The War on Britain's Roads (BBC Documentary / tabloid tv)

It wouldn't change anything I agree, but it does raised awareness.

It allowed the cyclists to choose their line, rather than being boxed into a tiny lane specifically painted for them.

I've got them on my commute, they trialed them in Hackney and Cambridge, I think they're helpful.

Thinking about it....I guess it does give you more back up when arguing with a brainless motorist. Something to point to.

might work in other countries where general attitudes towards cyclists are much better. Just another waste of paint in this one.

But compared to the cycle superhighway, it's a waste of less paint.

Maybe enough to provide Boris with another holiday.

Chisa- It's already cheaper to get a 260 litre drum of Methanol delivered which you keep in the garage and top the tank off as required.
Higher octane (significantly higher) than pump fuel, also.
If the price of pump fuel keeps going up I think we'll see more "alternative" fuels, and of course the government chasing after them in search of tax revenue.

How much is 260L of methanol?

Quite a few people have been doing alt fuels for years.
http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/index.php

might work in other countries where general attitudes towards cyclists are much better. Just another waste of paint in this one.

infrastructure make a big difference in behaviour, poorly designed one increase aggression and complication.

Quite
interesting for me most of it been filmed in London,put one 10 second or so clip shows a very busy road,into manchester where I nearly got wiped out by a bus a few weeks ago,it actually shows the very same bus in the very same spot,quite interesting as I reported it to the bus depot at the time and they told me it will be delt with as it will be on CCTV.

Try walking round Amsterdam, you can tell who are tourists. They have the right idea. After watching this last night couldn't believe how much bad riding I saw this morning, some people clearly have a death wish. And cycling with headphones... Sheesh...might as well be texting or summit

How much is 260L of methanol?

Quite a few people have been doing alt fuels for years.
http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/index.php

We had an old Landie that you could run on neat veg oil. Advantage of Methanol is that you can run a petrol engine on it.

My neighbours used to race sprinters. I love the smell of methanol in the morning. Reckon the Focus will hack it?

@90mile, couldnt agree more with regards to cycling with headphones. Its the stupidest shit ever. I actually used to do it years ago when i first started riding in london, until i almost killed myself on euston road. never again.

My neighbours used to race sprinters. I love the smell of methanol in the morning. Reckon the Focus will hack it?

Might need a few bits changed- methanol can eat seals and pipe work.

Might be fine- I'll ask a friend of mine and let you know.

And cycling with headphones... Sheesh...might as well be texting or summit

Only if you're an idiot that is.

I see bad cyclists hurting themselves and others fairly regularly. Take some responsibility.

leave Iain alone!

I am not sure if I should continue to watch this. It'll either fuck me off or just make me depressed. Bad things either way....

Edit: 'Why did you RLJ?'

'It was green for pedestrians.'

HA!

Edit x2 I am sure it's been said but the clip in which the HGV cuts off the Glaswegian lad....I am literally gob smacked. Terrified.

Yeah that HGV roundabout clip was horrible. It made me shudder. So did the clip where Trafficdroid was overtaken and undertaken simultaneously by a van and another van with a trailer.

Can't be bothered to read the thread, the middle class bell end arguing with the cab driver for no reason was a member of the forum I assume? He was kind of the sort of twat I assume dj to be. Grim program, made me want to drive a car and stop cycling

Yeah that HGV roundabout clip was horrible. It made me shudder. So did the clip where Trafficdroid was overtaken and undertaken simultaneously by a van and another van with a trailer.

All this has made me curious about the use of cameras on cycles. I have watched many YouTube cycle videos, some made by those featured in the programme. Many of these have been useful in showing me shortcuts across London and generally great viewing. I have thought of getting a camera myself, although it was really for mountain bike riding and the occasional trip with friends on countryside trips. I'm not sure I'd be tempted to use it in town, especially after this programme.

Catching up with someone after an event and having an exchange of views is one thing, but pointing out that it has been filmed and will be uploaded on to YouTube clearly adds more tension to a situation. The trouble is you don't know who you are dealing with, and one of these days, it could be a Class A whackjob who will get really wound up by this with horrific consequences. The last thing I want to read on this forum is that someone filming such an incident has been assaulted or run over.

As an aside, I wonder how bike sales will do this year from people who saw this programme? Judging by a conversation I had last night with a friend, I'm not expecting him to join me on a ride anytime soon.

Given time everything will end up being filmed.

Insurance companies are going towards pervasive monitoring: GPS, speed, cameras, etc.

They're started with the very young (high risk) and the sports cars (high risk due to high speed) but I wouldn't be surprised if in 5 years most motor vehicles don't come with a camera and the guarantee of a lawsuit for any screwing up.

We're just in the very early days of that.

True, very true.
I can't help but think, if you have a cam, you are going to try to antagonise drivers just to get some decent footage.

very much incorrect

i used to ride with a camera as i enjoyed catching things on there that would be funny to see again or just because i've had a fair few misses and it would be good to have it as back up in case anything happened. i never made videos, just deleted the footage after each ride as nothing fortunately as ever happened that has caused me to need the footage.

however last night was a classic case of where i regretted not having my camera.

So last night im cycling up goswell road towards angel and I see a nodder in front going terribly slow wobbling about. I am catching up with him and see him approach a junction where you have to give way to the right (where the van in the pic is waiting).

A bus is approaching from the right so I think ‘I wonder whether the cyclist will stop’ and low and behold he carries on and nearly gets squished up against the left handside kerb as the bus has to stop and beeps his horn to say wtf are you doing?!

I shout out ‘you’re trying to get yourself killed mate’ and as i pass him i say ‘mate you trying to WHAT THE FK ITS BORIS JOHNSON HAHA’

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Can't be bothered to read the thread, the middle class bell end arguing with the cab driver for no reason was a member of the forum I assume? He was kind of the sort of twat I assume dj to be. Grim program, made me want to drive a car and stop cycling

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2244242/Id-happily-run-Cyclist-took-controversial-BBC-documentary-inundated-hate-messages-death-threats.html

That's not actually journalism, it's finding what some idiot's posted on twitter and pretending it's important.

Given time everything will end up being filmed.

Insurance companies are going towards pervasive monitoring: GPS, speed, cameras, etc.

They're started with the very young (high risk) and the sports cars (high risk due to high speed) but I wouldn't be surprised if in 5 years most motor vehicles don't come with a camera and the guarantee of a lawsuit for any screwing up.

We're just in the very early days of that.

It's coming quicker than you think. I recently worked on software for a camera fitted into the cabs of a national haulage company. It records the last 20 secs of live video, if one of the accelerometers are triggered by an accident, the video gets sent via the phone network to a control centre. Haulage company got a big discount on insurance premiums as a consequence.

If you read the Daily Mail you're bound to be really angry about something - that or you really give a shit about the royal family.

I clicked through to that Daily Mail article, and then randomly went to the methamphetamine one. Holy fuck. That is hardcore.

Watched it, wasn't as inflammatory as I thought it was going to be from the trail, think maybe the programme makers tweaked the cut after the outraged feedback.

But what were people expecting, we live in an era of does what it says on the tin programming, if it says the war on britains roads, its not going to show how we can co-exist on the roads in a step by step fashion.

Found the angle they took on Gaz very unflattering, felt like I was looking up his nose all the time, and he didn't seem to have much of a chin either. Also not quite sure what was achieved by showing all the participants the helmet footage.

Where I think this programme does a lot of damage is in being another drip in the drip drip drip of cycling being unsafe, that cyclists using the roads are unsafe/at risk. It just helps perpetuate the climate of fear that surrounds cycling, which is to my mind the main reason more people don't cycle.

Someone posted this up a month or so ago, and this programme fits right into Peter Horton's fear of cycling theory see part two for constructing the fear of cycling, but read all of it, puts alot of things into perspective ..
http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/09/fear-of-cycling-01-essay-in-five-parts.html

...Also not quite sure what was achieved by showing all the participants the helmet footage.

You've no idea what they were being shown. Judging by some of the facial expressions it could well have been 2 girls 1 cup. Or something equally distasteful featuring Simon Cowell.

haha all they did was pull old youtube footage, so a bit of 2 girls n one cup could have fitted right in.