"During 2010, the majority of collisions which saw a cyclist injured were the driver's fault."
Nice to hear it said so clearly. Though lets all pretend we didn't read the bit about helmets.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
"During 2010, the majority of collisions...were the drivers fault"
(11 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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I tried asking them why they felt they should include that bit but the web form kept asking me for a keyword. I didn't see a field to enter one.
Posted 13 years ago # -
what a vapid peice.
Posted 13 years ago # -
It seems my request for justification of the comment did make it to the cops and I got a thorough, well thought out and researched reply. Here it is in full:
Simple answer. To protect their head if involved in a collision.
Kind regards
I've asked for further clarification.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Interesting that the first five paragraphs are all about cyclists making sure that they and their bikes are safe. Five paragraphs of 'cycling is great, but really you want to make sure you're not responsible for injuring yourself'. Before that statement about drivers being to blame for the majority of collisions. I wonder if the local press has picked up the press release. And I wonder if they stop after the first 5 paragraphs...
*off to the p&j website*
Posted 13 years ago # -
@anth Interesting that the first five paragraphs are all about cyclists making sure that they and their bikes are safe.
Well they don't want to get the
Clarkson brigaderesponsible and upstanding citizen drivers up in arms, do they?Posted 13 years ago # -
Here in Edinburgh the vast majoprity of motorists are aware of the face that cycles exist on our roads.
In areas of Grampian thats not quite the case. Bikes are still the exception up there. People don't drive about thinking that they could meet a bike on a roundabout or a junction.
Little bit of education would work wonders.Posted 13 years ago # -
When I first read it I was struck by the statement about driver's being to blame. I don't think it's often said so clearly and categorically.
But having another proper read through it is odd - to say the least - to have that statement prefaced by things like "My plea would be for other road users to give cyclists space..."
Why is a Police Inspector pleading with motorists to drive within the law?
And also why are cyclists being told to wear helmets (in a manor that suggests it might as well be law) while drivers are being pleaded with?
Surely it should be written the other way round.
"Grampian is a beautiful area and cycling brings many advantages, but is also not without its dangers. There were 17 'serious' and 54 'slight' cycle in Grampian last year and disappointingly we still see drivers not giving cyclists enough space, forcing overtakes, not slowing down when passing and not properly checking, particularly at any form of junction."
"My plea would be for cyclists to wear helmets and use lights at all times"
Posted 13 years ago # -
Better article about the same issue on Bike Radar i.e. statistics confirm what cyclists already know about the extent to which cars are to blame for motor vehicle/bike collisions.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I got a longer reply from Grampian Police which appealed to common sense. I sent them some data.
Posted 13 years ago # -
@Cyclingmollie Very interesting article. I noted this:
Riders who frequently looked over their shoulders to check for other traffic were the most successful at avoiding collisions.
I'm not as obsessive about this as I probably should be, unless I've got a kid on the back, then I'm hyper-obsessive!
I also noted:
The vast majority of all types of incident (87%) happened where there was no traffic control, such as traffic lights or signage. 4x4 drivers were particularly likely not to see the cyclist (85.7%).The bit about 4x4s does not surprise me: when you are driving a tank, it's often just "get out of my way" rather than "I'd best take care". Interesting about non-signalled junctions. Most of the near misses I've experienced in Edinburgh were at roundabouts, mini or full sized. Drivers inevitably expect bikes to be slower than they actually are, and try and jump out ahead of you. It's illegal but they do it anyway, meaning I have often had to slam the brakes on. Again it's often an attitude of "what are you going to do about it?"
Posted 13 years ago #
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