CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Pro-cycling speed limit piece in SOS

(11 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by crowriver
  • Latest reply from MeepMeep

  1. crowriver
    Member

    From Claire Black: "The roads feel adversarial, as though it’s everyone for themselves" in Scotland On Sunday:

    "Since I came a cropper off my bike months ago, I’ve hardly been back on two wheels. I don’t feel safe enough. The roads feel adversarial, as though it’s everyone for themselves as we race to get to wherever it is we’re going. We don’t share the Tarmac, we compete on it. Buses with cars, taxis with vans and all of the aforementioned with bikes.

    Four cyclists have died in Edinburgh in 12 months. And so a summit was called and a campaign has been launched to change the speed limit to 20mph on residential streets and to 30mph on main urban streets. I hope the Scottish Government backs it. I hope local authorities do too.

    I know there’ll be naysayers. It’s all very well imagining people will do the right thing behind the wheel and think about other road users and pedestrians as if they’re real people whose lives are precious, but take a look at rush hour: that’s not what happens. A lower speed limit might bring back to mind that it should.'

    http://www.scotsman.com/news/claire-black-the-roads-feel-adversarial-as-though-it-s-everyone-for-themselves-1-2194628

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. Dave
    Member

    The roads *are* adversarial. It's inevitable when a large number of people compete, more or less anonymously, for a limited amount of resource.

    ... which implies that rather than trying to fiddle around with conditions of consumption, it might be more effective just to reduce anonymity on the road?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. Darkerside
    Member

    Ban any car from having a roof. That'd do it.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. amir
    Member

    Although I think that 20 mph limits can be a good thing, I would agree with Dave that the priority should be with reducing anonymity.

    I think there is just a huge problem with awareness: awareness of the needs of others both for safety and to feel safe, and awareness of what is going on around them (the sort of thing that gets taught to "advanced motorists"). [I almost got wiped out this morning by a pedestrian unexpectedly crossing whilst looking the wrong way (foreigner?) - so reactions are also a vital ingredient]

    As has been stated many times before, this is a people problems rather than a mode of transport but vehicles tend to be the killers in an accident.

    I have felt for some time that there is little effort to propagate the straightforward messages. Is this because past efforts have failed?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. crowriver
    Member

    the priority should be with reducing anonymity.

    How exactly would this be done?

    Ban tinted windows in cars? Ban car stereos? Licence plates for bikes? ID cards? Everyone forced to have their name tattooed on their forehead?

    Cities are all about anonymity. It's not a new concern, the Victorians were worried about it too, mainly because of the crime epidemic in the vast industrial cities. That's why we created the police...

    Read Poe's "The Man Of The Crowd" or Benjamin on Baudelaire's flâneur...

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. Stepdoh
    Member

    the priority should be with reducing anonymity.

    Ahh, this is where my 'I'm not a cyclist...' I was discussing on twitter would help.

    I'd love a day where every cyclist in edinburgh/scotland/world wore a teeshirt that said in small letters:

    "I'm not a cyclist"
    then in big letters below
    "I'm a"
    Then one of
    Dad, mum, sister, brother, lover, cop, nurse, firefighter, teacher, person riding a bike. Or Whatever you think, sell cafe press versions, or have a template to make your own. Even with sharpie markers.

    Main point is to see the "I'm a..." bit and make people think what the hell is going on.

    Would need Mass, Mass, Mass participation to wkr.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. spytfire
    Member

    I like the idea but I would say just get people to use the marker pens on their hi-vis (if they wear them)

    Also I just saw the Think motor bike ad at the weekend with the big lights on the back of the bikes - this is the way forward :)

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. wingpig
    Member

    "...the priority should be with reducing anonymity..."

    What if cars had those plates that they have above doors on pubs with the name of the licensee displayed?

    If I have to wear solar spectacles when cycling I do try to ensure I'm not being adversely affected by the added anonymity.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  9. chdot
    Admin

    "just saw the Think motor bike ad at the weekend"

    Also -

    Posted 13 years ago #

  10. Dave
    Member

    "the priority should be with reducing anonymity."

    How exactly would this be done?

    The phone book, but with registration plates instead of numbers?

    Data's all at the DVLA, maintained at the taxpayer's expense.

    I'm not suggesting it would be the correct solution, but it certainly /would/ be a solution.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  11. MeepMeep
    Member

    I use old teeshirts to cycle in and the backs of them are often covered by my backpack but I would happily mark in bold on the front of my teeshirt Stepdoh's idea.

    In fact, I think I shall buy a couple of new cycling teeshirts to mark up. I hope you won't consider this plagiarism, Stepdoh?

    Posted 13 years ago #

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