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Pollution is twice as deadly as roads

April 18th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in environmental - (0 Comments)

Exhaust fumes are twice as deadly as roads, study claims – Telegraph.

In a study reviewing pollution and causes of death in the UK, they have found that more people die as a result of pollution than die on the roads:

More than 5,000 people die prematurely from conditions like lung cancer and heart disease because of emissions, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Exhaust from aeroplanes cause a further 2,000 deaths annually while emissions from the energy and industrial sectors and pollution originating from Europe bring the overall total up to 19,000 deaths per year in Britain.

In contrast official figures state that 1,850 people were killed as a result of road accidents in 2010.

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Bicycle Advanced stop box proposed

April 18th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in Advocacy | bike safety | Transport | Transport Department - (1 Comments)

After being hit by a taxi, Anthony has been discussing with Transport Department about installing an Advanced Stop box for cyclists on southbound Waterloo Road at the junction with Wylie Road.

Advanced Stop Lines/Boxes are used around the world, giving cyclists a safe and visible place to stop and wait at traffic lights, whilst having a minimal effect on space for cars and other vehicles. ASL’s have made a large impact in London in particular where they are installed in large numbers. It is time for Hong Kong to embrace the bicycle as a feasible mode of transport and enable it with simple measures like these.

The proposed stop box is in the centre of the photo on the left, between the two drains, taking up no existing traffic waiting space whilst enabling cyclists to wait for the traffic lights in safety.

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Vulnerable Road users English on Vimeo

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in Advocacy | bike safety - (0 Comments)

a new advert in Ireland reminding car drivers to watch out for vulnerable road users….

 

Vulnerable Road users English on Vimeo.

10 common questions about cycling – debunked

April 13th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in bike safety | general cycling | touring - (0 Comments)

interesting debunking of the 10 biggest questions people have about cycling… 10 common questions.

The Health Impact of Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Laws

April 11th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in general cycling | helmets | law - (0 Comments)

Another new study out again finds that mandatory helmet use has a negative impact on public health. We are lucky that common sense has won on this subject, but I hope that other countries around the world will be able to question again their own mandatory helmet laws and fully understand the consequences.

This article seeks to answer the question whether mandatory bicycle helmet laws deliver a net societal health benefit. The question is addressed using a simple model. The model recognizes a single health benefit—reduced head injuries—and a single health cost—increased morbidity due to foregone exercise from reduced cycling. Using estimates suggested in the literature on the effectiveness of helmets, the health benefits of cycling, head injury rates, and reductions in cycling leads to the following conclusions. In jurisdictions where cycling is safe, a helmet law is likely to have a large unintended negative health impact. In jurisdictions where cycling is relatively unsafe, helmets will do little to make it safer and a helmet law, under relatively extreme assumptions, may make a small positive contribution to net societal health. The model serves to focus the mandatory bicycle helmet law debate on overall health.

More Cycling: Good for Everyone — Not Just Cyclists

April 5th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in Advocacy | cycle tracks | environmental | Transport - (0 Comments)

Extracted from the excellent Streetsblog website.

Next time you’re just minding your own business, riding your bike, and someone drives by and shouts something at you, perhaps the best reply is to smile, wave, and say “you’re welcome.”

As Jay Walljasper at Shareable Cities reminds us today, more bicycling is good news for everyone — not just cyclists:

Even if you will never ride a bike in your life, you still see benefits from increased levels of biking. More bicyclists mean less congestion in the streets and less need for expensive road projects that divert government money from other important problems. Off-road paths, bike lanes, sidewalks and other bike and ped improvements cost a fraction of what it takes to widen streets and highways. It’s proven that bicycling and walking increase people’s health and reduce obesity, which will translate into huge cost savings for government and a boost for our economy.

Policies that are good for bicyclists actually benefit everyone on the streets. Good conditions for bicycling also create good conditions for pedestrians. And what makes the streets safer for bikes, also makes them safer for motorists.

Higher gas prices (which have topped four bucks for the third time in four years) means more Americans are looking for other ways to get around. Bikes offer people more choices in transportation. This is especially true for people whose communities are not well served by mass transportation or where distances are too far to walk to work or shopping.

Kinda ironic that these are the activities that get targeted as “money wasters” by most governments around the world.

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Cycling is now part of core Government policy

March 31st, 2012 | Posted by wheeliefine in law | Transport | Transport Department - (0 Comments)

.. in the UK.

Already the location of many exciting local and national cycling initiatives, the United Kingdom is taking further steps to ensure that cycling maintains a central role in development across the country.  The transport minister responsible for cycling (sigh .. here in Hong Kong, our government won’t even acknowledge that cycling *is* transport) has emphasised that cycling is “mainstream transport policy” and is coordinating the integration of cycling-enabled environment in all areas.

Read all about it here.

Time to get out on the bike…!

March 29th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in fun | general cycling - (0 Comments)

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Cyclists not the cause of accidents

March 28th, 2012 | Posted by wheeliefine in bike safety | law - (0 Comments)

While drivers and bureaucrats like to imagine that cyclists have accidents because they ride carelessly, eg. were ‘weaving’, or ‘turned in front’ of them, the reality is very different.

Government statistics show that, among Hong Kong cyclists involved in accidents, the vast majority (84%) were going straight ahead with priority.  Other road users involved in accidents were more than twice as likely (35% v 16%) to be making a manoeuvre (eg. turning, overtaking or changing lanes), suggesting that they were inattentive or the move was improper.

We also note that overtaking on the near side was no more likely than average to be a factor in a bike accident.

Check out the data for yourself.

STAY BACK behind dangerous lorries

March 27th, 2012 | Posted by Nick Andrew in Advocacy | bike safety | Transport | Transport Department - (0 Comments)

This is extracted from a recent post on the excellent London Cycling Campaign website.

A short, sharp message from Transport for London headlines their latest PR campaign warning about the danger of HGV lorries.

Thousands of handlebar leaflets are being put on bikes all over London and there will be posters re-enforcing the message.

The posters give a very quick warning to all cyclists. Beware of all lorries, staying behind is the safest option.

Being hit by a large lorry is thankfully rare but always serious and more likely to be fatal than any other crash. If there is a junction nearby, don’t try to overtake as lorries turn quickly, cutting across your path.

TfL’s website gives more safety tips:

Cycle sensibly and assertively to help yourself stay safe, especially at traffic lights and junctions.

  • Recognise that lorry drivers may not be able to see you
  • Never cycle up the left side of a lorry stopped at a junction
  • Look out for lorries turning left from beside or behind you
  • Don’t stop too close to the front of a stopped lorry and stay away from the lorry’s front near side. If a lorry comes up behind you, move forward enough to ensure you are in the driver’s field of vision
  • Take up a visible position at lights or advanced stop lines: three metres out in front and not by the left kerb or very close to the lorry
  • Behind a lorry is often the safest place to be. When you need to overtake a large lorry, do so on the right-hand side, so that the driver can see you

TfL links to London Cycling Campaign’s advice for staying out of the lorry risk zone.

They also link to our Safer Cycling Code and the See Me, Save Me campaign for reducing lorry danger.

Lorry Drivers also targeted

Transport for London is keen to point out that it is also targeting lorry drivers. - The HK Government does not even target car drivers, but it would be a great and necessary step for them to also target lorry drivers.

There are press campaigns in the truckers’ magazines, as well as a webpage for drivers.

They will be putting on information events at channel ports and lorry service areas, aimed at drivers heading for London. - This kind of informational event is perfectly possible on Hong Kong also, around the container ports and at the road crossings from mainland china.

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