Vulnerability and risk. Statistics and ethics. Solutions or fixes. Top-down interventions or individual actions. These are the core issues in the long-running bike-lane (or cycle track)-versus-integration argument and in the book Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (better known for his previous book, The Black Swan). Antifragile is a long and complex read, but the author managed to summarize it while metaphorically standing on one foot: “Everything gains or loses from volatility. Fragility is what loses from volatility and uncertainty.” Read article
Tag Archives: Behaviour&Legal
Any legal or Gardai related issue; also road user behaviour: cyclists, motorists & pedestrians
Trains, planes and automobiles – how we got around in 2014
The number of people choosing to get around the capital on the public bikes system increased significantly, as passenger journeys jumped to over 3m in 2014.
Passenger journeys peaked at 355,155 in October of last year, almost 200,000 more than the number of users from the same month in the year prior. Public transport services all around the country – bus, rail and Luas – saw an increase in passenger numbers throughout the year.
Fixed Charge Notices issued Jul – Sep 2015
Number of Fixed Charge Notices issued for the offences listed for the period 30 July 2015 to 30 September 2015
Parking in a cycle track during its period of operation (Contravention of requirement to remove vehicle parked on cycle track (RRM022 or 023) after commencement of period indicated on information plate contrary to Section 35(5) of the Road Traffic Act, 1994) 112
Invading an Advance Stop Line by failing to bring vehicle to a stop behind a primary stop-line (Failure to stop in advance of traffic sign number RRM 017 (Stop Line), contrary to Section 35(5) of the Road Traffic Act, 1994) 16
Failure to stop in advance of Traffic Sign (Failure to stop in advance of traffic sign for number RRM 017 (stop line) where traffic sign number RUS 027(stop sign) was also provided contrary to Section 35(5) of the Road Traffic Act, 1994) 60
Dangerous Overtaking (Overtaking another vehicle in a manner which wold endanger or cause inconvenience to any other person contrary to Section 35(5) of the Road Traffic Act, 1994).
Please note that it is not possible to provided a breakdown between overtaking pedal cyclists and mechanically propelled vehicles, therefore the figure provided relates to all manners of dangerous overtaking.
Judge dismisses cases about not producing driving licence in court
A judge has dismissed 21 cases relating to failure to produce a driving licence in court. Read more
Cycle death case handling ‘may need to change’
Cyclist.ie has been concerned about how cycling fatalities and serious injuries arising from road traffic collisions (RTCs) are handled in Ireland by the Garda-DPP axis. The report from The BBC below shows that there is concern about how the local constabularies and the CPS handle these cases in England.
The way cycling deaths are treated by police and prosecutors may need to change, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has said.
Sir Keir Starmer said there was a “very strong case” for the Crown Prosecution Service to make the final decision on whether to prosecute cases.
Currently, police forces decide whether to pass a case on to the CPS after investigating a cycling death.
The CPS said cases should be referred to a prosecutor as early as possible.
Department of Transport figures show 113 cyclists were killed in the UK last year.
Last year a Freedom of Information request by BBC’s Newsbeat found that between 2007 and 2014 there were 276 recorded incidents where a cyclist was killed in an accident involving a motor vehicle.
Of these, 148 – 54% – resulted in the driver of the vehicle being charged with an offence. Of those found guilty, fewer than half went to prison.
Why are London cyclists so white, male and middle-class?
A fascinating study of why some Londoners cycle and others don’t illuminates cultural obstacles Boris Johnson’s cycling plans must overcome.
Among the several good objectives of Boris Johnson’s Vision for Cycling in London, produced in 2013, is an increase in the variety of Londoners who travel by bicycle. As Johnson himself puts it on page 5: “I want more women cycling, more older people cycling, more black and minority ethnic Londoners cycling, more cyclists of all social backgrounds – without which truly mass participation can never come.”
Four out of five drivers escape conviction over penalty points
Four out of five drivers summonsed to court over penalty points offences are escaping conviction, new figures show.
Almost 150,000 drivers who were ordered to appear in court over the past two years were not convicted for reasons including not being served with a summons at the correct address, or claiming to have never received a fixed-charge notice in the post.
Pre-Budget 2016 submission from Cyclist.ie
Cyclist.ie, the network of the cycling campaigns and bicycle festivals on this Island, makes this Pre-Budget Submission 2016 in an attempt to encourage fresh thinking about the purpose of a taxation system in relation to decreasing the societal impacts and latent costs to the Exchequer from unfettered motorised transport use and unhealthy lifestyles. National Budgets should be striving to support healthier and cost-effective modes of transport with benefits across health, community and the environment sectors. Investment in cycling promotion is one of the most cost-effective actions that any government can make. Full document
Note we are also calling for the bike frame registration number to be recorded on the invoice/receipt for any bicycle purchased from now on under Revenue Bike to Work scheme in order to help combat bike theft
Free the Cycle Lanes
Follow #FreeTheCycleLanes
Hotspots: Rathmines, St. Andrews Street Contra Flow, Westland Row, Richmond Street South, Ranelagh
Meeting of Cyclist.ie delegation with Garda Press Office
- Cycling fines will be enforced by An Garda from Aug 1, for a range of offences, listed below.
- Cyclist.ie wants safer streets and roads and encourages all cyclists to observe the new rules and not contribute to the creation of a convenient revenue stream for the Exchequer. However, it does not believe the proposed legislation, and the attitude towards its enforcement has struck the right balance to achieve safer road conditions for cyclists.
- Cyclist.ie, at this meeting with An Garda on the subject, called for balanced policing which improves road safety for all road users. i.e. stricter enforcement of motoring offences which are hazardous for cyclists such as fly-parking in cycle lanes, safe overtaking distances, lower speed limits etc.
- Official government policy – as outlined in NCPF – needs to inform all traffic-related activities in the state.