Excellent article on cyclists vulnerability in today's Times

[Paul_L]

Can't see a post about this elsewhere so thought i'd put it up.

Great article about a journalist colleague of the writer severly injured in a cycling accident with a lorry.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3306502.ece

For me the key para is "since 2001, 576 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq; 1,275 cyclists died on British streets."

I find that statistic absolutely outrageous. No wonder our lass gets annoyed when i don't call her when i get to work to let her know i've landed safely.

 

[style over speed]

theres more here
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/cities-fit-for-cycling-the-times.94824/#post-1707299

 

[cloggsy]

I've 'added my support' to the campaign!

 

[400bhp]

Can't see a post about this elsewhere so thought i'd put it up.

Great article about a journalist colleague of the writer severly injured in a cycling accident with a lorry.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3306502.ece

For me the key para is "since 2001, 576 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq; 1,275 cyclists died on British streets."

I find that statistic absolutely outrageous. No wonder our lass gets annoyed when i don't call her when i get to work to let her know i've landed safely.

Why do you find it outrageous?

 

[MontyVeda]

it is an odd statistic to use...

"since 2001, 576 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq; 1,275 cyclists died on British streets."

...which leaves me thinking, since 2001 how many poeple have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq? I'm sure deaths on British streets, be they cyclists, pedestrians or drivers, would pale into insignificance.

I have no problem promoting safety in general, that goes without saying, but using dubious comparisons can only detract from the weight of the rest of the article.

 

[Red Light]

Can't see a post about this elsewhere so thought i'd put it up.

Great article about a journalist colleague of the writer severly injured in a cycling accident with a lorry.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3306502.ece

For me the key para is "since 2001, 576 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq; 1,275 cyclists died on British streets."

I find that statistic absolutely outrageous. No wonder our lass gets annoyed when i don't call her when i get to work to let her know i've landed safely.

The statistics is absolutely outrageous - outrageously misleading and pandering to the "cycling is dangerous lobby". There were about 55,000 troops at the peak in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are an estimated 10 million cyclists in the UK so 200 times as many.

 

[GrasB]

Why do you find it outrageous?

They're turning statistics on their head for scare mongering in my opinion. "One death per 7843 cyclsts in the UK compared to one death per 95 soldiers in Afghanistan & Iraq" just doesn't have the same impact does it.

 

[400bhp]

Completely agree Gras - and is ironically the same garbage trotted out by Andrew Grimes in his MEN blog (see other thread) albeit at the different end of the cycling media spectrum (maybe rectum would have been a better word).

I wasn't sure what the OP was outraged at. Was the outrage due to the misuse of the stats or because more cyclists died on UK roads than troops in Afghanistan and therefore (insert outcome from this-perhaps along the lines that much much more should be done to curb cycling deaths.)

 

[BlackPanther]

Very strange to compare soldiers killed in action against cyclists killed on our roads. However, I suppose any article that puts cyclists deaths in the mind of the general population of drivers can't do any harm. If it sticks in their minds, then maybe they'll be a little more aware of us. Like I say, it's misleading, but the end result can only be for the better for us.

 

[Paul_L]

My "outrage" was really based on the fact that that so many cyclists die in the UK, and yet there doesn't seem to be any shock factor in this. As a driver as well as a cyclist, i know when i pass any cylist on the road how vulnerable they are. I think a bit more publicity about how many cyclists die might increase awareness in other road users, and awareness may hopefully (and i think i may be dreaming here) lead to a bit more respect on the roads.

I do believe a high percentage of drivers see cyclists as an inconvenience and just another object to get in front of at the earliest opportunity. Maybe campaigns such as this will boost awareness in drivers as well as cyclists. We can only hope i guess.

But yeah, fair point on the total number of cyclists compared to the numnber of soldiers.

 

[mr_cellophane]

Bit on cycling on BBC about 7:15 this morning. Usual clip on Mags inspecting the tyres of the tanker. Chat with Systrans and some clips of ninja cyclists.

 

[albion]

That death total may in fact be far worse.

That prior totalled BBC map missed the first two fatalities that I had cross checked via media reports.
The first one could have been just one of those things but two made it more than a bit mysterious. (and I only checked two!)

 

[Headgardener]

Yeah just caught the BBC article this morning as the female was riding through traffic in the early dawn with no lights . How nobody hit her I don't know, frightning .

 

[summerdays]

I wasn't that impressed with the TV coverage this morning - the Times bloke seemed to imply that it was ok to jump red lights if you had a lorry waiting behind you (and I did notice the girly scream clip )

 

[dawesome]

I think it was more getting out of the blind spot.