I think its a valid point that perhaps this road is potentially dangerous. But might I suggest the ideal is less cars and less traffic, and part of the solution to that is facilitating cycling.
I should have been more specific regarding the areas I would consider dangerous as the N11 is a very long road.....
Time to make cyclists accountable by making them get compulsory 3rd party insurance.
In general cycles and cars coexist quite well in Denmark and, unlike the Netherlands, Denmark does not have strict liability for car-drivers, but instead has a system that partially resembles it. There are two forms of liability that comes into action: liability in regards to the Danish traffic law (Danish: Færdselsloven) and liability in damages in regards to the insurance companies. In an accident where a car going the right way in a one-way street and hits a cyclist going the wrong way, there will be a liability for both the car's owner (who will not necessarily be the driver) and the cyclist. This is due to a requirement for liability insurance (Danish: ansvarsforsikring) for vehicle owners;[22] the insurance companies will always apply this and thus make the vehicle's owner liable for damages. However the cyclist may be deemed liable by the Danish legal system for violating the one-way restriction while the driver may escape charges. In that case the car owner's insurance company may seek reimbursement (Danish: regres) from the cyclist. However in the majority of the accidents the car driver is found liable in both regards; in 1999, in 90% of the accidents involving cars and cyclists the car-drivers were found fully liable.[23]
The Netherlands employs a standards-based approach to road design, where conflicts between different modes of transport are eliminated wherever possible and reduced in severity as much as possible where elimination is not possible. The result of this is that cycling is made both objectively and subjectively safe. Towns have been designed with limited access by cars and limited (decreasing over time) car parking. The resulting heavy traffic and very limited car parking makes car use unattractive in towns.
"Strict liability", supported in law in the Netherlands,[2] leads to driver's insurance being deemed to be responsible in a collision between a car and a cyclist. Dutch drivers are trained for the interaction with cyclists, for example by checking and re-checking their right-hand side before making a turn to the right.
Time to make cyclists accountable by making them get compulsory 3rd party insurance.
Dear Complainer,
This is not about how fast I can get home. This is about basic safety, respecting the laws and rules of the road.
Folks, do you think that you could be a bit more specific as to what particular problem you are trying to solve here.Time to make cyclists accountable by making them get compulsory 3rd party insurance.
Or if there is an entrance ramp similar to a moterway they should take the exit and then re-enter.
Madness. Sheer madness. Unless you're suggesting that the cyclists need to get a bit more hillwork into their training schedules. But those ramps really aren't long enough to help in training. It makes about as much sense as suggesting that cars should exit the dual carriage way and join again to leave room for the cyclists.Safety ? Not going across a busy cut off point. As I said if it has an entrance and an exit then it's simply up and down a ramp. How will it hold up cars even more ?
Slip roads are started and finshed by a roundabout or traffic lights or even both. Traffic are stopped or slowing to these giving the cyclist a chance to signal and continue on. The madness is, as stated by the original statement, in cyclist putting out a paw and expecting cars to stop immediately at their whim so they don't get killed. I've never seen the actual return ramp on the N11 but I know the point where it is. I also have never cycled out that far but if I did I would be stopping at the edge of the slip road and either waiting dfor a chance to cross over or I would actually take the slip road and see where it brings me. However, I think I would take the old road in any case but you try it yourself it by all means as you have the right to do so as a cyclist.Madness. Sheer madness. Unless you're suggesting that the cyclists need to get a bit more hillwork into their training schedules. But those ramps really aren't long enough to help in training. It makes about as much sense as suggesting that cars should exit the dual carriage way and join again to leave room for the cyclists.
Slip roads are started and finshed by a roundabout or traffic lights or even both. Traffic are stopped or slowing to these giving the cyclist a chance to signal and continue on. The madness is, as stated by the original statement, in cyclist putting out a paw and expecting cars to stop immediately at their whim so they don't get killed. I've never seen the actual return ramp on the N11 but I know the point where it is. I also have never cycled out that far but if I did I would be stopping at the edge of the slip road and either waiting dfor a chance to cross over or I would actually take the slip road and see where it brings me. However, I think I would take the old road in any case but you try it yourself it by all means as you have the right to do so as a cyclist.
Yes, but one dumb move is more fatal for a cyclist. I'm not willing to take that chance anymore.Cyclists need to cycle assertively - to take their place on the road, in traffic, not be hiding away and stopping at every junction on a main road in case someone else does something dumb
If you get bored with 'Budget Talk' there's an interesting programme on BBC1 this evening at 9pm - 'Britain's Road Wars' - the view using cameras placed on cyclists' helmets to record their interactions with motorists.
Ian Austin, the Labour MP and chair of the all-party cycling group in parliament, has called the film “irresponsible nonsense,” while Roger Geffen of the cyclists’ group, the CTC, has accused the BBC of portraying cycling as “an activity solely for battle-hardened males with helmets and cameras”. He added: “This hostile stereotyping merely scares mums, children and others back into their cars.”
Chris Boardman, the former Olympic gold medal-winning track cyclist, has seen clips from the film. “Cycle safety has become very topical and that’s good,” he told The Independent, “but we’re lacking balance. Cycling is still statistically safer than going to your own bathroom, but facts are being ignored in favour of sensationalism.”
The most controversial sequence shows couriers racing through central London, putting dozens of people at risk. What the film doesn’t make clear is that the footage was shot six years ago by an American filmmaker. Including it has been likened to “presenting a James Bond car chase as how average people drive to work.”
I guess we disagree on what constitutes a 'dumb move'. In my book, hugging the kerb and pretending that you don't exist is the dumb move. That's what enables drivers to try to squeeze through gaps that aren't wide enough. Take the lane, take the space that you need on the road, and make yourself visible to other road users. They'll give you the space you need, by and large. And when they don't, you keep your wits about you so you know what's happening.Yes, but one dumb move is more fatal for a cyclist. I'm not willing to take that chance anymore.
Footage passed off as genuine in cycling documentary was choreographed by a filmmaker with paid participants, it emerges
Shame on the BBC for allowing this 'documentary' to be broadcast without researching its authenticity.
The bottom line is that cyclists are just as vulnerable as pedestrians and should be treated and protected as such.....
I wasn't referring to any particular statistics, but think the vulnerability of both groups is obvious due to the lack of physical protection and the higher rate of fatalities per distance travelled compared to say car users.According to what stats?
I wasn't referring to any particular statistics, but think the vulnerability of both groups is obvious due to the lack of physical protection and the higher rate of fatalities per distance travelled compared to say car users.