CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Almost no detail - and I know nothing save what I read here - but apparently someone walking and someone cycling collided, and both were a bit hurt. And the police said something unhelpful in response (if the Evening News is to be believed at least).
Not wishing to downplay what may have been a scary situation for both, but is this news...?
I can't locate anything on this other than the EN's report. It would be interesting to find this 'public warning' which the police have apparently issued...
Public warning is on Edinburgh Police Division's Facebook. Link is ugly and I can't get it to work.
Try this:
https://www.facebook.com/EdinburghPoliceDivision/posts/2252754898314013
The EEN article is basically a re-written version.
I'm so pleased that the police have reminded me of my place as a 'vulnerable road user' (because I'm not driving) - and that I need to 'take the utmost care'. I'd not have thought of that when crossing the road tomorrow - but better safe than sorry I guess.
Do you think that there are various public authorities who genuinely believe that their role is to make the world safer by telling us all to be more careful. Do they think that out here in the real world we're just awaiting such advice - that they are the wise ones and that people get hurt just because they aren't clever enough to know that a car running into you, or that a collision between someone cycling and someone walking, is going to hurt.
How is it, for instance, that for decades and decades there's been money to send people into schools and to write booklets and advice, telling kids to wear bright yellow (etc) clothing just to walk to school. Nobody has ever dressed their kids up in bright yellow just to walk to school. Nobody does it now. Probably nobody will do it in future. Yet someone is employed on the basis that telling kids to do the thing they aren't going to do is a 'good thing'.
Maybe we could fight back as so....
Edinburgh's City Cycling Forum tonight issued an official warning to UK state and local authorities, reminding them of the need not to say stupid things. A spokesperson from the forum said "too often our public authorities decide to blame the victims of crime, or to build advice on stereotypes and blatant stupidity, and we'd always advise them not to do that, because victims don't like being blamed for the bad stuff that happens to them, or being stereotyped, and frankly saying stupid things just so that you feel like you're doing something has the side effect of making you look stupid."
I am old enough to remember Look right, look left, look right again.
Also to get advert for decathlon lecky bike I covet and Hearing Aids beneath the EEN. Article.
Thin line between advice and victim blaming
MAny projects exist instead of spending money on segregated paths. This would inconvenience drivers so let's get some window dressing
Many projects exist instead of spending money on segregated paths.
This is the secret gangrenous mass at the heart of cycle campaigning. Is to point this out to cause keyboard-operators to be fired and digger drivers to be hired?
After I posted this last night I followed up their (police) link. Turns out this IS one of those groups of people (assuming the Facebook message is linked to whoever writes the safety advice) writing about how children should dress up yellow to walk to school.... I'd not realised...
Regular messages about behaviour and safety can be effective I guess - but not because people sit down to read advice to learn 'how can I stay safe' and then follow this. What they can do is to establish a social norm... what's to be expected - what's right and wrong.
"Don't forget to look right and left children" probably doesn't do any major harm. It's basic survival advice that young children need to learn to stay alive. (Although we could argue about the long term social issues/harm/etc). But "don't forget to put lights on your bike" or "children should wear yellow to walk to school" for me tip over into something actively damaging (not just pointless). These things don't establish normal behaviour so much as they bolster stereotypes and apportion general social blame.
One of several secret gangrenous masses at the heart of work on changing the way our streets work I think.
It might be better to actually say to people not to assume that the driver is paying attention and sticking to the speed limit and that even on pedestrian crossings or the pavement you may not be safe.
Instead of shelling out money on crap like this they should put it to enforcing the laws regarding driving. If people think they will get caught driving like dicks most will stop it.
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