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 Lane Widths & Cyclist's Position on Road (Cycle infrastructure design)

Comments from Google Group cam.transport
on Local transport note 2/08 - Cycle infrastructure design

Comments can be found [HERE]

"7.4.3 Cyclists can overtake each other within a 2-metre wide lane and
easily remain within it when looking back to check for traffic,"

Can we overtake each other within 2 metre width? I think not.
Two sets of handlebars at 600mm + four elbows at 150 is more than 2m; would require a great deal of cooperation.

"...or when avoiding kerbside drainage grates, etc. "

The authors are assuming that drainage grates are the only hazard - Hertfordshire has potholes as well.

"...Drivers do not always realise that cyclists need to move away from the kerb to avoid surface hazards "

But they are supposed to know this as they have all read their Highway Code!!

Cycle Usage - Herts Advertiser Letters

In the Herts Advertiser last week there were two letters complaining of difficulties driving in St Albans, which seemed to need a reply, here is what I sent....
==========================================================
Sir,

Two correspondents on last week’s letters page (Herts Advertiser, April 26th) Jo Tatlock and Barrie Mort made me realise that we in St Albans Cycle Campaign (STACC) have much to do in addressing our principle aim which is “To encourage cycle usage in the St Albans District”.

Both writers complain about problems of driving and finding parking space in St Albans - both mention periods of 20 minutes of queuing or hunting for parking spaces. All they have done is stayed with the car habit so I do not seek to criticise them at all, just to encourage them and other readers who have similar difficulties - to consider if there is a better way.

I note that Jo lives in Harlesden Road and Barrie in Westfields. Both these roads are within easy cycling distance of the city centre. Readers may regard the prospect of cycling with some apprehension; so I thought a practical demonstration of the bike’s speed and convenience would be a gentle, timed round trip between the city centre and each of their homes. I did this on Tuesday May 1st, between 12 noon and 1 p.m.

From Harlesden Road to the Old Town Hall via the quiet route of York Road, Manor Road etc took 11 minutes (including time to lock my bike to the convenient rack - right where the shops are). Return journey by the faster, more direct Hatfield Road - just over 8 minutes.

From the Town Hall to Barrie’s in Westfields via Holywell and St Stephen’s Hills and Watford Road (perhaps too daunting for some) took 15 minutes. Return via (shock horror!!) Verulamium Park and George Street, 13 minutes.

In case readers think that they are too old to cycle, I will add - purely in the interests of scientific research - that I am 72 years old and overweight. (These facts may not be used for any other purpose!!)

An experienced car driver can adapt readily to cycling, because he/she already has all the road sense skills, it’s just a matter of extending these skills a little. Adult cycling courses are available - notably soon - ‘Women On Wheels’ FREE Cycling skills training for women at Luton 4-8 June incl M-F 12:00 - 14:00. Bike supplied or take your own. Details Tel: 01582 547153

STACC can give you lots more advice on cycling - get in touch.

No doubt there will be protests about me riding in Verulamium Park - but if readers can see something more than that from this letter I will count it as a modest step in the right direction.

And for those few who couldn’t ever cycle, don’t forget the buses.

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I didn't give the writers a hard time by saying they - and by implication all similar readers - were foolish for using a car, as I feel that being prescriptive is the wrong way to go. By giving encouragement and setting an example, we can hope that they will suddenly realise, all by themselves, that cycling is a quite reasonable way of getting about.

It's good to keep a topic going, so some supportive responses in next week's HA would nudge the message along a bit more. Over to you.

Ride safely

Share the road white, originally uploaded by MTB photolog.

Bike lanes are generally a good thing, but local experience shows that they take a long time to appear, and even longer to coalesce into a connected network which takes you where you want to go. Roads, on the other hand, take you from your front door to your destination..

Cyclists have have the right in law to ride on the roads (other vehicles have to pay for the privilige), but riding on the road means using common sense and following the rules, which are there for cyclists' safety too. Many adult cyclists are also car drivers, and it amazes me to see how many people forget the basics of road positioning- and the highway code- as soon as they get out of their car.

Here's a few pointers for safe cycling, and some links for more background on vehicular cycling.

Don't ride in the gutter. Riding two to three feet away from the kerb puts bikes in a position where they can be seen by other road users and have space to move into if needs be. Riding here keeps you away from broken glass and other debris which traffic sweeps into the gutter and causes punctures.

Always leave a gap when overtaking parked cars - riding into an open car door will hurt.

Stop at red traffic lights, just like other road users. A bike rider is soft and fleshy, other vehicles are hard and heavy. You will come off worse in any collision and you'll have only yourself to blame.

Stay off the pavement unless there are signs indicating you're allowed to use it. Pavements are for pedestrians, unless you're young enough to be riding with stabilisers or accompanied by mum or dad. Even if the pavement is clear, you will be more vulnerable to being hit by a car simply because you will be crossing driveways and roads in places where drivers are not expecting to see you.(Inlcude a link here)

Be aware of other road users - making eye contact with drivers at junctions and glancing over your right shoulder to check what's behind you makes you more aware of what's going on and reduces some motorists' tendency to see you as an impersonal moving speed bump.

Signal when you're turning or moving out - just like everyone else on the road. Doing this helps drivers predict what you're going to do.

Use lights at night and on dark mornings and wear something brightly-coloured or reflective. The warm glow you feel at using eco-friendly transport does not make you visible to pedestrians or other road users.

Don't pass lorries and busses on the inside. You may not be visible to the driver and you can be hit and seriously injured. HGVs are the second highest killers of cyclists on Britain's roads. Many of these deaths are preventable

Don't mistake the red-painted strips on Sandpit Lane and Hatfield Road for cycle lanes - they're (barely-effective) traffic-calming measures.

Don't feel forced to use badly designed bike lanes. Many cycle lanes are so badly designed that they are more dangerous than the road. There's no legal requirement to use them and little or no advantage- vote with your tyres!

Links:
The highway code for cyclists- worth a look for a refresher
Cyclecraft- the government-approved manual for safe cycling. A bit of a dry read, but contains some excellent practical information.
Vehicular cycling- an excellent article from John Franklin.