CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News

Transport minister to meet safety group after cyclist deaths

(12 posts)

  1. crowriver
    Member

    Transport Minister Keith Brown is set to discuss what further steps can be taken to protect cyclists on Scotland's roads.

    Mr Brown is due to meet with road safety professionals and cycling groups in a fortnight.

    The meeting comes after a man died in a collision with a taxi in Edinburgh on Monday morning.

    His death was the sixth fatality in Scotland over the past year involving cyclists.

    Mr Brown said: "The rates of serious injuries and fatalities on our roads continue to fall but concern remains about vulnerable road users such as cyclists and we are looking closely at this issue.

    "Cycling is a healthy, green, cost-effective way to travel and it is vital that we ensure those choosing to do so are protected."

    'Radical rethink'
    The Scottish government has set itself a target of reducing the number of people killed on Scotland's roads by 30% by 2015 and a 40% reduction by 2020.

    Green MSP Alison Johnstone has called this week for a radical rethink of how Edinburgh's streets are designed to make them far safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

    There have been 16 cyclists deaths in the Lothian region since 2000.

    Cyclist Brian Simons, 40, died on Monday morning when he was involved in a collision with a taxi. The accident happened on the main Corstorphine road into the city just past Murrayfield stadium.

    An investigation is currently under way and police are appealing for any witnesses to contact them.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17284509

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. crowriver
    Member

    Hmmm. This is not the Cycle Safety Summit that Alison Johnstone was calling for though. Same story in the Scotsman reveals that this a standard scheduled meeting of a group with no cycling groups represented in the membership (presumably as Transport Scotland looks after trunk roads only.

    http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/road/road-safety/operational-partnership-group

    Transport Minister to hold road safety talks after cyclist death

    KEITH Brown, the Transport Minister, is to hold road safety talks following the death of a cyclist in Edinburgh.

    The minister said the Scottish Government is looking “closely” at the issue, two days after Bryan Simons was killed in a rush-hour crash in Edinburgh.

    The 40-year-old died in a collision with a taxi cab on Corstorphine Road.

    Mr Brown will attend the next meeting of the Road Safety Operational Partnership Group on March 21.

    He said: “My thoughts are with the families and friends of those whose lives have been lost in Edinburgh in recent months. For my part, I will continue to work to make sure that tragedies like these become a thing of the past.

    “The rates of serious injuries and fatalities on our roads continue to fall but concern remains about vulnerable road users such as cyclists and we are looking closely at this issue.

    “Cycling is a healthy, green, cost-effective way to travel and it is vital that we ensure those choosing to do so are protected.”

    He praised campaigns including Give Me Cycle Space, which encourages drivers to give cyclists more room on the road.

    The Scottish Government is committed to a 30% reduction in people killed on Scotland’s roads by 2015, and a 40% cut by 2020.

    http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/transport-minister-to-hold-road-safety-talks-after-cyclist-death-1-2158060

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. slowcoach
    Member

    "no cycling groups represented in the membership (presumably as Transport Scotland looks after trunk roads only" - it might seem like that, but it's not meant to. Transport Scotland now includes some responsibility for public transport, sustainability, road safety, etc on all roads. The Operational Group seems largely to be "in-house", with other some public sector groups, and RoSPA,and IAM. IAM being the only group acting mainly on behalf of one class of road users. Presumably most of the other organisations or parts of organistions would say they work for all road users, including cyclists. However I think I heard someone from part of Transport Scotland say recently that all cycling issues have been passed from TS to Cycling Scotland, so maybe we shouldn't put too much hope on the Operational Group, and look instead to a Cycle Safety Summit.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. crowriver
    Member

    On the positive side, the minister has noted the concern about safety for cyclists publicly. On the negative side, he trots out a press release to make it look like he's going to do something about it when in fact the only concrete action is an existing meeting of a forum which has no cyclist representation.

    At the same time, I note the Scotsman is carrying advertising for an electric vehicles network event on 28th March where the minister is the keynote speaker. Electric cars. Yeah, that'll solve everything, eh?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. slowcoach
    Member

    Maybe it's too much to hope for but here goes: part of the reason for electric vehicles is to try to avoid the pollution and oil-dependency of petrol and diesel engines. Thinking about this should show that motor vehicles cause/contribute to far more safety/health and other problems than just the deaths/injuries through crashes. So building more roads should be seen as part of the problem, when we should be doing more for sustainable transport such as walking cycling and public transport. And the Electric Vehicles event surely shouldn't just be about electric cars - electric trains and electric cycles are vehicles too, and would are more relevant than electric cars?

    (time for me to wake up now?)

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. chdot
    Admin

    "time for me to wake up now?"

    Perhaps - you forgot to mention trams!

    You've outlined the thinking well.

    BUT there is a great deal of scepticism (not least on this forum) about the 'reality'

    Apart from questions about renewalable energy - whether there will ever be enough (to replace fossil fuels) and whether it should be used for private transport.

    At present electric cars are heavily subsidised - and still not selling in significant numbers.

    Then there's the whole business of charging points (and paying for them).

    I think a lot of 'concern' is about the concentration on cars as 'the answer'.

    Perhaps if they were limited to 15mph, but...

    I think electric bikes are a good idea for people who no longer have strength/stamina to cycle an ordinary bike.

    But battery technology is 'still' not advanced enough to deal with weight and longevity issues (and related costs).

    Batteries also have various resource related issues - as do cars, electric and normal.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. Dave
    Member

    I think electric bikes are going to be huge for cycling, especially as there's more and more economy of scale and the idea catches on here.

    We've seen recently that traditional cycling bodies (and the established industry groups) are campaigning hard against them, on entirely spurious grounds in my view (follow the money, and ye shall find enlightenment :-P )

    Nevertheless - suppose that for every driver willing to get out and sweat, there are two or three (or more) who'd be willing to get out and let a motor do most of the work - and being more easily able to keep up with traffic will reduce collisions to boot...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. Dave
    Member

    As for the battery issues - have to agree that there are concerns over metal use etc., but at the same time - you can make 70 really big electric bike batteries instead of one electric Mini battery. Still a winner, surely!

    Posted 13 years ago #

  9. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Couldn't agree more. Seeing a lot more electric bikes on the roads now (even when out on a leisure ride in the borders in the middle of nowhere) - they can only get more efficient and easy to use. They really could be a tipping point in favour of cycling.

    I'm not going to ride one, I like the workout, but for someone who has always thought they were too unfit to cycle, or that there are too many hills... They're perfect.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  10. wingpig
    Member

    Presumably LRT will be there to say how they're getting on with their electrical #10s. If only FirstBus would follow suit the air would suddenly get a lot cleaner along some streets.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  11. steveo
    Member

    There is another problem with EV's of any type, the lithium salts used to make modern batteries is rarer than oil in commercial quantities and generally located in regions that are equally unstable as the major oil regions. Trading oil independence for lithium dependence isn't making a lot of progress in that front.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  12. chdot
    Admin

    "
    THURSDAY 8 MARCH 2012

    Why increase spending on our roads, when active travel is starved of funds?

    LIKE Gordon Barlow (Letters, March 7), I am bewildered by the Scottish Government's transport policies, whereby bus services are now being threatened by a 20% cut in the Bus Service Operators' Grant.

    The Government is also carrying out a consultation on how to reduce the cost of rail services in Scotland. Despite a manifesto promise to increase investment in active travel – walking and cycling – it cut this savagely in its draft budget, and widespread protests have been necessary to achieve a partial back-pedal, so to speak, here.

    All this is taking place against a background of hugely increased road spending – despite road traffic actually being in decline, and looking like continuing to decline for quite some time, if not indefinitely, due to austerity and fuel price hikes. Not surprisingly, this is encouraging a massive increase in demand for public transport, especially rail. The Government insists that it is important to invest in our road network now, as it foresees a 20% rise in road use after the period of austerity is over. But it is evident that widespread electric car use is a long way off, and all indicators show that fuel prices seem set to continue increasing.

    The government is increasing spending on a transport medium which is in decline, while desperately looking for cuts in methods which are in increasing demand. Can anyone explain this policy to me?

    Alan Findlay,

    Rose Cottage, Dores,

    Inverness.

    "

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/letters/why-increase-spending-on-our-roads-when-active-travel-is-starved-of-funds.16964789

    Posted 13 years ago #

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