Something positive for a change :-)

vernon levy wrote:

I live and ride in West Yorkshire. Does your source indicate how much cycle usage has changed in
that timeframe ?

--
The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely.

> In the current atmosphere of persecution and "aren't we cyclists hard done by", it was gratifying
> to read in a local newspaper that West Yorkshire has achieved a 40% drop in road accidents leading
> to cyclists deaths and serious injuries seven years ahead of schedule.

How did they achieve this?

Drinky wrote:
>>In the current atmosphere of persecution and "aren't we cyclists hard done by", it was gratifying
>>to read in a local newspaper that West Yorkshire has achieved a 40% drop in road accidents leading
>>to cyclists deaths and serious injuries seven years ahead of schedule.
>
>
> How did they achieve this?

They buried them all at night and kept it out of the papers ;-)

Drinky wrote:
>>In the current atmosphere of persecution and "aren't we cyclists hard done by", it was gratifying
>>to read in a local newspaper that West Yorkshire has achieved a 40% drop in road accidents leading
>>to cyclists deaths and serious injuries seven years ahead of schedule.
>
>
> How did they achieve this?

They buried them all at night and kept it out of the papers ;-)

" They buried them all at night and kept it out of the papers ;-)"

I'm with Zog on this

I live in Leeds and I'm encouraged if this is this case but I do find it a bit hard to believe.
Of every large City I've been to in the last few years Leeds has the most futile and half-hearted
attempts at cycle safety I have seen. There are innumerable advanced stop areas with no approach
path, mixed use cycle/pedestrian lanes with 6 foot high road signage and a complete lack of cycle
awareness from almost every driver (I realise this is not a local thing). I can only imagine that
cyclist oop north have mutated to possess a safety based sixth sense in an accelerated
evolutionry episode!

Paul

"Drinky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > In the current atmosphere of persecution and "aren't we cyclists hard done by", it was
> > gratifying to read in a local newspaper that West Yorkshire has achieved a 40% drop in road
> > accidents leading to cyclists deaths and serious injuries seven years ahead of schedule.
>
> How did they achieve this?

Sadly it's not mentioned how it was achieved but a new set of targets include increasing the number
of cycle journeys made, improving punctuality of public transport, increasing the use of walking and
improving the maintenance of roads.

The figures were:

'94-'96 average deaths/serious injuries 106 Target - 40% reduction by 2010 Achieved 2002 where
deaths/injuries totalled 62

Bradford itselfd did not do so well achieving 'only' a 11% reduction over the same time slot but is
on target to achieve the 40% reduction by 2010

> I live in Leeds and I'm encouraged if this is this case but I do find it a bit hard to believe. Of
> every large City I've been to in the last few
years
> Leeds has the most futile and half-hearted attempts at cycle safety I have seen.

I think that Leeds has made a better attempt than some of the places that I've visited. One of the
problems in observing problems by cyclists about motorists and vice versa is the one dimensional
arguments used by non car driving cyclists and non cycling motorists who can not empathise with the
'other side'.

> There are innumerable advanced stop areas with no approach path,

Not aware that it was a requirement. The important thing is is that they do create a buffer zone for
cyclists and in most instances motorists don't wait in the areas for the lights to change.

>mixed use cycle/pedestrian lanes with 6 foot high road signage and a complete lack
of
> cycle awareness from almost every driver (I realise this is not a local thing).

I wonder what you are doing to remove yourself from the field of view of the motorists. I have never
felt threatened by the traffic in Leeds and will confidently take on the rush hour traffic through
the city centre and up Scotthall Road or around the ring road towards Bradford depending on whether
I am on holiday or working. The only time when things have been a bit wonky is when motorists
haven't been too sure of how to go about making a left turn ahead of me, the ill trained/disciplined
ones race past, break hard and turn sharply. The better trained slow down, hang back and make the
turn placing no one at risk. Being on a bike makes no difference to the behaviour as I've been a
'victim' of the sharp left turn even when I've been driving my car.

> I can only imagine that cyclist oop north have mutated to possess a safety based sixth sense in an
> accelerated evolutionry episode!

No, I just use the observation skills that kept my hide intact for over 200,000 miles of
motorcycling. Such a high mileage and exposure to unorthodox manoeuvres does lead to the ability to
second guess what the motorists/pedestrians are going to do next.

"VERNON LEVY" <[email protected]> writes:

> Sadly it's not mentioned how it was achieved but a new set of targets include increasing the
> number of cycle journeys made, improving punctuality of public transport, increasing the use of
> walking and improving the maintenance of roads.
>
> The figures were:
>
> '94-'96 average deaths/serious injuries 106 Target - 40% reduction by 2010 Achieved 2002 where
> deaths/injuries totalled 62

What was the change in the number of bicycle miles travelled in that period, or do they carefully
not estimate?

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; not so much a regugee from reality, more a bogus ;; asylum seeker

VERNON LEVY wrote:

>> There are innumerable advanced stop areas with no approach path,
>
> Not aware that it was a requirement.

I rather doubt it is. There's at least one ASL on the A10 through E. London where they /did/ have an
approach path, then realised that one bike approach path plus two lanes of tin boxes wouldn't fit
into the available space. So they rubbed out the lines again... I have not the words.

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================