel organisation Sustrans has called for action to stop the deaths, and suggested measures that would reduce the risk to cyclists.
The spate of deaths so far this month comes after a bad second quarter of the year. The number of cyclist casualties rose by 12 per cent between April and June this year compared to the same period last year and 2012 was the eighth year in a row that the number of seriously injured cyclists increased.
Sustrans policy director Jason Torrance said: “Urgent action must be taken by Government in light of the recent spate of deaths, to stop cycle casualties on our roads and to close the widening gap between improving safety of motorists and worsening safety of cyclists.”
The last few days have seen calls for action from many quarters. A die-in demonstration and vigil is being held outside Transport for London HQ on November 29.
The Save Our Cyclists petition has garnered over 30,000 names in five days.
But what sort of action is needed? The most widespread call from cycling activists has been for segregated cycle lanes that separate cycling from motor vehicles.
A Sustrans spokesman said: “We see segregated cycle lanes as a vital part of the solution to making it safer for people of all ages and abilities to cycle, however not in isolation. Together with lower speeds for cars, traffic free routes away from main roads or paths shared with pedestrians segregated routes improve safety and people’s perception of safety.”
The particular measures Sustrans would like to see include:
- Creation and use of ‘quietways’- low traffic side streets as designated main cycle routes, as opposed to use of busy main roads
- Street infrastructure designed for humans as opposed to cars
- Greater adoption of 20mph zones as default
- Better HGV driver training to deal with cyclists, possible ban at peak times
- Adopt continental best practice, there’s no time/need for research- good quality methods are already out there
And mindful of the death and serious injury rate among cyclists elsewhere in the country, Sustrans says: “It’s a UK challenge, not just London.”
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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45 comments
Much good sense written here - thank god! sanctuary!
I'd accept that sustrans are only helping the debate etc - but their one track solution as others have already pointed out is not a full solution.
Its not feasible to have segregated paths from everywhere to everywhere and eventually what segregated paths there are have to relinquish cycles onto the main infrastructure, where the drivers have now had less exposure to cyclists, whilst underlying the fallacious beliefs of some that cyclists don;t really therefore belong on the roads. It also creates another infrastructure for upkeep. Not withstanding the issues that are then created by the cycle becoming the HGV of any shared path - whoever dreamt up this particular lunacy needs committing.
The only solution is better education and generally better road layouts. Segregating traffic can only create even greater divisions.
Thanks John. Where did you source the data on accidents and deaths this year? I have been trying to find year-to-date stats for cyclist deaths in the uk for 2013 to no avail.
In Melbourne Au have some cycle lanes similar to the NZ above - the layout in the picture is dangerous - the lane takes you to the front in line with the left turning vehicles - without the cycle lane would normally take the middle of the lane or if possible to move across to the straight ahead lane
but with this type of segregation drivers expect you to stay in "your" lane
adding advanced stop boxes and early lights for cyclists fix the above but add complexity and are expensive and like all segregation don't deal with the real issues of driver behaviour
Elephant in the room time,
There are far too many angry drivers out there, and the police are either powerless? or not bothered!
A bad cyclist will get themselves killed, a bad driver will kill everyone but themselves!
Quite a lot of the discussion here is about whether Sustrans routes fulfil their purpose but I think that's not what this article is about. This is about Sustrans adding their voice to the call for safer conditions for cycling generally and I'm glad they are. The more people shout the more likely it is that things will change.
Regarding BIkeability, it's alive and well. It's not part of the school curriculum but is optional. Parents have to pay though councils sometimes fund part of the cost. I think in London the whole cost is funded so it's effectively free. So takeup depends on how much the schools support it and how many parents are actually interested.
Just noting the cycle track at the top of the article isn't wide enough to accommodate two cyclist passing. Failure in design there methinks. Try again Mr/Mrs/Ms "Car Biased" highways designer.
One of the main cycleways from Marsh Mills into Plymouth, Devon is 6ft wide shared with walkers, joggers wearing headphones, Dogs on leads, pushchairs and has then been barracaded by Plymouth City Council by numerous sign posts along with a running surface that was worn out ten years ago.
I'll take the smooth road adjacent to it thanks.
Problem with the traffic free cycle paths is inattentive pedestrians walking in groups filling the whole path, as well as dog walkers who often leave them off the lead or have silly extending dog leads that you can't see until you go over the handlebars.
Agreed about carelessness with dog-leads - but on the plus side, I'm glad that LEDs on dog collars have become commonplace. After dark the light on the dog is often the first warning that there's a pedestrian in the vicinity!
The problem with Sustrans' suggestion is that all the accidents in London this week have happened at junctions whereas segregation is only practical between junctions. If they can come up with a way to practically segregate junctions then I might listen but otherwise its a non-solution to the real problem that seems more concerned with promoting themselves than cyclist safety.
http://cyclingchristchurch.co.nz/general-a2b-by-bike/major-cycleways-wer...
came across this the other day, i have no idea about how it is going, my only experience of cycling in NZ is watching the posers going back and forth on Tamaki drive, Auckland on their Cervelo's.
Just the idea of putting metal posts in places to try and stop cars cutting corners, I am not sure how well they work, but it struck me as an attempt to enforce separation and would be easier than constructing raised kerbs.
How does one turn right (or even go straight on) on this sort of junction, particuaraly if you reach it when the lights are green? I'm open minded but this looks mental to me.
Bunnyhop!
I know, i put them up as an idea, not perfect, but i doubt there is a "perfect" solution. I know from experience that some drivers will straight line corners, in effect squeezing any rider in the cycle lane, also helps to enforce the no driving in the cycle lane/filter lane.
I guess you would have to pick the side of the bollards depending on whether turning right/left, or going straight on. I can see it working if it covers areas of a path but not all the path. But then how does the raised kerb approach on CS2 work in london if you want to take a right side turning?? or are there no un-traffic lighted junctions?
As an ex centre of excellence rider as a junior and young senior who ended up spending 18 months having cognitive brain therapy after being hit by a motorist on the wrong side of the road (he escaped prosecution completely) I have to comment that all this segregation stuff is ok but doesn't get to the root of the cause.
To my mind that is one very protected group in metal cages seemingly immune from laws of common sense and decency persistently driving into an extremely fragile and legally exposed secondary group with impunity.
We have hundreds of thousands of miles of perfectly suitable roads already, the problem is not necessarily segregation but simply the failure of government to give that vulnerable group any protection from the group acting as aggressor.
Like a playground where the seniors kill and assault the juniors on a daily basis instead of bringing the seniors into check with both punishment and widespread deterrent to end the culture of violence we instead sidestep that and concentrate efforts on erecting a flimsy fence to provide segregation.
I have to admit to having given up riding on the roads after other minor scrapes with my experience of the authorities treating all episodes with complete triviality, even after a previously banned motorist who deliberately drove at myself and a friend causing minor injury avoided any level of punishment. The police didn't even report the likelihood of his actions to insurers so the next time he presents he will pose as a responsible driver. Give it time and he will take a life, of course accidentally.
Training indoors is a poor substitute for something I had great passion for but until government and all its respective departments and personnel start taking road death seriously nothing will change.
Stay safe out there and let's keep the pressure up for widespread and drastic reform across the board, not just requests to be sidelined away from the roads to allow the dominance of the die hard motorist to continue.
My son has asked for a road bike for Xmas, everyday I point at the news & say that's why you're not getting one! Another day another dead cyclist. The police are not interested in fact they are just as bad, I was out cycling last Saturday on a country road & was passed by a cop car travelling with the blue lights but no sirens travelling at near supersonic speed which flew past me far too close!
Didn't YOU know that YOU are supposed to have a rearview mirror so that YOU can see him ? Another item to add to the " Hi Vis & Helmets " that some Cops decide , YOU are supposed to have ! Not that they are LEGAL Requirements , OR , can save you from the KAMIKAZE driving of some ?
Whilst riding London 2012 , i lost count of the number of times i saw Mr Plod , wander onto the Blue Paint , that was supposed to protect ME from the risk of Injury or WORSE !
English Speaking Countries have ONE Thing in common ! No " strict Liability & 1 1/2M safe pass Laws ! Here is a way that i think ALL Cycling Safety Org.s can HELP each other :
THis petition needs YOUR HELP :
https://www.change.org/de/Petitionen/ioc-chairman-thomas-bach-create-an-...
Nearly EVERY English Speaking Country refuses to have these " Strict Liability & 1 1/2M Safe Passing Laws ! Nearly Every EU Country has these Laws !
Thus it is NECESSARY for coordination across the World , Utilising THE BEST Initiatives available !
Why does it not bother YOU ? Even in the EU , there are mugs who think playing Chicken is OK , until I show up at their Clients Premises , Their Employers Yard and their Front Door , IF , i haven't stopped them at the side of the road , to remind them , that hitting me , puts them in the Dock/penitentiary , perhaps , EVEN their Employer also !
The main problem I have with 'cycle routes' and quietways is the lack of integration with the existing road network. There are plenty of cycle-only through-roads near me (Hackney), but the road signs say it's a no-through road. There tends to be no way onto routes from main roads, and if there is the junctions are unmarked, unsigned and unlit.
Cycle routes should actually go somewhere, and not be invented so councils can be seen to be doing something whilst either doing nothing or making things worse.
Going continental is a good idea, but if you copy the infrastructure without adopting the legislative environment in which it is embedded, you could actually make things worse. Dutch/Danish/Belgian/German infrastructure works (where it does work well, which is not everywhere) because of the different way people drive on continental Europe.
When we mention legislation, people sometimes jump straight to strict liability, but what I think is more important is that turning drivers are used to checking carefully for straight-on pedestrians before making turns in and out of side roads - they thus automatically "see" slow, vulnerable cyclists going straight on from a lane at the edge of the road even when they aren't looking out for them specifically. (They tend not to see faster cyclists in time - shoulder checks would be required for that, and not every driver is able or willing to perform shoulder checks.)
segregated lanes are not the answer. They will be not wide enough, so when fat bird on a bike gets into one we'll never get past.
They will have a raised lip to the right and if you do cross it you will incur the wrath of every motorist and his dog, more so that you do now.
They will cause more grief than there is now. The roads of the uk havent developed like those in Holland
Sustrans route in Leeds I sometimes use is a joke. If you are not visiting a school, housing estate or wanting to get caught in extended dog lead then it is to be avoided.
Do they still do cycling proficiency in schools?
Or are the kids too fat to fit on bikes now?
Maybe Bozza could get some funding from Barclays to reinstate this in schools in that London.
It's BikeAbility these days, but not all schools offer it. Hassle your local school and find out if they do.
http://bikeability.dft.gov.uk/schools/
Sustrans has 120 officers working in 1,400 schools to encourage cycling.
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-services/where-we-work/schools
Good to know that its still happening in some places at least.
My boy is coming up to the age when I did cyc prof at school.
I'll ask the school and pass on the website details. Thanks.
My daughter, in year 6, has just done Bikeability levels 1 and 2. Very good it was, too.
However, they were told the training was going to stop due to council finance cuts. Unfortunately Shropshire Council considers iPads for councillors, the crumbling statue of a long-dead warmonger and erecting ugly, overpriced, over-budget sculptures to be far more important than our kids' lives or a decent ambulance service.
Am I angry? You betcha!
Does Sustrans release data that measures how effective this is? I ask as I've never had experience with it or its routes, but wonder how many parents allow their Sustrans-trained kids to use their bikes unsupervised, or how many schools welcome pupils arriving on their bikes.
That is not an uneducated list of wants for safer cycling.
Although these road ways can make cycling safer I still think that more effort needs to be made to improve cyclists education.
There will always be a time when you must depart from one of these road ways and ride on multi-use roads, and when people do feel suitably equipped and able to do so (i.e. appropriately trained).
Compulsory training for school kids and meaningful attempts to provide cycle training for adults.
If there were proper cycle super highways it would be great. Many of you know the experience of riding the Prudential 100 - commuting would be so easy.
http://www.cheltenham.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces/547/honey...
When it isn't snowy/icey it can be a nice route, if you ignore the odd drunk, broken bottle etc (to be fair it is kept clean).
Apparently this is on Route 41, but as the council and GCHQ paid for it, what exactly is the point of Sustrans? There is no continuation of the route into outlying villages.
As far as i am aware the talks with Cheltenham Racecourse and the GWR have nothing to do with Sustrans, this is all local campaigners and the council.
For one thing they supply the volunteer rangers that keep an eye on the route and help to keep it clean, as well as fixing what issues they can and reporting bigger issues to the council.
You'll also probably find that Sustrans offered guidance on aspects of the route and pressured the council to tackle it properly. And Sustrans will be promoting the route locally and supplying maps, signage etc.
Sustrans don't pay for routes themselves unless they have no other choice as it is a hugely expensive option and they simply don't have the funds for it.
Well I can't speak for that area, but round my way (North East) Sustrans are pretty active in assisting local campaigns and offering advice and guidance to the council.
I don't think you're right. AIUI part of the deal that will see the path extended up to Bishop's Cleeve is that Sustrans will give the GWSR usage of the trackbed north of Broadway (which Sustrans owns).
Different to my understanding, GWR owns the trackbed upto hunting butts and won't allow any cycling on the trackbed. and the whole project stalled 20 years ago at PoW stadium, the surface only came much more recently, it used to be crushed rock and was a joke to ride on!
The GWR are also pushing to extend there track all the way to the mainline at Honeybourne. So whilst a section at the broadway/honeybourne end belongs to rail paths, not sustrans, it doesn't look likely it will get cycle use from what i see.
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