Cyclist Safety

On my way home last night I read an article that was quoting some comments made by Lord Sugar around cycle safety. (I had to get the train yesterday rather than ride to work!)

He is quoted as saying that he thinks 99% of accidents would have been avoided if cyclists had "situation awareness"

Now firstly I would like to say that I believe situation awareness is an important part of road safety but not limited to cyclists but should equally be applied by ALL road users!

I was on my daily ride to work the other day and a van squeezed past me on a section of road in Coulsdon where there was a bollard in the middle of the road, so had the driver slowed slightly they would have been able to give me more room by passing me after the bollard. I was slightly surprised when I noticed that the van was actually covered in high vis sections and the word POLICE plastered over it! They saved so much time by squeezing through when they did that I caught and passed them again 10 miles later in Brixton!

I would love to see the research that Lord Sugar bases his 99% assertion on, or is it as I suspect a sensationalist headline grabbing comment? How would any of his staff or apprentices be treated if they threw percentages around to justify their comments or actions if they could not back it up with fact?

The article also suggests that Lord Sugar is criticising the work being done around London to improve cycle safety. Having a pop at Boris Johnson, due to the fact that it is affecting his drive in to London, maybe he should cycle it would be quicker!

I have said before and I will say again cyclist safety is not going to improve all the time there are headlines about "Who is to blame?" all too often this gets into a "Them  and Us" slanging match with cyclists defending cyclists and drivers defending drivers no matter who has done what wrong!

I have read in the past articles where a cyclist have defended riders who have jumped red lights or weaved in and out of traffic without due care. Cyclists are not above the law and as it stands at the moment they are required to stop at Red lights as are all road users.

I know that in some instances it is considered that it would be safer to allow cyclists to cross red lights but any change to the law to allow this needs to be carefully thought out and implemented correctly so that all road users are aware of what will happen.

Cyclist safety is about a series of different measures, situation awareness is one so is segregated cycle lanes. Others include Junction redesign, traffic light re-phasing and dare I say it cyclist wearing helmets.  Chris Boardman is regularly photographed without a helmet and I believe part of his reasoning is that cyclist safety is about more than just getting riders to wear helmets. I absolutely agree with this standpoint, no one aspect of safety is more important than others. I have no doubt that I have not listed all of the issues above, there will be many more.

Cyclist safety is certainly not about high profile personalities throwing around sensationalist comments to score points against other people, I am not sure what Lord Sugar's agenda is but it certainly does not seem to be totally around his concern for the cyclists of London.

Brixton Cycles

A little while ago I saw a tweet saying that Brixton Cycles were crowdfunding to raise money to fund a new home and stay in Brixton.

I felt compelled to make a donation to, in part say thanks for getting me out of a tight spot on a ride to work.

I had only just started riding to the office and my route took me up the A23 through Brixton and on in to the centre of London.  The tyres on my bike had seen better days, they were not that old just that they were cheap ones that came with the bike when I bought it.

One day as I was riding in I punctured, so I duly stopped changed the tube and carried on, shortly after I picked up another puncture, so I duly stopped again and changed the tube again. Then a few miles further another puncture, that was it I had used both my spare tubes and did not have a repair kit with me! I emailed my boss to tell him that I would be late as I had a long walk ahead of me, having realised that I had also left my wallet at home so had no way to pay for any other transport!

As I reached Brixton it was about the time that the shop was opening, so I thought I would try my luck! I went in and explained my predicament and that I really could do with a new tyre and a couple of new tubes. I asked if they would be able to help me out if I could get my wife to give them credit card details over the phone.

The guy in the shop said it was a very unusual situation but agreed to help out, so I managed to get my wife on the phone and a few minutes later she had bought me a new tyre and 2 tubes. I was back on the road and a lot less later to work than I would have been!

So thanks to Brixton cycles being located where they are and being a very friendly and helpful team of people I was back on the bike rather than a longer walk!

If anyone feels willing an able to help out they are still on Crowdfunder for a few more days.