CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News

Simple rules for keeping cycles safe

(10 posts)

No tags yet.


  1. SRD
    Moderator

    Simple rules for keeping cycles safe

    From the EEN (wondered why they were filming Dr Bike at Bristo Square)

    Published Date: 03 June 2010

    A SERIES of bike security workshops are set to be held in the Capital in a bid to tackle soaring numbers of cycle thefts.
    Lothian and Borders Police have launched a new campaign, known as RULES, to teach cyclists about how best to secure their property.

    RULES stands for: Register it. UV mark it. Lock it. Electronically tag it. Secure it.

    The first security workshops was set to be held today in conjunction with the Bike Station, at Potterrow from 12pm-2pm.

    The campaign will promote cycle marking to improve security. The marking is intended to deter theft and also involves a database, which matches bikes with their rightful owners if a stolen bike is recovered.

    In the coming months, workshops are set to be held during the Corstorphine Fair on Saturday, Leith Gala Day on 12 June, and the Dalmeny Street Parklife event on 19 June.

    Pc Fiona Blenkiron, a crime prevention officer, said: "Having your bike stolen can be really upsetting, not to mention expensive. At our workshops, we aim to demonstrate to people exactly what steps they should take to do this."

    Figures show that a total of 1,818 bikes were stolen between April and December last year, a rise of 21 per cent on 2008.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  2. Kim
    Member

    Now if we can just get some more secure bike parking...

    Posted 13 years ago #
  3. chdot
    Admin

    "RULES stands for: Register it. UV mark it. Lock it. Electronically tag it. Secure it."

    It's a shame about the order to make the word work!

    What article doesn't say is that L&BP is charging for the UV marking and also for a tag (both optional). I'm not clear if they are offering the free registration option.

    More info here -

    http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2010/05/action-to-prevent-cycle-theft

    L&B use http://www.bikeregister.com

    Other police forces use other companies - eg London Met uses http://immobilise.com

    IF your bike is stolen and IF police find it, it will help if they can identify the bike and reunite it with owner.

    All bikes have frame numbers - but few people actually know them! Large shops tend to record the info, so it's always worth asking where your bike was bought (if it gets stolen).

    Police used to stamp postcodes on bikes (usually free) but gave up after too many complaints about 'you've damaged the paint'...

    Best thing is a good lock (plus extra cable for wheels) and a record of important details.

    I set up a Flickr group ages ago - but not many people have put details with their pictures!

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/bicycles-in-edinburgh

    Posted 13 years ago #
  4. spytfyre
    Member

    @chdot - oh go on then, 'ave a couple more - oh, and the one you requested for CyclingInEdinburgh has been added too, I had not been notified of the request...

    Posted 13 years ago #
  5. gembo
    Member

    one simple rule for keeping bike safe is to have drop handlebars, thieves tend to ignore such vehicles as they have no resale value.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  6. chdot
    Admin

    "one simple rule for keeping bike safe is to have drop handlebars"

    Think there's a lot of truth in that, some bike thieves will know the value of more expensive racers - though I suspect they are not left locked in the street as much as cheaper ones.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  7. gembo
    Member

    the thieves I met in Wester Hailes whilst trying to get their wee brother togo to school, had large walk-in meter cupboard full of mountain bikes, no racers. They were very knowledgeable about MTB but I think knew little of racers as they were most taken by the frog leg brakes on my tricross which are gimmicky and I have never liked them tho when out on the Secteur do find myself reaching for them and they are not there.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  8. cb
    Member

    "the thieves I met in Wester Hailes whilst trying to get their wee brother togo to school"

    ???

    Posted 13 years ago #
  9. spytfyre
    Member

    yeah... what?

    Posted 13 years ago #
  10. gembo
    Member

    Sorry, I may have missed out some detail. As part of my employment I did a home visit to a flat in W Hailes. Mum was out, wee brother wrapped in duvet on couch, refusing to go to school. Big brothers asked me if I minded whether they smoked. Very civil lads. As mum was taking a while and wee bro. was not getting out of the duvet, we drifted on to the topic of bikes. techinically I think both were just in receipt of stolen good from neighbour downstairs (who I also knew) but the cupboard was big and also very full of our mountain bikes.

    Posted 13 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin