'Bike rage' highlighted as police target bad cyclists

[TwickenhamCyclist]

STOP PRESS

Just experienced some “pedestrian rage”

Was driving down Surbiton High Street, when a man just hit my car. I was tuning the radio when he just deliberately bashed himself into the BMW, at the zebra crossing – damaged the paintwork, then, in my rear view mirror, as he got up, he was swearing at me and waving a clenched fist.

I fully expect the yellow incident signage to be out in the morning – police and local press will be running a campaign to help catch such anti-social peds in the area. Any ITN news crews available to help? Daily Mail putting it on page 7 tomorrow. Lets nail these menaces to society.

 

[Cab]

Is any one here going to be cycling in Cambridge on Wednesday when the tv crew will be about?

I cycle in Cambridge every day. If anyone can work out where these people will be, that'd be cool.

 

[semislickstick]

I cycle in Cambridge every day. If anyone can work out where these people will be, that'd be cool.

Any set of traffic lights! Mill Rd junction, Hills Rd? I can't imagine it would be too hard to get a few cyclists without lights in the centre, especially being the first week of the clocks changing!
I was trying to think if they would go for picturesque backgrounds and anti social thug cyclists. Kings?
I can only guess unless the CC police site says anything (it says they will be going around together)

 

[semislickstick]

http://www.cambs.police.uk/news/newsitem.asp?NewsID=5561

The Cambridgeshire police take on the week long action.....

21/10/2009 10:51:44
"HAVE you seen the light?" is the question police are asking during a week-long Cambridge cycling and driving campaign.


Together with Cambridge City Council, the enforcement and education campaign will make sure cyclists and motorists' lights are working properly.


It will take place between Monday, October 26 and Saturday, October 31.


Last year police officers and the city council asked cyclists and motorists to "sort their lights out" when the clocks went back. Hundreds of tickets were issued and through a safer city grant, the council supplied lights to cyclists who were fined.


After that campaign, an independent survey was carried out which showed 80 per cent of cyclists in Cambridge had lights - more than any other location in the country.


According to HM Nautical Almanac Office, road users will need their lights on at 5.14pm on Sunday (October 25) after the clocks go back. By October 31, they will need their lights on by 5.02pm.


Sergeant Gordon Morgenthaler said: "If you are going out on your bike take your lights, even if you think you'll be home before it gets dark. If you have not got any lights go and buy some today, before you receive a fine. Cyclists and motorists need to have their lights on to ensure that are seen and safe.


"As part of our commitment to improving the safety of road users we are again working with Cambridge City Council who will make lights available to the cyclists that are fined over the week to ensure they leave the site safely and legally.


"We have also teamed up with the Bikeability project offering a free one hour cycle lesson to anyone who is fined for other offences such as cycling on the pavement or through a red light.


"This is not a reward for doing something wrong, but a real step forward, offering some of the most vulnerable road users expert help to improve their cycling skills and reduce the risk of accidents."


Liz Bisset, Director of Community Services at Cambridge City Council, said: "We have been told by the public that tackling illegal cycling and anti-social use of motor vehicles continues to be a priority in the city.


"We expect this project to make a big contribution to tackling the issue. This is an innovative project ensuring there is a good balance between enforcement and education. A similar approach was used last year and was very well received.


"Cambridge Community Safety Partnership supports this week of action to help make Cambridge a safer place for road users and have helped fund the project."


This year the partnership will also be joined by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and the ambulance service.


Cyclists without lights will receive a fixed penalty notice of £30. Cambridge City Council will then give a set of lights to the cyclists.


Cyclists committing other offences such as riding on pavements or contravening traffic signals will receive a £30 fine but will then be offered a free one hour cycle lesson by the Bikeability project.


Motorists without properly working lights will receive either a fine, or a Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme notice which must be stamped by an MOT approved garage within 14 days to show the problem has been fixed.

 

[Cubist]

That's a bit more balanced than the histrionic garbage in the first article.!!

 

[ufkacbln]

Often the case - good to see that they are taking the sensible option and looking at all road users.

Actually the system is pretty fair, and giving a set of light is an excellent idea. Equally the "Bikeability lessson" probably equates with the "education option" for some motoring offences.

 

[Cab]

Well, no. If anything thats more spun than the newspaper article.

You get the same crackdown every year here, at the same time.

Plod stake out a few streets where new students ride home from afternoon lectures/labs/practicals, streets where they know there will be plenty of unlit students travelling along well lit streets for the entire journey between one town centre location and another. They aren't out on the less well lit suburban roads where they could do some real good by getting the every-day unlit cyclists, they specifically target streets covered in novice students.

And every year those students ride their bikes in huge numbers through October, in to November, even to December, but by January and February, when winter really bites in Cambridge, the number of cyclists on our roads here declines rapidly. Crudely, in October I'll be at a junction leaving town with another 10-12 cyclists, whereas by February there will be 4-5. All (or the vast bulk) of cyclists out in Feb. are pretty much regular cyclists by that time, they've got lights, they've got reflectors.

And the story now is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago before the publicised annual crackdowns; Cambridgeshire plod have latched on to a regular phenomenon whereby students buy clunking, nasty bikes and give up riding when the weather turns bad, and they claim that as a success (as after their crackdown most cyclists here have lights). Those who start riding again when day length starts lengthening again don't need lights to ride during daylight hours anyway.

The same coppers on the same bits of road I have observed routinely ignore illegal parking, I've seen them ignore cars going the wrong way down one way streets, and I've seen them ignore some utterly insane overtaking from motorists.

Make no mistake, this is a publicity gathering excercise that has no impact at all on safety.

 

[Matthames]

Make no mistake, this is a publicity gathering excercise that has no impact at all on safety.

[Sarcasm]Good to see the tax payers money being wasted on yet another box ticking exercise.[/Sarcasm]

 

[thomas]

If they wanted to see bike rage they should of been in Norfolk tonight. Moron in a Mondeo.

I've more or less lost my voice....due to being ill at the weekend (not from the rage!) so was yelling wheezing at below my normal talking voice. His car even got a slap as he ignored my 'crys' as he was pulling into me.

I really lost my cool. Haven't suffered the red mist like this in...over a year probably.