The trouble with off-road cyclepaths
downfader
Posts: 3,686
Very sad:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... dered.html
These places can be so secluded, even if right under a main road it seems. Careful out there people! Ride in pairs or groups if you can and it makes you feel safe. Though it doesnt say if she was on a bike or not.
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I drove past there this morning, there was police tape everywhere and lots of cops around.
I almost went to my meeting by bike - which would have meant cycling along the same path - but I took the car as I had big shopping to do. The stretch of road there is 40mph dual carriageway and not at all bike friendly, the offroad path is at least completely segregated. It is, however, quiet. There's a new "urban village" been built nearby and this path is one of the nicer routes into town from it.
Condolences to those who knew the poor victim, and I hope the police catch whoever's responsible.Misguided Idealist0 -
Looks like the story has been added to, she was walking and mugged. Still vulnerable regardless, and I hope someone saw something of use to the Police.0
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I sometimes say that my route back from work takes me through places, that if you wanted to commit murder, you could get away with it.
I cycle as fast as I can and alert, but yes, it is frightening.
It is absurd that in this day and age we need Big Brother (CCTV with facial recognition) to feel safe...0 -
inspite of what might get printed, these things horrible as they are, are thankfully very rare.
people do get worried by the dark places, I'm very much still a country boy. and have no fear of the dark.0 -
roger merriman wrote:people do get worried by the dark places, I'm very much still a country boy. and have no fear of the dark.
I think you have slightly missed the point here.
The danger in dark places is that there is no way of witnessing an act, neither by the victim, not by a passer by.
Places such as the one where this murder took place have been intentionally been made to encourage locals to walk/cycle.
It is therefore paramount that the safety of those people is taken into account when designing underpasses, bridges etc.
I make a point, to look at the vehicle behind me on occasion, giving the impression to the driver that I am registering the details in my head. It would make it harder to get away with a hit and run.
But in unlit areas, that is quite difficult.
People are not afraid of vampires and werewolves, but of humans.0 -
fnegroni wrote:roger merriman wrote:people do get worried by the dark places, I'm very much still a country boy. and have no fear of the dark.
I think you have slightly missed the point here.
The danger in dark places is that there is no way of witnessing an act, neither by the victim, not by a passer by.
Places such as the one where this murder took place have been intentionally been made to encourage locals to walk/cycle.
It is therefore paramount that the safety of those people is taken into account when designing underpasses, bridges etc.
I make a point, to look at the vehicle behind me on occasion, giving the impression to the driver that I am registering the details in my head. It would make it harder to get away with a hit and run.
But in unlit areas, that is quite difficult.
People are not afraid of vampires and werewolves, but of humans.
The point being being attacked is very rare. your in far more real risk when popping down to the shops from being run over, to name just one.0 -
roger merriman wrote:The point being being attacked is very rare. your in far more real risk when popping down to the shops from being run over, to name just one.
That's neither a probability, nor a statistic, the claim you just made.
At best, is a guess.
If you want to get serious about statistics and probability, you must start putting some hard numbers next to those claims.0 -
fnegroni wrote:roger merriman wrote:The point being being attacked is very rare. your in far more real risk when popping down to the shops from being run over, to name just one.
That's neither a probability, nor a statistic, the claim you just made.
At best, is a guess.
If you want to get serious about statistics and probability, you must start putting some hard numbers next to those claims.
both murder and pedestrians seem to be about 650 folk, considering most folk who are murdered know their attacker...0 -
If you're walking on the pavement you get dozens of cars passing you every minute. Of the millions of cars that must have passed me, none have ever hit me.
When you're walking alone in a secluded area in the dead of night, you might only see one other person. Of the much smaller number of people that I have encountered whilst alone in the middle of the night, a handful have been aggressive (although obviously none have murdered me).
I'd be willing to bet that walking around at night has a higher chance of risk (mugged/mudered or hit/killed by a car) per encounter.
I do think it's more likely you'll get run over than murdered though.
I don't think many people would try to attack somebody who is cycling past. As an attacker, you might manage to knock the cyclist off and cause some injury, but I wouldn't want to risk getting in the way of 80+ kgs going at 20+ mph. So I think we are pretty safe.0 -
Also note the usual Sun comments. :shock:
If that's what people actually think, why don't I just kill myself now eh?0 -
frinkmakesyouthink wrote:Also note the usual Sun comments. :shock:
If that's what people actually think, why don't I just kill myself now eh?
If you think those comments are bad the Daily mail report has filled up with people going "vote BNP, they'll stop this happening" Err right... :roll:0 -
downfader wrote:frinkmakesyouthink wrote:Also note the usual Sun comments. :shock:
If that's what people actually think, why don't I just kill myself now eh?
If you think those comments are bad the Daily mail report has filled up with people going "vote BNP, they'll stop this happening" Err right... :roll:
Frankly, I think that there's no need to have a "send us your comments" section after this sort of news story.
Most of the respondents either try to twist the story to meet their own agenda or merely to provoke others. A waste of their time writing, and mine reading it.Misguided Idealist0 -
Fireblade96 wrote:downfader wrote:frinkmakesyouthink wrote:Also note the usual Sun comments. :shock:
If that's what people actually think, why don't I just kill myself now eh?
If you think those comments are bad the Daily mail report has filled up with people going "vote BNP, they'll stop this happening" Err right... :roll:
Frankly, I think that there's no need to have a "send us your comments" section after this sort of news story.
Most of the respondents either try to twist the story to meet their own agenda or merely to provoke others. A waste of their time writing, and mine reading it.
TBH I agree, and have reported several comments on newspaper sites like that. The DM site is one of the worst for "moderation" in all its forms. I've had a free day though :oops:0 -
I particularly (dis)liked the comments on the DM site about the (potentially) mentally ill man who was executed in China.
Stuff like 'Good! They don't have drug problems in China'.
True. They also don't have basic human rights and their government executes 5-6,000 people each year (most of them by firing squad).
I have noticed that people have been getting much worse in the last 18 months. Maybe it's because I'm becoming more aware of it, or maybe it's actually because people are getting more ridiculous, but either way I'm not happy about it.0 -
frinkmakesyouthink wrote:I particularly (dis)liked the comments on the DM site about the (potentially) mentally ill man who was executed in China.
Stuff like 'Good! They don't have drug problems in China'.
True. They also don't have basic human rights and their government executes 5-6,000 people each year (most of them by firing squad).
I have noticed that people have been getting much worse in the last 18 months. Maybe it's because I'm becoming more aware of it, or maybe it's actually because people are getting more ridiculous, but either way I'm not happy about it.
I was speaking to an asian friend at work.. seems a tide might be changing socially, people are turning to the right in a way they havent since the early 80s and certain old rehashed arguments are being aired.
We can help this by being logical about it and challenging the stupid comments where we can.Social networking sites and the internet has taken the place of the traditional pub conversation and breeding grounds of bigotry. :?0 -
"The only people who respond to these kind of news stories are a small but vocal minority who do not reflect society as a whole" Is a mantra I frequently use to lull myself to sleep (normally repeated over and over while clutching my knees and rocking slowly backwards and forwards; a replacement of the 'Find a happy place' mantra I used to use, before Bovis Homes redeveloped my happy place into a series of surprisingly small town houses).
The wonderful Bristol Evening Post has run with a story about the stabbing of a cyclist this morning on an off-road cyclepath.
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/homepage ... ticle.htmlFCN: 50
