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Thursday 22 October, 2009
#[linkfarm] Improving road safety for pedestrians and cyclists in Great Britain
Interesting and revealing use of language in the conclusions. It says that there is "a strongly held perception that, through the irresponsible behaviour of some cyclists, they are a hazard to themselves and other road users" and so the DoT should "devise education, training and publicity measures to target such anti-social behaviour, particularly when it breaks traffic laws".

The unsurprising conclusion that "speed is an overwhelming factor in the incidence and severity of injuries to pedestrians and cyclists" leads to a much more softly worded recommendation. To counteract speeding the Department should "promote measures to reduce speed, including the use of speed cameras, 20 miles per hour zones and road humps, to encourage local highway authorities to adopt them and to influence the attitudes of all road users".

Cyclists who, even when not breaking the law, are felt to be a hazard should be targetted. Speeding motorists who, by definition, are breaking the law should be influenced. One of these things is not like the other.

   * Mike said So the conclusion is that "It is surprising that the Department was unaware of a strongly held perception that [cyclists] are a hazard to themselves and other road users".

Surely then, the sensible recommendation would be either:

Make the Department read motoring blogs (so that they become aware of the moronic anti-cyclist rantings of the likes of Matthew Parris and James Martin); or

Educate motorists (or whoever it is that holds these fallacious perceptions) to make them aware that cyclists are by-and-large neither a hazard to themselves nor to others. [added 28th Oct 2009]


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Thursday 15 October, 2009
#[elsewhere] ... a young lad name of Harry riding in the back of his dad's Freight 8 ...
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Wednesday 14 October, 2009
#[linkfarm] The Cambridge Arts Theatre 1936-1968
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Thursday 08 October, 2009
#[linkfarm] Stop SMIDSY - Because sometimes sorry just isn’t enough.
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#[linkfarm] The Space Game
Fun, in a time-wastey way.
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#[linkfarm] The Human Skull - Has your attic or cellar lost its terrifying atmosphere of inescapable doom? Perhaps all you need are a few human skulls scattered about! And now you can have as many as you wish.
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Thursday 01 October, 2009
#[linkfarm] Biker caught doing record speed - Hairdresser Neil Purves was detected by police as he travelled at 166mph on a 60mph stretch of the A702 near West Linton in the Scottish Borders ... Sheriff Neil Mackinnon [said] "This is an extremely high speed and we should know all the background facts."
Ok, here's one. Dickhead - fact!

   * Ken [e] [w] said I regularly traverse the A702. We call it the 'Biggar' road. The Biggar road buggers people up. It's not one of those A roads that cry out for lots of overtaking, and yet it does seem to promote continual jockeying for position. People coming straight off the M74 reckon they can treat this like some sort of huge motorway alternative, or rat run. [added 7th Oct 2009]

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