WMP blog on cycle safety

[BakfietsUK]

I am sorry but I don't see the context of the eye contact discussion origin.

One thing I have observed is when a vehicle is coming head on along a narrow road, eye contact can be less desirable. Often drivers will assume I will yield if they make eye contact with me. So it appears that any eye contact benefit is not in my favour as a cyclist. Eye contact is a two way street, if you forgive the pun. My experience is that once some drivers see you are alert, they assume that will mean you are the one that is going to take responsibility to stop, to avoid a collision. Wouldn't that be natural for a cyclist in a position of relative vulnerability and some drivers know this. Not making eye contact can encourage the driver to take their share of the responsibility, as they can't be sure I have seen them and they become more wary of my presence (result!). So if they cant make eye contact with me, they become less dangerous to me. However, it does not mean I am not looking at them or riding irresponsibly.

Most times mutual respect comes in and it is perfectly possible for both myself and the oncoming vehicle to pass safely. The above example is an extreme situation, which occurs when the driver is not being considerate and significant evasive action may be needed.

I would be most interested to hear about the features of eye contact that would serve to contradict my observations. Particularly when there is a "power" differential such as would occur between a car and a bike.

[meic]

Generally the eye contact is just about establishing that they have looked at and seen you, rather than a battle of wills and who has supremacy, the bluffing would be a waste of time on somebody who hasnt even seen you!

[thirdcrank]

Without looking back at the blog to check the exact words, I thought he meant don't rely on presumed eye-contact. So, if you see somebody about to emerge from a junction and they are looking the other way, then they may well not have seen you. OTOH, if the driver seems to be looking at you, that's no guarantee that you have been seen. As in SMIDSY

It seems to me that this is like the HC advice on traffic signals by other than authorised persons. Without looking it up, it says something like that they should be treated with caution. Don't rely on the passer-by waving you out of a junction, but if you see somebody franticly waving slow down signals on a windy road, it may well be that there's something like a flock of sheep just round the bend

[Mattyfez]

He says:

"[Education] doesn’t reach the target audience........Our time and effort........is better spent enforcing the law and prosecuting"

and then:

"the offender will be given a choice, prosecution or 15 minutes spent being educated"

Meaning that the education will then be reaching the target.

That's what I took it to mean, education in the media, such as posters, car stickers, adverts etc, is a lot less effective then more direct education I.e. pulling offenders over and giving them a talking to, and if they don't like it, they get charged with not paying due care and attention.

[Bonefishblues]

...and on the BBC now too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37384899

[thirdcrank]

I wonder if those natty jerseys are available for the public to buy? A variation on the theme of a hi-viz top with the word POLITE.

It will be interesting to see how this progresses.

FWIW, I think they would have been better just showing the overtaking clearance and not the 0.75M between the rider's riding line and the kerb because I could see drivers claiming that a rider in primary position was riding too far out, based on this police "guidance."

I hope it works. I hope it is a long-term initiative and not just a short-term thing. I hope it's the start of something that becomes much more general.

[Si]

Where's the other 25cm gone?

[gaz]

1m "dynamic envelope" only applies to a moving cyclist. The cyclist illsutrated is stationary .

More worrying is the clearance the motorist gave the stationary pedestrian .

[thirdcrank]

This from a local rag which seems supportive, including an endorsement from Chris Boardman


http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/mi ... e-11897479

[Pete Owens]

Shame about the picture which makes the common mistake of assuming cyclists have a width of zero.

Perhaps the cyclist could have illustrated this problem to the policeman by performing a right hand signal while riding through the shot.

[thirdcrank]

Apparently they have been issuing some NIP's

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-engla ... d4ca649380

Motorists prosecuted for driving too close to cyclists

Fourteen motorists will receive prosecution notices for driving too close to cyclists.

The Central Motorway Police Group tweets the drivers were given the notices this week.

Motorists who drive too close to cyclists as they overtake are being targeted by West Midlands police officers on bikes.

Cyclists should be given at least the same space as vehicles, widely considered to be 1.5m (4.9ft), and offending drivers risk prosecution.

[gaz]

WMP are doing a Q&A session at The West Midlands Cycling Forum 14 Dec at The Auditorium, B'ham City Council, Woodcock St 17:30hrs onwards

[landsurfer]

I use eye contact and wheel movement from training i had for my motorbikes. This was a present from my lady at the time and was literally an eye opener.
Is there such a thing as an active cycling course ??

[AndyK]

I use eye contact and wheel movement from training i had for my motorbikes. This was a present from my lady at the time and was literally an eye opener.
Is there such a thing as an active cycling course ??

It's often called "Urban cycling" training, but it's mostly Bikeability Level 3 stuff:

At Level 3 you can:

prepare for a journey
understand advanced road positioning
pass queuing traffic
perceive and deal with hazards
understand driver blind spots
react to hazardous road surfaces

In some local authority areas it's possible to get it for free.
https://bikeability.org.uk/

[mjr]

Bloody hell, amazing! How can we get them to circulate this to ALL police forces??

Take it to, your county-council-level Road Casualty Reduction Partnership and the roads policing lead officer (here that's an Inspector). Asking your police commissioner(s) and MP(s) for it probably wouldn't hurt, too.