Something bad is coming........

daniel_b

timbo_tim wrote:

Yes, this will entirely be ZPR - best I can tell a very small team, lacking in diversity (assuming the team photo on Twitter is up to date https://twitter.com/zprsoho?lang=en), so probably no sensible voice chiming in with 'are we sure about this?' or any regular cyclists on the team.

no regular cyclists? their tw@t feed begs to differ with team member Holly displaying the depth of their knowledge about cycling / sharing the road!
https://twitter.com/ZPRSoho/status/914878357673783297

Not one, but TWO daily hate mail front pages displayed proudly behind them.

kleinstroker

Jesus Christ, what a dick move from Halfords! How stupid can they be, obviously the survey was hijacked by black cabs who have been vociferous anti-cycling muppets

prowlbass

@ Daniel B: They're consumer PR ... Daily Mail is THE target. Consumer backlash is tiny compared to readership figures - any consumer team from any PR agency will covet DM coverage.

veronese68

kleinstroker wrote:

Jesus Christ, what a dick move from Halfords! How stupid can they be, obviously the survey was hijacked by black cabs who have been vociferous anti-cycling muppets

A lot of knowledgeable cyclists already look down on Halfords. They know that some of the bikes they sell are good value, but are prepared to deal with them knowing they must check them over rather than ride off with possible defects. So they already deal with them with a degree of trepidation, this may affect that market a little.
The average punter buying a bike for their kid or to wobble to the pub on won't give a monkeys.
Overall, I suspect it won't make much difference to them. Unfortunately.

wolfsbane2k

FFS.
Not seen it in MSM yet, not sure if they won't take it for the marketing crap it is and ask for cash to talk about it.
No surprises about the results though... I wonder if the survey itself will ever be made public.

bendertherobot

So far it's limited itself to BikeBiz and road.cc. LOL

wolfsbane2k

bendertherobot wrote:

So far it's limited itself to BikeBiz and road.cc. LOL

It's got into print somewhere according to Twitter. Where did I see that....

Ah.
https://twitter.com/AsEasyAsRiding/stat ... 4112903168

bendertherobot

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

So far it's limited itself to BikeBiz and road.cc. LOL

It's got into print somewhere according to Twitter. Where did I see that....

Ah.
https://twitter.com/AsEasyAsRiding/stat ... 4112903168

Yeah, saw that one. It's a bit rubbish too and, for anyone with comprehension skills (depending on the paper!) it's as easy to extrapolate that driving sentences are too low.

bendertherobot

Then, inevitably, the cycle community comes up with stuff like this:

Cyclists, @Halfords_uk wants you to be compelled to have reg numbers on your bikes & be forced to wear hivis. Please boycott them for that

It doesn't. It commissioned a crappy PR company to ask some crappy questions which anyone could have predicted the result. It also asked about e-cars, camping, DIY and driverless cars. It's a load of puff.

Ben6899

Halfords UK should be more careful who it commissions.

bendertherobot

It should, and I'd imagine it may well do so now, but to pretend that this is a piece about cycling number plates, or even cycling safety is disingenuous.

cookeeemonster

bendertherobot wrote:

It should, and I'd imagine it may well do so now, but to pretend that this is a piece about cycling number plates, or even cycling safety is disingenuous.

Yeah but we all know which bits will be reported/emphasised/lied about by the DM and so on don't we?

bendertherobot

We do, though, so far, that doesn't seem to have happened. We've already seen surveys that deal with harsher penalties for cycling, and the DoJ's announcement on that. So this hasn't really added anything. The furore seems simply to be about number plates.

awavey

maybe its the way the report is written, rather than the reporting on the report if you know what I mean. It says things like...a convincing 59 PER CENT OF RESPONDENTS EVEN BACK THE INTRODUCTION OF NUMBER PLATES FOR CYCLISTS, to encourage responsible riding...

I mean it comes across as a sales pamphlet for Halfords, ooh buy e bikes as they are popular, oooh buy hiviz & lights like we sell ,oooh buy Haynes manuals (seriously do they still publish those about proper cars thesedays) for all your maintenance solving issues because you can rest assured none of our staff have ever read them

funnily Bikebiz also reports on a different YouGov survey carried out by BC, who amazingly found adults find it difficult to make friends, but the solution is sign upto a HSBC UK Ride Social :roll:
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/i-need ... ing/022031

kingstongraham

Those 43% should be made to prove they know how to fix a loose bike chain.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Is it just me, or have they wiped all the comments about the article?

bendertherobot

NitrousOxide wrote:

Is it just me, or have they wiped all the comments about the article?

No, it's not you. There were definitely some.

Carlton is annoyed that the Sun has it now, save that it's most the PA piece regurgitated. There's a better piece in the Indy, but he's annoyed as that doesn't cite him as a source.

kleinstroker

Give it a couple of days to gather steam and will have double page exposes of the dangers of cycling in the DM Etc
I really don't get the hysteria against something as benign as cycling

DrLex

Indy piece referred to, above.

bendertherobot

I'm not sure it's really gathering any steam. Most of the articles are the PA piece, some have a few more words. The indy, at least, has some examination of it. Even that one doesn't really go into what the survey was about. Plates were one question in, what, 50 or so?

fenix

Mehhh.

How can numberplates on bikes work ? There's nowhere to fit them so that say - a pedestrian could see the number to report the miscreant. The idea of it is as stupid as something like Brexit....

kleinstroker

Fenix wrote:

Mehhh.

How can numberplates on bikes work ? There's nowhere to fit them so that say - a pedestrian could see the number to report the miscreant. The idea of it is as stupid as something like Brexit....

Had the same argument on Twitter with a cabbie. He just didn't get it.

Walls82

Not even worth debating number plates for bikes - any government would baulk at the setup costs & unless they made it illegal to ride another persons bike it would be utterly pointless as you would never be able to prove who the rider was.

Though I do like the idea of trying to prove who the guilty party was on a recklessly ridden tandem.

rick_chasey

Would be a huge blow to public health.

fenix

kleinstroker wrote:

Fenix wrote:

Mehhh.

How can numberplates on bikes work ? There's nowhere to fit them so that say - a pedestrian could see the number to report the miscreant. The idea of it is as stupid as something like Brexit....

Had the same argument on Twitter with a cabbie. He just didn't get it.

Aah Cabbies - you do meet some awful Cabbie accounts on Twitter. Really nasty. Not winning me over to their cause v Uber at all. Mind you I rarely use either.

veronese68

kleinstroker wrote:

I really don't get the hysteria against something as benign as cycling

Benign? Are you having a laugh? Cyclists are deviants of the worst kind, they'd rather keep fit and not add to the traffic and pollution problems. They even enjoy themselves whilst doing so. It's wrong, wrong I tell you. Not only that but they kill a fraction of the number of people that motorists do.
I'm just trying to see this from the viewpoint of a Daily Heil reader, it's not really working is it? :roll:

kleinstroker

Veronese68 wrote:

kleinstroker wrote:

I really don't get the hysteria against something as benign as cycling

Benign? Are you having a laugh? Cyclists are deviants of the worst kind, they'd rather keep fit and not add to the traffic and pollution problems. They even enjoy themselves whilst doing so. It's wrong, wrong I tell you. Not only that but they kill a fraction of the number of people that motorists do.
I'm just trying to see this from the viewpoint of a Daily Heil reader, it's not really working is it? :roll:

Exactly!

rjsterry

timbo_tim wrote:

Yes, this will entirely be ZPR - best I can tell a very small team, lacking in diversity (assuming the team photo on Twitter is up to date https://twitter.com/zprsoho?lang=en), so probably no sensible voice chiming in with 'are we sure about this?' or any regular cyclists on the team.

no regular cyclists? their tw@t feed begs to differ with team member Holly displaying the depth of their knowledge about cycling / sharing the road!
https://twitter.com/ZPRSoho/status/914878357673783297

Anyone reminded of Siobhan from Perfect Curve?

Moonbiker

How about number plates for joggers after that london bridge incident?




Number plates not very aero. :roll:



Not a good look for the local TT

rolf_f

I'm up for bicycle number plates as long as, in all fairness, pedestrians have to have numberplates as well. I mean, they step into the road, knock you off your bike and then sidle off without giving you their pedestrianing insurance details. I'm outraged.
The only exception to this should be where pedestrians do not at any point step into the road since logically number plates should only be applied to all road users whether on foot, bike or car.