Lowering the risks

Cycling Weekly magazine has been running quite a few features on road safety for cyclists. The January 19 edition looked at adapting commuting by bike to provide useful training for sporting cyclists. We are not all Victoria Pendleton or Sir Chris Hoy, but they use the same roads (well, mostly roads around Manchester) as us to get around and to keep fit. Conclusion - cycling is good for you.

There are hazards though - see the Times campaign. As well as supporting STACC and The Times in campaiging for improved conditions for cycling in general, we can reduce our individual exposure by choosing how and where we ride. Here are four pointers from Cycling Weekly, with my comments:

Watch out for HGVs
HGVs are involved in two thirds of cyclist fatalities in London. Many lorry drivers are skilled, professional and courteous. Many firms fit all the legally required mirrors and then some. But even then, there will be places where the driver can lose sight of you. Show them the respect they deserve by being aware of the constraints on those drivers and positioning yourself accordingly. Never go up the inside of a lorry - you are putting yourself in the driver's blind zone. You are also possibly entering the space that the driver is about to move into - to make a left turn, the driver often has to move the vehicle to the right first. Stand at the Peanhen junction and you will see this happen.

Stay central
Take the centre of a lane whenever there is a risk that a driver will try and pass you too close or turn left across you. Approaches to junctions and splitter islands for example.

Avoid congested areas
Take a quieter route and avoid tricky junctions. You will also be avoiding a lot of pollution. Looking forward to cycling through the park instead of grinding up Holywell Hill? Me too!

Be visible
Lights, bright clothing and position in the driver sightlines all help drivers take notice of your presence. Give clear signals - this also makes you more noticeable.

Cycling Tips (Letter to Review Newspaper 19th Nov)

Sir,
I feel I must reply to your correspondent S Turner (ST) (Review November 5) as I am concerned for ST's welfare.

Complaining - as we all are - about the poor state of our roads, ST states that "cyclists spend most of our time close to the kerb and . endure the bump down on to (sunken) drains every few metres" and that it is necessary to come out into the road to avoid them.

I am pleased to see that ST is a keen commuting and leisure cyclist so I am surprised that she/he takes up such an inappropriate position on the road.

The following may be helpful to other readers, perhaps also to ST.

Cycling close to the kerb is often an indication of the inexperienced or untrained beginner cyclist, who assumes that he/she must keep out of the way of those much more important motorists. They almost apologise for being on the road and do not see themselves as having a right to be there as a legitimate part of the traffic.

However they are putting themselves at a severe disadvantage or even at greater risk than adopting and maintaining the correct position some way from the side of the road.

They will not register in the consciousness of many drivers who, as a result, will not allow any space at all when overtaking.

Assert your right to be on the road, see yourself as being part of the traffic behaving responsibly, cooperatively and consistently.

As a general guide you should be cycling about one metre from the kerb (i.e. measured from kerb to wheel centre line), this will give you a bit of space to move left if you encounter a pothole, manhole or oily patch in your path, or if a vehicle passes you a bit too closely. You may think that if you are further from the kerb, then vehicles will pass you more closely. In fact you will find that as you increase your distance from the kerb, so will vehicles tend to increase their passing clearance.

But keep a good lookout ahead for hazards (including pedestrians stepping off the pavement without looking) that involve you moving to the right - don't make sudden deviations - plan ahead and move out early and gradually.

When passing parked cars move further out than normal - a suddenly opened car door can spoil your day. Maintain your position, don't swerve in and out of the gaps in a row of parked cars.

Be aware of what is happening behind you with an occasional glance and constant listening (don't use an iPod or phone)

Do all you can to be visible - lights at night are essential and bright clothing is always advisable.

Cycle training is available for children and adults. It complies with the modern National Standard, addressing today's traffic conditions - visit the Herts CC web page at http://tinyurl.com/6fzpxj or the CTC training pages at http://tinyurl.com/5mrofm for more information, or contact us via www.stacc.org.uk.

Happy Cycling.

Tom S
St Albans Cycle Campaign

The above was published in the local Review Newspaper on 19th November. I am including it as a post as it may be a useful reference when replying to enquiries which STACC receives from time to time.
Space prevented me from putting more tips in the letter, please feel free to add your own tips as comments to this post. Comments on aspects with which you disagree are also welcome. Do continue to write to the local press about cycling issues - your own views. Afterwards add them to the Blog as posts, or email the content to us in order to post them for you. If you see an article or a letter related to cycling from someone else, try to keep the theme going by replying. Newspaper editors like a continuing story.

Cycle Training - How Not To Do It

A clip from
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=7836

Our Local Authority, West Sussex County Council hasn't trained its instructors to National Standards Levels. Instead it has them out there plying their good old fashioned Cycle Proff. with a couple of gentle nods in the direction of the National Standards Syllabus.

Then on top of that, they've appointed the local fire service to deliver training also. Again not trained to deliver National Standards. (Ironically, since writing my original post questioning the fire service delivering cycle training, their own fire station burnt down. Highlighting if anything the need for them to get their own house in order before taking on additional duties. Imagine the fire station hadn't even got a smoke alarm fitted....

Amusing or serious ?

Always lots of good stuff on the CTC Forum.