English
As I walked around Wiggle towers yesterday (we have a wonderful view of the finest Beefeater in the South Central region), I noticed one thing on everyone’s screen – the Times cyclesafe manifesto. Now, normally I’d use this slot to throw some light on an amateur blogger, or photographer, or whatever, but I think this is an interesting and important campaign and so the little known organisation of ‘The Times of London’ is taking centre stage. I think when the front page of a national newspaper looks like this, you have to sit up and take notice:
A quick note first – this is the Wiggle blog, and like any bike retailer, that this is benefits us. We’re going to be broadly in favour of anyone promoting cycling, and cycling safety – safer cyclists are happier cyclists, and happier cyclists buy more bikes.
More than this, however, we are, almost to a man, cyclists ourselves. This comes in many forms – we have hard core roadies, cyclocrossers, mountain bikers, and then a large number of people who commute to our offices (both here on the South Coast and up in London) on bikes. I number myself (occasionally, in less arctic conditions) among this latter group. I think anyone who has ridden on the roads of Britain – be it in London, Portsmouth, Bristol, the country roads of Sussex, can agree on one thing: there are steps that could be taken to make things safer for us all. Without wanting to open the doors to complaints about drivers not signalling, bike lanes disappearing under parked cars, and so on and so forth, I’m sure if you pause for a minute, you’ll be able to think of some things you’d like to improve.
So, it’s fantastic to see the Times launching their #cyclesafe campaign (quick side note – if this had been the Guardian rather than the Times, would it have had the same impact? And are we going to see one of the tabloids get involved?). It’s aimed squarely at putting cycling safety on a national agenda, and even if I don’t think their eight point plan is perfect (their pictorial association of Boris Johnson with this campaign seems a little much), I think it’s important to support their goal, and I’d encourage you to go to the Times website and sign their petition. This is the start of a conversation, and we, as cyclists, commuters and road users should take the opportunity to be involved.
I’ll end this with the Times’ visualization of their manifesto:
For there to be greater safety on the roads, I believe the first requirement is to ensure that both camps, drivers and cyclists understand each other’s needs better. An open debate creating a list of please dos and please don’ts for both cyclists and drivers will not only create more considerate and safer road use but also prevent resentment on both sides.
This lack of resentment may cause both parties to be more generous and patient towards each other and give greater confidence to people to cycle those shorter journeys.
I’m a keen cyclist based on it being a hobby, loving the cheap commute and parking, being awake for work and enjoying its health benefits, but who worries re road safety. But I also love my car and can find the green snobbery and inconsideration of silly cyclists can give us a bad reputation.
Therefore, Dear The Times, please invite both cyclists and drivers to write in about the behaviours we like and dislike and draw up some standard guidelines and where relevant possibly work with the department of transport if there are areas that should be brought into the highway code.
Many thanks