BBC video of cyclists with helmet cam

Wongsky

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Lum, I never thought about debris in cycle lanes etc. but the ones where I live/work are pretty good according to the few cyclists I know. It's pretty sad that they're just token gestures in some places

HBS x

The problem with cycle lanes, is that they're impractical everywhere. But the increase of them, in the main, just fosters an ignorant attitude in some drivers, that they shouldn't have to share the roads with anything not sporting an engine - so some drivers become more polarised against cyclists, and throw out the tax / VED nonsense in their defence.

There are plenty of scenarios where cyclists and drivers will have to share the road, but if at other turns, the ignorant are becoming more embolderned in their view that they shouldn't be on the road, rather some (usually poorly thought out) track / lane nearby - then the future is going to become even worse for cyclists and vehicles sharing the roads.

Thing is, they are traffic, and in heavily congested areas can be just as quick, if not a quicker method of getting from A to B. Problem is, that just makes it even more infuriating for some drivers.

The answer? Dunno, but I'm inclined to go with: education, education, education. That and if the gummint, spin doctors, and police can weave such a magic with things like speed cameras, 20 mph zones, reducing traffic police, then surely something could be done about the worsening relationship between cyclists and motorists on the road - well with sufficient will, anyway.

heartbreak_star

I agree! Education for both cyclists and drivers, some sort of test similar to a driving test for cyclists (not the primary school Cycling Proficiency, if that still exists...more like CBT?), and neither side thinking they own the road. More cyclist-related things in the driving test too.

My mum suggested a small amount of road tax for cyclists to help fund some sort of "cyclist number" to show they've passed this test and to make it harder for drivers to get out of cyclist hit-and runs. Food for thought I guess!

HBS x

Lum

The debris thing is, if you take the time to think about it, bloody obvious.

When cars drive over roads, and loose chippings get flung about. The parts that cars drive over the most have less debris and the parts that are not driven over end up full of the stuff. Look at any large roundabout that has a no-go area and you will see it.

Cycles do not fling debris about in the same way, so once a car has flung some debris into the cycle lane it's going to stay there. Over time all the debris migrates into the cycle lane as cars aren't allowed to go there.

So unless you're going to send out the road cleaners daily, and councils probably can't afford that, all road-based cycle lanes are going to end us as a dangerous unusable pile of gravel.

Pavement based cycle lanes are unusable for different reasons. As Wongsky has repeatedly pointed out in another thread, pedestrians are allowed out onto the roads without any form of education or qualification requirement. Most of them have figured out that stepping out in front of a car is going to hurt, but when you paint a white line down the pavement and say this half is a cycle lane; pedestrians just blither into it regardless, too busy playing Angry Birds or whatever to notice the cycle approaching them silently at speeds of up to 30mph.

It's not helped by the fact that green cross code isn't taught any more either.


Most car drivers don't understand the debris issue or that many cycle lines are basically unusable. All they see is that part of ~*my road tax*~ has been spent to provide a segregated space for cyclists, and now this idiot is getting in the way by not using it.

(yes I know it's VED, no need to have this discussion yet again)

Just remove the damn cycle lanes!

Handsome90

heartbreak_star wrote: »

My mum suggested a small amount of road tax for cyclists to help fund some sort of "cyclist number" to show they've passed this test and to make it harder for drivers to get out of cyclist hit-and runs. Food for thought I guess!

HBS x

The thing is, the govt won't be able to call that VED as bicycles don't have any emissions. The govt will have to call it something else. I reckon a lot of cyclists are willing to pay, for example £5 per year, to have proper cycling facilities. Here are some examples of awful cycle lanes and hence cyclists don't feel like using them. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/September2012.htm

Sadly, we will keep living in a car centric society unless there is a political will to change that.

Lum

The emissions thing is a red herring and not an issue.

The VED I pay every year is not based on emissions. My car was registered in the UK in 2009.

Also cyclists do have emissions. Methane is a significantly more damaging greenhouse gas than CO2 after all, and all those lentils have to go somewhere

custardy

Lum wrote: »

The debris thing is, if you take the time to think about it, bloody obvious.

When cars drive over roads, and loose chippings get flung about. The parts that cars drive over the most have less debris and the parts that are not driven over end up full of the stuff. Look at any large roundabout that has a no-go area and you will see it.

Cycles do not fling debris about in the same way, so once a car has flung some debris into the cycle lane it's going to stay there. Over time all the debris migrates into the cycle lane as cars aren't allowed to go there.

So unless you're going to send out the road cleaners daily, and councils probably can't afford that, all road-based cycle lanes are going to end us as a dangerous unusable pile of gravel.

Pavement based cycle lanes are unusable for different reasons. As Wongsky has repeatedly pointed out in another thread, pedestrians are allowed out onto the roads without any form of education or qualification requirement. Most of them have figured out that stepping out in front of a car is going to hurt, but when you paint a white line down the pavement and say this half is a cycle lane; pedestrians just blither into it regardless, too busy playing Angry Birds or whatever to notice the cycle approaching them silently at speeds of up to 30mph.

It's not helped by the fact that green cross code isn't taught any more either.


Most car drivers don't understand the debris issue or that many cycle lines are basically unusable. All they see is that part of ~*my road tax*~ has been spent to provide a segregated space for cyclists, and now this idiot is getting in the way by not using it.

(yes I know it's VED, no need to have this discussion yet again)

Just remove the damn cycle lanes!

also with winter approaching
how often do you see the council gritting the cycle lanes/paths in the mornings?