Blood on the streets

Sainsbury's finest;

^ & ^^ both wearing hi-vis tho

safety first!

I can't see how antagonising drivers is going to help to be honest

Oh Mike, you is funny.

I think a restriction on HGVs in central London during peak hours is actually quite likely to happen.

Does that even work? Wouldn't that just funnel them into a different time slot? Is there even such a thing as non peak working hours in London?

Does that even work? Wouldn't that just funnel them into a different time slot? Is there even such a thing as non peak working hours in London?

I think it might be possible - IIRC the Regent's Street estate management require businesses to get their HGVs to drop off at a depot outside the area and then coordinating the deliveries using smaller vans to reduce the issues around loading/unloading. Arguably the Crown Estate/City of London corp could do something similar. But that still leaves the issue of construction vehicles. Extending the Health & Safety at Work act to cover off-site incidents might be worth considering there.

Regent street in london's famous is chocka with jumbo sized delivery lorries up until at least nine o'clock most mornings. never seen one of 'em get a ticket.

look at this charmer. one of Arriva's finest, i'm sure.

"Have you considered whitening toothpaste?"

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/businessandpartners/Regent-street-case-study.pdf

Should've done my research - this seems to indicate it's a voluntary scheme. Still might solve some of the issues around reducing HGV traffic though.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2013/nov/15/cyclist-london-cycle-superhighway-2-video?commentpage=1

PS: My Dutch parents have even heard of the London road deaths, it was on the news websites in The Netherlands...let's hope this shames politicians into more action.

Maybe one of the groups campaigning for improved cycle infrastructure should team up with "Stop HS2". I'm sure the £40 billion saved could be much better spent in city.

I can't see how antagonising drivers is going to help to be honest

Oh Mike, you is funny.

Scobled.

But is the net opportunity cost of HS2 greater than the net opportunity cost of an investment in urban cycling infrastructure?

Edit: I'll explain this in my next post...

It's global road safety day ftw
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/nov/15/road-deaths-global-road-safety-campaigns

We should try 'Yoga and detox for bus drivers' here?

For urban cycling, assuming a resulting increase in journeys made by bike, we can assume:
-a reduction in healthcare costs due to fewer accidents.
-a reduction in healthcare costs due to reduced particulate and NOx emissions (partly direct from journeys not made by IC engines, also indirect by reducing congestion and hence the time spent at idle, burning fuel for kicks).
-a small stimulus for the local economy, assuming the works are carried out by the councils' own highways workforce

For HS2, most of the predicted economic effects of HS2 assume that most people don't spend their time on trains doing useful things, and hence the time saved is either spent being more productive, or on leisure, spending money. Both would be economically beneficial.

I don't think we have enough data or knowledge to make an informed decision on hooking an unban-cycling campaign onto such a nimbyistic Daily-Fail-flagship campaign such as HS2.

point would be the death penalty for dangerous police driving - eg mobile phones, not bothering to indicate, speeding. How the fuck do we expect the police to enforce rules on other drivers that they ignore themselves.

Already considered

Personally, I don't think general taxation (which would pay for HS2) should pay for localised infrastructure like better bike lanes. The precedent is already set: urban roads are paid for by councils; Motorways are paid for by central government (and PFI).

All this chat about HGV bans takes me back to this thread, so y'all can read my comments there to save my typing them out again.

^ tl,dr

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/keep-cycling-deaths-in-perspective-8938945.html?origin=internalSearch

Starts well, tapers off a bit.
Helmets/Hi-Vis >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"1 Avoid lorries
Never wait between the kerb and a lorry at a junction. If it turns left, the driver may not see you. Stay well behind or, preferably, in front, where you can be seen."

We all know that there are much more cyclists on the roads. As a result the cycle boxes are usually full in rush hours. It's the sense of self and 'I must preferably get to the front by all means' that leads cyclists into dangerous positions. Not only is the inherent design but also the load capacities of cycle infrastructure that are not fit for purpose.

Helmet.

Are there stats on the types of HGV involved in incidents? Based purely on what I see whilst out riding is that it's construction lorries, tippers, scaffolding trucks, mixers etc that drive erratically and always pushing the limits. Is this to do with the way drivers are payed and time constraints? Again, this is only my observation but I've had less negative interaction with delivery lorries from large companies ie: Currys or Sainsburys - the drivers seem much more conscientious. Could it be the employment conditions play a part in driver behaviour?

Definitely is a strong correlation between pay & behaviour. Construction lorries are over represented in cycle fatalities, drivers typically on piece-rates.

Some data in this post: http://buffalobillbikeblog.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/time-for-a-london-lorry-ban/

Also here: http://buffalobillbikeblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/tfl-report-blames-poor-designed-maintained-construction-lorries-again/?relatedposts_exclude=272

And Kieron Yates on Paris, where there is a ban on HGVs is here:

http://buffalobillbikeblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/one-year-on-a-post-about-lorries-cyclists-and-paris-deja-vu/

Paris shows that a ban is not unrealistic. TfL also cite the Olympics as proof that drastic changes can be made to the road network in short order if it is carefully prepared. The first obstacle is the night-time ban on HGV movements.

10 years ago, when the London Bicycle Messenger Association called for a daytime ban on HGVs, almost no-one supported it. Now the government is considering it, and Boris talks about it frequently.

"Be reasonable: demand the impossible".

Can someone please post a proper reference to this Paris HGV ban I keep reading about.

I can't find anything supporting the info quoted on Bill's blog, but several sites saying HGVs are banned from entering and leaving the Paris area at specific times around the weekend. This is in addition to the weekend bans that apply throughout France, but as far as I can work out there are no restrictions whatsoever for Paris during the week.

Here's one, and another.

I'm happy to be wrong, just want to see some semi-official evidence for it instead of what appears to be hearsay.

Can someone please post a proper reference to this Paris HGV ban I keep reading about.

I can't find anything supporting the info quoted on Bill's blog, but several sites saying HGVs are banned from entering and leaving the Paris area at specific times around the weekend. This is in addition to the weekend bans that apply throughout France, but as far as I can work out there are no restrictions whatsoever for Paris during the week.

Here's one, and another.

I'm happy to be wrong, just want to see some semi-official evidence for it instead of what appears to be hearsay.

This is the info page for "livraisons marchandises" from the Ville de Paris.

http://www.paris.fr/viewmultimediadocument?multimediadocument-id=25946