In the news

Second day this reporter goes this way. Must really hate us.

Yesterday one user, psg1ben, said on the forum: “Serious witch hunt for cyclists on radio London. Lots of drivers calling in, some talking nonsense. Gah.”

Another user, dieface, added: “A mother will naturally elicit sympathy whilst a pierced hipster oik will attract derision. This will lead to diminishing of her part and amplification of his.”

Seems an odd selection of sound bites to quote given the broad discussion that's gone on ...

@psg1ben

Meh, I said that because it was true. The radio show was pretty one sided. I'd almost got to the point where I was going to call in and attempt to make it through the producers and onto the show in order to debunk some of the falsities, but realised that it just wasnt worth my time in the end. I was working after all. And I don't think the drivers calling in were up for being convinced about anything. I think its Strange they quoted me really. Whether Mr Briggs did or didnt mean to start a witch hunt (which I don't think he did) the whole event has sparked a bit of a rise in people having a go at 'cyclists'

Actually I think the reason I'm being quoted this much is just because I used the term "Witch hunt"

On occasion, the refusal of a militant minority to respect traffic lights, stop signs and pavements results in tragedy. Such was the case in February when Charlie Alliston [etc]

I thought he actually had right of way and wasn't rlj-ing at the time? The article goes on correctly pointing the illegality of not having a front brake, but this first bit?

Talking of witches, She turned me into a newt!

I got better.

The widower wants to introduce an offence of 'causing death by dangerous cycling'. I think Andrea Leadsom tried this a few years ago in a private members' bill - does anyone know what happened to that?

The Andrea Leadsom private members bill for 'causing death by dangerous cycling' was talked out in Parliament in 2012. It arose out of a fatal crash in her constituency in 2007. Jason Howard ran into 17 year old Rhiannon Bennett, she was fatally injured, hitting her head on the curb. She had been with a group of friends who stepped into the road as Jason was coming down a steep hill towards them. He shouted a warning, aimed his bike at a gap between the teenagers and the pavement but had been going too fast to stop.
The media frenzy that followed Jason's trial was just as bad as this month. His shouted warning was seen as arrogance, he had a flash expensive mountain bike and was not a likeable character. Rhiannon's devastated family sadly picked up the most sensationalist mis-reporting of the evidence and campaigned for a change in the law.
Andrea Leadsom's bill failed because it did not get support from government nor from the police. At the time of the crash the possible legal penalties for cyclists were as high or higher than for motorists. The charge of 'causing death by dangerous driving' had not come into use. Jason's £2200 penalty was double the average given out to car drivers for similar levels of culpability. Since then the penalties for drivers have gone up and are closer to those of the manslaughter charge used against Charlie Alliston.
In the media as the story moved from local reporting to national front page tabloid news only the most sensationist and often untrue parts of the story were highlighted. Only the local journalists who had been in court reported that the teenagers had come from a session drinking lager in the park before crossing the road without looking.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7496757.stm

'Rogue cyclists must learn to respect the rules of the road like everyone else'

Right, by 'everyone else' you mean drivers?

OK, so we should all be using our phones and texting while driving, not indicating, doing u-turns, pulling out from junctions etc....

Last time I read it was 3 points on your license for using a phone at the wheel yet I see it at least 5 times a day. Clearly the 3 points are not being actioned

Oh they are. The points are meaningless though.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39053658

Also - the Times should Google it's own back catalogue

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/two-thirds-of-lorries-defective-or-illegal-0p6prkxcmnm

2/3 of riders are not brakeless are they?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41036581

More on the police reconstruction:

http://road.cc/content/news/228294-metropolitan-police-says-officer-stopping-distance-video-had-experience-riding

Among those with doubts about the rider’s level of experience in
handling a fixed-wheel bike, including Rio 2016 Olympic team sprint
track cycling champion and individual sprint silver medallist, Callum
Skinner.

Retweeting our story from yesterday, he said: “Very misleading video.
Maybe find someone who has ridden a fixie before, not a complete
amateur.”

I honestly didn't believe that the video was the genuine deal when I saw it. There appear to be so many variables as to make its conclusions unrealistic. The one variable they did remove was the reaction time I suppose. As I've seen no explanation of the tests I can't really judge but it didn't look very scientific. I have never had to rely on leg power alone on a fixed gear so I have no idea what is the most efficient method of stopping. I imagine a straight forward lock-up is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. If the young chap didn't know he needed a front brake perhaps he didn't know the best way to halt his progress.

What makes you think I dispute that?

Where did I say anything that could be interpereted as such?

Stop trying to win internet argument points and actually read what people write.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas at Port O'Connor where, clearly, flooding is not unknown.

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This whole sorry affair reminds me of a study about how pedestrians feel made here in Berlin recently.
One question was what they're most afraid of. Majority answered with cyclists on the pavement. Yes, that is a problem. But not the one most likely to kill you.

Our societies/cities really have a problem as long as using a car as your main mode of transport is seen as more logical and respectable than riding a bike with all the consequences this has.
I hope and am pretty certain this will change. But it will take a long time.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas at Port O'Connor where, clearly, flooding is not unknown.

I hope that beautiful house survives.

Did lol

I wasn't actually being ironic, I really like it (as I often like small, humble houses with a personal touch).

In the news: Me!

Granted it is my archaic singular form "dieface".

Now, how bad is the comment they picked? Not too bad, I said at least one thing your average Joe would agree on despite not holding that view myself.

I decided to have a look but I fear the stupidity is too much to even contemplate reasoned discussion.

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https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bank-holiday-travel-chaos-latest-crash-two-lorries-minibus-m1-several-dead-newport-pagnell-a7913831.html%3famp

Apologies, x post from 'non cycling crashes that deserve attention'

While we're talking of parity of sentencing Drivers Vs Cyclists, this is a good example, even down to the 'no helmet' victim blaming reporting....

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/driver-knocked-down-killed-oap-12943933

62 points is nothing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-39901158

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