Safe Drivers and Vehicles

Chris Peck's picture

Tell your MP that the criminal justice system isn't working

By Chris Peck on 13 September 2012
For the last few years CTC's Stop SMIDSY project has recorded the inadequacies in the way the criminal justice system treats cyclists who have been involved in road crashes. CTC is now working with British Cycling and other organisations to call for a review of all aspects of the current system.
Police enforcement is the first stage in effective criminal justice

CTC is joining British Cycling to support the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group Julian Huppert MP's Early Day Motion 407, which calls on the Ministry of Justice to review the way the criminal justice system operates.

Cherry Allan's picture

Latest issue of CTC's CycleDigest now online!

By Cherry Allan on 10 September 2012
CycleDigest is CTC's round-up of campaign news, comment, diary dates, publications and much more. The latest issue is just out!
CycleDigest 71

If you want to know what's been happening in the campaigning world lately - and what's coming up - CTC's CycleDigest is an excellent source of information.

In this issue:

Chris Peck's picture

Traffic police numbers fall 29% in 10 years

By Chris Peck on 7 September 2012
7 September 2012
Traffic police are crucial to ensuring that road traffic law is enforced and illegal driving is minimised. Unfortunately figures obtained by the chair of the All Party Cycling Group, Julian Huppert MP, reveal that the number of police has collapsed in the last decade.
Traffic police have become a rare sight on Britain's roads

Having heard from various sources about the collapse in traffic police levels in various police forces, CTC asked Julian Huppert MP whether he would investigate through a Parliamentary Question.

Roger Geffen's picture

EU-wide comparison shows GB has poor cycle use and cyclist safety, but we measure this superbly!

By Roger Geffen on 3 September 2012
A new EU-wide comparison of cyclists' safety shows that Britain is among the top countries for measuring cycling . Now we need to make much better use of this information to substantially boost cycle use and improve cyclists' safety.
Cycle counter on the Camel Trail, Cornwall (photo CTC, © Dep't for Transport)

A few days ago I was welcoming new figures now being collected by the Government, through Sport England's Active People Survey, which shows levels of regular and occasional cycle use at a local level.

Roger Geffen's picture

Hit-and-run drink-driver who ended cyclist's paralympic dream receives 18-month sentence

By Roger Geffen on 30 August 2012
A hit-and-run drink-driver who ended a medal-winning disabled cyclist’s Paralympic dream has received an 18-month prison sentence. Simon Richardson, already disabled after a cycling collision with a car, had won medals in Beijing and was training for the London Paralympics when the crash happened.
Cardiff Crown Court, where driver Edward Adams was jailed. Photo: matthewgriff

The 44-year-old cyclist from Porthcawl was riding on the A48 near Bridgend – a road known locally as Crack Hill – when he was hit by a car driven by Edward Adams, 61, from Cowbridge.

Roger Geffen's picture

Police officer convicted of dangerous driving which left cycling musician seriously injured

By Roger Geffen on 24 August 2012
A police officer has been convicted of dangerous driving following a collision in east London which has left a cyclist with serious injuries and possibly permanent brain-damage. Songwriter Pepe Belmonte was about to launch his first album, but has since had to relearn to walk and play the guitar.
Pepe Delmonte (photo: J Mark Dodds, Creative Commons)

Before the trial, British Transport Police officer David Lynch (31) had pleaded guilty to careless driving but denied the more serious offence of dangerous driving.

Roger Geffen's picture

CTC says latest road safety figures are a wake-up call to Government

By Roger Geffen on 16 August 2012
16 August 2012
New quarterly road casualty figures reinforce the bad news of other similar figures from recent months, not just for cyclists but for motorcyclists and pedestrians too. However, without quarterly data on cycle use, the change in level of risk is unknown.
Tackling major roads and junctions as well as road user behaviour is required

Recent figures had previously showed a 16% rise in serious cyclist injuries in 2011 compared with 2010. These new figures now roll the time-period by just 3 months, so to a large extent they simply reiterate the earlier bad news.

Chris Peck's picture

20 mph casualty figures - another failure to properly evaluate risk

By Chris Peck on 12 August 2012
The number of road casualties on streets with 20 mph limits have increased by a quarter in one year. Unfortunately those figures fail to take into account the change in the number of 20 mph streets, which have been increasing steadily, particularly in the last year.
20 mph limits - are they really less safe?

In July the Department for Transport published its annual report of road casualties, which revealed startling increases in casualties amongst all road users, including serious injuries to cyclists and pedestrian fatalities.

Buried in that report was a table that revealed the numbers of casualties that occurred on roads subject to different speed limits. Apparently serious injuries on 20 mph streets rose 35%, while all crashes increased 25%.

Chris Peck's picture

Gold medal winner Wiggins puts road safety in spotlight

By Chris Peck on 2 August 2012
Following Wiggins's flawless ride to gold at the Individual Time Trial, his response to the tragic death of a cyclist outside the Olympic Park has highlighted yet again the need for road safety changes to protect cyclists.
Bradley Wiggins celebrating his victory at Hampton Court

Wiggins's gold and Froome's bronze were both fantastic results and reflect a season of total domination of road cycling by British cyclists.

Unfortunately, a few hours later tragic news broke that a 28-year-old cyclist had been killed in collision with a bus carrying journalists from the Olympic Park to the ExCel centre.

Chris Peck's picture

Families of both those killed by Joao Lopes demand his licence be removed permanently

By Chris Peck on 1 August 2012
1 August 2012
The families of Eilidh Cairns and Nora Gutmann, both killed by the same HGV driver - 56-year-old Joao Lopes - have demanded that his licence be permanently removed. Lopes pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 4 years in jail but just a 6 year driving ban.
Lorries are required to have some extra mirrors fitted, but not enough

In February 2009 Eilidh Cairns, a 30-year-old TV producer, was killed while cycling to work. She was run over by an HGV, driven by Joao Lopes.

The police found no connection between Eilidh's death and the actions of the driver.  Lopes pleaded guilty to the minor charge of driving with uncorrected defective vision. He was fined £200 pounds, given three points on his licence and permitted to carry on driving a tipper lorry.

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