CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News

"Police out to help cyclists with checks"

(30 posts)

No tags yet.


  1. chdot
    Admin

    Anyone seen this happening?

    "
    Police out to help cyclists with checks
    Published: 06 July 2013

    POLICE are carrying out patrols to check that motorists are paying due attention to cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

    The week-long summer scheme, launched yesterday and set to run until Friday, will see officers conduct road checks in the Capital in a bid to boost safety.

    Although car and pedestrian casualties have decreased in Scotland, according to a 2012 report, pedestrian and cycle fatalities increased.

    Police chiefs have urged road users to ensure they are properly prepared and equipped for whatever activity they plan, including maintenance checks on vehicles and wearing hi-visibility clothing and helmets where appropriate.

    Inspector Tracey Robinson, from the divisional road policing unit in Edinburgh, said: “There are a great many more people, especially in our towns and cities, now choosing to cycle rather than take the car.

    “We need to remind drivers to watch out for pedal cyclists and give them plenty of room when overtaking and only ­overtake when it is completely safe to do so.

    “There are a minority of cyclists who flout the law and place themselves and others in danger. Cyclists must obey all traffic signs, traffic light signals and must not cycle on pavements. At night your bicycle must have the correct lights fitted and lit. Whether motor cycle or pedal cycle, remember ‘Think Bike, Think Biker!”

    "

    http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/police-out-to-help-cyclists-with-checks-1-2992007

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. kaputnik
    Moderator

    What a shame this seems to be a once-off reminder exercise, rather than a core part of everyday policing.

    Glad they managed a press release that focussed more about helmets, hi-viz and trotting out the cyclists-run-red-lights line. Is there a book where they copy this from?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. minus six
    Member

    "Let's do it during the Edinburgh Trades holiday week, the roads will be much quieter"

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. cc
    Member

    It would be far more effective (and cost-effective) to redesign the roads so that such accidents would not happen in the first place. For newcomers, I urge you to read about Dutch infrastructure and design ideas on blogs such as A View From the Cycle Path, BicycleDutch and Pedestrianise London. Your eyes will be opened.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. chdot
    Admin

    "
    EdinburghPolice (@EdinburghPolice)
    08/07/2013 15:53
    @ak145m @WMPolice Twitter not for reporting crime. If you live in @policescotland area please report hate crime here http://www.scotland.police.uk/hate-crime

    "

    Of course being nasty to cyclists isn't officially recognised as a hate crime -

    Disability
    Race
    Religion or Belief
    Sexual Orientation
    Transgender

    though some people believe that they should be allowed to be on the road without fear...

    Can't find a general form, but these are the current police priorities -

    "
    Your Priorities

    The Force has identified its seven, very high priorities for 2013 - 2014 as:

    - Reduce violence, disorder and antisocial behaviour
    - Protect the public
    - Increase road safety and reduce road crime
    - Tackle serious organised crime and terrorism
    - Effectively police major events and threats
    - Maintain high levels of public confidence in policing
    - Deliver our equality and diversity outcomes

    Remember, what you know counts! When it comes to keeping people safe, please don't assume we know about everything that's happening in your area - if you suspect that crime is being committed, tell us about it.

    "

    First three cover most things!

    "if you suspect that crime is being committed, tell us about it"

    That has always been the advice 'we' have been given by the individual police officers we've come into contact with.

    "You can also contact your local community team."

    http://www.scotland.police.uk/your-community

    All sorts of useful info - with names.

    Might be worth engaging if you ever think you're 'not being taken seriously'...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. wingpig
    Member

    Two cyclefuzz on Rutland Square just now. They'd just missed a cyclist going the wrong way along Rutland Place and a big foreign coach jumping the red out of South Charlotte St.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Dave
    Member

    The press release is pretty amusing. They have one good line about giving due care, then it meanders off into helmets and hi-viz, neither of which is mentioned by any law. (If we had access to fly on the wall footage of every crash, I wonder if those would be found to have a significant role in /any/ of them...)

    Still, not so long ago it seemed to me that all cyclist safety initiatives did was focus on the victims, and didn't really mention the elephant in the room (you were mown down by someone on their mobile, for instance).

    So a step forward?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. Instography
    Member

    A teensy weensy baby step. It's not clear who they will be checking and advising about safety but I suspect there's as much, if not more, chance of them stopping me to tell me I should be in hi-viz and helmet.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. cb
    Member

    "It's not clear who they will be checking and advising about safety"

    Certainly not from that article. The title says it's cyclists, but the first paragraph, completely ignores that, and says motorists.

    Then there's the completely confused last paragraph which seems to be addressed at cyclists, but then tells us to "think bike, think biker", which would usually be addressed towards motorists.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. lionfish
    Member

    They would do far better (and I know I've said this before) to have plain-clothed police on bikes. Cycle from about 8pm in the evening, and they'll easily catch an awful lot of terrible drivers, not giving enough space.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. Dave
    Member

    Couldn't agree more!

    Plain clothes police cyclists supported by a couple of officers on motorbikes (or even just on foot, to flag down offenders further up the road) would have their pick of dangerous driving to ticket.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. Smudge
    Member

    Agreed, a couple of unmarked cyclists with marked motorcycles on call would be very (far more) effective.
    That said however I see the story above as progress. The helmet and hi-viz comment is caveated with "where appropriate" and we've finally got an intent to target the dangerous drivers and not just their victims.
    We are never going to see perfection (imho), but this is at least a sign of moving forwards

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. chdot
    Admin

    "We are never going to see perfection (imho), but this is at least a sign of moving forwards"

    Agree with both bits of that, it will be interesting to see if they 'report' on this week's activity - and whether it leads to practices that are continued...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. chdot
    Admin

    Meanwhile -

    http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/two-police-cars-set-on-fire-in-edinburgh-1-2994080

    Long hot summer(?)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. sallyhinch
    Member

    There was one town in America (forget where, it was from the blog roundup) where the local police spent a happy afternoon in plain clothes stepping into a cross walk and then arresting all the drivers who failed to stop. And I think it was Richmond where enforcement of a cycle lane suddenly became top priority after one of the local superintendents almost got knocked off his bike on the way to work by a car drifting into the lane...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. lionfish
    Member

    ...on the topic of setting things on fire. Someone tried setting my bike on fire: The plastic bag I keep wedged into my panier rack (to cover saddle if I think it's going to rain) was melted/blackened onto my mud guard when I got back to it the other day. Besides slight damage to the mud-guard my bike seems fine.

    Socioeconomic analysis: The depression has even hit vandals - in the good old days it would be a car that would get driven to a park and torched, now they can't even properly do a bike...

    And for a reference to art and culture: ...I'm in good company; David O'Doherty reported in his set that his bike was also set on fire.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. chdot
    Admin

    It's the heat...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. Coxy
    Member

    My wife used to work in an office block in a less salubrious part of town. Once there was a tannoy message: "Could the owner of car 'XXX YYYY' please come and put it out!"

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. gdm
    Member

    Well, they didn't heed my advice, which perhaps isn't surprising...

    I was approached by the Police at work last week to contribute towards the press release and provided fairly 'extensive' feedback as to why I thought their draft was basically pretty useless and only helped to promote the perception that the vulnerability of certain road users lay principally with their own insistence on using roads intended only for cars.

    There were so many things to pick out like singling out cyclists needing to adhere to the rules of the road but not mentioning drivers and confusing slogans for motorbikes by applying the 'Think Bike' strapline to a paragraph about cyclists.

    The response from the police was that they appreciated my perspectives but that they had to push ahead with the 'vulnerable road user' aspect almost regardless of where the actual source of the vulnerability comes from, i.e. errant motorists and this constant reliance on the 'respect' agenda. It's quite frustrating (to say the least) when you can cite all sorts of evidence for why an approach isn't effective and actually contributes towards the problem, but the insistence is on staying the course because, "well, we've just got to do it".

    Posted 12 years ago #

  20. minus six
    Member

    constant reliance on the 'respect' agenda

    which is a political agenda, currently.

    so there we have it, then.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  21. Instography
    Member

    It is incoherent gibberish, taking its language of 'flouting' the law straight from the Daily Mail's list of scofflaw synonyms. I mean, at worst, normally law-abiding motorists might inadvertently find themselves accidentally violating a speed limit or gambling on amber but cyclists thumb their nose and flout the law, no doubt careering through lights and scaring both a pensioner and a mother with a pushchair.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  22. DaveC
    Member

    Having 'marked' police to try to catch or at least discourage dangerous bahaviour appears to be foolish. Surley as others have said, plain clothes police officers detecting, backed up by uniformed oficers to enforce the law should be used.

    Weren't we told recently that cycle marking was to be discontinued by Police Scotland as they were not responsible for Crime Prevention? If this is all part of 'the end of Crime Prevention' and the start of 'Crime Detection' (as its easier and more politically rewarding to quote crime resolution figures) then using plain clothes officers should fit more with this new thinking?

    Dave C

    Posted 12 years ago #

  23. Instography
    Member

    Actually, now that I've read Susan Swarbrick's blog about the bridge to somewhere in Glasgow, there seems to be a weird pattern that you can't say anything positive about cycling or in defence of cyclists, even if it's only to write a cliché-riddled report of a bridge, without including something about red-light jumping. It's like every positive remark has to be balanced by some criticism to pre-empt the comment chimps. Every cyclist has to do that McCarthyite 'I am not now nor have I ever been ...' denial, distancing themselves from those "other" cyclists.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  24. chdot
    Admin

    Presume this is result of this 'initiative' -

    "
    3000 drivers flouting road laws during a crackdown over a single week

    "

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/news/home-news/cyclist-dies-as-police-initiative-turns-focus-on-the-safety-of-road-users.21616754

    Posted 12 years ago #

  25. fimm
    Member

    Wow, a report about a crackdown on dangerous driving that doesn't also mention cyclists behaviour (other than they travel in groups, hardly a crime...)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  26. neddie
    Member

    If one police officer were to simply cycle 8 miles a day along my commute route, he/she would catch at least 2 mobile phone using drivers per day.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  27. wee folding bike
    Member

    Serve the public trust.

    Protect the innocent.

    Uphold the law.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  28. paul.mag
    Member

    Directive 4 "Classified"

    Posted 12 years ago #

  29. ARobComp
    Member

    I can spot mobile phone users at about 200 paces these days. Alarm bells go off from the smallest things but key points are:

    1) lane drift
    2) slow take off time at the lights
    3) Watching them texting on their phone through their back window.

    I should really get a camera!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  30. neddie
    Member

    Yep, head down at the lights is a classic giveaway

    Posted 12 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin