- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Alan Sugar with his custom Pinarello (image via Twitter).jpgLord Sugar says 99 per cent of cycling 'accidents' in London could be avoided with more ‘situational awareness’ from cyclists
Lord Sugar has said that 99 per cent of London road traffic incidents involving cyclists could have been avoided if the victims had shown more ‘situational awareness’. The comments came as part of an interview with LBC in which he reiterated complaints about the traffic disruption caused by Cycle Superhighway construction works.
Earlier this week, Sugar – a keen cyclist who recently picked up a new custom Pinarello – suggested that Mayor of London Boris Johnson needed ‘a whack’ after he found himself sitting in traffic caused by Cycle Superhighway construction work on Lower Thames Street.
Speaking on LBC, Sugar challenged Boris to join him in his car for a morning commute to see for himself what the journey was like.
“I don’t know who drafted the construction of this thing in Lower Thames Street, but they need a good slapping,” said Sugar. “I think Boris himself needs to come to my house one Monday morning and we’ll drive in, okay, and he’ll be pulling his blond hair out by the time we get anywhere near Westminster.”
When it was put to Sugar that the Cycle Superhighway would help save the lives of fellow cyclists, Sugar said this was not the way to achieve that.
“The way to stop that is what I call ‘situation awareness’ and I say this with the greatest respect to the cyclists and to those that have been injured, and that is that you cannot cycle in the centre of London without being aware of the dangers.
“I have a very simple principle when I’m on my bike. Any car in front of me, any car on the left or on the right is going to kill me. It’s as simple as that. Any truck that is parked by traffic lights, I will not go down the inside lane of it. I will stay behind it and be patient because it’s going to kill me.
“And as long as you have that philosophy when you’re riding your bike in central London, I think that 99 per cent of the accidents that occurred would have been avoided.”
Almost as if Sugar the driver and Sugar the cyclist were different people, he then appeared to laud dedicated cycle paths when asked whether cyclists should be ordered to use them.
“I cycle a lot in France, for example, and I have to say that a dedicated cycle path is fantastic. There’s no question of it. It keeps you away from the traffic and you should use it,” he said. “I can’t understand the logic of anyone not using it.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- Gus T 12 min 56 sec ago
Isn't the road the car drivers are pulling on to bi-directional as well, strange how they can see the cars coming from both directions on a bi...
- ktache 24 min 11 sec ago
Is the answer crisps?
- Homebaker 27 min 41 sec ago
Oh you can't block roads, what if I need to drive my elderly aunt to the emergency hospital, and even though there are better routes, I want to go...
- chrisonabike 1 hour 54 min ago
Tier scooters - When visiting Keynsham I found several apparently dumped (not all at once - could have been the same ones? )...
- mdavidford 1 hour 59 min ago
The answer to this is to have no friends.
- Backladder 3 hours 52 min ago
While original sash windows are nice they make it very hard to keep the house warm, we eventually went for upvc double glazed sash window...
- Andrewbanshee 5 hours 16 min ago
As you said the pedals will be hidden anyway. My shoes, 3 pairs of them, have reflective strips on the heel and my winter trousers do too on the...
- Steve K 5 hours 17 min ago
Other drivers only care about disabled people when it gives them a way to object to cycling infrastructure.
- mark1a 13 hours 20 min ago
I'll put you down as a no then.
Add new comment
53 comments
Keen cyclist or not, he's an idiot.
Steady on ..... he's not that bad!
If I've understood his logic correctly, 99% of cycling accidents are caused by cyclists themselves. Glad we've got that one cleared up. Slightly odd thing for a supposedly keen cyclist to say though...
Obviously having functioning brain is no barrier to becoming a billionaire business man.
(And just another reason I will never ever ride a Pinerello as long as I live - truly hideous bike ridden by awful gobshite).
What Lord Sugar is suggesting is what the IAM has been teaching for years, which is managing the risk within your control. Whilst his suggestion seems sensible, the clue is in the name of the IAM. It's considered an advanced level of competency not required of ordinary drivers (unfortunately). So why should it just be a requirement for cyclists?
Another small point is if cyclists are to be at a level which in motorists is regarded as "advanced" before taking to the road, how do they get to this level of competence without first going through any intermediate stage ?
It would be great if instead of spouting the usual victim-blaming bike hate bingo Lord Sugar could actually do something useful to make cycling a perceptibly safer activity that everyone could benefit from. Such as supporting proper infrastructure, for instance. With projected benefit to cost ratios of up to 35:1 being estimated for cycling infrastructure, surely it would make sense to apply the brainpower of his best bods to making it a reality? Think of the returns on your investment!
However, making up daft statistics off the top of his head just makes him look even more stupid following his recent outburst about the superhighway construction works. Or does he have a source for his '99%' figure?
Sadly this guy is a probably a barometer for what the average dim-wit thinks. We can't expect him to make the leap to wondering what it is that puts people off cycling and then join the dots up to think about why congestion is a problem. We can't expect him to thing about the next person on a bike and realise they are not exactly like him. And we definately can't expect him to think of bikes as anythign other than a play-thing.
The trouble is it's worse than that. First off he's clearly not stupid. No-one gave him that money and you need to be smarter than your average bear to make that kind of dough. And he isn't just "street smart". He passed the Civil Service Exam back in the 60s and was a Civil Service Statistician in the Ministry of Education. So he's not a dim wit.
Secondly he is also a cyclist.
So It's worse than you think. He's not thick and he is a cyclist.
#friendly fire
He is ignorant.
Being wealthy doesn't mean you are clever or wise, as Alan Sugar has demonstrated so clearly this week.
It's not really friendly fire because he's not really a cyclist. He's a businessman who collects Pinarellos and occasionally rides one (presumably not in central London).
But he moans about TfL providing cycle infrastructure then adds this:
What a complete arse.
I don't think it's just this comment you are talking about is it?
You are right being wealthy doesn't make you clever or wise. But passing The Civil Service Exam in the 60s to become a statistician does actually make you quite clever. Making and keeping the amount of money he has made makes you both clever and wise.
He isn't ignorant as such. He is a Londoner. He drives in London and he rides a bike. My point is that he isn't ignorant of the facts.
"he's not really a cyclist."
Is this the Islamic State defence? Well he isn't a "real" cyclist he has been corrupted by a perversion of true cycling.
This is the "No True Scotsman" fallacy in reasoning.
No true Scotsman is an informal fallacy, an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion. When faced with a counterexample to a universal claim ("no Scotsman would do such a thing"), rather than denying the counterexample or rejecting the original claim, this fallacy modifies the subject of the assertion to exclude the specific case or others like it by rhetoric, without reference to any specific objective rule ("no true Scotsman would do such a thing").
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman
As it happens he notches up 150 miles a week at the age of 67 (cycling weekly) So if he isn't a cyclist I don't know who the F*** is round here.
"I go out two or three times a week and try to get 150 miles done. A normal ride for me is 50 or 60 miles. Cycling is a great thing for me, and I think it should be a part of every businessman’s life. It’s good to go out for three or four hours and get some fresh air and clear your head. It lets you think things through before making a decision."
Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/lord-sugar-the-big-interview-56149#e...
I disagree, it shows you are shrewd, good with numbers. Wisdom is VERY different; you can be wise without being clever and be clever but not wise.
Are you sure? I would argue that his opinions demonstrate ignorance of the realities of urban cycling. 99% of incidents avoidable with "better situational awareness" by cyclists? C'mon!
I was aware that the phrase "he's not really a cyclist." was open to misinterpretation. But his Mail-esque views are those of non-cyclists who are irritated by them. He has previous. Contradicting the CW piece, I read that he has little time to get out cycling because of work. I seriously doubt he clocks up 150 miles a week since he wastes loads of his time tweeting rubbish, often while his huge
penis extensionlimo is perpetually stuck in a queue.I'd say you don't get to the position he is in without being clever, however he is, as you say, ignorant. He is a cyclist (other posters have given his weekly mileage), but he's not a cycle commuter and as such is ignorant of the challenges facing cycle commuters from motorised vehicles.
The point, Alan, is making bike use accessible for the masses and to stop our streets being crowded out by motor vehicles so there is no space to move. It is not an exercise in 'how do I not die on my bike' although I'm sure everyone appreciates your guidance.
Nail-on-the-head there! Roads for bikes isn't about stopping death!
Maybe, just maybe, he should get out of his car, and he wouldn't have a problem with traffic.
Everything wrong with cycling in the UK. Sunday cyclist lecturing utility riders on safety. And here's a reminder of what Alan Sugar thinks when someone shows him a collision, rather than asking him after he's been stuck in traffic.
https://twitter.com/lord_sugar/status/491672227742748673
It's almost as if he says thngs straight out of the top of his head without considering evidence and data first.
Complete gobshite.
I reckon he has the Rolls following when he cycles so is never aware of the traffic around him.
He's right to have that philosophy. He's wrong on whether the people dying or being seriously injured had it.
How often would you get the tube if you thought that every other passenger was going to kill you? Would it make for a pleasant, calm travelling environment?
ANYONE who drives into central London is an arse.
I drive in to central London 2-3days a week as I regulalry freelance as a BBC cameraman. Unfortunately there is no practical way to carry 100kg of valuable equipment on my bike. I drive conscientiously and pay close attention to vulnerable road users.
Believe me, I see plenty of unnecessry car journeys, such as over-privileged and opinionated businessmen sitting in their chauffeur driven Rolls. When I lived in London I would make every journey in to the centre by bike whenever possible becase I care about the environment, congestion, myself and other commuters.
Why then, when I have no choice but to drive does it make me an arse? I'd say that making sweeping blanket statements makes you the arse...
You're carrying heavy equipment, so you don't have so many options. Mind you, a motorcycle and trailer would do the job.
I attended a transport conference yesterday and there was a very interesting comment from someone at the UK's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). He said a TRL study showed that 38% of car journeys made in London are cyclable. Even if just half of those were switched from car to bicycle, London's congestion would disappear overnight, while the city's pollution levels would also drop.
Of course in Alan's world, the vehicle behind you never presents a problem.....
I would suggest that Boris ought to call him out and invite him for a bike ride but it's probably past time for the honourable gentleman to be put back out to pasture at his retirement home in Florida.
This guy is a total idiot.
God he talks a load of shit, that one.
Pages