Cat & Fiddle once again tops list of Britain's most persistently dangerous roads (+Video)

I used to cycle the Cat and Fiddle most weekends a few years back before I moved away to uni, and never had a problem. The only thing vaguely scary was the large trucks going past, not so much motorcycles. Oh, and the people in the pub giving me evils for wearing lycra and drinking water..

Having watched the video clip I can say the rider does stuff I wouldn't. He crosses unbroken lines, overtakes on a blind bend, pops a wheelie and repeatedly rides way too close to vehicles in front. It seems as if the red mist descends and he throws caution to the winds, becoming more extreme as he goes. On the other hand, the camera is low-mounted so the speed may not be as high as appears. I'd say it's still too fast for his skills though, judging by the overtaking for instance and his line through the corners wasn't that good quite a lot of the time either. I do know that road, believe me. He started from the Macclesfield end but didn't ride the whole route to Buxton before returning incidentally. Interestingly the clip shows how poor the surface is in many spots. I saw the council's claims with regard to the resurfacing but if you ask me, it needs doing again and properly this time. When I was there last week some strips of the surface were in very poor condition and a lot of the anti skid surface has been worn away so the council's claims over the resurfacing are simply not true. I expect that like on so much of the UK road network, the surfacing work was done at the lowest possible cost, using antiquated techniques and poor methodology.

jova - not a contentious question in my book. No, I don't think the safety measures have made a blind bit of difference to the speed motorcycle riders and performance car drivers attain on the route. To be honest, the safety measures that are there are minimal and the local authority could do a good deal more using comparatively low cost, available technology that has been proven in other European countries where the safety of road users is taken rather more seriously in comparison with the laissez fair British approach. Those wanting to push the envelope have done so regardless for years. Speeds have increased as vehicle technology has improved. The A537 has become very well known in motorcycling terms as a road to test skills. I strongly believe the continued increase in biker fatality rates is directly linked to the increased numbers of inexperienced older riders buying very high performance motorcycles for the first time. The Direct Access scheme for people wanting to enter motorcycling and ride large and powerful motorcycles immediately after passing their test is in my mind a safety disaster and represents a major part of the problem - it encourges riders to believe they have the skills. A modern high performance motorcycle has very high performance indeed, with a power to weigh ratio greater than that of a Bugatti Veyron for isntance, and at a mere fraction of the cost. At the moment I have no way of proving my theory, other than by what I've seen. However I did discuss the subject of such inexperienced riders with an expert in the field, who is himself a motorbike racer and he said he agreed and is working on research at the moment. The thing that concerns me about the reporting over the A537 is that nowhere has this factor of inexperienced riders on high performance motorcycles been discussed. It concerns me as I fear the Department for Transport will, with the lack of suitable data, introduce blanket restrictions on all motorcyclists that will affect people like me who do not ride at excessive speeds on public roads, while failing to directly address the problem of those who do, and specifically the many inexperience bikers who think having a Direct Access pass is a passport to riding a powerful bike at speed safely on a public road.

The issue of speed cameras provides a good comparison. These were introduced to reduce vehicle speeds across the road network as a cheap way of reducing policing/enforcement while addressing safety. They haven't worked. This is because speed cameras cannot detect unsafe vehicles, drivers under the influence of drink or drugs, people tailgating, or many other issues that affect road safety. Another comparison would be with calls for cyclists being required to wear helmets - there is no evidence that doing so will boost safety and in fact there is some research to suggest the contrary.

Just a point though, how many collisions are there between cyclists and motorcyclists in the Derbyshire Peaks? I haven't seen figures for these but I have for the entire UK road network and the numbers are very low indeed. With regard to the real threat to cyclists in the Derbyshire Peaks or anywhere in the UK for that matter, HGVs, white van man and careless car drivers (and BMW owners in particular) are the real threat.

I'd be curious how many experienced motorcycling/cycling/car driving people would agree with me.

To those who know the Cat & Fiddle well, a contentious question.

Do you think that the safety measures/resurfacing etc have made the road safer; i.e. you're not so likely to injure yourself if you come off while travelling at a speed inappropriate for the conditions, or have they made it more dangerous in that drivers/riders take more risks because they think they'll get away with it?

I know the Cat and Fiddle A537 fairly well and was there last week. Yes it is a challenge. I note that the piece does not mention the large numbers of heavy tipper trucks going to and from the many quarries in the area. One time I do remember seeing a tipper truck being driven at and most probably well beyond the speed limit along the A537, which I'm sure you can imagine left no margin for error by its driver or other road users. There are quite a few collisions on the route, which the piece also does not mention. realeased police figures don't give details of these but I imagine several would involve tipper trucks.

It's a road to treat with caution for sure. I've ridden my Ducati along there many times and while I don't hang about, I don't push my bike anywhere near its limits as I know my limits as a rider. I'd be interested to know how many of the people who are killed on motorcycles on that route are people who have recently returned to riding bikes or have recently passed their test and gone out and bought a high performance sports bike that they ride at weekends only. I see quite a few of these people on the road and their riding skills are very obviously lacking in many instances - a quick glance at the rear tyre will reveal how much unworn tyre there is and it gives you a rough and ready indication as to the rider's skill level. I've done a few track days by the way and I tend to agree that the racetrack is the best place for superfast motorcycle riding. I enjoy riding a high performance motorcycle but that doesn't mean I hammer around everywhere I go, see the need to or believe that doing so is safe. Then again I've been riding for over 25 years and clock a reasonable annual mileage mostly by commuting so I don't fall into the category of inexperienced weekend rider with a newly acquired hyperbike he/she can barely control.

As to the safety measures on the route there are plenty more that could be installed, particularly crash cushions around some of the dry stone walls or rock faces.

I drove it by car this time and while I did want to take a bicycle, I simply didn't have the space.

I had the displeasure of doing an Audax in Sth Derbyshire recently - motorbikes were a complete nightmare, really dangerous. Part of the driving test should be to stand still while having a motorbike whizz past you at 80 mph and miss you by three feet. Yeah, they are so 'in control'.

3 points:

Yes I have owned MBikes so I get the thrill.
Reminds me how walkers see US out on the trail!
He who rides by the wall shall die by the wall - go to a track instead...

Rant over.

Quote ".......supporting the theory that it’s not necessarily the road itself that is dangerous, but the person riding or driving it."

At last a bit of commonsense. Roads are not dangerous, it's the way that drivers/riders misuse them and ignore the needs of other road users that make them so.

I know the piece of A285 very well. It looks flat and straight but goes through a number of dips and subtle kinks, which along with the side roads and un-marked turnings add to the risk.

don't usually have a problem but then is either very early or very late when we hit the fiddle, I wouldn't like to do it during the day. not that you have to as there are much nicer/harder ways to the top.