Search found 606 matches

by PRL
9 Feb 2018, 8:11pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Chris Boardman report - Made to Move
Replies: 3
Views: 1121

Re: Chris Boardman report - Made to Move

Thanks. On interesting read. Presumably in Manchester the Mayor controls all the roads ? London is bedevilled by a split between the Mayor and local Boroughs that makes planning almost impossible.
"we need to invest £1.5 billion to put cycle routes on every main corridor" sounds good but there is still the London split between
"wide segregated cycle lanes on main roads, offering quick journeys across Greater Manchester, local cycling routes through communities, and green routes that encourage slow cycling through residential streets."
The problem is that realistically you aren't going to get parallel routes so they all have to accommodate slow and fast cycling.
by PRL
8 Feb 2018, 7:51pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Stonehenge Tunnel = £1,600,000,000 (yes, that's right)
Replies: 88
Views: 6935

Re: £1,600,000,000 (yes, that's right)

Cyril Haearn wrote:The stones came from Wales of course
Cymru am byth!


The smaller stones did. The big sarsens were found closer. Uniquely the stones were shaped and jointed together so yes Stonehenge is very important.
by PRL
4 Feb 2018, 5:22pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Scofflaw bicycling: Illegal but rational
Replies: 34
Views: 3648

Re: Scofflaw bicycling: Illegal but rational

There is a very useful string of bridleways leading south from Outer London to the North Downs. Unfortunately one of the paths is legally a footpath - as can be imagined there are plenty of tyre marks and I will lead groups that way. It is pretty wide so we give give any pedestrians a very good clearance.
There is a good case for a review of rights of way based on usefulness not just precedence.
by PRL
3 Feb 2018, 4:57pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: ‘That’s not right...’
Replies: 71
Views: 7593

Re: ‘That’s not right...’

pwa wrote:I wonder if with the advances in affordable technology we are reaching a point where it might soon be practical to require every new motor vehicle to come equipped with cameras to record incidents and hang on to those recordings for long enough for the police to look at them to resolve complaints.

Also, we can't be far off vehicles having mechanisms that will stop a dopey driver pulling out at the wrong moment. It is usually the human being behind the steering wheel that is the weak link.


Just been to a demonstration of nearly that - albeit aimed at HGVs. It doesn't actually stop the driver but tracks cyclists and pedestrians and sounds an alarm if collision is imminent.( ? why not auto apply brakes at low speeds ? ) A related technology does have the option to keep cab doors locked if a cyclist is at risk of being doored

https://www.safetyshieldsystems.com/cyc ... ty-shield/
by PRL
3 Feb 2018, 4:28pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: A tougher line on speeding?
Replies: 305
Views: 15050

Re: A tougher line on speeding?

landsurfer wrote:
ianrobo wrote:
Wanlock Dod wrote:I doubt that they contribute anywhere near as much death and injury to our society.


and that is how police now look at things, priorities (because of the cuts) on the things that cause the most damage, 3500 get killed a year and my guess is vast majority speed is a factor. A shoplifting in comparison is nothing, ideally of course the funding should be there for both.


And my guess is vast majority speed is not a factor ..... what is the point of guessing where lives are concerned. Speed is an easy target ,,, if 2 cars collide at 70 mph on a motorway is speed a factor or is stupidity and bad judgement the issue ??


Priorities should be maximising damage reduction per pound spent. Speed is an easy and so cheap target.
Unfortunately stupidity and bad judgement are endemic - lower speeds allow more time to avoid collision and less KE to do the damage. If drivers allow a good margin below the limit to avoid the risk of slipping above it there will be downward pressure of general speeds.
by PRL
13 Jan 2018, 10:54pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: BBC Program - dealing with air polution
Replies: 0
Views: 640

BBC Program - dealing with air polution

Not directly related to cycling as it was based around a High Street in Birmingham with, as they found, very few cyclists but the arguments are very familiar from trying to get a cycling Quietway in Teddington.(which is actually more like the Waltham Forest road that was successfully changed)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b ... d=b09m2djj
by PRL
13 Jan 2018, 10:47pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: reclaim the word 'cyclist'
Replies: 67
Views: 4472

Re: reclaim the word 'cyclist'

reohn2 wrote:
Religion has to include a God or gods because that's the official meaning of the word religion.


As we don't have an Academy Anglais there is no "official meaning" of anything -apart from some technical scientific terms. Dictionaries just describe the way the word is usually used. :)
by PRL
30 Dec 2017, 10:27pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Dangerous cycling laws blah blah blah
Replies: 17
Views: 1467

Re: Dangerous cycling laws blah blah blah

Cyril Haearn wrote:I don't know the papers so well, is the dm the worst?
What about the express, sun, sport, I?


I would suggest that the DM is more poisonous as opposed to being simply stupid.
by PRL
26 Dec 2017, 5:31pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Is it OK to stop traffic with a Pelican/Toucan?
Replies: 55
Views: 6130

Re: Is it OK to stop traffic with a Pelican/Toucan?

Bmblbzzz wrote:There are some (many? most?) two-stage crossings which "anticipate", so if you press the button on side 1, when you get to the central island, the button for the next stage is illuminated without anyone pushing it.


Does anyone know if this is some sort of standard ? - it certainly ought to be.
by PRL
26 Dec 2017, 5:01pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Trouser clips
Replies: 34
Views: 2895

Re: Trouser clips

[XAP]Bob wrote:Ron hill tracksters...

Straps under the heels so the trousers done go anywhere...


Fine when one is "going cycling" ; but they don't really go with a dinner jacket. (Choir uniform)
by PRL
24 Dec 2017, 10:44pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Trouser clips
Replies: 34
Views: 2895

Trouser clips

Now that trousers tend not to have turn-ups and seem to be getting slippier old-fashioned cycle clips (if you can find them) tend to slip down to let the hem get mangled in the chainwheel. ( the right hand led seems to be most prone to slipping on the butter-side-down principle).
There is always the "tuck into socks solution" if the socks are of appropriate length but I recently tried a pair of what are sold as conspicuity aids in Ohlson's rather like this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Reflec ... 56&sr=1-34
They seem to self-coil well enough to hold trouser legs out of danger and, being wider and lighter, have less tendency to slip down.
Is functional cycling so uncommon that Trouser Clips have gone the way of the dodo ?
by PRL
24 Dec 2017, 10:22pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Thorn resistant tyres?
Replies: 57
Views: 4408

Re: Thorn resistant tyres?

rmurphy195 wrote:And there was me thinking the new-fangled chunky mountain bike tyres were tougher :shock:


I discovered the error of that thinking some years ago on a bridlepath just as the sun was setting. The rubber is pretty thin between the chunks isn't it ? :oops:
by PRL
24 Dec 2017, 9:53pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: 20mph zones "More dangerous."
Replies: 35
Views: 2571

Re: 20mph zones "More dangerous."

Bonefishblues wrote:
squeaker wrote:
Annoying Twit wrote:Isn't there an Independent Press Standards Organisation that a complaint could be sent to if the statistics are dodgy and misleading?

According to 20's Plenty, the original (with devious summary) report was from Bath council, which the local press picked up on, helped by a local politician. AKA more fake news :(

Your use of both "fake news" and "devious summary" carries an obvious implication that it was deliberate and deceptive. I can think of no reason why they would want it be so - do you have some insight on this?


I gather that there had been a change in administration since the introduction of the limits so twisting the figures to suggest an increase in risk when there was actually a decrease with would be political point scoring.
by PRL
23 Dec 2017, 1:27pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: 20mph zones "More dangerous."
Replies: 35
Views: 2571

Re: 20mph zones "More dangerous."

LollyKat wrote:There is an interesting thread over on YACF about this.

This is one of the posts:
http://www.20splenty.org/banes-report takes the lack of statistical rigour apart very nicely.


Lack of statistical rigour is an understatement. The total injuries went down significantly. By breaking the region up into small sections the report found that the injuries went up in more sections than they went down; mostly by random fluctuation given the very small numbers per section.
by PRL
8 Dec 2017, 7:55pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: What app for commuting route
Replies: 18
Views: 1599

Re: What app for commuting route

climo wrote:
theDaveB wrote:Downloading Osmand now to try.
Dave

Osmand is good but a confusing interface. Not sure about the auto routing. Phone only so you have use another program on your computer to plan in.
.


Osmand does become more intuitive the more that you use it. To be charitable they do get of lot of options in. The auto routing does depend on someone having correctly put cycle-able paths on OCM.