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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
- Bungle_52 59 min 54 sec ago
In case anyone missed it in yesterdays blog here are the two pevious articles. The second one contains the testimony from the driver....
- bensynnock 1 hour 4 min ago
My understanding is that you have to sue for some crazy amount or you won't be taken seriously.
- David9694 1 hour 8 min ago
The old role was appointed at the Mayor's pleasure; is in addition to the permanent staff of the Combined Authority. I'm not sure if Adam was an...
- chrisonabike 1 hour 13 min ago
Ah... but which civilisation? If arguing from precedent (or even "moral ground") - with the benefit of almost no political, historical knowledge...
- WillPage 2 hours 34 min ago
Nothing says "welcoming environment" like uniformed thugs, umm I mean "security patrols " roaming the area.
- galibiervelo 3 hours 52 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 4 hours 34 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 4 hours 50 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 5 hours 16 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 5 hours 32 min ago
The problem with this argument, though, is that it's just not true....
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36 comments
He is still a scientist, and has done really important work. Some scientists believe in God. Some don't believe in global warming. Others doubt whether capitalism is an effective economic system. This doesn't stop them from being a scientist, it is just, as with all of us, outside of our area of expertise, our words carry no more weight than any other considered opinion.
To my mind, the scientific process is mainly a method to abstract away the scientists' beliefs and pre-conceptions e.g. double blind studies are a method to prevent the scientists from being able to influence experimental results.
If he was going to be scientific, he should have taken his belief (that cycling on pavements is the ruination of society) and looked at the available evidence (actually very safe) and drawn a conclusion from that (he was wrong). However, he wasn't using science, just his own beliefs fuelled by confirmation bias etc.
As regards capitalism, it's undoubtedly effective for a time, but as Rosa Luxemburg once wrote:
Daft old mollusc.
What an absolute cod piece!
Are horses taxed, insured and licensed? What about mobility scooters? Skate boards and roller blades?
Or indeed, shoes? As his concern is apparently with identifying perpetrators of street-crime, I trust he is leading by example and has his footwear electronically-tagged so that people could identify him if he attacks them? It's not exactly unknown for pedestrians to stab or assault people.
As a bonus it might also help locate him if his mental decline gets any worse and he wanders off in a confused state (he could then be returned to the world's most exclusive care home aka the Lords)
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