Cyclists: documenting their own failings

A common complaint in the tier-two comments on the tier-three press outlets is "why don't helmet-cam cyclists ever put up pictures of themselves running red lights?"

Hypothesis 1: the cyclists with helmet cameras are not from that subset of cyclists who run red lights, therefore such footage does not exist.

Hypothesis 2: they're just embarrassed when they do things they shouldn't or just screw up.

For some balance then, here's a bit of footage we managed to pick up from one of our in-field tax-dodgers, doing Apsley Road to Hampton Road via the newly re-engineered Lower Redland Road. Regular readers of our site may recall that this is the road where Skansa proposed removing east-west cycling options as part of the Sustainable Travel plan: cyclists would have created conflict with parents driving their children to school sustainably along the one-way system.






0:07 : cycle past a line of stationary cars. While not illegal: still selfish, arrogant and wrong

0:50 : turn right into redland road with the SUV in front, taking advantage of them blocking whiteladies road -but curving over the contraflow in the opposite direction. Yes, the contraflow is new, but that is no-excuse.

0:51-1:50: heading down lower redland road at a speed which -had there been any vehicles behind- have held them up and so created more road rage. Note two cyclists heading the other way, showing that if Skanska's plans had been accepted, there would have been less of that menace on our streets. At 1:30 the new school annex is on the left.

1:50-51: after the vehicle in front pulls out, our tax dodger looks right before setting off.

1:52: as they set off at 5 mph they notice the vehicle in front has actually stopped and have to brake hard: you can see the camera drop, which may be due to the front suspension engaging and/or cyclist momentum carrying them forwards.

The cyclist did stop with over 1 metre to spare -but if they had gone into the back, they'd have left some rubber marks on the rear bumper. And who would have paid for that? Exactly. The unregistered, uninsured, unlicensed cyclist would have run off with what was left of their bike, leaving the owner of the car to pay for the was needed to clean the bumper of and rubber or blood.

While we are at, can we note how hard it is to sport black cars on a winter morning. They should all have hi-viz and some reflective markngs. Consider this: the police cars have hi-viz.

Planning the School Run

Driving our van around Bristol we've noticed that the biggest problem for school run mums is pesky cyclists jumping red lights and riding on pavements.

We're really pleased therefore, that the extension to St John's Primary School, using Redland Police Station as an Annex will stamp out these tax dodgers - well at least in one direction.

Bristol's PFI schools provider, Skanska, has submitted a fantastic planning application for the Annex which will eliminate the connection between Whiteladies Road and Elgin Park for cyclists travelling from East to West. We've been wondering for some time whether responsible, sustainably oriented international corporates such as Skanska read Bristol Traffic and take our comments to heart. Now we know. At last there is a scheme which will allow responsible urban four wheel drivers to take their children to school by car without even having to run a cyclist off the road - because there won't be any. Better still, there will be lots of space for lorries to get down past the school after making deliveries to Tesco and others on the corner of Whiteladies Road.

What is really interesting about this scheme is that by denying cyclists a sensible route from Redland to the main shopping area of Whiteladies Road, we could be taking them off the road for good. Then maybe they will see the light and buy proper cars and pay for the roads like the rest of us.

Any foolish cyclists that remain after these proposals are given planning permission will be forced to go up a very steep hill instead (that'll teach them), or negotiate some difficult right turns where we expect they will be knocked off their bikes. The exact proposals are below, but the planning application can also be can be viewed online

Skanska is proposing a brilliant solution for the motorist. We'll be recommending them to the Association of British Drivers if they ask us if we know a good builder.

Why we need Traffic Engineers

This sign perfectly illustrates the reason why we need Traffic Engineers.

Clear, concise, and to the point. Instantly obvious at 30 mph and properly spelt.

On construction sites, though, the Building Contractor does the Traffic Engineering, and the signs.

Here a sign clearly states 10mph. And it is obeyed. But the other sign is not quite correct.

They ordered "Be Aware of Public", I'm told.

Frankly, I agree with the sign as it stands, especially on Park Street at night at the week-end.

South of the river, though, it's possible for Building Contractors to put up signs outside their sites. Which is fine. And courteous.

But it does illustrate why we need Traffic Engineers.