Cycle lanes encourage motorists to drive closer to bikes...

[asterix]

A cycle lane caused me to receive substantial compensation (with the assistance of the CTC) through negligence of a car-user. I'd preferred not to have received the injury and believe cycle lanes are dangerous.

 

[purplepolly]

CTC have a policy on cycle lanes and tracks. Nowhere in the policy does it say we shouldn't have them, therfore they must think cycle lanes (in general) are ok.

Use of cycle facilities was going to be made compulsory in the latest version of the highway code, this was sneaked in with no consultation and I believe they even got as far as printing copies of it. But then the CTC campaigned against it and the highway code had to be revised. Why would they do this if they thought cycle lanes were (in general) ok?

 

[Origamist]

A different take on the (OP) study:

View attachment 4362

From:

http://www.spokes.org.uk/modules.ph...e=index&req=viewdownload&cid=20&orderby=dateD

 

[Wheeledweenie]

My route to work is along the Uxbridge Road and is pretty much all cycle and bus laned. The bus lanes feel safe (apart from the occasional scooter and motorcyclist) while a lot of the cycle lanes feel unsafe and force you to do bizarre things at junctions unless you're turning left. As a beginner I felt pressured to use them and it led to a lot of near misses.

Cars come far closer when you're in a cycle lane. They lose the ability to judge distance and 'as long as I'm not crossing the line into the lane I'm alright' seems to be the main thought. Some of the cycle lane is barely the width of my handlebars so actually, it's very dangerous.

 

[summerdays]

Use of cycle facilities was going to be made compulsory in the latest version of the highway code, this was sneaked in with no consultation and I believe they even got as far as printing copies of it. But then the CTC campaigned against it and the highway code had to be revised. Why would they do this if they thought cycle lanes were (in general) ok?

CTC campaigned against cyclists being forced to cycle in the cycle lane because not everyone would want to cycle in a cycle lane and not all cycle lanes are equal!! We don't want to be segregated necessarily - though in a few places it is nice. Non cyclists think cyclists do want to be separate from the main road traffic - I thought that way myself before I took up cycling. What we really want is respect and an equal place on the road.

 

[D-Rider]

Non cyclists think cyclists do want to be separate from the main road traffic - I thought that way myself before I took up cycling. What we really want is respect and an equal place on the road.

Same here. I remember driving behind a cyclist on my way to work and being surprised he wasn't using the (seperate) cycle lane next to the road. I used that cycle lane a few times after I started cycle commuting and very quickly changed my mind... sharing with lots of pedestrians, broken glass, dog sh*t, diverted off course and forced to dismount at a pedestrian crossing at every junction... what a pain!

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

My route to work is along the Uxbridge Road and is pretty much all cycle and bus laned. The bus lanes feel safe (apart from the occasional scooter and motorcyclist) while a lot of the cycle lanes feel unsafe and force you to do bizarre things at junctions unless you're turning left. As a beginner I felt pressured to use them and it led to a lot of near misses.

Cars come far closer when you're in a cycle lane. They lose the ability to judge distance and 'as long as I'm not crossing the line into the lane I'm alright' seems to be the main thought. Some of the cycle lane is barely the width of my handlebars so actually, it's very dangerous.

Agree with all that except (sometimes) the bit in bold. On one of the roads I use on the way home, the Alpha Males seem quite happy to use ALL of the road in their attempt to set a new PB on the run back from the station. No matter who or what is in the way.

Fair enough, I suppose - their "road tax" paid for the cycle lane for me to use in the first place.

Not that I use it.

 

[summerdays]

Is there a list of well devised cycle lanes anywhere -as examples to planners?

 

[Dan B]

A different take on the (OP) study:

View attachment 4362

From:

http://www.spokes.org.uk/modules.ph...e=index&req=viewdownload&cid=20&orderby=dateD

Interesting reading, but the only real point they make is that the study only observed this effect on 40mph and 50mph roads, and it did not show up in the test on a 30mph road. Everything else is supposition.

And even some of the supposition is half-cocked

b. If the presence of widespread well-visible onroad cycle facilities (or even particular cycle facility) increases
the number of cyclists, that in itself increases safety per cyclist - as we believe has happened in Edinburgh.

They are referring to the "Safety in Numbers" effect here. Now, as I understand it, the "Safety in Numbers" paper identified a correlation between more cycling and lower accident rates, and hypothesised that the connection is that drivers become more used to having cyclists around and are habituated by their presence into good behaviour. OK so far, but what happens if all the cyclists are in cycle lanes? Doesn't that accustom the driver into believing that cyclists will always be tucked up in their gutter ghetto and not expect to be sharing the "car lane" with them? We don't know the answer to that - that's supposition of my own - because we don't know the mechanism by which "safety in numbers" actually works. But it's just as likely as anything else: as other prior posters have related, some drivers already believe cycle lanes are compulsory of r cyclists to use

May I add http://xkcd.com/552/ just before anyone else does ;-)

 

[hackbike 666]

I remember driving behind a cyclist on my way to work and being surprised he wasn't using the (seperate) cycle lane next to the road.

......and that's what worries me.

 

[summerdays]

Well I think (hope) that motorists are getting used to seeing cyclists in primary position and not in the gutter in Bristol so I think the Safety in Numbers does work. I'm not saying that you don't get unobservant motorists day dreaming etc and cross ones that beep as they are impatient but so far I have never had the get on the path apart from once when I was attending a first aid course and a discussion started on the other side of the room. They were soon put right by both myself and another work mate on the same course.

 

[sunnyjim]

Interesting reading, but the only real point they make is that the study only observed this effect on 40mph and 50mph roads, and it did not show up in the test on a 30mph road. Everything else is supposition.

And even some of the supposition is half-cocked

]


I'm sure Spokes is full of well meaning people, but their enthusiasm for paint on the road IMO is particularly stupid. There are a lot of narrow red gutters and round-about decorations round here with all the familiar problems. There's at least the possibility that Spokes has actually contributed to making cycling in Edinburgh more dangerous.

 

[lit]

I remember driving behind a cyclist on my way to work and being surprised he wasn't using the (seperate) cycle lane next to the road.

......and that's what worries me.

Why would that worry you, maybe he felt happier riding on the road.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Why would that worry you, maybe he felt happier riding on the road.

I think Hackbike was quoting someone, and saying that the quote worried him. Rather than him worrying about someone not using a cycle lane.

 

[Origamist]

Interesting reading, but the only real point they make is that the study only observed this effect on 40mph and 50mph roads, and it did not show up in the test on a 30mph road. Everything else is supposition.

The raison d’etre of the piece is the misrepresentation of the study in the media: “cycle lanes are dangerous” etc (hardly a revelation, but one worth pointing out and repeating). As an example, the findings pertaining to the 30mph road where the presence of a cycle lane was not deemed statistically significant with regard to passing distance were cited – the problem is that many people/journos didn’t bother to read or correctly report what was in the abstract.

I felt that the writer was trying to get people to think a bit more deeply about the study and scrutinise the wider issues more coherently (coloured cycle lanes vs non-coloured cycle lanes, problems with different classes of road, potential benefits to pedestrians, lane widths, the promotional benefits of cycle lanes, safety in numbers, less attractive alternatives etc) and I’m glad its done that. I’d certainly agree with you that a lot of it is debatable and written from a pro-lanes perspective, but we could all do with being a bit more circumspect when confronted with studies that are regurgitated by the press as it’s all too easy to feed our confirmation bias where cycle lanes are concerned.