irishboyinlondon

Interesting reading and graphics in the telegraph today. They have published a map detailing all of the reported bicycle accidents in London between August 2010 and July 2011.

Details of every accident involving a bicycle reported to Transport for London between August 2010 and July 2011 have been released…

Mapping the incidents reveals some of the most dangerous areas for cycling in London.

The junctions north and south of Blackfriar’s Bridge are notable for being the site of seven serious accidents and over a dozen non-serious accidents in the 12 months covered by the reports.

Transport for London recently announced plans to increase the speed limit for cars over Blackfriar’s Bridge, and restructure the northern junction.

Cycling groups staged protests against the changes, claiming the new designs didn’t take cyclist needs into account…

• There were 4,274 reported accidents on London’s roads between August 2010 and July 2011.

• One in ten accidents result in a serious injury (471 out of 4,274).

• 16 cyclists died on London’s roads in 2011, the highest annual figure since 2006.

• Eight accidents involved emergency service vehicles, including five ambulances and a fire engine.

• 36 cyclists involved in collisions had recently consumed alcohol, 11 of which were serious accidents.

Photo: Guardian/Russell Underwood/Corbis

Interesting piece in the Guardian Bike Blog by Matthew Wright!

The idealisation of Dutch cycling in the British cycling press omits to mention that being a respected, mainstream means of transport incurs responsibilities as well as offering rights. Laws about lights, bells, bikes on trains, as well as compulsory paths, are rigorously policed. Taking a bike on a train requires a €6 ticket in addition to the cyclist’s fare – a significant cost for regular leisure riders.

None of this is unreasonable when the other side of the bargain is the combination of amenity and respect accorded to Dutch cyclists. But mutual respect takes a long time to build. A recent article (with an excellent video documentary) explains that it took the Netherlands about 25 years to get where it is today, from the depths of a child-killing car-centred policy in the 1970s.

Dutch perceptions of their system are as much about a culture of respect as they are about separate lanes. “Segregation,” Marc van Woudenberg of the blog Amsterdamize tells me, “is just one (important) part of bicycle policies in the Netherlands, complemented with integral spatial planning, traffic calming, bike facilities and effective traffic laws.” “Strict Liability,” explains GJ Baan of Dutch gear shop And Dutch, “is supported by the Dutch law … [it means] the driver’s insurance is deemed responsible when a collision occurs between a cyclist and a car.”

Frank de Jong, of dutchcitybike.com, points out that a system that respects cyclists promotes respectful cycling in return: “When I bike in Holland, I get the sense that the road was designed with bikes and cars in mind from the outset … I feel respected as a cyclist, and therefore I’m more likely to respect the traffic rules.”

Eric van der Horst, of the Cycling Dutchman blog, explains that motorists in the Netherlands are much more tightly regulated: “The hazards of speeding are fully recognised: speed limits are present everywhere, margins for offenders are tiny, paid parking is up to five times more expensive than in the UK.”

Update 28 Oct 2011:

This article has generated a great buzz online!

In response to the piece, Marc from Amsterdamize (who was contacted by Matthew for a view on cycling in Denmark and directly refered to  in the blog), has written a comprensive response to the article, qualifiying and clarifying some of the statments made in the post.  You can and should read it here.  

The London Cycling Campaign who are running a “go dutch” campaign for the upcoming mayoral elections have clarified their stance here and As Easy As Riding A Bike has also written a great response to the article which you can read here.