You’d think drivers wouldn’t need reminding not to drink and drive, or speed, but there we are….

I agree drivers that properly have a go at cyclists won’t take any notice of a government ad campaign. Not because of their hatred of cyclists, but because they have proper anger issues that need addressing.

I’d just like a campaign to be backed up by enforcement.

Yeah, and I didn’t believe in Black Lives Matter , cos All live matter don’t they*

Just cos somone has a Twitter account, doesn’t make them any kind of authority.

* sarcasm, in case anyone’s confused

Thread resurrection.

I’m assuming all of us who signed have had the two emailed government responses and found it all a bit unimpressive?

I know it’s no more than was really expected, but still having had the initial response kicked back by the Commons Petitions Committee, they’ve given pretty much the same shitty “We’re looking at the highway code again” response:

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Run a public awareness campaign to address driver aggression toward cyclists”.

Government responded:

The Department for Transport is already reviewing The Highway Code to improve cyclist safety and doesn’t consider that a campaign along the lines specifically requested by this petition is necessary.

The Government is focused on making cycling and walking safer and easier. To that end the Department for Transport undertook a major cycling and walking safety review in 2018. Following an extensive public consultation, the Department published its full response and a detailed two-year action plan on 22 November 2018 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/governments-response-to-the-cycling-walking-investment-strategy-safety-review).

One of the actions identified was to review The Highway Code to create a new and improved Highway Code, to keep vulnerable road users – including cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders – safe on the roads and make sure they are at the forefront of motorists’ minds when they are traveling. For example, the proposed changes highlight how to avoid the dangers of close passing, and encourage people to adopt the ‘Dutch reach’, a method of opening a car door with the hand furthest from the handle, to force drivers to look over their shoulder for passing traffic.

On the 28 July 2020, the Prime Minister launched ambitious plans to boost cycling and walking (Gear Change: a bold vision for cycling and walking: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england) and the consultation on changes to The Highway Code was published at the same time as part of a much broader plan into Cycling and Walking. The proposed changes should lead to a new and improved Highway Code, to keep vulnerable road users safe on the roads.

The consultation closed on 28 October 2020; over 20,000 responses were received, and we are currently undertaking a full analysis of all replies. A summary of responses, including the next steps, will be published shortly.

The Department for Transport recognises the important role education has in keeping vulnerable road users safe on the roads and the Department’s THINK! campaign aims to change the attitudes and behaviours behind key road safety issues, via marketing campaigns, online resources (https://www.think.gov.uk/) and THINK! social media channels. THINK! will be developing a behavioural change campaign to support implementation of these changes to The Highway Code and the overarching aims of these changes.

Department for Transport

And Discuss…

The Department for Transport is already reviewing The Highway Code to improve cyclist safety and doesn’t consider that a campaign along the lines specifically requested by this petition is necessary.

Doesn’t consider necessary? Surely that’s exactly why people are signing the petition, the government doesn’t consider it as a problem so the people are trying to get them to do so

That said, if you expected a different outcome you were always going to be disappointed

To be fair I took part in the online survey about the changes to the highway code, it does look like there is a substantial increased emphasis on cyclist safety.

Whether that’s actually worth anything given much of the Highway Code is routinely ignored is a different matter

Yep, the same highway code that the last time anyone read was when they were taking their driving test (being honest, me included!)

The opposite trend to what you’d expect?, According to this RTI cycling deaths were holding at a pretty consistent level, or slightly decreasing trend pre-2020.

As the nation has slowly emerged from it’s Covid cocoon, it’s definitely felt less safe riding a bicycle on our roads, Drivers have become more erratic, impatient and abusive.
Part of that is the lack of any mainstream/Government pushback against the tide of anti-cycling rhetoric in media. People are emboldened to be abusive/aggressive to certain groups because that behaviour is essentially being endorsed in certain places, and because they know the response is so weak that they can fly under the radar. The trouble is it’s one thing to say unpleasant stuff on FB, it’s quite another to swerve at me with a Navara…

More people seem to want to run me down, the government response to that is to tell me that the highway code is being updated, Oh and the PM wants more people to cycle and walk because we’re getting fatter… I don’t think aggressive drivers are avid Highway code readers and actual evidence of the government’s enthusiasm for us riding bicycles seems pretty thin on the ground so far TBH…

They cite the ‘THINK’ campaign which is ancient and a bit vague and seems focussed mainly on persuading drivers to do the basics like not speeding, not forgetting to wear seat belts or not texting/drinking/**** while driving…

The specific thing petitioned for was to address the “car-centric” aggressive, cultural problem we face today head on, which both of their cut ‘n’ paste responses just dismiss.

So yeah, the image of cycling as a dangerous and abnormal activity will persist, Bozza doesn’t get his claimed wish of a cycling, walking nation. All because they don’t want to alienate the Gammons by telling them not to mow down people on bikes (IMO anyway)…

As expected really.

I suppose now then we should look for someone else to do the job of changing our national driving culture… Any Candidates?

And Discuss…

Soft approaches like this are useless. The people whose behaviour is acceptable don’t need them; the people whose behaviour needs changing are going to at best ignore them and at worst react negatively to them; the powers that be will give them lip service and coerce them into whatever it was they were planning to do anyway; and nothing will change.

Until we can cement in law the principles that…
– aggressive behaviour while armed with a motor vehicle should be considered serious assault with a low bar of proof, and
– the licence to operate a motor vehicle should be contingent on a lack of aggressive behaviour, otherwise rescinded and only reinstated after specific criteria are met
…then nothing will change.

We’ve had hundreds of these soft “education” things and they achieve nothing. We need the law to be robust in dealing with assault—verbal or physical, attempted or otherwise—and we need a licensing system that doesn’t treat the right to drive as something to hand out on the back of a packet of corn flakes and only take away in the most dire of situations.

You don’t turn nasty assholes into nice people. You take away their weapons and their ability to harm.

Yep, the same highway code that the last time anyone read was when they were taking their driving test (being honest, me included!)

Exactly why there should be MANDATORY retraining/renewal of motor vehicles every 5/10/15 years, including a theory ‘powerpoint’ session to go over changes to HWC etc.

I am relicensed every 5 years at work for a piece of motorised access equipment that I use on basically a daily basis, yet will likely never sit another driving test as it currently stands.

Add to this increased ease for reporting, increased fines, longer bans for sanctions and real jail time for higher end offences and people just might get the message that driving like a cockwomble is not tolerated.

Last night I passed a guy riding on an A road, not particularly busy, on what looked like a time trial bike, not in the middle of the road but nowhere near the curb either. Most of the cars in front passed him VERY closely with very few slowing down, then about a mile later on the same road but going in the opposite direction was a young girl on a horse, with around 25 cars behind her and not a single one making any attempts to pass, while going at pretty much walking pace. There is an irrational hatred of cyclists in general in the UK and any legislation to give more protection to us on the roads will be 110% ignored by the people who hold that view, as already pointed out it will make some of them even worse as they know the current rules are not enforced so there are no consequences anyway

Everything that @Bez said (and has said before on his blog).

Road safety in the UK is dealt with by a whole load of random “be nice”, “share the road”, “share with care” campaigns and none of it has made the blindest bit of difference. But it allows Government to hide behind this facade of “doing something”.

You stop driver aggression by minimising / removing the chances for them to use their cars as weapons. Segregated cycle lanes, restriction of driving (so things like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods or gradual removal of parking spaces) and, where the law is broken, by robust measures to prevent further driving and/or to adequately punish the offender and adequately protect/compensate the victim.

The first two are political hot potatoes so no-one wants to go near them. The last one is seen as some sort of assault on freedom and rights. That petition, sadly, was always doomed to failure.