Category Archives: news

Ask your MP to attend Cyclists Safety debate tomorrow

Written by . Posted on February 22, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

Please ask your MP to attend tomorrow’s debate and sign the EDM  - http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=170&ea.campaign.id=13580

Heading East – Train assisted

Written by . Posted on February 14, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

East is Easy. There is one train route heading directly East, going to Worksop, Gainsborough and Lincoln and some smaller stations.

xx.44 Lincoln. Northern service normally 2-car trains. 2 bikes per train, not reservable and as the trains are often busy it is wise to assume that you won’t get a third bike on, although the guards will normally accommodate you if they can.

Note that the first service on this route on a Sunday leaves at 13:42, express to Worksop. The first stopping train is 13:37. We’re working on this.

Join us for the Friday Night Ride Stations – East Ride on March 9th

Cycle Sheffield support #cyclesafe

Written by . Posted on February 9, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

CycleSheffield supports the Times “Save our Cyclists campaign http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3306950.ece

Sheffield City Council Supports Times Campaign #cyclesafe

Written by . Posted on February 3, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

From the Times today:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3307439.ece

Liverpool, Birmingham, Leicester, Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield and Belfast city councils all threw their weight behind calls to reform urban areas.

Julie Dore, the leader of Sheffield council, said: “We fully support the Times campaign. We are keen to make Sheffield a cycle-friendly city.”

Naturally we will be contacting Julie to discuss what this really means.

 

Here come the next batch of new cyclists

Written by . Posted on January 27, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

Buses hit by 2_4m cuts. 

Cycle Campaigners meet with Minister for Cars

Written by . Posted on January 27, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

See http://www.bikebiz.com//news/read/cycle-organisations-meet-with-minister-for-cars

Happy Daniel Cadden day!

Written by . Posted on January 26, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

Today is the anniversary of Daniel Cadden’s historic victory on appeal in 2007, and has therefore been dubbed ‘Daniel Cadden’ day by us.
The details of the case, if you don’t remember it, as as follows:-

Cyclist Daniel Cadden, who was convicted by a court in Telford last August for riding on a road instead of using an alternative cycle path,
has won his appeal and the conviction has been quashed. The judge at shrewsbury Crown Court told Cadden that he was as entitled to be on the road as anyone else and there was no obligation on him to use the cycle path.

The issue turned on whether the cyclist had unreasonably impeded traffic. The judge noted that traffic had been light, there had been no
more than transitory inconvenience to drivers behind him and he had caused no danger to anyone. There was therefore no way in which the
court could rule that his behaviour had been inconsiderate.

In response to the police suggestion that Cadden should have ridden in a 0.9m area of the carriageway between the kerb and the outside lane marking, so that traffic could pass more easily, the judge was clear that this part of the road was not intended to be used by any vehicle
and that included cycles. It would be unwise to expect cyclists to ride in this area and there could be dangers involved in doing so. There was no question therefore that the right place for cyclists to ride is in the general traffic lane.

With regard to the cycle track, the court took the view that Cadden’s speed of 20 mph would have been excessive and possibly unsafe for a
track shared with pedestrians. Someone riding at that speed should be expected to use the road.
However, the court’s verdict cannot be taken as a precedent for all circumstances and cyclists must be aware of their responsibilities to
others and not expect to be ‘in the right’ just because they may legally use a road. The judgement was highly sensitive to fact and degree.
Someone riding much slower might be wiser to use the cycle track and their actions in delaying traffic on the road might under some
circumstances be inconsiderate. It comes down to the reasonableness of a cyclist’s behaviour in the particular circumstances.

The judge expressed veiled criticism of the police for bringing the charges, which seemed to be more a consequence of the cyclist not
accepting the ‘road safety advice’ (to ride in the gutter or on the cycle track) that the police had given than of the cyclist’s riding
behaviour.
The retrial did not run its full course but was stopped by the court (upon a request by Cadden’s counsel) after the completion of prosecution
evidence. The court agreed that there was no merit in continuing as the court could not possibly find against the cyclist.
see also

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4774

Helmets – a response to criticism of “pedal ready” in the local press

Written by . Posted on January 18, 2012. Filed under campaigning, news. 1 Comment.

We applauded the Sheffield Telegraph for this positive story about increasing numbers of people commuting by bike in the city.

commuter_journeys_double_in_decade_as_more_workers_turn_to_two_wheels_1_4115001

A number of letters were published criticising the cyclists shown in the article for riding without helmets.

http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/community/your-letters/wrong_message_on_cycle_safety_1_4135308

One of our members has written this response to these letters.

Response to Letters criticizing Pedal Ready for not wearing/insisting their pupil wears a helmet.

It is really no surprise that some readers have written to express concern about this issue. Our precious heads are very obviously vulnerable to impact and possibly to injury causing varying levels of disability.

However emotive the issue, the statistics do not support any assertion that cyclists are any more likely to be victims of such an event than people moving around by other means.

Many people and organizations are of the research based opinion that the outcome of any legislation aimed to regulate what cyclists wear, whether or not they have insurance, bike MOT’s etc is simply that less people will get on a bicycle and accrue all the benefits that cycling brings to them and to their society. A bike is an ordinary, convenient and totally accessible means of getting about, and needs to remain as such.

This sort of debate also has the unfortunate effect of giving a message to cyclists, potential cyclists and parents that cycling is fundamentally a dangerous activity, which is why we have parents and teachers saying no to children who wish to cycle to school.

Perhaps most importantly, this debate also misses and distracts us from the fundamental issue here regarding whether people feel they have the freedom to make choices about how they get around their community. This at a time when it is becoming clear our future physical and environmental health is dependant on these choices, and when those bodies that we pay to guide us regarding this health are stressing the importance of healthier choices than hitherto.

What this means in practice is that we do now need to address the fact that we simply have not evolved to the point where we can reliably avoid fast moving metal structures, or come off lightly in a collision with one, so our current habit of mixing the two in public spaces in the manner we do at present invariably means our anxieties will lead to us choosing what are perceived as ‘safer’ and ultimately more harmful transport options for our health and society.

There will always be a sensible case for helmet wearing and other safety aids during some conditions or types of cycling, and factual guidance on when and where it is recommended is welcome. Otherwise, what we as individuals and as a society really need is well intentioned people such as the readers in question to throw their weight behind intelligent debates, proposals and if need be legislation that leads to the creation of an environment where people of all ages can freely choose to move about under their own steam, without anxiety, on those occasions when their journey does not need to be a vehicular one.

Richard Attwood. Sheffield S6. 16.01.2012

Good News Week for Sheffield Cycling

Written by . Posted on January 6, 2012. Filed under news. No comments.

We had a good day on Thursday. The news that commuter cycling has doubled in Sheffield over the past ten years made the front page in the Sheffield Telegraph:

Read the story here.

We’re not resting on our laurels though, there’s still a lot to do.

The Star ran with the story that mobile bus lane cameras are to be introduced, something we’ve been pushing for for a while:

Read the story here

Hopefully these can be used to catch taxi drivers who queue in bike lanes as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks from the paramedics

Written by . Posted on December 22, 2011. Filed under news. No comments.

cycleparamedic

 

Our favourite cycle paramedic sends thanks to all who supported him in 2011!