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cyclists_stay_awesome_bell.jpgNew Forest MP calls for mandatory bike bells
Conservative MP Julian Lewis says that cyclists are putting pedestrians at risk “because they can’t be bothered to fit a bell.” The New Forest East MP says all cyclists should be obliged to have one fitted. (The road.cc ‘stay awesome’ bell is a tenner, by the way.)
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Lewis – who in 2014 called for regulation of sportives and limits on numbers of participants – said: “Speeding cyclists on rural roads in the New Forest are putting residents and other pedestrians at risk, simply because they cannot be bothered to fit a bell on their bikes so that they can warn pedestrians of their approach.
“When I wrote to a Transport Minister about this issue 18 months ago, he replied: ‘Through rule 66 of the Highway Code we recommend that a bell is fitted to a bicycle and used as necessary. Under current regulations the cyclist is not compelled to keep the bell fitted after the bicycle has been purchased. We have no plans to make bells compulsory as this would be difficult to enforce.’”
Lewis described the reply as “insipid” and asked for a statement from the government so that his constituents could “go about their business without fear of being mown down by silent road cyclists?”
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom urged Mr Lewis to call a Commons debate on the issue.
In 2011, Leadsom used the ten-minute rule to introduce a Dangerous and Reckless Cycling (Offences) Bill, which among other things called for the introduction of a new offence of causing death by dangerous cycling, with a proposed maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
Part of the motivation for the bill was the case of 17-year-old Rhiannon Bennett, who died from head injuries following a collision with a cyclist in Buckingham in 2008.
The cyclist in that case was fined £2,200 after being convicted of dangerous cycling, although a police officer involved in the case told the BBC that officers believed the teenager was standing on the road, rather than the pavement, when the collision took place.
Responding to Lewis’s comments, Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, said: "Mr Lewis does seem rather selective with his road safety concerns. Back in 2014 he spoke out in a Westminster debate to warn about the danger cyclists presented to livestock in the New Forest, ignoring the evidence showing there had been no recorded instances of an animal killed or injured in an incident involving a cyclist in 15 years, but numerous incidents involving motor vehicles.
"This time it's speeding cyclists without bells that concerns him, but not a word about speeding drivers or the evidence about what presents the greatest risk.
"If Mr Lewis is truly concerned about road safety in the New Forest he could focus his attention on the collision blackspot in his own constituency, the unsafe junction at Ipley Cross, where cyclists Kieran Dix and Mark Brummell have both lost their lives in recent years, with several other collisions reported to the police."
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
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What I find most amazing is that they didn't use this an opportunity to encourage drivers to check their vision and get an eye test. I was waiting...
- Simon E 45 min 39 sec ago
Three further incidents this week. What a bonanza!...
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The Cugel I knew typically prevailed on others to prepare food. But I was always curious about the porridge of drist and raisins enjoyed on the...
- Freddy56 1 hour 41 min ago
"It'd appear the sportive organizer is particularly uncaring"...
- kingleo 1 hour 54 min ago
Cyclists have been riding in Bister for about 150 years, and now all of a sudden they are a great danger to pedestrians.
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I didn't remove the sound because I didn't think that it mattered - quite clearly the swearing was in reaction to an act of frankly horrid...
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Know how the limiter screws on your derailleur work and use the right ones to keep chain on a manageable cog at the back and/or chainring at the...
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Front wheel trued and tensioned last night. I think it took me well over an hour.
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From the article above.
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74 comments
"Wear a helmet!"
"Wear hi-vis!"
"Get in the cycle lane!" (bizarrely, often twinned with "Cycle lanes cause air pollution!")
"Buy insurance!"
"Pay road tax!"
"Display a registration number!"
And now - "Get a bell!"
These people won't rest until riding a bike itself requires adherence to so many regulations that people don't bother.
" get a 650b bike" - the industry.
Every year about 40 ponies are killed by private cars in the new forest. About 10 cattle and many other animals are also killed.
Not long ago an ambulance driver and a patient were both killed by another motor vehicle in the New Forest too.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315206/Paramedic-elderly-patient-die-New-Forest-ambulance-crash-car-driver-arrested.html
Maybe Lewis could actually pay some attention to the dangerous poison death cages that zoom around the New Forest putting people and animals in danger instead of picking on bike riders.
http://www.verderers.org.uk/roadaccs.pdf
article-2315206-197fb5c1000005dc-974_634x3661.jpg
Conservative MP Julian Lewis says that pedestrians are putting cyclists at risk “because they can’t be bothered to use their eyes.” The New Forest East MP says all pedestrians should be obliged to have eyes open.
FTFH
As the summer is here a few week early for once I've been out on the gravel tracks around the River Mersey. I don't use a bell but have a rather loud freewheel. I often find small groups or even couples managing to walk in a fashion that they take up a 3 meter wide pathway. In the past I've found using a bell is an excuse not to have to slow down, and can cause people to panic and change direction in the oddest ways.
The levels of passive aggressive attitude from strollers and dog walkers is extraordinary, some of them are grabbing their already motionless dogs as I trundle by as if I am suddenly going to crush their baby with an anvil. I've had a few middle aged women mutter "Something, something, Bells." Presumably they are talking about the whisky they will be having later as they seemed to hear me fine. When I do manage to get close enough they they haven't noticed, a polite "Excuse me" normally works.
I really don't recognise this "Mown down by rogue cyclists" bit. I am not going to intentionally crash into a pedestrian. I would get hurt myself as I don't wear a two tonne metal box as protection. How many people called Margaret are being hit by these rogues, or is it just a phantom fear talking? Statistics please.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Whilst I'm on about these towpaths, the very same demographic when riding a bike seem to have no awareness of what to do when passing others. I've been merrily cycling along a towpath, when I see someone approaching on a bike so I crab left a bit, they then do the same, I go a bit further left. A couple of times I've snapped back right at the last moment, but there isn't always time for that, so all of a sudden we are both at a dead stop on the left of the path. I know it might be fear of being too close to the edge, but I've had this happen on normal coutry paths with no canalside. Me "What are you doing? Pass on the left." Margaret, "Miserable Bastard." Pass on the left, like its a road, its not rocket science.
I have a bell, it's fun! When the hammer is down and I can't breathe it can be difficult to communicate to other riders on club runs. It's difficult to do morse code with a bike bell so I developed my own system that only uses 'dings'.
25 dings = slow down
26 dings = speed up
27 dings = disregard the last message
28 dings = my finger is getting tired
29 dings = car back
30 dings = car up
...etc
My clubmates 'love' it when I'm out LOL. I can tell from the way they're always waving at me and playfully trying to get my bell/hit me.
On a (slightly) more serious note; for pedestrians I've found that my WI ENO 'Trials' freewheel is far more useful for alerting them to my presence, sounds like a swarm of angry bees :-P Another similar way to get their attention is with a turbospoke. Sadly the build quality might not be so good because after we went into a cafe on a club run, I came out to find that it had completely mysteriously broken.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rj...
I can attest to his liberal use of his bike bell but not that his club mates “love it”
If only cyclists themselves had some sort of built in noise generating device, they could literally open an “airway” and emit a few decibels of sound as simply as breathing, alerting others of their presence without ever needing to reach for a bell
I think that would work quite well, especially when paired with the pedestrians' own safety system of rotatirotating the hean occasionally and using a couple of things called eyes.
This is very often seen as a sign of aggression unfortunately. No matter how cheerily you say 'Hello'!
Actually, the most effective warning I use is a pair of poorly setup cantilever brakes. A sound no one can ignore.
No need to fart! You could just shout.
Bells are negated by most pedestrians looking at phones and/or being plugged in.
This x 1000!! (though I'd also add other cyclists to this)
People are so unaware of the surroundings (or ingrossed in playing fetch with their dog on a cycle path!!!!!) that no bell seems to work all of the time. This, of course, won't stop them having a go at you when you do manage to go past (though the sense of smugness when you point out that you did in fact ring your bell numerous times is fantastic).
...or selfishly being deaf.
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