Motorists should be offered cheaper insurance if they take a course to make them more aware of cyclists on the roads, the government says.
The Department for Transport also wants to give councils more powers to tackle parking in cycling lanes.
It is proposing a series of 50 measures in a bid to reduce the number of cyclists and pedestrians killed.
According to ROSPA
In collisions involving a bicycle and another vehicle, the most common key contributory factor recorded by the police is ‘failed to look properly’ by either the driver or rider, especially at junctions. ‘Failed to look properly’ was attributed to the car driver in 57% of serious collisions and to the cyclist in 43% of serious collisions at junctions.
In which case cyclists should attend such courses too - make them vehicle awareness courses. But that isn't the political point being made here.
Naturally enough we would like to see far fewer deaths on our roads but it is obvious enough that motorists are well aware of cyclists. A queue of traffic behind one or more cyclists is a common enough sight. Motorists clearly do understand the possible consequences of reckless overtaking.
Unfortunately roads are crowded and momentary inattention by cyclist or motorist is bound to happen. Sometimes that momentary inattention has tragic consequences. Modern roads are dangerous and all adult cyclists are personally responsible for their decision to travel on them by bicycle. They know the dangers.
Yet we are building a social ethos where cyclists have a right to use busy and dangerous roads and are officially encouraged to exercise that right. Yes they do have a right, but awareness courses for motorists will probably do little to mitigate the risks of cycling. As things stand, "don't cycle" is good advice but officially we try to pretend it isn't. We do a lot of official pretending.
Strewth - we have a Cycling and Walking Minister. In a wider sense that's the problem. Sooner or later personal responsibility has to make a comeback.
8 comments:
When cycling, I try to keep well to the verge and I often pull over into farm drives or lay-bys to let large vehicles pass - they often give a toot of gratitude. When driving, I'm aware that some cyclists are excruciatingly rude in their insistence on riding in the middle of the lane, often two abreast. It's fine to insist on your rights, but delaying others and risking an unpleasant end seems like the last word in stupidity.
It would, of course, help if councils tended to potholes.
Around here, I estimate that about 75% of drains at the side of the road have sunk an inch or so, and that is pretty painful when a lorry is behind...
A chum mentioned that cyclists should really stay about five ft from the kerb to deter reckless overtaking, but I always pull over if I sense an irate driver behind...
Cycling and Walking minister, follows on from what I said about everyone in the HOC getting an extra post to boost their meagre earnings and pensions.
The push for more car driver 'legislation' comes not just from cycling groups but from envireomental groups as well using the cycling good car bad mantra to further restrict car usage.
All the cycling "problems on the road have been well aired on both sides, but one thing is never mentioned, when I was bike riding in less crowded days, the cars on the road were a lot smaller, the cars have got bigger by the year and the roads have stayed the same, with selfish cyclists who now on many occasions ride without reason over a metre from the kerb because they can overtaking especially on country roads can be very difficult without a little goodwill on the part of the cyclist.
By the way when we trained on the roads normal prctise if vehicles were around was to go to single file, today training groups seem to think a mobile side by side chicane is perfectly acceptable and fingers up to anyone who thinks otherwise.
Sixty odd years ago I did a lot of cycling, long distance as well as towns. But in the mid '60's we moved house to a place where it was near enough to cycle to work. But by then I was being shouted at by motorists who could not bear being held up. The great irony was that I must have been doing close to or even above the 30 mph limit going downhill to a busy junction.o
Sam - in my experience those who pull over into farm drives or lay-bys are not the head down lycra-clad cyclists. I used to do that when I cycled to work - self preservation really.
Scrobs - it's the same round here - drains at the side of the road have sunk. There are so many of them too.
Wiggia - yes, round here training groups seem to think they are on TV as if it is the look of the thing which drives them.
Demetrius - I used to cycle to work in the seventies but even then roads were becoming too busy.
Well it didn't take the insurance companies long to rubbish this.
Pointing out that only around x% of claims are due to accidents with cyclists (where x is a small number I can't remember) and most of them are not big claims anyway, they conclude that even if all those accidents were completely eliminated, it would make diddly-squat difference to their general cost model, so forget it.
Un-thought-through idea, meet real world - with usual result.
Peter - yes and it's amazing how often this kind of thing happens - as if it never occurred to anyone to run this past the insurance companies first. It feels deliberate - grab the headlines because even if the story is rubbished afterwards that bit probably won't reach the headlines.
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