A school is introducing bike number plates...

From BBC website 25th Sept 2018 - a school is apparently going to ban kids from riding to school unless they have a school-issued number plate on their bike, 'to ensure their safety as they travel to and from school'...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45636870

Chris Boardman is not a fan.

Oh dear

I'm speechless

No I'm not. When will people understand its not about introducing rules and laws and punishment; it's about education. Surely a head teacher understands this?

You'd have hoped wouldn't you.

Surely a head teacher understands this?

There is a lot of misunderstanding about cycling, often by people who who have an elaborate view of education. The misguided risk aversion (as opposed to positivist risk taking) is rife in education (remember the conkers thing) and the Health Services (which focuses on what people can't do rather than finding out what they can do).

Also many schools and Local Authorities will also not allow pupils to ride unless they are wearing a helmet...

I presume all the 4x4s dropping kids off at the school will also display the identity of the child, so that members of the public can report dangerous driving which is specific to the school run?

No? Oh...

"Students without a number plate will not be permitted to cycle to school"

How are they going to enforce that?

"Our absolute priority is the safety of our students"

Really? I'd assume it would be their education, you being a school and all and their health and wellbeing. Anyway, how do numberplates improve safety?

"The plates are being introduced on 1 October as part of a scheme to encourage cycling, which includes subsidised bike lights and maintenance workshops."

That, at least, is a good thing. Making sure that students have a working bike will encourage cycling and keep cycling students safer.

As I asked in the news thread, is this actually legal?

Either way, it's very bad, and parents should challenge it strongly.

I'm guessing that some kids are probably BikeStormzering* on the way in, wearing the school uniform, so the school is getting loads of reports from people and want to figure out who it is who's causing trouble.

Mr Amin said the measure was in response to incidents of children cycling in a way that "endangers themselves and others".

* or something similar. Wheelieing (?) in front of taxis, buzzing past pedestrians and through red lights or whatever. Like the arseholes on YouTube.

"Our absolute priority is the safety of our students"

Really?

Yeah, safeguarding should be every school's number one priority. League tables, lessons, exams and everything else comes after making sure the kids are safe.

ETA: not defending this decision btw

Do schools have any authority, legal, moral, or otherwise, to say how a child travels to school?

Do Local Authorities?

Sounds like overreach to me.

I do hope the parents just tell them to fuck off.

I don't think they have any formal authority, but there are often reports of them trying, most often trying to enforce helmet-wearing. It's probably an area that hasn't been explored properly, and it would be interesting if this were tested in a court of law.

My money is on this being an exercise in ofsted score improving.

That's true, but safety is never an "absolute" priority. If it were, no school would ever let their children go outside. You get this bullshit from industry true who claim that their priority is safety, but it's obviously not. Safety is hugely important, but it has to be weighed up against actually delivering whatever it is you're in business to deliver, for example, if safety was a train company's number 1 priority they would never move any trains, because stationary trains are safest.

"It’s tough to visit any workplace without seeing a poster that says, “safety is our number one priority”. It’s a crock; no company ever has gone into business for the purpose of keeping its workers safe. Companies exist to make money. No sane person would manufacture, ship, process, or manipulate anything if his or her primary motivation was to ensure nobody engaged in these activities got injured. When safety professionals perpetuate the lie that safety is the number one priority they lose credibility and are alienated. People hear, “safety is our number one priority” and know it’s either a lie, or the pathetic simpering of a deluded fool, in either case the prudent move is to assume the person spouting this nonsense can’t be taken seriously or trusted.
...
Safety isn’t a priority; it’s a value and criterion for success. Frankly, we don’t want safety to be a priority—priorities change and shift where values endure and guide our decision making. The safe execution of work must be a core value and a guiding behavior in any ethical organization."

From here.

dibs number plate ......
rd lght jmpr
or
badd ass muthafucker

which ever one is available

When I was at school (a long time ago) you were not allowed to cycles to school unless you’d done the cycling proficiency scheme and passed. Surely a much better method of improving safety...

Good plan (although of questionable enforceability). Where does the funding come from though?

Very true.

'Like the arseholes on YouTube.'

Who of course will happily sport a number plate...not.

Arseholes will be arseholes, rules or no rules.

I bet this headteacher had no idea of the shitstorm about to blow into his office.

We had this at my school 25 years years ago. Csb

also did the bicycle test and got the little red triangle enamel badge (long since lost) :)

Soooo, looked at article, who is paying for and fitting number plates ?
Rear only or front and rear ? will they be motorcycle size plates as no law for bicycle plates.
Has this been fully tested and risk assessed for possible injury to children from the actual plate.
In effect some children might find themselves excluded from school as "maybe" riding a bicycle is only form of available transport (depending on catchment area and distance)

etc
etc
etc

I suppose most kids will just ride anyway and lock up outside school grounds, leading to locals complaining about bike piles :)

DBAD#1

Don't read the comments, don't read the comments, don't read the comments...

...I read the comments.

I presume the ones that walk / catch a bus / driven to school will wear them around their necks so any that cause troublemakers can be identified? Its not just kids that cycle that cause trouble.