“For every car that cuts in to a cycle path there is a bicycle sailing through a red light.”
If you read the above quote out of context, you’d probably assume it was uttered by Nick ‘Mr Loophole’ Freeman, a Telegraph columnist, or some eejit off GB News.
You probably wouldn’t have guessed it was attributed to the co-founder of an ultra-low emissions cargo bike courier company in Oxford, however.
But, in an interview with the Oxford Mail this week, Velocity Cycle Couriers’ director Jake Swinhoe claimed that the current pitiful state of the city’s roads – which he says are currently contested between “warring factions” of cyclists and drivers – could be at least partly improved by people on bikes endeavouring “to be visible, and not fly through red lights, and be courteous to motorists”.
Velocity Cycle Couriers, Oxford
“There will come a day when motorists and cyclists amble along together, happily sharing the roadways with a friendly smile and a wave to acknowledge each other as fellow travellers with equal rights,” Swinhoe told the newspaper.
“Sadly the streets of Oxford paint a far more divided picture with warring factions shaking angry fists and hurling expletives at each other.
“For every car that cuts in to a cycle path there is a bicycle sailing through a red light. For every truck that pulls out without thinking once, thinking twice, then thinking bike, there is a cyclist with no lights at night and no helmet.
“Cargo bikes are becoming more and more common on our streets and the debate goes on about unlicensed, uninsured, and irresponsible riders who don’t pay road tax and think they own the roads, but is this the case from the point of view of a professional commercial cycle courier company?”
> Camera to fine rule-breaking drivers as safety measure introduced after cyclist's death still being ignored
Velocity Cycle Couriers was established in 2022 – the same year cyclist Dr Ling Felce was killed at Oxford’s notorious Plain roundabout by an unlicensed, uninsured driver of a 32-tonne tipper truck, who was under the influence of cocaine at the time – and currently works with 80 local businesses with the aim of cutting emissions and air pollution in the city.
“Our riders will be out in all weather – rain, snow, frost and high winds – but are trained to obey the rules of the road and always consider other road users,” Swinhoe continued, arguing that there are “good and bad road users”.
“If an absent-minded tourist steps into the road with their face in a mobile phone we try to swerve past, give a jaunty ring on the bell and a cheery ‘hello’, even though this can be testing.
“Velocity have been on the streets of Oxford for more than two-and-a-half years and have learned a great deal about how to get around our city and how to best get along with fellow road users.
> “Is the focus road safety?” Volunteer speed watchers accused of “spreading nonsense” after claiming “several cyclists clocked over 30mph” on 20mph street, while dismissing drivers’ speeds as “on average 25-35mph”
“In that time there have been two accidents involving cargo bikes – one where a delivery van reversed into our bike and an amicable resolution of buying us a new mudguard was agreed, the other had a car shunt a stationary cargo bike, causing some damage and then speeding off before our rider knew what happened.
“Luckily this has meant us not having to trouble the extremely expensive insurance policies we have for our bikes and riders or cause any damage to other road users, pedestrians, or brick walls.
“I personally am a bike rider and a motorist – I am conscious that a car or van does a lot more damage to a bike rider than a bike to a car so try to give cyclists a safe distance and a stress-free ride when I am on four wheels.
“Though equally when on a bike I endeavour to be visible, and not fly through red lights, and be courteous to motorists.”
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I understood most of the comments as not saying that all cyclists are perfect but simply that cyclists and motorists are not equivalent (as the Highway Code recognises, IIRC).
As an example, I wrote below and asked rhetorically just how many HGV drivers - or car drivers, for that matter - have been KSI by a red light jumping cyclist who was wearing no helmet?
If a motorist behaves badly, the other people are likely to be KSI.
If a cyclist behaves badly, they themself are likely to be KSI.
And so predictable are the usual comments from the knob.
Just in case you are not, as many suspect, a PBU and really are that stupid, Mr Swinhoe is not just issuing a plea for us all to use the roads in harmony, he is directly comparing behaviours which when performed by motorists often end in death or serious life-changing injuries and which when performed by cyclists usually end with nothing but annoyance from observers (no approval of said behaviours implied). It's whataboutery at its very motornormative worst.
Just because pretty much everyone disagrees with you that doesn't mean they are a mob, it just means that everyone disagrees with you.
Such poor langage. Your parents should have raised you better.
I can tell you vote far left. You have the sickness that anyone who dissagrees with you is a knob. Anyone who wants things to be better for everyone, not just one group, is a knob.
Anyone but you and your NPC's are knobs.
You're the knob kiddo. Only 7 followers on your Strava, no wonder you're desperate for the NPC crowd support?
It's hard to believe that you're speaking sincerely
You actually went and searched for me on Strava, how sad. You must have been very disappointed when you found out that my account is private, presumably you were hoping for something to sneer at. Better luck next time. It's never occurred to me to want to accrue Strava followers, why would I want that and if I did why would my account be private? My followers amount to a few riding mates and my brother-in-law, not sure why anyone else would be interested in knowing what riding I've been doing.
You're following the fairly predictable troll pattern: starts off as the voice of reason, "I'm a cyclist myself but I think we should all get along" then discovers that virtually everybody disagrees with them and lo and behold, we see the true colours.
This is reminding me of that time someone took your (Strava?) profile photo and used it as their profile pic on here. That was creepy.
How funny you should mention that, I was just reminded of it because one of their comments, complete with my picture, appears on the just-revived thread about the Gaciron rear light! A bit weird, indeed – it wasn't even my Strava picture, they had sought out one of my charity ride videos and taken a screenshot from that. Most peculiar.
AI?
Plot twist...it's been Mrs H all along, secretly miffed that Rendel made them ditch the car for bikes.
In a luke-warm defence of Velocity Cycle Couriers’ director Jake Swinhoe's comments, his business is based in Oxford, and it is October. Every year, the streets of Oxford are filled with new undergrads, doing incredibly stupid things on bicycles. By mid-November, most of them have either wised-up, or been scared off the roads. His helmet zealotry, however, is utterly nonsensical.
Velocity Cycle Couriers’ director Jake Swinhoe is a tosser! There's a job just waiting for him in the police- then he could ignore incidents like these, just as the other officers do
https://upride.cc/incident/a15tjv_bmwm4_redlightpass/
https://upride.cc/incident/jo55chb_kiasportage_redlightpass/
For every truck driver who endangers other people's lives, there's a cyclist whose choice of head gear has no impact on anyone else whatsoever.
For every cyclist riding along legally and minding their own business there are at least half a dozen drivers messing with their mobile phones
I've read Jake Swinhoe's comments several times, and I'm still not sure what point he's making, unless it's that all road users make mistakes, but he seems to skip over the point that drivers (not cars) kill people every day, but cyclists rarely do.
It's great to hear that Velocity are doing well, but that doesn't seem to be the focus of what he's saying. Surely it would have been better to extol the virtues of zero emission transport rather than attacking other zero emission transport users for their mistakes?*
*For the avoidance of doubt, not wearing a helmet is not a mistake.
I think it's 'we're great - use our cargobike delivery service'.
The point he is making is what many people try to do when "mediating" between cyclists and drivers.
"Look guys we all make mistakes but we are all just trying to get places, we can all do better"
And as is usually the case there is no admission that cyclists bad behaviour isn't remotely comparible to drivers bad behaviour in frequency or danger.
For every cyclist crushed and bleeding to death on the road, for every widowed partner, for all the orphaned children, there's a driver with a small dent in his passenger door and a six month ban...do fuck off with your idiotic equivalences, Mr.Swinhoe, there's a good chap.
Hmmmm....how do we get clicks & visibility for our business?
How many HGV drivers - or car drivers, for that matter - have been KSI by a red light jumping cyclist who was wearing no helmet?
For crying out loud.
First
"There will come a day when motorists and cyclists amble along together..."
but then
"“For every car that cuts in to a cycle path there is a bicycle sailing through a red light. For every truck that pulls out without thinking ..."
Are there that many self driving cars and trucks out there...?
http://rc-rg.com
"wow, that car did that all by itself?"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3331869633536303/
And bicycles.
I think I understand Jake Swinhoe's basis of his viewpoint, but I think the "For every [careless] lorry driver, there is a [careless] cyclist" is perceived as, one bad road user cancels out the other!
The fundamental problem we have on UK roads is there are exceptionally too few Road Traffic Officers, so the roads are un-policed, leading to a free-for-all, anything goes situation. And successive Governments are scared to upset the motoring voters, where fining drivers for road traffic offences is now considered as a "Tax on motorists".
The fundamental problem we have on UK roads is there
are exceptionally too fewmany Road Traffic Officers who are determinedly hostile to cyclists and pro offending motorists, so the roads are un-policed, leading to a free-for-all, anything goes situationAnd there is so much leniency built into the justice system for motorists e.g. the points system, limited time to issue NIP, plea bargaining so very few dangerous driving convictions, exceptional hardship pleas, rejecting evidence because the victim's behaviour didn't meet the required 'standards' etc.
Given the unlikelihood of an offender being caught there's no justification for leniency whether they are stopped by the roadside or captured on camera.
Exactly. But try telling it to the average punter (even more thoughtful folks)...
Perhaps the idea of "they'll throw the book at you" does have use in keeping some on the straight and narrow? It is almost a myth though. Or literally a light seasoning of "exemplars" - but because so light the effects are minimal - after all we all know we're good drivers! Or good enough, or "anyway everyone does it, I've seen worse, I am always careful..."
What's the "common understanding" of the driving licence here? Is it "we tolerate 'state interference' with our 'right to drive' - but only because we have a (more or less vague) understanding that there can be some problems with driving - and those problem are drivers (always other drivers mind...)".
Or is a driving licence / passing test and getting motor vehicle more "rite of passage" or "marker of (adult) status"?
Or possibly it's like a club membership? e.g. "To get in you need to fulfil the entry requirements (pass a test) but once you're in that's it. Then as long as you pay your subs (which are extortionate, by the way!) the club has no business giving members further hassle. Admin should simply be limited to door security (no licence / MOT / tax - not coming in) and evicting the odd drunk. And politely suggesting to poor old Colonel Blimp (who's losing his sight / marbles and has started to bump into people) that maybe it's time to stop. Oh, and since we're paying the corridors should be wide, the door always open, the floor shouldn't have any holes in it and there should always be cloakroom space".
so much leniency built into the justice system for motorists e.g. the points system, limited time to issue NIP, plea bargaining so very few dangerous driving convictions, exceptional hardship pleas, rejecting evidence because the victim's behaviour didn't meet the required 'standards'
No- Lancashire Constabulary ensures that things never get that far! This is Harrison Oils of Garstang at speed this morning. These are a couple of previous offences by drivers from the same company, one of them in the same lorry
https://upride.cc/incident/b6hol_harrisonoils_uwlcross/
https://upride.cc/incident/b5hol_tanker_closepassdwlcross/
His thinking is exactly how the vast majority of road users think.
"My bad driving is exactly the same as a cyclist doing something bad."
Yes, it is another example of false quivalence, assuming a 1:1 ratio of [perceived] offending, for starters, as well as an equivalence of consequence.
Meanwhile...
Really? If you don't have anough time to slow down to avoid them, then you probably don't have enough time to check over your shoulder safely before swerving into the path of a close-passing car. In short, a swerve should be a last resort, and 'a cheery hello' is unlikely to be on the cards in the event.
Better to be looking ahead, tuning your spider senses to the mobile-using tourist, and observing behind to move out early and possibly dust off some speed to avoid the risk in the first place.
I think I'd be ringing my bell long before they stepped out if they looked in the slightest bit likely to do so.
Of course they would be wearing headphones.
So true. The roads are almost lawless.
Commuting and riding through London for almost 20 years, you rarely see any active policing of dangerous road users. One week day morning, a few years ago, the police were stopping people on e-scooters but that's about it.
The police and local authorities need more resources along with a change in policy and culture to affect road users behaviour, which even in the best case scenario will take many years.
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