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news
AA van cycle laneAA President says it 'doesn't look great' van was parked in cycle lane
The president of the AA said it 'doesn't look great' after one of his company's vans was pictured parked in a cycle lane.
Edmund King OBE, was responding to an image posted on social media of the vehicle parked in a cycle path in Cheadle Hume, Stockport.
Twitter user, Andy Brown spotted the van and posted an image asking the AA what was going on.
Their initial response from the official Twitter account was met with heavy criticism.
It read: "We can see the side door on the van is open, so it looks as though the Patrol is attending a breakdown at one of the houses.
"Our Patrols will assess the situation to find the safest place to park, for them and other road users."
I'm not sure this was the reason the Bee network was installed in Cheadle Hulme.@TheAA_UK @OfficialTfGM @Chris_Boardman pic.twitter.com/g71KGJDPV6
— Andy Brown (@abrown1707) May 15, 2021
However, numerous people pointed out the van, which has since been moved, was illegally parked and there was no reason whatsoever that would justify it being in a protected cycle lane.
One person commented: "This isn't up to the discretion of your employee, it is a criminal offence to park on a cycle lane bordered by a solid white line.
"Does the AA endorse criminal behaviour?"
Eventually, the AA president got involved, and said: "Fairly difficult for me to comment when I don’t know the circumstances so we are investigating.
"But obviously it doesn’t look great to stop in a cycle lane but let’s find out."
Fairly difficult for me to comment when I don’t know the circumstances so we are investigating. But obviously it doesn’t look great to stop in a cycle lane but let’s find out. #thinkbikes
— Edmund King OBE (@AAPresident) May 15, 2021
Again, this was deemed inappropriate by large numbers of people.
One man wrote: "You could say it is completely wrong to park in a cycle lane, rather than it not 'looking great'.
"Makes it sound like you’re more worried about the perception than actual safety, and the law."
Mr King later responded to another comment asking if he was going to do anything about the incident.
He replied: "I am, thanks", alongside an image of cycling safety stickers.
I am. Thanks. pic.twitter.com/5758bz7JeK
— Edmund King OBE (@AAPresident) May 15, 2021
He later said he was waiting for the full facts to emerge, and added: "I would rather base [my] comments on facts but obviously accept that it is generally wrong to stop in a cycle lane."
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25 comments
What AA not from England but Im guessing it a road service type thing
Equivalent of AAA in the US.
Automobile Association
(If you were thinking it was Alcoholics Anonymous, that story must have been very confusing...).
Looks like the cycle lane ends there anyway. Another lane to nowhere. What are you supposed to do from there?
And parking on the pavement on the next stretch is institutionalised.
Looks like it continues (or is intended to continue) round the corner somehow: https://www.stockport.gov.uk/current-proposals
It is only meant as a small piece of infra to join two quiet roads up across a busy main road with a crossing suiltable both for Peds and cyclists. As there is a school up the other access point I suspect it was to promote cycling to the schools safely.
It does seem weird the amount of drivers who park up on pavement even when there is no restrictions for parking on the road. There is a stretch of 40mph dual carriageway by me where the drivers park fully on the pavement making it hard for pedestrians and cyclists to get past because they are worried about other drivers. There are lots of other stretches of similar dual carriageways less then a mile away that do have cars parked along it essentially making each carrageay single lane, yet everyone along this road has the mentality to not do that.
I think the AA's bike / cycle awareness stickers are a fantistic idea *.
How long before the van driver suffers from 'Post-it Note Syndrome'**?
10 mins?
20 mins?
* if only sarcasm worked in the type-written word
** As ask anyone who stares at a computer all day .... Post-it notes as a reminder of something important are a total waste of time as after a few minutes, the brain stops seeing them***
*** Just like vehicle drivers stop seeing approacing cylists when they want to pull out of a junction.
Edmund King is well known for his support of cycling, so I'm rather suprised at his weak response to one of his employees blocking the cycle lane and breaking the law to do so. Hawkinspeter is right, he should have been much more forthright, honest and condemnatory.
Can't AA employees walk a short distance?
If they felt I'll, then turning left would have been easier.
I'm curious what facts would change the legality (and morality) of parking a van there. I can only think that maybe the driver suffered an unexpected health incident and was forced to suddenly stop driving, but then why is there no sign of an attending ambulance and also why are there no hazard lights on the van (if they weren't - a still photo could have been taken between flashes)?
What he (Edmund King) should have said was "This is clearly unacceptable: we will be conducting an immediate investigation and will determine whether the driver can be re-trained or re-employed. We do not tolerate such thoughtless and selfish behaviour in any of our employees."
RTA s21 is quite clear.
I'm assuming (pretty safely IMO) no lawful authority had been obtained and that the AA wasn't there to save life*, extinguish a fire, maintain the cycle track, or carrying out undertaking.
*on your charitable "unexpected health incident" get-out, he'd have had to illegally park before getting out, open the side door, and then have his unexpected life-threatening incident.
Just to play devil's advocate, maybe he recognised symptoms of an oncoming heart attack, so immediately parked up and opened the side door to grab some medication that he'd foolishly put in with his tools. Or possibly he saw a ped in need of medical assistance and he immediately parked up and grabbed his first aid kit from the back of the van and put his previous paramedic training to use.
Alternatively, he just didn't give a shit about blocking a cycle lane.
Perhaps he is taking the tagline very literally
"To our members, we are the 4th emergency service".
"To our non-members, we're another obstacle, but at least we're fixing up some more cars so that you can carry on breathing the remnants of burnt dinosaurs. Remember, if you're not in a car we just don't care"
Love it! Have you sent it to Mr King for his approval?
No, I'm not a twitterer so I haven't bothered. Feel free to use it if you like, though.
I'd love to, but I'm still banned for calling Cristo the cretin a cretin. Well technically not banned, they are simply refusing to action my appeal; I think it's been six months now.
Then someone should tell your members we already have a fourth emergency service - The Coastguard.
I'm used to people being described as something "from head to toe" or "to their very fingertips". So what does the AA mean to imply with "to our members"?
Isn't there a loophole in the law that doesn't ban parking in new cycle lanes? Perhaps he wanted to investigate that
This loophole: https://www.cyclinguk.org/blog/underhand-law-change-undermines-mandatory-cycle-lanes?
(Also https://road.cc/content/news/266428-absolute-mess-cycling-uk-slams-confusing-law-parking-cycle-lanes)
I found this clarification:
Given that the section of road by the side of the MCL contains a zig-zag white line and double yellow lines, I'd interpret that as still being an offence (which I think typically leads to points) though does that still apply if the parked vehicle is not even on the road?
According to Andy Brown, he snapped it on Friday after 6pm which would be during the cycle lane's hours of operation (24 hours unless otherwise marked), so I'd be prepared to bet some old un-repaired inner tubes that it is an offence.
So, one would have to capture evidence of the vehicle being illegally driven into the cycle path prior to it being lawfully parked? One cannot just assume these things - perhaps it was dropped there.
I guess it's the timing that could be disputed. As I interpret it, it's still an offence to block a cycle lane during its hours of operation, but I'm no expert.
I agree with all that, but isn't there's a legal problem that, as the employer, he cannot simply condemn one of his employees publically without proper procedure and before concluding the internal investigation, no matter what they did?