Category Archives: Cycling

Should Cyclists Have Insurance and Legal Challenge to Lambeth LTN

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Should cyclists have insurance? This is a topic that the Times Newspaper have published an article on. Below are my comments on the subject:

I would suggest that not only are they wise to have it but they should be legally obliged to do so. Cyclists can easily damage the vehicles of other road users but they can also impose a large financial burden on the NHS from their own carelessness by simply falling off.

Cyclists often just ride off after accidents and compulsory insurance would encourage them to stop and report collisions which is a condition of most insurance cover. 

Cycling is becoming more dangerous, particularly to others, as cycling speeds have risen. Lightweight bikes and electric ones have made the situation a lot worse in recent years and heavy cargo bikes are particularly a risk for pedestrians. The problems are compounded by the recent encouragement by councils of more cycling which means we get inexperienced cyclists commuting at speed in our major cities, often racing against their own times recorded on Strava.

The number of fatal accidents to pedestrians from collisions with cyclists are relatively few but they are regularly reported. In London alone there were 31 “serious” injuries to pedestrians involving cyclists in 2016 (Injuries classified as “Serious” are far from trivial and typically require hospital treatment).

Forcing cyclists to have insurance might just focus their minds on riding with more care, paying attention to other road users and not ignoring road signs, traffic lights and pedestrian crossings as they often do at present.

Even minor collisions between cyclists and cars can cause significant damage to paintwork and incur major expense in repairs. The advantage of requiring compulsory insurance is that it avoids the need to assign blame which is often a difficult thing to do.

So my answer to the question of whether cyclists should have insurance is an unequivocal “Yes”.

Lambeth LTN

A group are mounting a legal challenge to a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) proposed in the London Borough of Lambeth. They are raising funds to do so on Gofundme – see https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-costs-to-force-a-reevaluation-of-the-west-dulwich-ltn

LTNs are always worthy of a challenge as they make little difference in practice to overall traffic levels and typically are supported by people who just wish to move traffic elsewhere.

Roger Lawson

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New Transport Secretary Has Delusions

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The new Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, has said the Labour Government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking as a way to improve health and inequality. She apparently thinks this could cut GP appointments “by hundreds of thousands, if not millions a year”. This is delusional.

The general population is fitter than it has been for a long time with increases in cycling and other forms of exercise. But the number of GP appointments and demand for medical services is rising. Why? Because the population is ageing, a minority of people are too fat because of addiction to junk food and people also have higher expectations of the NHS.

She also said: ““We’re in a climate crisis. We’re in a public health crisis; getting people walking and cycling and moving more are essential to solving both of those in the immediate term and in the long term”.

She is also quoted in the Independent as saying “Ms Haigh dubbed the last government’s approach to 20mph speed limits, cycle lanes and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods “ridiculous” after it launched criticism of so-called “anti-motorist” policies. She apparently does not want central Government interfering in what should be local decisions. But we’ll surely end up with lunatic schemes as we have seen in Wales, in several London boroughs and in the policies of TfL and Sadiq Khan. For example, this comes despite a recent YouGov survey indicating that 70 per cent of people in Wales – which last year imposed a 20mph speed limit in built up areas – opposed the policy. Meanwhile, 40 per cent admitted to regularly breaking it.

I suggest Ms Haigh needs to reconsider but this is the kind of dogma we see from socialist politicians who think they know better than the public and like to impose their views on others. Labour is rapidly losing popularity since the General Election and this is the kind of reason why. Practical considerations and scientific evidence are ignored – for example 20 mph limits have not improved road safety figures.

Throwing money at new cycle lanes will not solve the underlying health problems of a minority of the population and claims about tackling a “climate crisis” are simply ludicrous. But is seems the war on the motorist is going to be escalated.  

Roger Lawson

Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/aug/20/labour-investment-cycling-walking-unprecedented-louise-haigh

Independent article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/20mph-speed-limits-louise-haigh-b2599608.html

BBC Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9v8d4lvjryo

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Cycling Danger to Pedestrians

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female cyclist riding bicycle along mountain road in summer
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

There have been a number of media reports on the problems caused by dangerous cycling. That includes several pedestrians killed in collisions with cyclists who were typically exceeding 20 or 30 mph speed limits. A recent example was the death of Hilda Griffiths after being hit by a cyclist in Regents Park where groups of cyclists race around the outer circle. That has a 20-mph speed limit but speed limits do not apply to cyclists as cycles are not “vehicles”. See this Telegraph article for more examples: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/19/justice-dangerous-cyclists-matt-briggs-legal-amendment/

Some years ago (in 2016) I pointed out the danger of cyclists using the Strava App to monitor their cycling activity. In practice they are using it to compare their pace to others and are effectively racing against the clock over known stretches of road. They wish to record the fastest time. After I wrote an article on the subject I received abuse from cyclists claiming it was untrue and asking me to remove the article. I refused.

Since then the situation has got a lot worse.

The current law does not easily enable the cyclists to be prosecuted. This may change after the passing of an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill last week meaning cyclists who ride dangerously and kill or maim will face tougher new laws and longer prison sentences. However it will be difficult to stop the current criminality of cyclists exceeding reasonable speed limits, riding on pavements and through red lights until they have registration plates.

Roger Lawson

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Cycling in Decline

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The Times has reported that “Bike sales fall to lowest level in 20 years” and the boom has become a bust. Bike sales have dipped to their lowest level in two decades. It suggests many people have lost their appetite for cycling, perhaps not surprising after a cold, wet winter. The boom during the pandemic has disappeared.

This is undermining the Government’s commitment to grow “active” travel and the hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on encouraging cycling has been a waste of money. However the Government did cut funding to Active Travel England by more than £200 million recently which was surely a wise decision when the Government is so short of money and there are big demands for money for the NHS, for defence and support of social programmes to limit the impact of energy price rises.

The money spent on cycle lanes is particularly problematic as they can increase traffic congestion and do not improve cycling safety. In fact the more people who cycle the more road traffic accidents involving cyclists there are, thereby increasing casualties. The increase in potholes has also had a negative impact on cycling.

Roger Lawson

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Another Anti-ULEZ Demonstration and High St Kensington Cycle Lane

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There is another demonstration against the expansion of the ULEZ on this coming Saturday at Trafalgar Square (the 18th March at midday). Please attend if you can.

There have been a number of reports of another way people have been demonstrating their opposition to the ULEZ enforcement cameras that are being installed – by damaging them. This is what happens when legitimate protests are ignored so we won’t be condemning this activity.

It is of course now very clear that the additional cameras were ordered before the public consultation was even commenced which shows how Sadiq Khan and TfL never had any intention of listening.

Apart from the two legal actions being pursued against the expansion, the Conservative Party is also organising local protest groups in each affected borough and setting up Facebook groups. For example there is one for Bromley residents named “Bromley say no to ULEZ expansion” which already has over 2,000 members. Why not join?

The good news is that a legal challenge to removal of the Kensington High Street cycle lanes by Better Streets (they should be called Worse Streets) was thrown out in the High Court. See  https://tinyurl.com/25c8dncv for details.

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London Mayor’s Transport Strategy Failing

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Transport for London (TfL) have published their latest report on Travel in London. It shows that Sadiq Khan’s Transport Strategy is a complete failure.

The Mayor has a target of 80% of journeys to be via active travel modes (which even includes bus journeys). But in fact the number or trips by walking and cycling was only 31% in Q3 2022. That is only slightly higher than the 27% in the pre-pandemic 2019 year.

People are still avoiding public transport because covid is still prevalent and more people have changed travel patterns to work partly from home or have flexible working hours which probably accounts for the small increase in walking/cycling. But it is clear that the overall use of active travel modes has not changed much in the last two years and any changes have been influenced more by the covid epidemic and higher taxes on private cars and higher public transport fares.

You can see the actual London mode share trends in the chart above.

The targets for active travel physical activity are not being met. The report says “results suggest that the proportion of Londoners achieving the target decreased during the pandemic, with quarterly estimates ranging from 33 to 37 per cent”.

These numbers did not stop some media reports claiming that cycling had increased by 40%. This is a complete lie based on using selective data. Cycling still only accounts for about 3% of all trips and is heavily influenced by weather conditions. The UK went through a very dry period this year but the last two months have been the exact opposite and is not in the above data.

Public transport use remains low and significantly below the pre-pandemic level which is a major problem for TfL’s finances as they rely on fare income particularly from buses. The Mayor was going to reduce the bus network to save money but has now taken a U-Turn on that idea which he will surely live to regret.

TfL are forecasting a greater shift to on-line shopping with people making fewer and more local shopping trips. They also foresee an increase in LGV trips associated with home deliveries except in central London and a drop in HGV trips due to reduced construction, general haulage and retail activity. The trend to have few private car trips in London will continue, replaced by the use of taxis, PHVs and internet shopping delivery vehicles.

Vision Zero

The TfL report also gives some data on road casualties. Here again the Mayor’s “Vision Zero” policy is not working. The figures are distorted by the reductions in vehicle traffic during the pandemic but the report says: “2021 was an unusual year with large changes in the composition of people regrettably killed or seriously injured. This was largely due to new travel patterns in the wake of the pandemic. Motorcycling and pedestrian fatalities were significantly lower by historic standards but cycling fatalities and serious injuries increased”.

The Mayor’s promotion of cycling has actually resulted in relatively small increases in cycling but large increases in KSIs involving cyclists. Cycling is intrinsically more dangerous than other transport modes but cyclists won’t listen. The Mayor is unlikely to reach the targets for KSIs in 2022.

The increase in cycling speeds promoted by cycling fanatics and supported by cycle superhighways together with increases in electric bikes and e-scooters are proving to be negative influences.

Summary

A very disappointing report showing the negative trends on mobility in London. Will the Mayor change his stance? We doubt it because his Transport Strategy was always based on dogma rather than rational analysis.

TfL report here: https://board.tfl.gov.uk/documents/s19181/Travel%20in%20London%2015%20Overview.pdf

Our campaign against the Mayor’s Transport Strategy: https://www.freedomfordrivers.org/against-mts

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Regulating Cycling – Is It Overdue?

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Regulating Cycling – Is It Overdue?

female cyclist riding bicycle along mountain road in summer

Transport Minister Grant Shapps has suggested that cyclists should be insured, required to have some form of identification (e.g. number plates) and be subject to a 20 mph speed limit. There was an interesting article in the Daily Mail by Melissa Kite on this subject. I quote from parts of it:

“The last time I rode my horse on the country lanes of Surrey, I nearly didn’t come back. All thanks to a gang of cyclists.Only a few steps from the gate of the stable yard, a racing club in formation swarmed downhill towards me, spread across the lane. As poor Darcy began to panic, I screamed: ‘No, please!’ But they kept on coming. The bikes swirled around Darcy and suddenly she was spinning in circles – right into the path of a car behind me. I clung to her neck to stop myself falling, and saw the look on the driver’s face. We were so close I think we both thought I was about to end up on the bonnet. To this day, Darcy trembles when she hears the faintest whoosh of a bike. Anyone prepared to hurtle past a woman clinging to the neck of a terrified horse is not safe to be on the roads unlicensed and uninsured.

Some cyclists flagrantly break the law: running red lights, ignoring pedestrian crossings, weaving in and out of lanes and mounting pavements.

As my experience shows, the situation is dire in the countryside, where weekend cycling clubs are increasingly using the public roads as a racing track. And it’s not just the accidents they cause. It’s their anti-social behaviour. The atmosphere in many once-genteel areas has been ruined by the arrogant mentality of cyclists, hurtling along with selfish aggression”.

Comment: There is certainly a big problem in London and other major UK cities. Cyclists ignore red lights and do not give way to pedestrians. Modern bikes enable cyclists to exceed safe speeds and their brakes are not fit for purpose. If they are involved in an accident, as they are often are, they can ride away as they know there is no way of tracing them.

It has been suggested in the past that registration of cyclists or cycles would be expensive and not justified by the benefits. But a modern electronic registration system would not be expensive and a small number plate not difficult to affix to bikes. It should not put off anyone from cycling.

Tougher laws about cycling behaviour would also be welcomed by many people. Riding on pavements is a major problem which pedestrians heartily dislike and now that we have users of electric scooters doing the same we need a review of laws in this area.

Unfortunately many cyclists now think they are competing in a race against other cyclists and this has been encouraged by the promotion of cycling events. Organised events on public roads should be banned.

Roger Lawson

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The Good News and the Bad

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The good news is that Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is proposing to drop plans for a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) scheme that would charge motorists similar to the Birmingham and London schemes. But it depends on agreement with the Government. The charging scheme had already been “paused” until 2026 but now looks like it will be scrapped. Signs already put up for the scheme will need to be removed. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-61439444 for more details.

The bad news is that the Daily Telegraph have reported that the Government is to finance Mini-Holland cycling schemes to encourage people to ditch their cars in Britain’s major cities under government plans.

Nineteen local authorities, including Manchester, Hull and Nottinghamshire, are to get government funds for mini-Hollands with segregated bike lanes, traffic calming and residential streets blocked to cars.

It is suggested officials have steered away from describing any of the projects as Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), which have provoked intense local opposition over road closures and claims of increased congestion on boundary highways in some areas. But they did acknowledge some had LTN features. See Telegraph article here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/14/wheels-motion-turn-british-cities-cycle-friendly-mini-hollands/

Comment: I cannot understand why people think that Holland is a good example to follow. There may be more cycling in some Dutch cities such as Amsterdam but nationally there are more casualties to cyclists than in the UK and traffic congestion is also worse. There is no evidence that introducing such schemes increases cycling (or “active travel”) in the UK. Cycling remains a fair-weather transport mode only followed by young males in flat locations. If people calling for mini-Hollands actually bothered to visit Holland they would see a very different picture. The only good aspect is that Holland has encouraged more off-road cycle paths that separate vehicle traffic from cyclists.  

Instead of spending £200 million on encouraging cycling the Government should spend it on improving the road network to improve road safety and cut traffic congestion.

Another good article in the Telegraph was entitled “Why Boris and the elite are determined to wean us off the car”. It said “Exasperated motorists are feeling pushed out of the picture with rising fuel costs, congestion charges, low traffic zones and speeding fines, and motorists, especially those who travel into cities, feel they are being hit from every direction. Dead ahead there are closed off roads in low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs); to the left there are automated cameras monitoring their every move; to the right low emission zones and 20mph limits. And all around are parking charges and fuel costs that put a hefty dent in your wallet”; “There has now developed in Government an anti-car attitude as opposed to car management, a hostility to the motor vehicle rather than how we can manage this, says former transport minister John Spellar. He puts this down to a London-centric approach to transport that focuses on the problems cars cause in congested cities and ignores different conditions in other areas. As Spellar points out, working Britons outside the capital – particularly manual and shift workers – often rely on their vehicles to get to work, unlike city commuters who can travel by train”. See https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/boris-elite-determined-wean-us-car/ for the full article.

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Pedicabs/Rickshaws to be Regulated

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Grant Shapps, Transport Minister, has announced that he intends to introduce regulations for pedicabs, otherwise known as rickshaws. At present they are not regulated at all and local councils have no powers to impose regulations on them – for example in the interests of road safety, the safety of passengers or to avoid a public nuisance. 

They are a big problem in some parts of London, particularly in the evening.

Mr Shapps said in Parliament that “There isn’t any legislation which accurately enables any type of licensing or regulation. It’s time – it’s high time – I know Parliament has expressed interest through a series backbench bills that for one reason or another…have not proceeded through Parliament. We will do that on Government time in the Transport Bill”.

Comment: some system of licensing is surely required and it would be a good idea to extend that to all pedal cyclists. There was a time when most cyclists used to adhere to the Highway Code but now they tend to cycle through red lights and if they are involved in an accident they just walk away knowing they cannot be traced. All users of vehicles on our roads should be traceable and insured. I would even extend it to the users of e-scooters which are proving to be positively hazardous for pedestrians with numerous reports of personal injury accidents involving them. There is very obviously a great deal of infringement of the current regulations that should stop e-scooters being used on pavements or even on roads unless they are rented as part of a regulated trial. The law is being blatantly ignored.

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Chris Boardman’s New Job and Conflicts of Interest

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Former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman has been appointed to lead a new body to promote active travel to be called Active Travel England (ATE). ATE will be responsible for driving up the standards of cycling and walking infrastructure and managing the national active travel budget, awarding funding for projects that meet the new national standards set out in 2020.

There will be funding of £5.5 million for investment in cycling and walking schemes, including £300,000 top-up to e-cargo bike schemes and £3 million to improve cycling infrastructure around train stations and to explore active travel on prescription.

But the concern is that Chris Boardman is involved in selling Boardman branded cycles through Halfords and other companies, and has a dedicated web site – see link below.
It is surely inappropriate for a promoter of cycling schemes to have a financial interest in cycling.

DfT Announcement: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/olympic-gold-medallist-and-cyclist-chris-boardman-to-lead-governments-new-active-travel-body

Boardman Cycles: https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/

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