Issue 128 : April - May 2003
MAG News
Helmet Cases
Yamaha YZF-R6
Honda CBR600RR
Screamin' Eagle
Cycling Zealot
| |
|
MAG News
|
Single track mind
SB Do you think there's a conflict of interest between bikers and cyclists over bus lane use ? CL Yes, it's a conflict over road space use. A lot of people who might take up cycling in London are put off by the perception of danger, and people are afraid of motorcycles and that fear is heightened in bus lanes where motorcycles come up fast from behind. SB Where do you get that perception from? CL It's mostly anecdotal though we have some evidence from Bristol that people have given up cycling since motorcycles have been allowed into bus lanes. Some surveys of motorcyclists in Bristol indicate that 10% of them used to cycle before motorcycles were let into bus lanes. SB As someone who cycles a lot in London I find this anxiety about m'cycles odd, as I find cars are a far greater threat since they come much closer, whereas I find motorcycles always give me a wide berth, perhaps partly because it is easier for them to do so. CL The perception is that motorcycles come closer and are going much faster. Figures show that per mile travelled motorcyclists are about five times as likely as car drivers to injure a pedestrian and about twice as likely to injure a cyclist. I think noise is one of the biggest problems with motorcycles. The current regulations are not working and are not being enforced on the street. Already MCs cause more noise damage than any other road transport. It may be only 10% who are noisy and 1% who are extremely noisy but that affects immense numbers of people. SB MAG are campaigning for bus lanes to be opened to motorcyclists, does the LCC actively lobby against the extension of that privilege to bikers? CL Yes, apart from the use of bus lanes by m'cycles, we are uncomfortable with anything that encourages motorcycle use. SB Talking of Bristol during the city's trial period not a single accident between a cyclist and a m'cyclist was recorded, doesn't that tell you something ? CL You've got to look at all roads and accidents elsewhere, not just at the bus lanes themselves as motorcycle use was up in the city as a whole. SB So did bicycle/m'cycle accidents go up elsewhere in Bristol? CL serious and slight injuries are up and fatalities are down (the number of fatalities is so small that no trends are significant). SB Do you think that the Green credentials we claim for motorcycles are valid? CL I think they're terribly overstated. Motorcycle emissions are far worse than cars emissions and if you allow for the fact that cars carry an average 1.4 people, bikes don't look so good. OK motorcycles use less fuel and so CO2 emissions will be lower but in terms of other pollutants they are worse. SB Are you aware that m'cycle emissions are coming into line with car emission levels ? CL I'm looking at the current transport mix, though from viewing the Honda website, while they claim improved emissions for their cars, they are only talking about improving the efficiency of their motorcycles. In Rome for example they are going to have to ban nearly all the motorcycles if they follow their own new rules. SB Are you telling me that you would rather see more people in cars than on motorcycles? CL I'd rather see them on bicycles. SB I'm not giving you that option. CL I think it's probably a false question. SB No you're not getting away with that, surely we're at least a lesser evil? CL M'cycles are dirtier than cars; if cars are used well and more people shared them, that would be a better option than widespread m'cycle use. Motorcyclists are involved in about twice as many fatal cycle accidents per 100million kilometres as car drivers are. SB Should we not look at where the blame for these accidents lies ? CL Road safety can only be improved when all riders, powered or not, and drivers, take responsibility for avoiding crashes,whoever is "to blame". So if a child runs out from behind a car your job is to not run him/her down. If you fail and hit the child then you are negligent and responsible, most likely you were riding too fast in an urban area.  SB What about cyclists running red lights and mounting pavements etc what do you say about that then ? CL We don't condone law breaking but it has to be seen in the context of law breaking by other road users; at least 70% of motorists break speed limits, and 90% of motorcyclists use bus lanes already. Cyclists will often go through red lights when it's clear, as they feel they are safer getting clear of the traffic. SB Do you run red lights ? CL I generally stop at traffic lights; actually I always stop at traffic lights. SB Sorry I can only take your first answer. CL Put it this way, if cyclists started going through all lights, then others would start thinking this was the done thing; I've already seen young moped riders running pedestrian lights when people are crossing, and it's really not on. SB How about advanced stop lines (ASL's), do you feel that if motorcyclists use them then there is more chance of them being retained ? CL I feel quite unhappy about that. ASL's are only just becoming common and most car drivers respect them, we see them providing safe areas as they make cycles more visible, if m'cyclists come into them then our visibility is diminished. You can't see ASL's in isolation from cycle lanes. If we agree to ASL's for m'cycles we are implicitly agreeing to m'cycles in cycle lanes. SB Would you like to see a city-wide cycle way in London? CL Yes but that's a pipe dream, our feeling is that cycles belong on the road. SB Here's a pointless question - how do you view m'cycles' exemption from congestion charging? CL I think that was a mistake. In the central area m'cycles present a danger to pedestrians and then there's the pollution issue. I don't have an issue with discounts on bridges, tunnels etc, I think m'cycles should get discounts but I'm not for motorcycles going free as it encourages m'cycling. It's been estimated that there could be 50 more cyclist and pedestrian fatalities pa as a result of increased motorcycle use due to congestion charging exemption. SB Surely m'cycles help the congestion problem ? CL M'cycles still cause congestion when they gather at lights and set off quicker than other vehicles. The problem is that they quickly use up space ahead of the lights that could be used by cross traffic ? SB That takes some thinking about. CL If you cross a junction on a bicycle just before it changes to amber, a motorcycle might rush out at you before you've made it across, given their acceleration. SB What kind of bike do you ride? CL I have one rough looking bike for London in the hope that it won't be stolen and a 24 gear touring bike. SB I take it theft is a big problem for cyclists, do you think we share common ground in pursuing that issue? CL Theft is an enormous problem for us, a lot of people are seriously discouraged by it and the priority the police give the problem is zero. Dialogue is always good . SB Ah ha! So how would you view joint campaigns on more security features and how about sharing them ? CL We campaign for secure cycle parking but get upset when m'cycles use them so I don't see a lot of prospect for joint campaigning there. SB Bugger ! SB Does our common vulnerability not engender some sense of common cause? CL Yes, I used to commute by motorcycle once, a Suzuki 70cc SB Good grief! What about a cyclists' helmet law, surely we can agree on that ? CL LCC is opposed to a helmet law. The propaganda behind the compulsion lobby is unhelpful as it creates the impression that cycling is more dangerous than it is. If you include the health benefits of cycling then people overall will be far better off cycling without helmets than not cycling. I think if motorcyclists didn't wear helmets they would take more care and ride slower. SB Well you're not all bad. Do you wear a cycle helmet? CL Not usually SB How do you feel about cycle couriers ? CL Wonderful people (he laughs) - I suppose they have got us a bad name and the police have started cracking down on them; we now have police on bicycles in inner city areas. SB Do they wear helmets CL They do if they're in uniform, mind you police on the beat wear them too. SB How successful have you been as a lobbying group? CL In terms of getting cycling recognised and getting a cycle network, very successful; in terms of how the UK compares with other countries we have a long way to go. In London, cycling mileage has risen 6% pa over the last 3 years but nationally it's fallen, in London cycling is the fastest means of transport besides motorcycling. We now have about 9000 members in London paying £27 pa, that's out of about 620 000 people who own a bike and use it sometimes, if only a couple of times a year. SB What groups does the LCC liaise with? CL LCC has campaigning groups in every London borough, we deal with Transport for London and the environmental groups like Transport 2000, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and public transport groups mainly. We campaign with companies also for better facilities for employees. We also want a better cycling rate - for tax purposes, it's 12p a mile right now compared to the car allowance of 40p SB Who do you see as your natural enemies ? CL The car culture in the media, some politicians and some traffic engineers. Engineers tend to see traffic problems in terms of solutions that are good for cars. Then there's HGV drivers who are 40 - 50 times more likely to kill cyclists than motorists are in London- they are our biggest problem. I search for a question that isn't going to be contentious. SB I can't get the digital odometer on my mountain bike to work, how's yours ? CL No problem. SB Jolly good.  |
|
home | top
| |
The