- 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
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
London cyclists at Hyde Park Corner (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpgLord Winston's latest brainwave? Electronic tags on bicycles
The government may have told Lord Winston that there is no prospect of it requiring cyclists to be licensed and insured … but with the persistence of a limpet, the Labour peer has suggested that the solution might be for bicycles to be electronically tagged.
The scientist and TV personality sparked a debate on the non-issue in mid-March, ahead of tabling a question in the House of Lords which received an unequivocal not-going-to-happen from the government.
Subsequently, he claimed that he had been assaulted by a woman cycling on the pavement.
Appearing today on the ITV show This Morning, Lord Winston said: "Every other road user has to use the road and has to have third party insurance.”
[Spoiler: Pedestrians are road users, and are not required to have third party insurance]
He explained: "I don’t think it would be unworkable, the initial answers I got from the government were not satisfactory but I think the overwhelming messages that are coming through now is that it would be workable.”
Not from the government, presumably, which on this topic at least has sent a clear and consistent message.
However, Lord Winston continued: "For example, with an electronic tag on a bicycle, in time we would be able to detect all motor traffic through similar methods, we won’t use number plates eventually.”
Really?
"I think with the number of road traffic cameras there are around, it will make a very big difference.”
Because, yes, road deaths in Great Britain, after falling for several decades, have hit a plateau since 2010 when targets were abolished.
"It’s not that I am against cyclists, I am not at all against cyclists but I am against people who cross red lights, who go up one way streets the wrong way, who ride on the pavement and who ride without lights at night, particularly with people who have poor visibility or older people who have frequently been hit and damaged," he added.
Lord Winston was joined on the show, hosted by Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langford, by helmet camera cyclist Dave Sherry, who, when he was asked whether he agreed with the peer’s proposals, said: “In principal yes, in practicality, no.
"At the end of the day there are good cyclists and bad cyclists, don’t tarnish us all with the same brush.
"I understand what Lord Winston is saying but in practical terms it isn’t doable.
"If I said to you, insurance, licence, how are you going to say that to my six and 12-year-old son and daughter? They can barely write their name," he added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Rendel Harris 2 sec ago
"I was driving a lorry that I knew had blindspots but I didn't take account of the fact that a cyclist might be in one - got to be a one in a...
- sean fullerton 13 min 50 sec ago
Welcome to America.
- WillPage 26 min 46 sec ago
Nothing says "welcoming environment" like uniformed thugs, umm I mean "security patrols " roaming the area.
- ktache 27 min 57 sec ago
My thoughts are with the family and friends of David.
- galibiervelo 1 hour 44 min ago
That is class news. Super bikes and vision. Bet there will be no stand at the Taiwan bike show next year! Big luck to all the team
- Destroyer666 2 hours 26 min ago
Pretty clearly stated several times in the text that the issue was not related just to his son. And besides, everybody watching the races could see...
- Rendel Harris 2 hours 42 min ago
All Fizik and Selle Italia saddles (though not all their other products) are made in Italy I believe, and their 3D printed models definitely are.
- chrisonabike 3 hours 8 min ago
If you're not on the road with a car, I bet its driver is much less likely to swerve into your space *. Because you're not "in the way"! (Any...
- mdavidford 3 hours 24 min ago
The problem with this argument, though, is that it's just not true....
Add new comment
36 comments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-47857774
12 points, licenced, insured, speed limiter, cab video, highly likely to have some sort of vehicle tracker.
But let's go after the cyclists.
And he knew he was being videoed.
Yet another magistrate who should hang their head in shame.
Thanks for the Twitter link.
"A 1.5 metre wide registration plate would solve the close pass problem"
I'm sold !
Commenting on Winston's appearance on This Morning yesterday, CB had this to say:
Also, every time cyclists are mentioned in the MSM it is as an out-group, an 'other', lesser social group.
Julia Bradbury stuck her oar in on twitter, pretending there was a debate to be had when really she just wanted to reinforce the same prejudice and pull viewers to the slurry pit that is 'Good Morning Britain'. Chris Boardman refuses to appear on the programme (tweeted on 1st April).
Even if Bradbury later changes her mind the damage is done. Consider the dog poo encountered in the countryside and the attacks by dogs on livestock, why don't the Daily Hate Mail call for number plates for fucking dog walkers?
The similarly brilliant West Midlands Road Harm Reduction Team have replied to Chris's tweet that I quoted (twice, sorry):
Nuff said.
When all cars have tracking tags like our work vehicles, then I won't mind so much, thats the first step, black boxes for cars.
Karma is Lord Winston getting run over by a speeding car with the driver on the phone and having just passed through a red light, then hedh focus on the real problem
If I'm going to be 'tagged' then I'm going to start up The ASBO Cycling Club.
Anyone interested?
Is joining dependent on having been given an ASBO, or will just a stubborn, recalcitrant turn of mind do?
Would the UCI let you call it that?
Isn't it besmirching the good name of cycling, or something?
The only 2 scenarios I could really get my head around for fitting cycles with transponders to make them part of an integrated road traffic 'system' would be when all motorised vehicles are autonomous and traffic signals become redundant. No need for traffic lights when an algorithm can choreograph the movement of vehicles through junctions. At that point it would be helpful for cycles to be visible within such an environment outside of line of sight (cameras, LIDAR, RADAR etc).
The second is that I would definitely consider fitting a small passive device similar to current light reflectors that would increase my RADAR return signal for the benefit of cars fitted with such detectors as either a driver aid or as part of an autonomous driving sensor suite.
I cannot say that being monitored as to location is of much concern to me. I don't know many people who choose to ride without either a Garmin type device or carrying a mobile phone for fear of being tracked.
bicycle radio.jpeg
We already don't need them https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2017/sep/22/what-happe... what we need is people taking greater resppnsibility for themselves instead of being told what to do. We see people racing the lights all the time, it's properly crap.
Today we had a set of lights at a major motorway junction fail, people had to do what they do at a normal roundabout and simply give way/use their brains, as far as I could see it worked very smoothly.
I suggested this elsewhere previously, but I think what's really needed here is for there to be a 'saying things in public' licence - issued free to everyone initially but when you're found to have used yours inappropriately, for instance by persistently spouting uninformed drivel, hate speech or similar, you will have it revoked until you can demonstrate that you've done some actual research and not just asked a bloke down the pub.
good idea. We need a Ministry of Truth, staffed by zealous bureaucrats doing the bidding of the government of the day, including the Lords Spiritual and Temporal such as Winston. You and I need to be told what we can and can't say, so we must rely on our betters to decide for us. We can surely trust them in their great wisdom and desire only for what is good and best for us.
https://youtu.be/IcJxN1VlcuA
Free speech sounds like a communist idea to me. What we need is a system where the richest people can bid for having their views promoted and deemed to be 'true'. Obviously, the poorer sections of society will not get to be heard, but who wants to hear all their moaning anyway comrade?
Yes, you could call these things 'newspapers'.
Bad news; we're already there. Our msm is riddled with bias in favour of the ruling elite, including newspapers, radio and tv and there is very little independent reporting. My father used to watch Aljezeera as it was a lot more honest than the BBC.
Or was your post subtle sarcasm, and you knew this already?
Absolutely not!
Hitchens, important stuff, but God he's hard to listen to.... from the Obama school of public pauses.
Big brother is watching you.
Aside from the massive cost of implementation of such a scheme and the huge running costs, what would it actually achieve?
Say it showed me in the area of an incident, how would that prove anything about what was alleged to have happened? Unless there is some claim about it being accurate to a few centimetres, I'm just going to say I wasn't on the pavement.
Judging by the number of close pass videos on here, the police are not interested most of the time.
Here's a good evidence-based response from Peter Walker at The Guardian;
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2019/mar/18/should-cyclists-be-licensed-and-insured-robert-winston
One thing lacking from Peter's response is the stat that 85% of adult cyclists are also motorists so should already have third party cover, rendering cries about adult cyclists lacking responsibility for not having third party cover largely moot.
No doubt they'll cry 'but what about the other 15%?' yet, as the article shows, even when insurance is mandatory for driving there are a significant number of people who could do real harm to others whilst driving who actively fail to be insured and/or licenced.
Thankfully it is the police and not Parliament that gets to prioritise tackling the dangers on our roads which is why they generally target those who can do most harm, namely motorists, an evidence-based fact that no doubt will pass Winston by as such facts are counter to his post-truth agenda.
There are about 1 million uninsured drivers on UK roads.
But even with insurance, tax paid and a valid MOT on their vehicle a huge proportion of drivers break the law daily. Speeding is routine, and thanks to the media is thought of as not a 'real' crime, while distracted driving is a serious problem. The road casualty stats tell a sad story.
But no, Robert Winston is not interested in tackling these things, only the mythical idea that number plates etc for cyclists will somehow solve the problems he claims to have encountered.
Either he is really, REALLY stupid or there is some deeper agenda that he's not admitting to.
The biggest problem is that every time cyclists are mentioned in the MSM it is as an out-group, an 'other'.
Julia Bradbury stuck her oar in on twitter, pretending there was a debate to be had when really it was to reinforce the same prejudice and pull viewers to the slurry pit that is 'Good Morning Britain'. Chris Boardman refuses to appear on the programme.
Even if she later changes her mind the damage is done. Consider the dog poo encountered in the countryside and the attacks by dogs on livestock, why don't the Daily Hate Mail call for number plates for fucking dog walkers and ramblers/hikers?
Commenting on Winston's appearance on This Morning yesterday, CB had this to say:
Don't read the facebook comments on the FB page of This Morning, it's just a replica of the daily heil, so much ignorant, factless and bias comment you won't find elsewhere on the matter!
He should be told in no uncertain terms that he needs to shut up and focus on the real problems on our roads, he either has a personal beef or he's copletely lost the plot.
Well, he doesn't get TV work any more, and the House of Lords doesn't exactly rush you off your feet, so I suppose he has to have something to keep himself busy. It's that or shouting at clouds.
I called, and still call, BS on the alleged cyclist attack on "Lord" Winston.
Just a convenient jackanory to bolster his anti-cycling agenda. The DM would have been all over it and rushed to get any evidence they could find. Never heard any more about it in the press, because it didn't happen.
All valid points made by everyone commenting, but you've all missed the real problem; the media, which just loves any and all cycle bashing stories. There could be no possible justification for ITV to feature this out of touch idiot, and they wouldn't do it if it was any other subject, but cycle hating is the new racial discrimination, with no item too stupid to mention if it bashes cyclists.
The BBC is just as bad, if not worse, with its 30 year helmet campaign and blanket ban on mentioning anything positive about cycling, when it is far and away the best solution to so many of today's problems.
Yes, Lord Winston is an ass, but we only know about how stupid he is because the media leaps on any story that denigrates cyclists, when they should be whole-heartedly promoting it.
What a dickhead
Qualcom are already working on this, using 5G beacon technology. The idea is to create a mesh of 5G-enabled vehicles to improve self-driving cars. For example, it would alert a car to a broken down vehicle out of sight around the corner. Logical extrapolation of this will be a requirement to tag all vehicles, and I guess in time there will be requirements for pedestrians to be running a service on their 5G phones, much like mandating helmets for cyclists. Broadcom are claiming economic and environmental benefits, because traffic will run faster and spend less time "stopping needlessly" to check if the road is clear.
Strangely enough the slick demo doesn't mention cyclists as a vulnerable road user...
https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2019/03/22/5g-nr-c-v2x-moves-toward-re...
FTFY. Total surveillance... Nice.
You know what would be practical?
More traffic police and better road law enforcement *cough*government review*cough*.
However, I daresay that the police would want to set their own priorities by looking at KSI data and I really can't see that bikes are as much of a danger as he feels that they are.
Even if you went to all the expense and issues with tagging everybody's bikes, you'd still need the police to gather evidence etc.
Please stop calling him a scientist. He is clearly now anti-science instead relying only upon anecdotal evidence to foment hate and division.
His claims of increased pollution from cycling on the Embankment competely unfounded and easily scientifically disproven. His claims of assault fictitious and compltely anecdotal hence why he didn't report it to the police. The claims that there is growing support for his whacka-doodle ideas completely unsubstantiated.
Call him what he is, a troll.
Pages