CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
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"Road safety charity IAM says that nearly nine in ten cyclists (88 per cent) say that within the past six months they have been cut up by another road user who did not look properly, according to the results of its latest poll."
http://road.cc/content/news/56872-iam-poll-highlights-extent-smidsy-problem
Starts well but ends poorly
“Other road users’ intentions can often be guessed by their body language and position on the road, so ride defensively, and leave room so that if somebody does do something unexpected, you have time to deal with it.”
While issues such as distracted, innatentive or speeding drivers, or ones who pass too close or cut in to turn left are clearly out of a cyclist’s hands, the IAM concluded by outlining its safety advice to bike riders to help do as much as they can personally to minimise risks while riding on the road. That advice is:
Always assume a driver hasn’t seen you, and try to make eye contact
Be prepared to stop or change direction, should another road user pull out on you, or behave unexpectedly
Never ride up the inside of HGVs, and when you are riding behind make sure you can see their mirrors. If you can’t see their mirrors, then they can’t see you
Wear high-viz clothing and use lights to make yourself more visible
Don’t pass parked cars too close, in case someone opens a car door
In the summer months, bright sunlight will make it a lot harder for motorists to see you.
In addition to the suggestions which have been discussed here previously re. hi-viz
THe IAM advice kind of contradicts itself [sort of] - i think it is quite hard to ride completely defensively when you are leaving room in case a car driver opens his door. I know they mean leave your self some reaction time but if you are taking a wide berth of parked vehicles then you are likely to be out towards the middle of the road which is often seen to be a more overt or offensive riding stylee
Part of defensive riding is (imho) going wide round parked cars, most of the time where you are passing parked cars on a narrow road it's not a safe place to overtake anyway so you should be out in the primary position.
Personally, the assumption that we should be wearing hi-vi to make up for poor observation irks me, but other than that it's sensible advice. Don't see the contradiction myself.
I think it's just phrased in the usual IAM fashion - they advocate driving defensively, with observation and anticipation paramount. They've just taken what they'd advise for a driver [1], and put it in a cycling context.
Their definition of defensive would be considered to be "aggressive" or, at the very least, assertive cycling by many less well read motorists.
As for putting the onus on the cyclist, that's their ethos for motorists too - they consider that most accidents are avoidable, if you've had a near miss, you need to improve your observation, anticipation, road positioning, appropriate speed, skills, etc.
For example, you nearly hit a child running out into the road after a ball. You missed the clues - children playing by the roadside, visible feet under the parked cars, ball rolls across the road = slow down, cover the brakes and prepare to stop if necessary.
They're not thinking "victim blaming", they're advising the one in command of the vehicle, and have companion advice for the advanced motorist, as for the "advanced" cyclist.
I'm pretty certain I've heard the same advice from driving instructors, lorry drivers, and cyclists - assume the other road users are idiots and drive/cycle "defensively" to protect yourself, your no claims bonus, or your vehicle from their mistakes!
Robert
[1] Yes, including the hi-viz, recommended for when you're an "accidental pedestrian", such as a breakdown
Yup, I find myself in broad agreement with most of what the iam say about cycling, probably means I'm aggressive/assertive in the eyes of many, but then I believe assertive riding is required on two wheels, powered or unpowered.
Certainly if more people drove in accordance with the iam reccomendations then there would be fewer avoidable accidents/incidents and fewer bodies in hospitals/morgues.
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