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news
Cycle in Orkney (Twitter/Graham Wilson)Councillor urges police to charge "tourist cyclists" coming on cruise liners and "running around unsafe”
A councillor in Orkney has raised concerns about tourist cyclists coming to the island on cruise ships and urged the police to start charging them as part of an operation originally meant to tackle "anti-social driving", with the chair of the meeting confirming that measures will be put in place from next year to deal with the rider and ease the tension with the locals.
The agenda was raised by councillor Mellissa Thomson at the council's Police and Fire Sub-committee, while discussing Police Scotland's Fair Warn campaign.
The Fair Warn campaign was introduced in Orkney earlier this year to deal with anti-social and inconsiderate driving and parking behaviour. The officers have sent 47 letters to offending motorists in the last four months since the operation began.
However, Councillor Thomson asked local Chief Inspector Scott Robertson: "I am particularly interested in your Fair Warn campaign. I hadn’t understood much about it before but I’m getting it now. Is this just about vehicles or are we heading into motorbikes and push bikes?"
She added: "You probably know where I’m heading with this."
A chuckling Robertson told the councillor that it applied to motor vehicles and motorbikes, but not cycles.
Councillor Thomson then questioned: "So there’s no way you’ll be writing to people who are on push bikes who are running around unsafe at the moment and coming off cruises?"
Inspector Robertson replied: "You will be aware that myself and the chair and others have had some really good discussions with regard to the cruise ships and the cyclists coming off them.
"I don’t want to preempt it but we hope to have something in place for the next season."
MV Hrossey (image by Ronnie Robertson on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The committee's chair Councillor David Dawson added that it was too late to get something in place for this year. He said it wouldn’t be effective as there are only a few more visits planned from ships carrying push-bikes, but assured Thomson that they will have "something for next season".
> Just how good is Mallorca for cycling?
At which point, Councillor Sandy Cowie also chimed in, saying: "The laws around cycling seem to be fairly weak.
"I discovered the other day that you can’t actually break the speed limit on a bicycle regardless of how fast you go. Speed limits, apparently, don’t apply. But you can be charged with furious cycling. I think that’s the term."
Inspector Robertson told him that he wasn't sure if he had ever heard the term "furious cycling" but they could charge people with careless and dangerous cycling in Scotland.
> Do cyclists have to stick to the speed limit?
The Press and Journal reports that there has been friction between Orcadians and liner passengers who take to the roads in large cycle groups during this summer, with the "behaviour of some cyclists and the hazards these large groups can pose to motorists" being a point of contention.
Every year, hundreds of people visit the island archipelago located off the north eastern coast of Scotland. In 2023, over 200 ships are expected as part of the cruise liner season. Even more are expected next year, with 253 advanced bookings already made.
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
Latest Comments
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Surely that's "these drivers pulling out of driveways over a footway or cycle path (who just won't look - or not in both directions) - are a...
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Tier scooters - When visiting Keynsham I found several apparently dumped (not all at once - could have been the same ones? )...
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The answer to this is to have no friends.
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- mark1a 12 hours 52 min ago
I'll put you down as a no then.
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89 comments
I think there are some good comments here. Some of the ones in favour of the councillor give food for thought; it's certainly not as ridiculous a complaint as it seemed to be when I first read the article.
However, as someone who married an Orkney girl I've been going there a few weeks a year for many years, and we also get the local paper delivered, so I was pretty shocked at the apparent approach of the police and/or paper when I saw this:
https://www.orcadian.co.uk/safety-warning-issued-after-cyclist-clipped-b...
It looks awfully like victim-blaming in a hit-and-run case, unfortunately.
This isn't golf cart island then?
Come on Road.cc you could try harder as the ship pictured is the vital lifeline ferry that sails between Aberdeen and Lerwick t. The cyclists will be mainly off the German Aida cruise ships and they are a menace on the roads in my part of the Highlands as well with their poor road sense and ability along with the front and rear group leaders not really doing the job correctly. The foot passengers are no better and just walk in front of people as they think they're so entitled, cross the roads without looking and usually in front of cars and cyclists, and also decide to stand in the middle of the road so they can get their photos and they expect you as a cyclist or driver to get out of their way.
I don't think thats exclusive to Orkney, TBH. Any vaguely picturesque (picture-skew, for Blackadder fans) part of the country gets similar treatment. You should see the Clifton Suspension Bridge any weekend during the summer...
Try any of the cycle lanes around Parliament Square, and don't even bother trying to use the one that goes over Westminster Bridge!
You, Mr three posts, sound a lot like a whingeing driver to me.
"behaviour of some cyclists and the hazards these large groups can pose to motorists" being a point of contention.
Since the cyclists pose no hazards, none, zero, not one hazard to motorists, this councillor should get some retraining or resign.
Alternatively, why not just have mandatory motorist helmets? That'll protect them.
you forgot the hi-vis, not sure whether it should be applied to the car or the driver. Until a safety comittee has investiaged this issue cars should be banned from driving for their own safety
I also have the same groups of cruise ship cyclists when their ships berth in my part of the Highlands and it is you who needs to think before writing rather than calling out the councillor. These cyclists can be groups of up to 40 and I don't mean cycling club grade cyclists who know how to actually ride on the road and at a decent pace, as these ones have a lead and tail guide/leader while the tourists waver across the road at a slow speed while looking at the scenery rather than the road ahead and quite often you have another group just up the road.A few weeks back I was passed on a narrow two lane country road by a few cars and a breakdown truck but caught them up when they came upon a group of these cyclists so I overtook the vehicles and the group then came upon a second slow moving group about 1km up the road so passed them as well and it was roughly 2 miles later before the vehicles caught me up again. When these cyclists are nearing the end of the loop they take rather than use the perfectly good cycle path they stay on the road which has had multiple serious and fatal accidents on it over the years. On a separate note cyclists including some club level cyclists do pose a hazard to themselves and motorists by speeding through towns as recently written about on various news websites so could've an accident, some dangerous cycling could end up with the cyclist going through a windscreen if they were hit by a car, cyclists jumping red lights is a hazard, the list could go on.
No it's for the cllr or the news item writer to explain further.
Having no experience at all of riding a bike or driving about these places, I have no opinion on the detailed rights and wrongs of actual behaviours.
However, I do have an opinion about your post: it reads like many another bleat of entitled motorists who think they should never be delayed by one micro-second from their important mission to drive as fast as possible to their next important event, shopping for the tatties or getting back in time to watch "Mindless tele programme for the terminally bored". And no matter what dangerous driving behaviours they might indulge in with their two ton mobile bludgeon when allowed free rein of the highway.
By the way, if these groups of cyclists are impeding you so much, how come you managed to overtake two groups of them?
Why do you asume that the roads are entirely the property of speeding motorists rather than for cyclists enjoying the views? That's a rhetorical question, the answer to which is, "Because I am top of the assumed road-user hierarchy and all others should kow-tow to my many petty drivist demands and expectations, so should GIT OOT MY WAY".
As to the alleged dangerous speeding club cyclists .... please provide lists of the number of "multiple serious and fatal accidents" caused by both cyclists and drivists over, say, the last year, inclusive of the details describing the injuries, damages and deaths. I'll take a guess at the results: cyclist caused it, nil; drivists caused it, lots.
*********
Good manners and courteous behaviors tend to be a reciprocal matter. If you exhibit them, they're often reciprocated. If you exhibit their opposite, ditto. Consider this exchange of posts, for example.
Interesting. When I read jam-gt's post I'd assumed he was on a bike himself when he overtook the two groups of slow(er) cyclists. I'll be intrigued to learn whether he was!
I can't speak to the cruise ship cycling thing, although I can believe it. Here in Edinburgh we're on the visiting list and it's OK (being a city) but I can imagine the effects on small places.
Also the internal battle of "we need the money, but we don't like the numbers / behaviours".
As others say seems one for the councillors / harbor managers or others to address with the cruise companies.
However we seem to be in the bingo hall by the end here - cyclists too fast as well as too slow, possible threat to drivers, RLJ. I don't know Orkney, for all I'm aware it's the homeland of traffic lights but it seems there's a measure of the unusual being especially noteworthy and shocking here?
Blimey, have traffic lights made an appearance in the Orkneys? The despicable bastads get everywhere.
Unfortunately they became necessary when too many people selfishly took to the new-fangled bicycles and shoes (for walking). Due to their numbers they posed a novel risk to motorists. Still, safety first. If it means holding 2 or 3 cars up for 20 seconds (at a substantial economic cost!) just so e.g. 6 people can cross the road I guess it's something we should be proud of. They don't have them in less enlightened places!
Do visiting cruise ships really have a fleet of bikes they lend to passengers for land visits? Perhaps road.cc can do some investigative reporting on this. Because I would be very surprised to learn that cruise passengers bring their own bikes.
Which ships ? Suddenly going on a cruise has become more inviting
I'm imagining a cruise ship with a velodrome deck and a fleet of track bikes, what's not to like?
If you're prepared to go ashore something like that can be done - although the islands are a bit further south eg.:
https://www.dutch-biketours.com/bike-and-boat-northern-tour
Alternatively I think Red Bull can offer a skatepark experience at a higher elevation, for one, but that would be on an *air*ship.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PSVuDBKLC5A
Did Red Bull a good number of years back tour Scotland with a mini velodrome? I remember them stopping off in Paisley but. Didn't have the courage to tackle it.
Few have the courage to tackle Paisley, although some of those who did lived to regret it.
Must be due a commendation then as I lived in the West End of Paisley for 20 years. Trust me folks. It's not that salubrious. I've now bailed out and have returned to Belfast. Some may say from the frying pan to the fire!
I think a handful of operators have a small number of hire bikes though I imagine that they rely heavily on local shops making this provision. Definitely not the hordes suggested by the councillor.
Yep. Big yellow ones at that. At the risk of the Streisand effect, here's one such tour on offer from Disney cruise ships. It's a 12 mile one-way trip to Ring of Brodgar with stops along the way and coach return (side note... $339!!! Wow)
As an Orkney resident, I can confirm the problems these are sometimes causing. They are used for "local tours". The passengers are frequently not seasoned/confident bike riders, and the distances they have to ride from Kirkwall (the main cruise ship harbour) to "the sights" are not trivial, so there's a lot of road on which they are to be encountered. Also, Orkney isn't flat as many think and some riders struggle.
The basic issue is just that they are not good group cyclists. They move slowly in single file with significant gaps between them. They are therefore extremely difficult to overtake safely. Off of the main A965 road, the roads are often single lane with "passing place" laybys. Encountering such groups on such roads can lead to significant delays. Because Orkney is so popular for cruise ships, it can be a frequent occurence.
Other reported issues are failure to adhere to basic road rules, like respecting right of way - they can be like lemmings following the bike in front, not wanting to lose touch with the tour leader, and just rolling out into traffic.
As the P&J article says, there's 250+ ships already booked for next year. They don't all do these tours, but it's more than ever.
Thanks for the local view. Seeming to fall beyond the 'inconvenience' level and edging more to 'nuisance'. Presumably if these tours are locally run then there may be scope to license/limit them in some way or other. (What am I saying...licensing impromptu group bicycle rides?!?!Maybe not.) I think I'd be discouraged by the $339 cost for half a day's bike hire and a pretty meagre YHA packed lunch!
Thanks TheFatAndTheFurious for a very informative reply. Seems like the situation could be more accurately positioned as the Orkney Islands struggling to deal with high numbers of cruise passengers.
$339 for a 12-mile ride - wow. And there was me wincing at the Dragon Ride 2024 early bird pricing of £99.
You do get your own
turnippiece of fruit as well.Thanks TF&TF for the explanation. From the story, I thought it was lycra louts on Ridelondon in chain gangs shouting and blowing whistles at locals to "get out of the way" so they could set pbs on Strava...
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