My local councillors... you see what I have to put up with?!?

[GrumpyGregry]

The image is taken for a local cycling blogger's blog, which I really enjoy reading even if I don't agree with some of the conclusions re separate infrastructure, because the article isn't on-line.

Yes I've written to the paper, so have the CTC.

And best of all, and the flaw in the district council system, is this guy pontificates about what goes on in the town but neither lives, works, or represents a ward there. He represents one of the many wards of the local 'velvet villages'.

and relax.

 

[dawesome]

I'd go straight to the PCC, he's telling lies about a tragic case in order to demonise vulnerable road users. That's disgraceful, he's manipulating a young girl's death to forward his agenda.

 

[PK99]

I'd go straight to the PCC, he's telling lies about a tragic case in order to demonise vulnerable road users. That's disgraceful, he's manipulating a young girl's death to forward his agenda.

what lies is he telling?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7496757.stm

During Howard's trial, Aylesbury magistrates heard he had shouted at Rhiannon to "move because I'm not stopping" before crashing into her.

Rhiannon died six days after hitting her head on the pavement as a result of the collision in Verney Close, Buckingham.​

​

My experience in Wimbledon echoes his wrt the danger presented by cyclists ignoring red lights on pedestrian crossings and cycling on the pavement.

 

[dawesome]

It's not at all as Circus described it. The police say Rhiannon was on the road, not the pavement, the evidence of the other youths who had been drinking cans of Stella was contradictory, none of them helped Rhiannon, it was Howard who put her in the recovery position and called for help. Circus is lying about a girl's death, he's twisting what happened to suit himself. Besides, a £2200 fine is a lot more than killer drivers sometimes get fined.

It was reported that they had strung themselves out across the road. I've certainly seen people do that in order to try and stop cyclists. What was the cyclist to do? Try and ride through a gap, pick on one of them and ride straight at them, stop and risk being assaulted, turn around (if possible)? It appears that the cyclist tried the first. It is reported that the youngster then deliberately stepped into his path at the last moment.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

It's not at all as Circus described it. The police say Rhiannon was on the road, not the pavement, the evidence of the other youths who had been drinking cans of Stella was contradictory, none of them helped Rhiannon, it was Howard who put her in the recovery position and called for help. Circus is lying about a girl's death, he's twisting what happened to suit himself. Besides, a £2200 fine is a lot more than killer drivers sometimes get fined.

It was reported that they had strung themselves out across the road. I've certainly seen people do that in order to try and stop cyclists. What was the cyclist to do? Try and ride through a gap, pick on one of them and ride straight at them, stop and risk being assaulted, turn around (if possible)? It appears that the cyclist tried the first. It is reported that the youngster then deliberately stepped into his path at the last moment.

I'd advised Mr Circus what the driver that killed Eilidh Cairns got. £200 fine.

 

[dawesome]

It's an awful, tawdry article, using the Olympics as a hook then lying about a young girl's death to whip up hostility.

It's like saying:

"Well done Jessica Ennis, but it's worth remembering that I met someone from Sheffield and they were a right knob!"

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Well, the paper printed an edited version of my letter along with two others, one of which was from Chris Peck of the CTC.

 

[User269]

Whilst

Well, the paper printed an edited version of my letter along with two others, one of which was from Chris Peck of the CTC.

Great stuff, can we see the letters?

Also, whilst we don't want to see anybody being killed or injured by cyclists, it should be remembered that pedestrians are at much greater risk from motor vehicles;

Pedestrian casualties 2001-09

• Killed by cycles: 18
• Seriously injured by cycles: 434
• Killed by cars: 3,495
• Seriously injured by cars: 46,245

Figures apply to Great Britain. Source: Department for Transport

 

[snorri]

It's not just your councillors GregCollins.
I am reminded of an energetic guy who opened a lbs including cycle hire business which was soon bursting at the seams. He had hoped for some advice/support in securing larger premises, but the local councillor could not see this business as an asset to the town because tourists were now able to hire his bikes and cycle out of town to spend their money elsewhere.
Then there was the councillor who wanted cycling banned on routes to the shops in central Fort William, and when challenged stated "We've built them a cycle route out of town, why can't they cycle there?"

 

[GrumpyGregry]

 

[GrumpyGregry]

My second paragraph as sent, i.e. unedited reads as follows (italics show what has been lost):


I’m a regular and frequent cyclist, in and around the town, and a driver and a pedestrian. I don’t condone pavement cyclists or people who jump red lights, on bikes or in cars. Rhiannon Bennett’s death in 2008 was a tragedy, and yes the cyclist was convicted and fined only £2200. This appears shockingly lenient. Mr Circus claims a motorist doing the same would receive a substantial prison sentence, but provides no evidence for his assertion. The driver who killed Janet Austin of Lincolnshire in 2008 by reversing over her in his 4x4 whilst she was on the pavement was only fined £1800. Compare this with the sentence given to Joao Correia-Lopes who killed cyclist Eilidh Cairns in London on 2009; he got a £200 fine (yes, you read that right, a two hundred pound fine) and three points and was told to get some new glasses. He ignored this advice and went on to kill a 97-year-old pedestrian.

 

[dawesome]

Why edit that bit?

A speeding driver killed a cyclist on the road next to my house in Norwich-she got a year ban and a £500 fine. In at least two cyclist deaths I can recall the driver faced no charges whatsoever, smidsy was accepted.