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CAFE<br />
CYCLING ACTIVE FRONT END<br />
IN<br />
Cycle safety<br />
After an increase in serious accidents involving<br />
cyclists in London in 2012, figures for the capital<br />
in 2013 show a more positive downward trend<br />
What’s on... Aug 30<br />
The Mad Hatter Sportive starts<br />
in Malvern and heads through<br />
Worcestershire. There are 43, 72 or 103-<br />
mile routes on offer — the short option costs £25,<br />
and the longer two, £35. www.bookmyride.co.uk<br />
3<br />
MOST COMMON BODY<br />
AREAS INJURED BY<br />
CYCLING ACCIDENTS<br />
1) Head Ranging from severe<br />
to minor concussion and cuts.<br />
2) Limbs More than 40% of<br />
cyclists suffer arm injuries and<br />
25% suffer leg injuries.<br />
3) Chest and abdomen<br />
Suffered by 5% of cyclists.<br />
Is 20 plenty?<br />
As the media misinterpret the latest road casualty data we set<br />
the record straight and offer some further safety initiatives...<br />
Night rides<br />
Here at CA we reckon it’s the perfect time of year<br />
for a little spin after dark<br />
New bikes<br />
2015 bike models are being revealed left, right<br />
and centre. We’ve even got two on test this issue<br />
— turn to page 46<br />
The weather<br />
Let’s not speak too<br />
soon, but we might<br />
actually be enjoying<br />
a pretty decent<br />
summer?<br />
Bike weight<br />
The new range-topping<br />
Trek Emonda will weigh a<br />
staggeringly low 4.5kg.<br />
(It’ll also cost an equally<br />
staggering £11,000)<br />
Booze<br />
After we said last month that red wine could be<br />
beneficial, a paper in the British Medical Journal<br />
suggests even moderate drinking is B-A-D<br />
V<br />
arious media outlets have been eager to<br />
jump on the news that 2013 saw 20 per<br />
cent more road casualties in 20mph<br />
zones in the UK than the year before.<br />
Cycle campaigners have long<br />
pushed for 20mph zones as<br />
pedestrians and cyclists are<br />
seven times more likely to<br />
survive an impact with a<br />
vehicle travelling at 20mph<br />
than one travelling at 30mph.<br />
However, popular opinion<br />
right now suggests the figures<br />
for 2013 must mean 20mph<br />
zones are a bad thing. If they are<br />
seeing more accidents, they must<br />
not be working, right?<br />
But what the figures don’t reflect is how<br />
many more miles of newly classified 20mph<br />
zones there were in 2013 compared to the year<br />
before. As we went to press, we couldn’t get<br />
hold of the figures either, but if there were 20<br />
per cent more 20mph zones, then relatively<br />
speaking, those figures are static.<br />
Even without accounting for this, 2013 saw<br />
33 per cent fewer fatal accidents in 20mph<br />
zones than 2012, and six per cent less total<br />
casualties on all types of road — a statistic that<br />
20mph zones may have helped achieve.<br />
Essentially, it’s the age-old situation where<br />
one set of data is only half the story. But even if<br />
20mph zones aren’t the whole answer to road<br />
safety — then what else do we need?<br />
Refresher driving tests<br />
What about retaking the driving test every 10<br />
years? That should keep everyone on their toes<br />
and committed to best practice.<br />
THINK! about<br />
riding and driving<br />
Transport for London’s<br />
cycle safety campaign is<br />
aimed at both cyclists<br />
and drivers<br />
Mandatory cycle training<br />
Perhaps those who can, should be compelled to<br />
jump on a bike so they can gain empathy.<br />
Segregated bike lanes<br />
London has just released plans for<br />
its first segregated cycle<br />
superhighway (see page 20),<br />
and segregated routes tend to<br />
work well at keeping people<br />
safe on the Continent.<br />
However, British cycle<br />
campaigners are wary about<br />
losing our right to ride on the<br />
road, so aren’t always big fans of<br />
‘them and us’ systems.<br />
Better traffic environment<br />
Instead of segregated systems, why not make<br />
the existing systems safer? As a matter of<br />
course, how about a month-long mandatory<br />
reduced speed limit at all sites where there’s<br />
been a serious accident, while a detailed<br />
investigation takes place looking at specific<br />
safety improvements?<br />
Strict liability laws<br />
If drivers knew their insurance would have to<br />
pay up automatically in any accident with a<br />
more vulnerable road user, they might exercise<br />
just a tad more caution.<br />
Hard-hitting advertising campaigns<br />
Remember those AIDS public service ads that<br />
had such a big effect in the late ’80s and early<br />
’90s? Maybe it’s time for something equally<br />
effective for road safety. “Charley says… don’t<br />
drive like a twerp.”<br />
Pro riders<br />
Starting with Cav,<br />
then Froomey,<br />
then Alberto, then<br />
Cancellara, the<br />
stars dropped<br />
like flies at the Tour<br />
de France<br />
Photos: Chris Catchpole, Graham Watson<br />
Inactivity<br />
Scientists believe it’s not the Western world’s<br />
diet but sedentary lifestyles that cause our<br />
‘obesity epidemic’ (see page 16)<br />
OUT<br />
12 CYCLING ACTIVE SEPTEMBER 2014
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