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The Beacon School, via StreetView.jpgSurrey school says students can only cycle to school if they fit a number plate to their bikes
Students attending the Beacon School in Banstead were this week informed that they will need number plates on their bikes if they wish to cycle to school.
A letter dated November 13 states that from Monday December 11, all students of the academy school for 11-18 year olds, “will require a cycling permit in the form of a number plate.”
The permit is obtained and issued after students and parents/carers sign a cycling agreement. “The number plate must be attached to the student’s bicycle underneath the seat so that all students can be identified cycling to and from school.”
Students are asked to follow the Highway Code; to take responsibility for the roadworthiness of their bikes; to behave “in a manner which shows them and the school in the best possible light”; and to use bike lights and hi-vis clothing “as appropriate”.
Parents are also advised: “Please note that should a student not ride safely to school or wear a helmet, the school will inform parents and may refuse the student permission to cycle to school in the future. Should a student continue to cycle to school once permission has been revoked the school will lock the bicycle until a parent/carer is available to collect the bicycle.”
The letter begins by listing some of the benefits of cycling to school.
- Improving health through physical activity
- Establishing positive active travel behaviour
- Promoting independence and improving safety awareness
- Reducing congestion, noise and pollution in the community
- Reducing environmental impact of the journey to school
Headteacher Keith Batchelor, who described himself as “a very slow recreational cyclist,” told road.cc:
“I am extremely positive about the role of cycling and the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling. I have seen number plate systems be highly effective in a number of schools which support students to cycle safely to school.
“The system will allow us to target cycle training and safety awareness sessions to our students, to reward good and safe cycling by giving members of the community a way to give us feedback about how our students are using the roads locally. As well as helping us to discuss with students any occasions where their cycling may not meet our expectations.
“Alongside this we are also expecting students to wear helmets, be visible, use lights and ride bikes that are road safe.
“We live in a beautiful area for cycling but also the roads are extremely busy, with the school being next to the A217 which links the M25 with south London. Our refined policy is there to promote safe cycling so that our students can be active lifelong riders.”
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.
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138 comments
I thought UK schools were strapped for cash? Why would they spent resources on something that does not make any sense. Unless of course they charge pupils to get those registrations.
I'm all for it after chatting with nbrus about what winds drivers up.
I propose the nbrus number plate system. Each number plate is 3m wide and fixed to the seatpost, the numberplate can be LEDs confirming the subject of the chat, school children to ride side by side for safety.
Sorted.
I've emailed Cycling UK directly regarding this.
.
outrage.jpg
Is 666 free?
Don't be silly, already taken by the headmaster.
I'm betting the local residents near the school have been complaining about the behaviour of students riding to and from school and have requested (demanded) some way of identifing a rider and being able to report them.
I doubt the school as thought through any reporting system properly wrt the need for supporting evidence, I can see it ending up as residents word against a students.
I live near there and there are a load of knob head drivers in that area. Seems these 'safety measures' are to look out for the children but do nothing to address the irresponsible drivers.
Not sure if this has been asked, but what do these number plates look like and who decides what is written on them?
There's a good article from Cycling UK on how to deal with such anti-cycling policies.
https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/campaigns-guide/how-to-encourage-cycling-schools-anti-cycling-policies
"Schools do not have any legal right to ban cycling to and from their premises.
However, schools can discourage cycling through letters to parents or anti-cycling statements at assemblies and in policies and newsletters etc.. Schools can also ban bicycles from school grounds or refuse to supply cycle parking, which in many cases creates a de facto ban."
Well I know the A217 and it a rat route. But the head would do a lot better to take parents driving their kids to school to task. On my commute to work I pass a very successful grammar school that's in the top 20 in the UK. It's of note how many of the high achieving parents of these kids are happy to park their cars on the double yellow lines outside the school, often pulling up onto the pavements as well. And it's of note how many of them are in high end 4x4s. It is a cliche but the parents in BMWs, Audis and expensive 4x4s do seem to drive with far less consideration for others or for the fact that they're breaking traffic laws. Considering that they're outside the school, you'd think they'd have the sense to put their phones away too. I do wonder if schools should consider enforcing rules about drop-off points for those parents driving their offspring to school. Certainly on my commute, preventing parents from blocking the narrow road when they park up on double yellow lines would improve traffic flow and probably safety as well.
This is truly horrid, one step forward for the the UK to become a cycling nation by actually getting kids to cycle to school and two steps back by regulation from the luddites driving cars.
Whoever came up with this is UTTER SCUM in my book. They probably cited Charlie Alliston in the case brought forward to do this.
To my mind, there are some things that I think could be good about this, and some things that are not quite right.
Possible Advantages:
At the School my daughter attends, there is a problem with abandoned bikes taking up bike shed space, a licence would enable traceability
Could stop anti-social behaviour immediately outside of school and assist in the reporting of bullies?
Depending on how robust and secured the plates are, could deter bike thieves
Could be used to highlight cycling proficiency issues and address them quickly by incorporating it into training to make better cyclists of the future
If the same rules are going to be applied for the cars that drive into the school grounds to drop pupils off then the accountability for better road users is to be applauded.
Potential Pitfalls:
The school has no authority to dictate how the pupils get to school, as long as their uniform is covered and their bikes locked outside the school grounds they have no control.
Why are pupils subjected to this but no mentions of teachers?
Barriers to active travel are more likely to prevent it rather than enable it
I doubt that the same is going to be leveled at the car commuters dropping pupils off
The same is already required of motorists, as all cars are required to have a licence plate.
What it certainly does not do is encourage safe driving and make the roads safer.
Not at all. The school does not require the children to get school number plates for their parents' cars. Nor, I imagine, does it have a stated policy that if the car is driven unsafely (or the child does not wear their seatbelt / car helmet) that they will not be allowed to be driven to school. So, no, motorists are not required to do the same.
So if the parent does not drive safely to school or wear a seatbelt, the school will inform the authorities and may refuse the parent permission to drive to school in the future?
That would be the equivalent of:
"Please note that should a student not ride safely to school or wear a helmet, the school will inform parents and may refuse the student permission to cycle to school in the future. Should a student continue to cycle to school once permission has been revoked the school will lock the bicycle until a parent/carer is available to collect the bicycle."
The plate is just a part of the issue
How can they enforce something that isn't a legal requirement? I'd tell them where to shove the number plate!!! I could understand if they were promoting the wearing of helmets as that's a safety matter
When I was at school, every bike had a number on it - painted on the mudguard, even if it was only a tiny mudguard, because those were compulsory too. Nearly everyone had a bike. There were giant bike sheds with numbered racks. Lost bikes were easily reunited with their owners and, after a fashion, miscreants could be tracked down and dealt with - but they could also be traced by virtue of their faces.
This was in the late 70's.
Progress - what will they think of next?
In the 70s, the car was still probably seen as the future of transport, but they weren't as ubiquitous as today. We didn't have decades of knowledge of global warming, congestion, understanding of pollution killing 40,000 people each year, and perspective regarding alternative approaches like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Every class had its 'fat kid'; now a third of all kids are obese.
As such, the bike could have been viewed as something to control.
But today, with all of the understanding we have since the 70s, gained while Keith Batchelor has been alive, imposing something like this is more sinister and spectacularly missing the bigger picture. If Batchelor was my kids' headmaster I'd be discussing his priorities and misunderstanding of facts with him and the governors.
" I have seen number plate systems be highly effective in a number of schools"
I call BS. Anyone know of another example, anywhere?
Yes, another school in Surrey, the Howard of Effingham, has made the kids use number plates for about thirty years. That's probably what they were thinking of, though if it's that effective I'm not sure why it took them so long to copy it.
Zero is a number.
I wonder what kind of 4x4 tank Headteacher Keith Batchelor drives? And does he have a rule for all pupils, whatever method of transport, to wear a helmet? After all, pedestrians have the same risk per mile travelled as cyclists, and there are many more head injuries to car occupants than cyclists.
No? Effing hypocrite.
He's a professional cyclist, rides for Sky. Maybe.
https://twitter.com/batchelor1666
Personal harrasment might not be wise
Depressing that an actual cyclist thinks this might be a good idea though.
Maybe it's just an 'appeasement' to some local whiners. Doesn't excuse it though.
Oh god. He's one Of Them: a cyclist who doesn't get it; a car apologist who thinks that because they ride a bike, they can't possibly be on Their side.
Occasionally known as a Willo.
The helmet and glasses combo tell you how often he's out on a bike!
Well there's a picture of how to wear a helmet, but not one of his bike, so we don't know if it's got number plates. Bet it hasn't.
Is this one of these schools that wash their hands of bullying outside of the school because it's "not on their property"?
His rules are entirely unenforceable.
What the actual fuck?
This was going to be my exact comment.
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