Winning the argument - a personal view

By Vincent Walsh, a campaigner from Greater Manchester:-


“Yes, but not till she wears a helmet all the time,” was the response to a request for a parent to buy a new bike for one of my Bikeability trainees. My personal stance has moved from believer to agnostic to non-believer. As an instructor in Greater Manchester I am required to feign belief and induct schoolchildren in the intricacies of wearing a polystyrene hat. So a Cyclenation seminar, Cycling Health & Safety: Winning the Arguments was timely.


 In the morning physiologist Bruce Lynn outlined the epidemiology of obesity: our dietary intake has remained constant over time but levels of exercise have fallen due to occupational change, more sedentary leisure pursuits and the rise of private motoring. Health economist Malcolm Wardlaw put risk in perspective, more die from cardio-vascular disease a day in the UK than cyclists in a year.  There are nine times more pedestrians than cyclists killed in road accidents in London.

GP Peter Ward sets a fine example to his patients (and colleagues) by pedalling around Gateshead. He exposed the paucity of scientific evidence for wearing helmets and the unintended consequence of a reduction in cycling where laws have been introduced.


Dr Robert Davis is a transport planner, founder member and now Chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum: www.rdrf.org.uk set up in 1993 after publication of his ‘Death on the Streets: Cars and the mythology of road safety’. He challenged the traditional road safety industry, declaring it has failed to protect the vulnerable - and less vulnerable - road users. In one case engineers sought to help drivers, improving their sight lines by felling roadside trees, the consequence - worse driving and more accidents. The source of road danger, the motor vehicle, must be held accountable; its impact reduced or better to condemn more trees – and cushion all lamp posts. Sharing road space, implementing a 20 mph speed limit in residential areas - without elaborate engineering - improves the behaviour of all road users. Let us promote sustainable transport and not blame the victims of current misguided policies - vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists. An accredited instructor, Davis extolled the virtues of training which empowers cyclists - helmeted or not.


This was an inspiring seminar. Those who could not attend can (soon) access the papers at http://www.cyclenation.org.uk/resources/winning.php I must forward the link to my anxious parent.

Winning the Arguments - Presentations

Presentations from our very successful (according to others) "Winning the Arguments" seminar in Birmingham on 21st April are going up at http://www.cyclenation.org.uk/resources/winning.php

Next Cyclenation/CTC Conference

The next Cyclenation/CTC conference will be in Bristol on the 13th of October. Please get that date in your personal & campaign group diaries  - more details will follow as they arise. 

Cyclenation is a signatory to the following letter which should appear in the Times today. 

The Times' "Cities Fit for Cycling" campaign and the tens of thousands of people who have signed up to it shows the strength of public support for improved cycling conditions on Britain's roads.

Its launch prompted supportive MPs to call for a 3-hour parliamentary debate on cycling, which provided a truly remarkable display of cross-party unity about what needs doing to encourage more and safer cycling.

Now what is needed is a plan to deliver these aims. This must tackle the risks and fears which deter people from cycling: high-speed traffic, irresponsible driving, hostile roads and junctions, and lorries.  It will also need to include provision of dedicated space for cycling on main roads, cycle parking, cycle training and other targeted promotional activities, to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to take up cycling for day-to-day journeys.

In recent weeks, our organisations have been working with representatives of local authorities, motoring organisations, freight and road safety groups and others to outline such a plan. This has now been submitted to Transport Secretary Justine Greening MP.

However, the last two decades have taught us that policy documents setting out the many benefits of cycling are not enough. We seek commitment from the highest levels of Government to deliver a transformational increase in cycle use, and to secure the cross-departmental, cross-party and cross-organisational backing for the sustained investment this will require. If The Times' campaign can achieve this, it will have left a real lasting legacy.

Phillip Darnton

Executive Director, the Bicycle Association of Great Britain

Ian Drake

Chief Executive, British Cycling

Gordon Seabright

Executive Director, CTC, the national cyclists’ organisation

Andre Curtis

Chair, Cyclenation

Carl Pittam

England Director, Sustrans

Addison Lee 'Die-in' 

Public event · By Beth Anderson 

Monday, 23 April 2012 

35-37 William Road, NW1 3ER

Most London cyclists will have probably heard about John Griffin, boss of minicab firm Addison Lee, instructing his drivers to use the bus lanes and that he will personally indemnify them against prosecution [http://itv.co/IqON26]. Minicabs can not legally use the bus lanes and, although a testament to the poor standard of provision for cyclists in London, this is one place where a cyclist can get some respite from the often mind-bogglingly awful driving seen from many Addison Lee drivers. 

Also in a further move, John Griffin has also published a factually inaccurate and victim-blaming rant about cyclists that Dr. Robert Davis, Chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, dubbed a "display of self-pitying bigotry and victim-blaming" and that "above all, [this is] the kind of incendiary message that exacerbates rule and law breaking behaviour by motorists." [http://bit.ly/IqDxmj] 

In a time where cyclists are fighting to be heard and warning of the dangers of the roads John Griffin has decided to instead focus on his own profit above the safety of cyclists and pedestrians. 

Please join us for a mass 'die-in' at 6pm on Monday the 23rd April outside of Addison Lee's London offices. We will meet at the junction of Stanhope Street/William Road then head to their office to deliver a letter to John Griffin of Addison Lee and stage a 'die-in' by lying down outside the office to highlight the real danger his drivers pose to cyclists and pedestrians. It's short notice, but this is an event that's happening now, so acting quickly is important! 

Make-up and fake blood welcome! 
------------------

Winning the arguments

For the benefit of those who don't tweet, here are the 68 tweets we sent out from the  for the Cyclenation

seminar on cycling, health and safety. They are chronological order from the bottom up. 

    · Just despatched batch of tweets that didn't make it out of  seminar . Thanks for following!

                 ·  elections are coming! have your safe cycling manifesto ready. The police need to have better awareness of the issues as well.

        ·  a lively debate ensued about helmets! Next up Jason Torrance from #Sustrans about #freerangekids.

             

    ·  images often come from advertising agencies so they could be influenced. Leverage events such as #skyrides.

    

            · changes to the highway code are key.public health officials should be approached. Health and well-being orgs. Influence the times

    

            · Plenary on networking and how we can take these issues forward. #britishcycling need to get on board. E-group to be set up

    

            ·  thanks for all the tweets in. Impossible to respond but will bring them to speaker's attention.

    

            · @SirVaylo example was drivers giving right of way to trainees when they shouldn't-makes it hard to train kids to use the road correctly.

In  to Sir Velo

             

    ·  protective gear is the least effective measure in risk management.No head injuries have occurred during training.

    

            ·  goal of cycle training is to make more trips on road by bicycle. Instructors are trained to dynamically assess risk.

    

            · Kids get excited about cycling.Then the helmets & hi-viz come out. This alters driver behaviour so you can't train 'em properly.

    

            ·  David Dansky, Cycle Training UK next up on impacts on Cycle Training.

    

            ·  you need all your ducks in a row to make a successful case. We have all the laws we need - but they are not enforced.

    

            ·  MP expects to win cases for cyclists.In only one case has not wearing a helmet been successful in a contributory negligence claim

    

            · Judges are becoming more sympathetic towards vulnerable road users. The days of "Mr Porter, we've got to get about" are fading

    

            ·  next up Martin Porter QC - contributory negligence & legal remedies.court procedures are so much easier than cycle advocacy.

    

            ·  discussions: comparing situation in China with here.2% of vehicles are mcycles-20% of deaths.Most road issues are anti-intuitive.

    

            ·  casualty rates per journey cycled where others are at fault wld be relavent, Accountability of sources of danger is needed.

    

            ·  "every man I meet wants to protect me. I can't figure out what from"-Mae West.

    

            ·  pseudo-scientific discourse not helping. "motorcyclists can be killed by trees"-DfT. Road Safety philosophy needs to be inverted.

             

    ·  motor industry has made cars safer at the expense of other road users. #AddisonLee a case in point.

    

            ·  Safety in Numbers is real: motorists are more aware of peds in Shared Space.Road Safety fails to address the problem at source.

    

            ·  #RDRF is concerned with Who Kills or Hurts Whom. "dangerous" forms of transport endanger others on the road.#Volvodriversyndrome

    

            ·  back on with Dr Robert Davis, Road Danger Reduction Forum. First point is that he is opposed to traditional views of Road Safety.

    

            · #lunchtime!

             

    ·  partnership building is starting to pay off for #twentysplenty & #freerangekids.

    

            ·  great to see a lot more women at this event than we tend to get at cycle campaign conferences.

    

            ·  supporting 20mph safe routes & cultural change. One comment was that it easier to get kids from deprived areas cycling.

    

            ·  we want to see happy active kids. Working with MP's parents & via the web. Not enough money is being put into active travel.

    

            ·  consequences are congestion & CO2, less active kids, loss of freedom. Concerns are traffic speed & volume, safety.

    

            ·  what are the major barriers to promoting cycling?Children are the decisionmakers of tomorrow.Decline in activity amongst children

    

            ·  helmet research a bunch of case controlled studies sugared with wishful thinking.

    

            ·  there are virtually no circumstances where a mandatory helmet law would have benefits - Piet de Jong.

    

            ·  Dr Ward definitely has the best pictures so far! Presentations will be on our website after the event.

    

            ·  your choice of clothing when cycling affects the behaviour of other road users.(Bristol study). Aussie helmet law halved cycling.

    

            ·  DfT review covered up that there was no strong evidence either way for the effectiveness of helmets.

    

            ·  3G coverage in this room is dodgy so some tweets are out of sequence. Sorry.

    

            ·  Robinson looked at head injury trends in various countries - showed helmet law had no effect but decreased cycling.

    

            ·  Australians were first to bring in helmet law. Cochrane review was flawed. Hewson looked at head injuries in children.

    

            ·  Dr Peter ward is talking about helmets. Initial studies claimed helmets were very effective is preventing head injuries.

    

            ·  As is well known cycling is safer in the Netherlands. Handbook of road safety measures has major errors.

    

            ·  difficult to compare cars and bikes because of distances travelled but it is known that young male drivers are very high risk.

    

            ·  Authorities serve the strong and ignore the weak.If you take m'way driving out of equation motoring risks are same as cycling.

    

            ·  discussion about whether road cyclists are more at risk and do cyclists make better drivers?

    

            ·  Change highway code to prevent contributory negligence cases stop promoting cycle helmets.

     

            ·  overall risk in everyday cycling is very low. Cyclists rarely harm others. More cyclists means safer cycling.

    

            ·  overlap between walking and cycling.Age & sex play a part in risk factors.

    

            ·  bike & train a very safe way of travelling. Cycling is a road safety intervention. Males are definitely most at risk.

    

            · Risk assessments for cycling & helmet use have not been done but research has started.a quarter of hospital admissions are RTA's.

    

            · In London,9 peds are killed for every cyclist.No peds were killed by cyclists in 2009. Helmets an endless debate amongst cyclists.

    

            ·  for younger people quality of Life & sex are motivators, next up Malcolm Wardlow, T&HSG. Risk in Perspective.

    

            ·  summary lack of exercise is a major risk factor, higher than smoking or high blood pressure. For older people death is motivator.

             

    ·  apologies but won't be able to respond to tweetbacks during twitter feed.

    

            ·  cyclist live longer. Irrefutable.39% higher mortality rate amongst those who don't cycle to work.cycling burns cholesterol.

    

            · You can't sell the mortality argument to young people-try sex instead. People have more time for exercise if they watch less TV

    

            · Sex. Runners have better sex. So do cyclists. People who have sex do better in sports.

    

            · @wheeledped will have to get back on that-trying to follow the speaker!

In  to Wheeled Pedestrian

    

            · You need 150 minutes of moderate activity, or 75 mins of hard stuff, plus a steep hill or two a week. Double that for kids.

    

            · @wheeledped I think you must be. I'm always starving after a bike ride!

In  to Wheeled Pedestrian

    

            · It is also dangerous to be thin and not exercise. Direct correlation between fitness & health. Question: what about children?

    

            · People think they take more exercise than they do.Energy expenditure at work has been falling. This is the cause of obesity

    

            · Now, we eat about the same amount but we don't have to exercise. Risks of smoking and of not taking exercise are about the same.

    

            · Human body is designed to run and to be energy efficient. When food is available, we eat it!

    

            · Prof Bruce Lynn from UCL will talk about Health and Cycling. A CBA of exercise against risk will come out in favour of exercise

    

            · We may be winning the arguments but we are meeting resistance from health, road safety and other "experts"

    

            · Chair of Cyclenation, Andre Curtis, has ed the seminar. John Franklin is explaining the context-perception of cycling danger.

    

            · People who are passionate about cycling are converging on Birmingham for the Cycling Safety seminar

ECF moves on Bikes on Trains

Fabian Küster, Policy Officer, has let us know about European Commission moves to improve the lot of people  who want to take their bikes on the train. He reports:-

n  The Commission is currently doing a review of Regulation 1371/2007 Passenger Rights and Obligations, to be provided early 2013 to the European Parliament and Council.

n  The Commission supports in principle ECF’s position that trains should be providing dedicated space for bicycle carriage.

n  The Commission shares ECF’s opinion that Art. 5 of Regulation 1371/2007 Passenger Rights however is essentially ‘useless’ in forcing railway companies to provide for bicycle carriage.

n  Given that the Regulation entered into force only in 2009, we cannot expect a proposal for revision any time soon. At the very earliest, 2014 could be possible date when the first period of exemption expires (most countries have asked for a 5 year exemption period initially).

n  The Commission advises ECF to lobby railway undertakings to provide for better services on a voluntary basis.

Next steps:

1) Commission:

n  Review of Regulation 1371/2007 by early 2013

n  It will continue discussions with Member States within the context of the National Enforcement Bodies who gathers several times a year. Commission suggested inviting ECF to one of these meetings to address the issue.

n  It will issue guidelines to Member States and railway companies on good practice, most likely in the second half of 2013.

2) ECF:

n  Commission invites ECF to collect good practice, statistics, useful information etc. that could be used for these guidelines. Of course we will do!

n  Commission advises ECF to lobby railway companies.

We know from our visits to local groups that this something people feel very strongly about, so we support these moves.