Boardman on BBC Breakfast...

[Danny]

I find the CTC response to the interview somewhat curious. They complain the the good points got drowned out by the furore over whether Boardman should have worn a helmet, and then seem to be doing everything possible to open up that particular can of worms.

it seems to me that it is cycling activists who are most obsessed - one way or the other - by the helmet debate. I think most ordinary cyclists, and members of the public, don't really care that much one way or the other and are going to be bemused that the CTC seems to just trying to fan that particular aspect of the discussion.

As an aside I notice that there is also a link from the page on the Boardman interview to the CTC's latest guidance on helmet use. Whether or not you agree with their stance, I was more than a little surprised to find that they have devoted their scarce resources to creating two documents covering 36 dense pages on the issue.

 

[subaqua]

That's hardly surprising. This is the program that used to be called Breakfast News until they decided to forget about reporting the news and instead fill the space with fluff like what's happening on the X Factor. The only reason i have it on in the mornings is to catch the local news and make sure my train is running. Any item that mentions cycling is generally a waste of time, even when it has someone like Chris Boardman being interviewed by a keen cyclist such as Louise Minchin.

rose tinted glasses .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Breakfast

only a small portion of time as Breakfast news.

and the definition of news is

news
n(y)o͞oz/
noun
noun: news
newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events.

so having fluff about chezzas cat or whatever is still news even if it is " dumbing down"

 

[mjr]

As an aside I notice that there is also a link from the page on the Boardman interview to the CTC's latest guidance on helmet use. Whether or not you agree with their stance, I was more than a little surprised to find that they have devoted their scarce resources to creating two documents covering 36 dense pages on the issue.

Those 36 pages won't have been created recently. Might have been updated, but 130+-year-old CTC will have been looking at this almost since the first helmets were introduced.

There were a hell of a lot of people claiming to be non-cyclists droning on about helmets on the various feedback web pages for the show. They do seem to care and many seem to think cyclists are to blame for most cycle collisions - which the police stats don't support, not that the BBC bothered to mention it and provide any balance all week.

 

[Danny]

Those 36 pages won't have been created recently. Might have been updated, but 130+-year-old CTC will have been looking at this almost since the first helmets were introduced.

There were a hell of a lot of people claiming to be non-cyclists droning on about helmets on the various feedback web pages for the show. They do seem to care and many seem to think cyclists are to blame for most cycle collisions - which the police stats don't support, not that the BBC bothered to mention it and provide any balance all week.

I know that they have always published stuff on helmets, but I don't remember it being so extensive last time I looked (which may not have been for 5 years or more). Anyway my point is that all the CTC are going to do by directing people to 36 pages of briefing notes on helmets is fan the sort of unproductive debates you can see on any cycling forum about helmet use.

In its response to the Boardman interview the CTC sound more like it was a bastion of anti-helmet obsessives than a body that is seriously trying to represent the views of cyclists as a whole - many of who choose to wear helmets despite the CTC's advice to the contrary.

 

[snorri]

In its response to the Boardman interview the CTC sound more like it was a bastion of anti-helmet obsessives than a body that is seriously trying to represent the views of cyclists as a whole - many of who choose to wear helmets despite the CTC's advice to the contrary.

I didn't get the same impression from the response.
I haven't found cycle activists to be in anyway obsessed by helmets. In my experience it's non cyclists who are more likely to raise the issue and who refuse to be diverted to other actions which could improve cyclist safety.

 

[Danny]

I didn't get the same impression from the response.
I haven't found cycle activists to be in anyway obsessed by helmets. In my experience it's non cyclists who are more likely to raise the issue and who refuse to be diverted to other actions which could improve cyclist safety.

Obsessed may have been a bit strong, but I don't think it would be unfair to say that many cycling activists are very sensitive about the issue and find it easy to be drawn into unproductive debates (as can be seen from the 240+ separate threads we have on the issue on CC).

 

[GrumpyGregry]

CTC's media team aren't the best... they should keep Roger Geffen out of the media - he's a lobbyist and not a spokesperson.

What about the CTC is "the best" thobut? I'd settle for fit-for-purpose in most things but they don't seem to deliver. I fear they've become more about serving themselves and their own agenda and less about their beneficiaries - a danger for all charitable enterprises.

 

[srw]

CTC's media team aren't the best... they should keep Roger Geffen out of the media - he's a lobbyist and not a spokesperson.

Can I claim a TMN?

Geffen's a lovely person with a great taste in music, but I'd like to see him and Boardman work together to make the most of both their skills.