CyclistSoS

pamuzu

Hi,

CyclistSoS has been launched today and is receiving a good amount of interest.

Details are on the site. It's a more militant approach and hopefully one that will make the streets safer for us to spin.

http://cyclistsos.blogspot.com/

Pross

pamuzu wrote:

Hi,

CyclistSoS has been launched today and is receiving a good amount of interest.

Details are on the site. It's a more militant approach and hopefully one that will make the streets safer for us to spin.

http://cyclistsos.blogspot.com/

'Militant', 'waging war' just the sort of thing we don't need really.

pdstsp

Have to say I tend to agree with Pross on this. Also if you watch the clip Hit By A Car - don't think that's a gap I would have gone for - I know the car indicated late but still.

Herbsman

Pross wrote:

pamuzu wrote:

Hi,

CyclistSoS has been launched today and is receiving a good amount of interest.

Details are on the site. It's a more militant approach and hopefully one that will make the streets safer for us to spin.

http://cyclistsos.blogspot.com/

'Militant', 'waging war' just the sort of thing we don't need really.

Too right. Really bad approach.

pamuzu

All feedback taken on board. However...

How often do you ride and not feel concerned at every T junction? Do you trust the actions of motorists? When its raining do you trust that motorist and pedestrians will allow for adequate braking distance.

Cyclists are killed every week through poor driving. Militancy needed? OK a harsh term, but action is required.

pamuzu

Pross:

'Militant', 'waging war' just the sort of thing we don't need really.

All we want to achieve is safer roads. Are there other means by which we can achieve this? Motorists have speed cameras and now bike cameras.

If people drive with care for cyclists then there isnt a problem?

rolf_f

pamuzu wrote:

Cyclists are killed every week through poor driving. Militancy needed? OK a harsh term, but action is required.

Where are your numbers to back that up - according to this http://road.cc/content/news/24515-updat ... nuing-fall in 2009 104 cyclists were killed on the UKs roads and about 24% of those were SMIDSYs. There is also a total of 25 deaths to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders attributed to being passed to closely. It adds up to less than 1 a week due to poor driving. If you are going to run this sort of website, you need to be accurate in your facts.

And yes, it does seem unhelpfully militant. Waging war against motorists won't help the cause at all.

diy

If you are going to improve road safety for cyclists, then we need to look holistically at the problem. There are as many stupid, risk taking cyclists who don't look as there are drivers. Speed cameras do nothing for road safety. Its ridiculous to expect pedestrians to owe us a duty of care. They owe us none, its our responsibility to ride in a manner that allows for them. If 24% of cycle accidents are SMIDSY then that is really low. There were some good research projects that showed over 80% of urban motorcycle accidents were SMIDSY, by comparison.

The cycling community could benefit from a similar stance to motorcycle safety where the focus of safety campaigns is largely "what can I do to make me safer".

Pross

pamuzu wrote:

All feedback taken on board. However...

How often do you ride and not feel concerned at every T junction? Do you trust the actions of motorists? When its raining do you trust that motorist and pedestrians will allow for adequate braking distance.

Cyclists are killed every week through poor driving. Militancy needed? OK a harsh term, but action is required.

Whenever I ride, I wouldn't cycle if I felt concerned at every T junction. I try to ride defensively in traffic and anticipate risks ahead. With the appalling levels of cycling I see on a daily basis I'm surprised there aren't more road deaths. Yes, there are dangerous drivers out there but as a percentage I would say there are far more bad cyclists and that the best way of reducing cycling casualties would be to have better education of cyclists.

shouldbeinbed

how many motorists onestly do you think "share the ambition of harming cyclists" ? 99.99% of all motorists just want to get from A to B as well and are fine, there isn't some sort of special radio program that only beams to cars subliminally saying kill, kill, kill.

I don't feel particularly threatened or concerned either or I wouldn't cycle, I have a wife and children to think of the conseequences for & I'm a cyclist not a masochist. I live north of Manchester where there's less cycling culture than the south side too.

The BMR pothole video, you're running generally a bit towards the gutter (notoriously bad pothole territory) e.g. the white car stopped on the pavement, you'd have hit it on your standard line, you didn't even deviate all the way out of the door zone. Are you sure you're confident enough cycling in traffic to take an assertive line.

Also intersting to note all the passes by vehicles were more clear of you & one was fully over the white line, kinda refutes the 'they're all out to get me' line.

Hollins Road in Oldham was as bad but pestering Oldham Council directly, photos on their twitter feed, reporting them to CTC's fill that hole etc, Tackling it in a positive and constructive criticism manner has seen the holes filled - admittedly it looks like a patchwork quilt but at least its no longer a wheel killer.
Don't you think such an overtly aggressive tone and stance as yours towards LA's is likely to be counterproductive and see you simply written off by them as a grumpy crank?