Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

For discussions within the Cycle Training profession.
Peter Fox

Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by Peter Fox »

Are you safe on a bike?
Try this quiz of nine questions to test your knowledge of where you should
be on the roads on your bike. Each question shows a road layout with
options for where a cyclist should position themselves. At the end you get
a score, risk rating and then full explanations.

<http://www.eminent.demon.co.uk/quiz/index.htm>

It is intended for cyclists who already 'think they know' how to use the
roads. Trials have shown that a lot don't. In those trials I was surprised
to see people I would have thought were spot-on being well adrift.

There is a confidential feedback form at the end for your comments. I'm
keen to get (then publish) statistics from this feedback form so that educating cyclists
can be tuned to pick up on common 'blind spots'.
Peter Fox

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by Peter Fox »

I should have said: There is a strong emphasis at the end to get people to call the CTC training hotline or get some training anyway.

Also it can be used to audit the effectiveness of training post-hoc.
mbadmin

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by mbadmin »

Peter,

Er, . . . . what quiz are you referring too ??

Is that gap in your original post where the link should have been.

mystified . . .. mbadmin
Pedaller

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by Pedaller »

By a Google search I found the quiz at http://www.mopoc.com/m3/v1/cycling/qstart.php
Neil

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by Neil »

I know I will get shot down in flames, but I think the test shown is not completely right.

In each case its suggesting ride or wait in the middle of the lane. Do this and all your do is turn more motorists against cyclists.

While I do ride wide of the curb and like to give myself plenty of space, I think you have to be wary. The image suggests being in the middle of the lane before turning left. Speed cars travel around my town roads, I don't move out unless turning right then give plenty of time and signals.

I think a lot more needs to be done than this very simplistic "quiz". Which could do more harm than good.

Ok ready to duck the knives (but not while riding please.......).
jizey

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by jizey »

i agre more detail all most expected a sales line after results nice idea thow
A V Lowe

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by A V Lowe »

On this topic I'd suggest people take a look at the Oxcam Survey and results on the Oxfordshire website - transport - cycling - cycle survey.

The questions forming part of a bus driver - cyclist relations study were warts and all, and uncovered behaviour patterns like riding through red lights - which showed a huge disparity between crashes and injuries and the lavel of activity - and provided a strong indication that red light bypassing facilities were needed rather than enforcement of an inappropriate law for cyclists.... getting warm isn't it.
trike-lady

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by trike-lady »

I took the quiz and got 1 out of 10 wrong - I knew I was doing something wrong with my cycling, due to my levels of stress when doing the school run with my kids - now I cycle well away from parked cars and can hear the whizzing traffic behind me slow down - but sometimes, the driver is so impatient, they STILL try to overtake, although there is less room - giving me much LESS clearance, so I don't know if I'm shooting myself in the foot.

Also, in tight spaces, I look into the parked cars and if I definitely see there's no-one in them, I cycle closer - I probably also feel guilty because I'm a slow cyclist.

One question for anyone out there - I often have to go under a single-lane railway bridge - the road is like an hour-glass shape with junctions very near at both ends of the road, with one road having priority over the other direction. I usually have to wait in the middle of the road to wait my turn - but sometimes, I'm so slow getting back on the bike and pedalling, that in the meantime a car has turned into the road from the other direction, sees me getting ready to go, but speeds up and drives under the tunnel. Sometimes, it ends up in a farcical situation where either the driver or myself, has to reverse out. Because priority is given to the other driver, what is my position?
rob@evolution

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by rob@evolution »

just completed the quiz. what a load of rubbish. i am also a qualified das instructor and cannot believe the unsafe training practices deemed acceptable for cyclists to use on the roads. if you followed their advice given at the end of the quiz, it would be only a matter of time before you ended up in hospital or the enemy of any motorised form of transport. whoever directed the training programme appears to have completely ignored anything that the Compulsory Basic Training for motorcycles unearthed during its formation over a decade ago. the CBT cut accident rates by 50% but the cycle training you're expected to teach born out by the quiz will raise accident rates....madness.
Jeremy Parker

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by Jeremy Parker »

The comment about CBT isn't very specific. I for one know nothing about motorcycle CBT, and can well believe that it has useful lessons for cycling, provided that the differences, as well as the similarities, between the two modes of transport are kept in mind

I suppose my questions are

1. What does the CBT course consist of?

2. How and why has it been fine tuned over the years?

3. What were the major types of accidents that were important in motorcycling. Which of those has CBT brought down, and which not?

4. How do bike accident types compare, or not, to MC accidents?

5. It is widely believed that there is a common "too cautious to be safe" pattern of bike riding. As seen from a MC perspective does this seem likely, and do MCists have it too?

6. As seen from a MC perspective some advice in the quiz is, supposedly, likely to increase accidents rather than decrease them. I have a strong interest in staying alive, so could we please be told which pieces of advice are dangerous, and why, and what we should do instead.

7. As an extra question, I should like to ask about measuring danger. There are several ways to do it, the usual ones being accidents per km, accidents per hour, or accidents per trip. The choice makes a difference to how dangerous different activities seem to be. So which is best in different circumstances? Is cycling really safer than walking as the usual measurements show? Of course, some activities are so dangerous that nobody tries them, and thus they result in no accidents at all.

Jeremy Parker
rob@evolution

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by rob@evolution »

jeremy, i promise to respond to your questions in better depth when i have more than 2 minutes (probably be friday now) but i would advocate any cyclist consider doing a one day CBT to better understand the safer way of dealing with (especially) major and minor junctions, roundabouts, etc.
troywinters

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by troywinters »

2 right....
I reckon this is done by some sort of idiot, certainly it's not the work of any bona fide organisation. keep doing what you normally do, if you've survived 10 years then it cant be too unsafe.
rodie

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by rodie »

As far as that test is concerned, I'm unsafe on the roads, yet I've been cycling for 30 odd years and not had a problem.

That test has been put together by someone who knows nothing about cycling, they need training themselves.
Josh

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by Josh »

Just had a go at the test. Got 1 out of 12 right :-D
The quiz suggested i was unsafe to be on the road but this year i have already done 200 miles without any accidents. The only accident i had last year was because of my new clipins!
Stupid test and if a novice took it it could mess up their cycling for ever!
crs1953

Re:Are you a safe cyclist - an on-line quiz

Post by crs1953 »

Are you a safe cyclist ? - an on-line quiz

I must agree with you all - I did that quiz when it was first posted back in April and I think I got either two or three 'correct'. I'd consider myself a competent cyclist on the roads and although I'm a 'returner' to cycling after many years, I was on a bike on the roads at the age of eleven - progressed to motorcycle at 16 - thence to cars with sporadic bouts of cycling. So... I consider myself to have 41 years of experience of being on the roads. Apart from the obvious massive increase in the number of cars using the roads, the only major change I've noticed is the attitude of most motorists to cyclists and that is one of INTOLERANCE

I now ride EXPECTING to have comments shouted at me from passing vehicles, to be cut up, to have people pull out in front of me when I'm half way round an island and all the other stunts that drivers pull. and I ride ACCORDINGLY - that is to safe safely (for me) and I stay within the rules of the highway code as far as is possible and as far as is practicable

So am I a safe cyclist ???? YES !!! just don't expect me to get too many quiz questions correct !!!!
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