BBC Breakfast and cycling safety

[simon.r]

So yes, the only real answer would be to separate bikes and motors completely but Britain has the densest and oldest road network in the world and one of the most crowded too, so there isn't room.

You're right, but when there are opportunities to put in a decent cycle lane these are often ignored. A main road road leading out of the village I live in isn't good for cycling (NSL, blind corners and dips). There's a grass verge beside it which is about 2m wide (so wide enough to put in a reasonable cycle lane which is segregated from the road) but when it was closed for several weeks a few years ago for re-surfacing there was absolutely no consideration of how it could be made better for cyclists.

A double shame as it's a natural part of a pleasant loop around the surrounding area which is mostly on very quiet country roads - people are dissuaded from getting out on their bikes because of this one road.

 

[Globalti]

Sorry to say this but anybody who thinks local authorities are going to dig up verges and create cycle lanes at a cost of thousands of pounds a metre is living in cloud cuckoo land. During good years there hasn't been enough money even to repair the existing roads and now there's no money at all so unless cash is provided nothing will ever happen in Britain. Even if there was a sudden windfall the money would be spent on repairing potholes and resurfacing, which I'd rather they did than create cycleways anyway. My little experience of cycleways is that they tend to be badly made, rough, covered in debris and unsuitable for good average speeds on a road bike.

 

[snorri]

Sorry to say this but anybody who thinks local authorities are going to dig up verges and create cycle lanes at a cost of thousands of pounds a metre is living in cloud cuckoo land.

I think that is a rather negative attitude, it's just a case of priorities, the money can still be found to construct roads which encourage motor vehicle use.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13924687

 

[snorri]

We have all the 'cycle paths' that we need - they're called roads. What we need isn't more poor quality 'roads' just for cyclists but some enforcement of the rules and laws covering the existing roads.

When I see young children cycling on 70mph dual carriageways with their parents permission I will realise that you had it right all the time.

 

[snorri]

When you stop setting up straw men then maybe people will take your views seriously...

I don't understand your comment.
As I see it, we will never get to a stage where all the roads in the UK are cycle friendly, similarly we will never get a complete network of segregated cycle routes. There must be a solution somewhere in between?

 

[benborp]

It's probably part of their insurance that helmets should be worn... rather than fear of the general public complaining.
...or possibly union/equity rule, if the presenter doesn't wear a helmet then they'll need to find a stunt double!

It's the general public complaining. If a correspondent raises a cycling issue in a story and they're not wearing a helmet while riding they'll spend more time responding to questions about their lack of helmet than on matters of substance raised by their report. That was certainly the case a couple of years ago.

 

[Over The Hill]

We have all the 'cycle paths' that we need - they're called roads. What we need isn't more poor quality 'roads' just for cyclists but some enforcement of the rules and laws covering the existing roads.

Completely agree.
The idea of the road being shared with different modes of transport works when each different user considers the others. We have peds wandering around on cycle paths, cyclist running over peds and car drivers running both down.
Netherlands is perfect example of it all working, be it in the town or countryside they make some provision for cyclists where needed and sensible but otherwise leave you to mix with the cars. This works simply becuase the cars are expecting bikes to be everywhere and are probably cyclists themselves.