Claire,

As you may know, I have also been wiped out twice in 2 years through no fault of my own, Screws in shoulder, fractured collarbone, fractured pelvis 2 fingers and numerous stitches. I am also aware that somone from Derby Mercury was knocked off and injured in the last week or two.

The roads are a minefield (literally !) these days but there's only so much the cyclist can do... Try riding some of the pothole strewn roads of Cheshire...

My suggestion would be far more severe penalties for motorists (and councils for that matter). I don't deem a "driver awareness course" to be sufficient punishment for a tractor driver who runs down a cyclist resulting in the above injuries. I would suggest a short term suspension of the driving licence (even if its only a week or two) would be sufficient to cause enough inconvenience and additional expense to make people "think-on".

Half the problem in general with this "nanny state" country is the criminals are looked after/ unpunished, and genuine victims treated with derision.

I'm still waiting for my settlement from the first accident 3 years after the driver was found guilty, fined £1000 and given 7 penalty points... I'm currently approx £20,000 out of pocket... and he was found guilty !!!

Cyclists getting knocked off bikes is symptomatic and a direct result of lack of peoples responsibility, discilpline and accountability in society in general, and a total lack of appropriate punishment, consequences. A situation which is a direct result of Government policies....

Hi Karl,

I am aware of your injuries, and I am sorry to hear that you have been through so much, not only in recovering from them but also in trying to obtain legal redress and compensation. I will certainly make a note of your comments.

Thank you for replying,

Claire

Thanks Claire,

Another issue that could be addressed is the "no win no fee" culture for accidents, which generates a climate of Solicitors "milking" cases, resulting in increased premiums for everyone. You'll also find that these cases have to be Insurance backed as well !!!! Slight conflict on interest LOL ...

Maybe the motorist feels so battered with insurance and petrol taxation that they have an attitude of "contempt" for anyone else on the road.... Together with a lack of "consequences for their actions", and awareness of the weakness of the Law, we see what we see..

Cyclists getting knocked off bikes is a symptom of a far greater problem... sticking plasters are not a solution.. someone needs to get their head out of the sand and have the gumption to sort this Country, Industry and Society out. The word "Government" springs to mind....

Congratulations, we all appreciate what you are doing..

Thank you, Karl!

I feel so upset about your case, and the 'accidents' that other club members have suffered. I hope that we can play our part in improving the situation for ourselves and for other road users! Most of us are also motorists and pedestrians, so it seems strange to me that one type of road user still has such priority over all others!

Best wishes,

Claire

Claire

Clearly we have had a few incidents with motorists and its going to take time to change the culture of road users. Simple measures improving road surfaces should be a relatively straight forward issue. Perhaps some inclusion in the design any traffic calming measures might help. I am sure many are designed by non cyclists who fail to appreciate our needs. There could be a case for a cyclist green light ahead of the cars to avoid the wobble factor on starting, or possibly allow a left on red when it is safe to do so. Education of as many children and if necessary parents through either the county or bikeability schemes. Highlighting that vehicle excise duty does not pay for the roads but all tax payers contribute may open a few eyes. We must also bear in mind our own responsibilities by trying to limit the frustration that can be caused by having to sit behind a bunch, being seen obeying the rules of the road and acknowledging the courteous drivers. Like all sections of the community there are more good than bad. If the Times can keep the issue in the public eye and keep reminding our MPs of the significant health and environmental issues then maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Hi Derek,

Thank you for highlighting some practical measures to improve safety.

Thanks,

Claire

Claire, well done you for taking this one on - and thanks for asking us for our thoughts. I also have two letters from Graham Evans and am impressed with his response. And I think his point about rural towns and country environments is well made - most of the debate in the Times has been about city cycling. Anyway, at long last this seems like it's being seen as a vote winning issue, in which case we suddenly have a little more influence. In terms of suggestions, I'm not sure I can add much to what's already been suggested, but my list would go:
1. Fix Potholes
2. Build bike lanes (good ones)
3. Training of both car drivers and cyclists (driving tests should cover considerate behaviour around cyclists, school children should ALL do cycling proficiency) - to generate more mutual understanding of each other's challenges on the road
4. Speed calming in towns
5. Sensors on lorries (as per the Times campaign)
6. Awareness raising - cycling on a public road is permissable, it's cool, it's environmentally friendly, it's cheaper, it's fun, it's healthy etc etc. The more riders out there, the more car/lorry/tractor drivers have to accept them and look out for them.
7. An acceptance amongst cyclists that every time a cyclists raises a finger at a car driver or tells them to "xxxx off" it just exacerbates the situation and reinforces the car driver's low opinion of cyclists
8. Planning decisions around lights, lanes etc. need to consider cyclists (it would be good to ask Graham Evans whether and how cyclists are being considered as part of the new one way system in Northwich, when they move past the current testing stage)
9. An awareness campaign around cyclists' visibility. It's a real problem on unlit country roads. Even when I'm lit up like a Christmas tree, if a car is coming up behind me at the same time that another is coming down towards me, the glare from the oncoming car means that the driver behind me might not see me. The more lights/bright stuff we carry/wear - the safer.
10. In terms of verdicts - in a 50:50 situation, the default position should be to assume the fault lies with the vehicle - the driver of a vehicle has a responsibility to look out for smaller vehicles/bikes/pedestrians/dogs etc.
11. More research into causes and likely culprits - so remedial action/training can be effectively targeted.

Anyway good luck - and if you want some moral support at your meeting, let me know!

Claire
thanks for all this work, I think we have a real window of opportunity, I would add my support to fixing potholes and general state of the roads and a particular gripe is any lack of understanding by many road users of what forward stop areas at lights are for, they have a bike symbol but motorists insist on waiting in them; at some junctions this makes it dangerous to turn right.

I have also noticed it can be particularly hazardous cycling near schools at times when parents etc are collecting/dropping kids off as they seem to go into auto mode ie get in and get out as quick as possible as if their life depended on it - but also there are kids on bikes (great) but some of the riding habits they adopt do not help our cause - so schools could be a good area to target for many areas of 'good practice'
I also agree that being rude/abusive to other road users reflects badly so education is a 2 sided issue, indeed it's necessary for all road users.

A few years ago I went on a business trip to Denmark and remarked on the many cyclists at rush hour, children and adults, and how courteous the car drivers seemed to be - my host's response was "well that's because cyclists have right of way at all times and if we knock a cyclist off we are held responsible - end of story" this comes down to the right legislation and backing it up with consistant punishment EVERY time so eventually it is accepted that everyone on the road acts in a more responsible way.
If you need any support at the meeting do let me know

I was nearly killed by a king Charles spaniel tonight.

In all seriousness, as a regular commuter not a single day goes by when my life is endangered by some idiot behind the wheel who cannot add 15 seconds to their journey to pass me safely.

I equally have to risk my own life by having to swerve to avoid the several hundred potholes on my route home. Pot holes that have been there since I started this route in may last year, and probably for some time before.

Karl is right. Drivers attitudes will not change until the governments attitude changes. Reality is, drivers make money for councils, cyclists don't. They will always favour the finance, after all, the councils, government and police force are a business and businesses have margins.

This country panders to minorities and ignores the silent majority. Why on earth is our minority group being ignored??

On the point of Potholes. A couple of years ago I wrote off a pair of wheels when I hit one. I contacted the council, photographed it and tried to claim for the wheels. The excuse that their solicitors put forward was " the roads are inspected every six weeks, and the hole can't have been there, as it wasn't in their records". In other words, it was up to me to prove that the hole was there less than 6 weeks previous !!! what a load of cr..p. Maybe if the councils spent money filling holes instead of hiring lawyers, the roads would be better. I'd like to do an exercise of photographing the worst holes, with a date, and then go back 6 weeks later. If the holes still there, sue the council. They must have a legal obligation to maintain the roads, but their efforts are pathetic. I have recently been informed that the company carrying out the work for cheshire have had their contract withdrawn, as the work wasn't being done.... surprise surprise, tell us something we don't know !!!!

Thank you Eleanor and Dave for your contribution which is much appreciated! I would welcome your eloquent company at the meeting!

Karl and Kris, you have put some good points. I was wondering, are you both a member of the CTC, and do you use their 'fill that hole' website? If you are not a member, then join them today!! They are useful for insurance, advocacy, and campaigning!

Thank you

Claire

Thanks Claire. I didn't know about this but I do now, and I will be registering.

I'm also going to look at my bike gps (mines a Bryton, although Garmin may have something as well) and see if there is a way to record these as a POI (which of course they are to us). I can then easily send the council the gpx/ kml data and get them doing what they should be doing anyway.

I'd love a little button somewhere on the handlebars that I could press for every pothole.... 😀

Think I'm going to sign up for the CTC today.

I also have a HD helmet cam, and as soon it's light enough I will be filming my ride to work and back, and will take stills of every single pothole. And as Karl said, I'll do it again 6 weeks later.

I am waiting for response to an entry I made on the pothole list last week re the road from Peckforton Castle to the Bickerton Poacher - it is absolutely appalling and when I went on the CTC pothole site I discovered several holes seemingly fixed and an outstanding one from last July with similar comments to mine, ie not an isolated bit of road but great lengths over half the road width and then covered with mud from tractors.
At least on the CTC site the potholes are logged so it's up to us to flag them up, then the council responsible has no get out clause should there be an incident. You can also add photos if available