OFF TRACK | SPOKESMAN SPOKES


Does saying cycling is dangerous harm the bike business?


Carlton Reid wonders about the long-term impact of the “cycling is dangerous” coverage in The Times...


WHEN THE TIMES was running its cycle safety campaign at the beginning of February did you notice a rush of new customers? There’s nothing like a “you will die if you do this” message to drum up custom. The cycling coverage is deemed to be wonderful from the mainstream, including extensive web reporting and a fair few front covers. It is ground-breaking stuff, for sure. But what will be the outcome of all this effort? Lots of


shiny new people eager to get on bicycles, or would-be newbies scared witless, promising to start cycling when the Government has spent the £10bn necessary to create a 20,000 mile network of separated cycle paths? Such a network can be built. It took 40 years in the Netherlands. If you can wait 40 years for these new customers, you’ll be quids in. Mind you, as The Times also devoted space to showing would-be cyclists that they require armour to go cycling no doubt your February sales stat may reveal you did a roaring trade in face masks, helmets and downhill pads. Popping down to the shops on a bike needs a lot of kit nowadays: “In Britain, going out to cycle is a little like preparing for battle. There is body armour and helmets to consider, Lycra and face masks to squeeze into,” was from a piece headlined ‘Reasons to take to your bike’. The Tories are said to have welcomed The Times campaign; Labour called for a Cycling Summit and Julian Huppert, the LibDem MP for Cambridge, secured a three hour debate on cycling in Parliament. All well and good but if politicians think cycling is so incredibly dangerous will they clamp down on the source


of the danger (motor vehicles), or will they ‘protect’ vulnerable road users by forcing them to wear helmets, making it compulsory to sport hi-viz jackets and restrict the use of bicycles to cycle paths that, largely, don’t exist and when they do exist are currently as about much use as chocolate tea-pots? Naturally, the easy option, that would be supported by the majority of voters, is the latter. But it’s not just cyclists that need protecting from speeding traffic, it’s pedestrians and all other road users, too, including motorists. If MPs want to do something


for cyclists, brilliant. But if that doesn’t involve a massive clamp- down on motorised traffic it will come to naught. Despite what MPs say I won’t be convinced until I see the colour of their money. We’ve been here before. In the ‘90s Labour and the Conservatives fought over who could be the most cycle-friendly, but bugger all got done. Beware politicians who promise they’ll make conditions in this country better for cyclists. The Times may have kick-started a debate on cycle safety – an issue dear to my heart – but dangerising cycling will have scared many off their bikes. Now, thundering trucks


passing within inches also scares people off bikes, but will UK politicians take a long-term view on the transport problems we face and do what really needs to be done – to restrain motorised traffic?


It will take politicians with balls of steel to go against the wishes of the motorised majority. And by dangerising cycling – and walking – we run the risk of making even more people take to car. This is not good for health, the environment, city mobility, or the bicycle trade.


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Wondering what the Twitterati have been up to this month? Look no further...


Product description of the week goes to @BikeBizOnline


who described Bont’s new cycling footwear as “some sort of disco dancing shoes” :-)


@prendas


Expo is all packed away for another year. Looks like we had


a lot more visitors compared to 2011. Really glad so many of you could make it.


@fisher_outdoor


Up far to early in the morning. Off to Madison #Icebike and


Fisher’s expo to look at shiny stuff. Desperately need coffee! @cycleworks


@UKmadison clothing getting very strong reception @IceBike


& starting to snap at the heels of the big A & E. lots more to come in that dept!


@Dominiclangan


Someone just pointed out to us that 2012 is Raleigh's


875th year in dog years! @RaleighBikes_UK


TWEET


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