The Times Campaign for safer cycling

[Matt Eccles]

My concern is that this will lead to another grandeose and complex report that calls for major re-designs of road junctions and new legislation. Non of which is going to happen any time soon. We have to focus on building respect and understanding between cyclists and motorists. This may sound all fluffy but most people react well to being given some information that helps them see a different perspective. Especially if it's provided politely and in the context of how they see the world. Motorists need to understand just how scared they can make cyclists feel and why cyclists need space. Cyclists need to understand why motorists get frustrated by them ignoring road signs and signals and unneccessarily (that means when there is no reason to!) blocking the roadway.

[snibgo]

Yeah, reports and conferences (see today's Times) and council resolutions (eg Cambridge) and whatnot, with attendant publicity. All these things raise the consciousness of cycle safety in the minds of government and the public.

[Steady rider]

Can anyone provide details of cycling accidents in London compared to other areas, per billion km cycled? Injuries and deaths etc, by year.

[anothereye]

....Motorists need to understand just how scared they can make cyclists feel and why cyclists need space. Cyclists need to understand why motorists get frustrated by them ignoring road signs and signals and unneccessarily (that means when there is no reason to!) blocking the roadway.

+1

[reohn2]

My concern is that this will lead to another grandeose and complex report that calls for major re-designs of road junctions and new legislation. Non of which is going to happen any time soon. We have to focus on building respect and understanding between cyclists and motorists. This may sound all fluffy but most people react well to being given some information that helps them see a different perspective. Especially if it's provided politely and in the context of how they see the world. Motorists need to understand just how scared they can make cyclists feel and why cyclists need space. Cyclists need to understand why motorists get frustrated by them ignoring road signs and signals and unneccessarily (that means when there is no reason to!) blocking the roadway.

Agreed!

[Richard Mann]

I'd settle for the simple goal of making 20mph the default urban limit. 70% support according to the Guardian today. The point is that this changes the terms of trade.

[anothereye]

My concern is that this will lead to another grandeose and complex report that calls for major re-designs of road junctions and new legislation. Non of which is going to happen any time soon. We have to focus on building respect and understanding between cyclists and motorists. This may sound all fluffy but most people react well to being given some information that helps them see a different perspective. Especially if it's provided politely and in the context of how they see the world. Motorists need to understand just how scared they can make cyclists feel and why cyclists need space. Cyclists need to understand why motorists get frustrated by them ignoring road signs and signals and unneccessarily (that means when there is no reason to!) blocking the roadway.

Agreed!

That's why I created the Roadusers website (link below in my signature). I need a team to help develope and support it, any offers?

[snibgo]

From Hansard:

Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD):

Tomorrow, Members of this House will have the chance to debate the importance of cycling, following The Times’ cities fit for cycling campaign. The Minister for cycling, the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), has made some welcome announcements and investment, but there is still much more to do. Will the Prime Minister commit the Government to support The Times’ campaign, increase investment in cycling and take much greater steps to promote cycling across the country?

The Prime Minister:

The Times’ campaign is an excellent campaign, and I strongly support what it is trying to do. Anyone who has got on a bicycle, particularly in one of our busier cities, knows that they are taking their life into their hands every time they do so, so we need to do more to try to make cycling safer. The Government are making it easier for councils to install mirrors at junctions. We are putting £11 million into training for children and £15 million into better cycle routes and facilities across the country. If we want to encourage the growth in cycling that we have seen in recent years, we need to get behind campaigns such as this.

The Times appreciates Mr Cameron's support.

Tomorrow's Commons debate might be interesting after all, though I wonder how many MPs will trollishly rebuke cyclists for RLJing and the rest.

[Coffee]

Can anyone provide details of cycling accidents in London compared to other areas, per billion km cycled? Injuries and deaths etc, by year.

I was looking at just that the other day but I can't find it, I'm not sure how they measured it exactly but it was split into London boroughs with Cambridge being the highest for cycle accidents followed by Oxford. Anyone got it?

[snibgo]

Casualty and population numbers by region are in the RRCGB series. But I don't know where (if anywhere) we have numbers for miles cycled in regions.

EDIT: For a rough guide, see viewtopic.php?f=7&t=56244&p=471217#p471217

[Steady rider]

I have been looking for data and the report PPR 445 technical annex has some data. http://www.trl.co.uk/online_store/repor ... causes.htm
free download needs registration

also http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/201 ... asing.html shows a trend per 100 million km.

For the UK, compared to pedestrians, 1990 to 2010 and compared to distanced traveled, I found a reduction in safety of about 30% to 40%,( not in per mile of travel ).
as an example 1989 -1991, Average of 264 cyclist/1632pedestrian deaths =16.17% /3.23 billion miles = 5.0% index figure
roughly for 2008 -2010, about 110 cyclist/490 pedestrian = 22%, /3 billion miles =7.3% index figure

roughly per mile of travel, 89-90 , 82 deaths per billion miles, 2008-10, about 37 per billion, per mile cycling is safer but compared to changes in road safety and pedstrians it is less safe.

For London, more should be done but the rest of the country needs money for road repairs and improvements. The driving culture may need some attention - minimum passing clearance - but not likely.

[snibgo]

I have been looking for data and the report PPR 445 technical annex has some data.

So it does, using the numbers of people commuting by bike (in 2001) as the base, rather than distance cycled. When the 2011 census data is issued, it will be interesting to see how commuting has changed.

[Steady rider]

http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN06224.pdf
provides information to MPs for the debate later today.
Compare chart 3 with the

http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/201 ... asing.html

MPs are given the impression that there is not really much of a safety problem.

For London the helmet wearing rate has increased and Erke and Elvik (Norwegian researchers) 200710 stated: ‘There is evidence of increased accident risk per cycling-km for cyclists wearing a helmet. In Australia and NZ, the increase is estimated to be around 14 percent.’

The information provided to MP may deter them from asking the difficult questions, is there a connection with more accidents in London and helmet use.

[snibgo]

Thanks, Steady rider.

That briefing paper gives a cyclist KSI rate per billion miles by region, which they got from RAS30056. This is part of the RRCGB dataset but for some reason isn't included in the usual zipped package, which is why I didn't know about it. It is available separately.

[rootes]

just pleasing to see the power of big media... and the attention it can focus also shows that The Times knows how to run a campaign and get in public eye

- the CTC should learn from them (that is me speaking as a member as well).