Leatherhead driving instructor wants cycling banned on A24

How much of the road network does the motor-car want to dominate? Or take exclusive possession of?

£bns, and miles and miles of motorway, in reality it's most rural A roads most of the time and you hear a lot of grumbling about the B and C roads too.

Haven't ridden that road in 20 years since moving out of London, but I recall clubmates havjng a few run ins along there. My friend who lives in Ashstead once saw a motorcyclist killed on the southbound carriageway. Both the victim and the car that hit him were exceeding the speed limit. As ever it's not the road that's dangerous, just the idiots who drive along it.

If he stopped teaching people how to drive then there would be less cars on the road and consequently the roads would be safer

What a prick...

Some good names on the list though 

I am fairly sure that this is a non starter, as the banning of cyclists from the carriageway would require DfT / Secretary of State approval for implementation, it is not a measure they can just 'put in'.

Perhaps the roundabout at the bottom of the High Street should be renamed to the Martin Davies Roundabout (as it has a massive cock on it).

I know and cycle this area often.

The comments above as to the description are accurate. The north-bound path after Denbies is fair, apart from flooding and mud in the winter. the Council do sweep it (mechanically) from time to time. The underpass is terrible - muddy, slippery and although there has been recent resurfacing the bars to prevent cycling remain. Crossing the road is a popular route option for those cycling between Ranmore and Box Hill.

Personally I never ride on the A24 itself as the cycle paths are sufficient, in my opinion.

But what amazes me is that this bloke is a driving instructor? The type of person who should be teaching new drivers tolerance and patience towards ALL road users, who are all equally entitled to use the road. The 50 sign is a limit not a target! This is the sort of person who probably moans about the cost of fuel, not realising that adjusting his driving style would save him a fortune. 

Now I'm not saying anyone should contact him. 

However, http://www.martindaviesdrivinginstructor.co.uk/

As others have commented, if the speed of motor vehicles is affecting the safety of other road users then clearly the limit needs to be reduced and enforced.

Well.  As a local cyclist, IMHO the man is clearly a fool.

THe stretch of dual carriageway from Leatherhead towards Mickleham  used to be two lanes.  Now it is a single lane, some hatching and an afterthought sort of cycle lane (unmarked).  They recently resurfaced the cars' side but left the rest to deteriorate some more.  While they did the work they left a nice square edge, from which I got two flat tyres.  The cycle path from Mickleham to Burford Bridge is unrideable.  From Burford Bridge to the outskirts of Dorking it's fine (bar a few road crossings and bull-nosed kerbs), except that it dumps you onto a roundabout, blind.  The rest of the route into Dorking is a wannabe, half-hearted cycle lane that disappears when it's needed most.

Going the other way from Dorking, it's non-existent to start, then OK from Denbies as far as Westhumble, until the joke underpass.  From there to Leatherhead, it's OK but floods badly and is muddy in winter - which is also the case for quite a lot of the rest too.

THe dual carriageway itself is wide, open, free from barriers and 50 mph.  As dual carrageways go, it's as safe as they come for a cyclist.  The dangerous bit thereabouts is up the hill to Givons Grove and along towards Ashtead.  As a dangerous dual carriageway, I offer the 40 mph A316 near Twickenham - shame about the cycle path there too (the pavement with a blue shared use sign).

The man's an arse, knows nothing and doesn't even know that properly.  There is seldom enough traffic on the road to make passing with stacks of room a problem in any way.  As a matter of policy, howver, the  local club doesn't ride down the road in club kit as it antagonises the knuckle-draggers. 

If this guy was really concerned with the safety of cyclists, he would have started a petition to reduce the speed limit to 30mph, with cameras every 500m.  But let's face it, he isn't interested in the risks cyclists face every day on the road because he wants to travel faster than is safe for them, he just wants them out of the way.

To be honest, it is pretty scary.

Yes that underpass is hideous and very slippery. I've been through it a few times and you need to dismount to go through it.

Let's just ban cars from that stretch of the A24. That would make as much sense. The guy is  a numpty.

It seems to me that driving instructors are totally and utterly unaware of Highway Code rules 61 and 163.

"One particularly dangerous section is when cyclists don't use the underpass and cross two lanes of 50mph traffic to turn right....".

Though, of course, that sign with "50" in a circle indicates a maximum, not a minimum, speed. Is this guy actually a qualified driving instructor??!

"It's not necessarily about me having a problem with cyclists... The whole issue for me is that cyclists don't use the cycle paths"
Hmmm, seems legit.
If it was actually about cyclist safety, he'd be petitioning for motorised vehicles to be banned from the "dangerous" stretch of road.

Maybe take 1 lane of the dual carriageway and turn it into a protected bike lane. Leaving the apparently unfit for purpose existing cycle path for walkers and horse riders?

Perhaps reduce the speed limit approaching the roundabout and enforce that instead...?

The cycle lane from the outskirts of Dorking to Burford Bridge is good in parts. But not - as noted - at junctions, and not between the Ranmore Common and Box Hill junctions, which is the stretch probably most-used by cyclists and where right turns would occur.

I've signed with a constructively critical name. Perhaps we could draft a short essay and paste it in one 'name' at a time..?

"One particularly dangerous section is when cyclists don't use the underpass and cross two lanes of 50mph traffic to turn right at the Burford Bridge roundabout to go up Box Hill"

If he means the left turn at the end of Westhumble Street onto the A24 - I've used that underpass once in 17 years, never again, it is (or it was) unsuitable for a road bike. Narrow, muddy, right angle with a bar across it from memory.

That's also a (relatively?) safe place to cross the A24 because there is a right turn lane (to turn right and go up Box Hill) you can scoot straight into. So you have to cross 2 lanes (assume 20ft/6.1m) to safety. If I have my maths right (and that's a big if), one should be able to get across from a standing start on the corner of Westhumble Street to the safety of the right turn lane on the A24 (at a conservative 8km/h it will take you 2.7 seconds; if you get a move on at 15km/h it will take you c.1.5 seconds) in the time it takes a car travelling at 50mph to travel 60m. (Although I bet a very large proportion of motorists are exceeding the speed limit at that point, so call it 80m for arguments' sake). From that corner you have a very clear view back down the A24 toward Dorking. Maybe I am there at the wrong time of day but I've never had a problem.

It is a truth universally ignored by motorists that a road without them is safe.  There is no such thing as a dangerous road only dangerous user of the road.

The simple solution to Mr Davies problem is for him to do his job better and teach people how to use the road rather than make a car go and stop.

Duty served.

Whilst I am aware there are exceptions, driving instructors are a pretty reactionary bunch, prone to bouts of self-importance and often willing to take the line of least resistance.  This shortsighted and ill conceived motion does nothing to improve my opinion.