Cyclist deaths soar on rural roads in England

[steve292]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59477788

This is shocking. I don't know what we can do as a society to promote a bit more empathy towards the rest of the human race.
What I do know is that it's about time we started to remove the privilege of driving completly and forever for some.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59477788

This is shocking. I don't know what we can do as a society to promote a bit more empathy towards the rest of the human race.
What I do know is that it's about time we started to remove the privilege of driving completly and forever for some.

We need to make it prohibitively expensive to use motor cars for unnecessary trips. This figure isn't rural but shows the massive increase in motor vehicle use that is choking everything. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of miles driven on roads just within London increased by 3.6 BILLION.

Yes, billion.

 

[mjr]

1. It is a shame they report deaths only by victim type and not by killer type.

2. Will deaths have still "soared" if they actually increased less than the amount of cycling? Government was publishing estimates of cycling increase more quickly during covid, so that data should be available, but none of the BBC, NFU or British Cycling (the latter two having put out the press release) seem to have checked.

 

[byegad]

I have a local alerts email which comes up with all kinds of useless guff, but also never fails to mention road deaths of all kinds.

Starting in March 2020 I've ted a very worrying rise in road deaths in general, and solo motor vehicle* crashes and deaths in particular. It appears to be a true rise, this despite lockdown #1 seeing a huge reduction in journeys. My guess, from direct experience, is that a number of drivers were, and maybe still are, treating the quiet roads as race tracks. As traffic numbers have returned to somewhere near normal these drivers have not slowed down.

*On one particular evening no less than 4 local roads were closed, 3 briefly to recover cars 'on their roofs' and one longer closure, for a fatality.

 

[PK99]

2. Will deaths have still "soared" if they actually increased less than the amount of cycling? Government was publishing estimates of cycling increase more quickly during covid, so that data should be available, but none of the BBC, NFU or British Cycling (the latter two having put out the press release) seem to have checked.

Cycling during the pandemic lock-down reached its high point between mid-April and mid-June, regularly exceeding 250% of normal pre-COVID levels, according to Government data analysed in the report.
https://www.bicycleassociation.org....-record-extent-of-covid-cycling-sales-growth/

 

[T4tomo]

This is shocking. I don't know what we can do as a society to promote a bit more empathy towards the rest of the human race.
What I do know is that it's about time we started to remove the privilege of driving completly and forever for some.

It really isnt shocking, Its probably proportionate to the increase in the number of cycle journeys made. People hopped off public transport onto their bikes (or cars).

We need to make it prohibitively expensive to use motor cars for unnecessary trips.

and how / who judges what is necessary??
Make public transport better and cheaper and car use will drop or at least level off. Make cycling infrastructure better and people will use that. outside of London its rubbish and the CS# routes aren't that great themselves but at least its something.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

and how / who judges what is necessary??
Make public transport better and cheaper and car use will drop or at least level off. Make cycling infrastructure better and people will use that. outside of London its rubbish and the CS# routes aren't that great themselves but at least its something.

Well, one method would be to introduce pay per mile road pricing and dissuade at least 40% of drivers (those who use a car for trips under 2 miles) from clogging up the roads.

I agree about public transport and cycling infra.

 

[T4tomo]

Giving parents a choice of schools was a backward step, in every town across the land thousands of kids are being driven to & from school that isnt the closest to their house. If they were allocated the nearest school most could actually walk to.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I'm not sure that pricing car drivers off the road will work. As we've seen with fuel, nearly double the price it was 10 years ago and very few have given up their cars or driven any less (it seems). I think the only way to make a difference is education. Having an entire module in the theory and practical test about vulnerable road users. And much harsher penalties for anyone who has an at-fault collision with a ped or cyclist, no matter what the outcome. Maybe 3 year ban even if the ped or cyclist is not seriously hurt?

 

[Gillstay]

Giving parents a choice of schools was a backward step, in every town across the land thousands of kids are being driven to & from school that isnt the closest to their house. If they were allocated the nearest school most could actually walk to.

Yep when I rented out the house in Brighton I was told it would go very easily as the best school was just down the road and I was not to be surprised if they just rented it but never lived in it. So they would still be commuting. Crazy world.

 

[Sterlo]

If you read the report, it's specifically stating rural roads, not London. I live rurally, the amount of traffic has increased only slightly around us but we're on roads going to nowhere in particular. Whilst I agree reducing the number of unnecessary journeys is good, public transport in the country is patchy at best, we have a bus every 2 hours, so can see why people use/need cars (myself included.
What this needs is driver standards education. Because they are on an open road with little or no perceivable other traffic, it's a good excuse to put the foot down. Most of our local roads are officially 60 but you struggle to do 40 if you drive correctly. If they reduced the limits slightly (even down to 50), as long as people stick to them, they would have more time to see/react to others.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Most of our local roads are officially 60 but you struggle to do 40 if you drive correctly.

Good point, it's the same where my parents live. National speed limit sign for about 3 miles, but some places it's only just wide enough for 2 cars and nothing else. Add to that, poor surfaces, no street lighting, deceiving bends...you never know what's round the corner.
There is a stretch in town where there are average speed cameras for about 3 miles; everyone goes 30 even though it's 2 lanes and very wide, well lit and straight. I don't know how much average speed cameras cost to maintain but pehaps that is a better idea? I have seen them before in rural areas

 

[Sterlo]

Good point, it's the same where my parents live. National speed limit sign for about 3 miles, but some places it's only just wide enough for 2 cars and nothing else. Add to that, poor surfaces, no street lighting, deceiving bends...you never know what's round the corner.
There is a stretch in town where there are average speed cameras for about 3 miles; everyone goes 30 even though it's 2 lanes and very wide, well lit and straight. I don't know how much average speed cameras cost to maintain but pehaps that is a better idea? I have seen them before in rural areas

In principal I would agree, but there are so many small roads, many around us are small enough to have passing places, that I don't think it would be economically viable. Then again, how much is a persons life worth?

 

[slowmotion]

Although traffic volume may have reduced during lockdown, the boy racers came out in force. Relatively empty roads were too much of a temptation.

 

[Brandane]

We need to make it prohibitively expensive to use motor cars for unnecessary trips. This figure isn't rural but shows the massive increase in motor vehicle use that is choking everything. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of miles driven on roads just within London increased by 3.6 BILLION.

Except that, according to the OP, it seems that clogged roads are safer than quieter rural roads. Which makes sense in a way; a lot of slow moving cars are probably less dangerous than one whizzing past at 60 mph..

Edit to add.... It would also tend to indicate that despite all their attempts to line their pockets price drivers off the road with congestion zones, ULEZ, and whatever other schemes they may have in that there London, they don't appear to be working. Up here in the wilds of Scotland, the near 50% increase in petrol prices in a year hasn't led to any reduction in traffic. Most people have no practical alternative to the private car. It's the way society has been set up over a long period with out of town shopping, longer work commutes, centralised everything (schools, hospitals etc.). People will just have to suck it up when it comes to fuel prices, and something else will need to be sacrificed. Maybe they will forsake eating/drinking out, and pubs/restaurants will suffer. Less holidays; whatever. People only have so much money to go round, and most probably regard the car as a high priority, which it is, whether us smug cyclists like it or not.