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news
Daily Mail story Richard Littlejohn Highway Code changes: Daily Mail publishes "error-strewn" Richard Littlejohn column attacking cyclists
The Daily Mail and The Telegraph have today published opinion pieces slamming the incoming Highway Code changes, and launching outspoken attacks on cycling in Britain.
Florida resident and Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn's work is headlined: 'Bike lane Britain...the Great Leap Backwards. Under cover of Covid, officials have turned our city centres into crazy golf courses giving priority to Lycra-clad lunatics on racing bikes'.
In which he blasts the "mutton-headed communists" and "Genghis [Sadiq] Khan" for supporting cycle infrastructure, while also ripping into cycle lanes built during the pandemic, "Lycra-clad lunatics", "suicide jockeys", two abreast riding, the new 'Hierarchy of Road Users' and the regularly mythbusted road tax.
The Guardian's political correspondent Peter Walker called the column "unhinged, error-strewn and downright weird [...] which adds in elements of racist banter for good measure. All involved should feel deeply ashamed," and awarded Littlejohn the "cycling myth media bingo contest for all-time".
The writer drew analogy between Britain's cycling infrastructure and Chairman Mao's 'kingdom of bicycles', and accused UK transport policy of ruining 21st-century Britain.
Littlejohn claimed city centres are now "crazy golf courses, intended to frustrate freedom of movement by giving priority to Lycra-clad lunatics on racing bikes and suicide jockeys on e-scooters."
Commenting on the Highway Code changes coming into effect this week, he wrote: "Bikers are encouraged to ride two or three abreast in the middle of the road, deliberately to slow traffic to a crawl. Motorists will be expected to cede to both bikes and pedestrians when turning left."
The Code actually states riding two abreast "can be safer to do so", but that cyclists should "allow them [drivers] to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so".
Walker also disputed the claim, amongst many, that "pro-bike extremists were given a blank sheet of paper to write their own rules."
Also: LittleJohn’s claim cyclists were “given a blank sheet of paper” to rewrite Highway Code notably echo comments of @IAMRoadSmart on radio yesterday. It’s not true, and such sentiments have probably helped make life on the road for me & loved ones a bit less safe this morning.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) January 25, 2022
It is not the first time the Mail has been accused of misrepresenting Highway Code changes.
Last week, a MailOnline story told readers that one new rule "tells cyclists to pedal in the middle of the road" when in fact it provides advice about road positioning in certain situations such as on quiet roads or in slow-moving traffic, and riding in primary position has been encouraged by cycling instructors for decades.
> Press misrepresents Highway Code changes – just days before they come into force
The Telegraph too published a provocative opinion piece this morning, titled 'Pedal-pushers have taken over British roads – even as a cyclist, I think it’s time to rein them in'.
The introduction read, "The Highway Code’s new hierarchy of road use (sic) is taking things a bit too far in favour of the smug 'bikeltons' who manage to annoy everyone."
Last week, the Evening Standard was accused of running a misleading headline on a story titled, 'New Highway Code rule will fine drivers £1,000 for opening door with wrong hand'.
The Express went for 'POLL: Do you support new fine for opening car with wrong hand as cyclists given priority?'
Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at the national cycling charity, told road.cc: "A government led public awareness campaign should have started by now, with simple, accurate and memorable messages.
"Instead, less than a week before major Highway Code changes are being introduced, too many people are hearing about them through inaccurate news reports like this from the Evening Standard."
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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I was just driving along, minding my own business, and then - out of nowhere - someone changed the Highway Code and I stopped dead...
Stopped dead? there I have you. What red blooded British motorist stops, or even slows down, when they're unsure.
Foot down, it's safer to accelerate out of trouble than to brake.
Was it wearing hi-viz and a helmet?
Yeah, this sort of comment is driving me mad - "I'll get rear-ended if a pedestrian crosses and I have to slam the brakes on". What speed are they approaching turnings at?! And has it caused them a problem for the rest of their driving lives, given that the rule already applied to pedestrians who were already crossing?
That one had my spinning as well. In fact all the rants have my head spinning. How on earth did any of these people pass their theory (post '96) and practical tests.
They told a few Boris truths.
I did wonder if all this recent vitriol in certain news outlets was the reason a van driver swerved at me whilst beeping his horn yesterday.
Front and rear video has been submitted to the police, I've been given a reference number and looking at their 'solvability matrix' it would be hard to argue against taking some action.
let us know hw this turns out, so we can score their mental gymnastics
Will do. I don't report many incidents (this is only the fourth over several years), but this was quite bad and clearly intentional. If he's doing that to me, he's probably doing it to almost every cyclist he comes across. This is one that I will chase up.
@hoarseman, what camera equipment are you using please? Always curious to know what others are using - GoPro battery life poor, cycliq units seem plagued with ongoing quality issues and poor customer service, and the cheaper end bullet-cam unit I bought has good battery life but no stabilisation so despite what the UK seller would say, footage is pretty much useless - despite quality of capture being ok if it wasn't for so much vibration being captured).
thanks
It's just the original Cycliq Fly12 and the Non-CE Fly6. Apart from having to DIY replace the battery in the Fly6 after 14 months use, they've given me years of trouble free service. Easy to use and great battery life. Image quality is ok in the right lighting conditions (i.e. not into sun or at night).
I don't find that stabilisation helps much. The two cameras I have don't have stabilisation. I find it's the speed of the object vs the lighting levels (exposure time) that is the problem. Here's an example, the vehicle at 40mph is fairly clear, the one at 60mph quite blurry.
that'll be one of those teleporting pedestrians/cyclists, you know the ones that "came out of nowhere" i.e they weren't there when the driver SHOULD have looked, and then when it was too late, suddenly they saw them.
Do they think if we could beam down, we would choose to materialise halfway home, instead of at out destination?
Here's an example of a sunny day, same road. Front camera has no chance for this vehicle at 50mph, but the rear camera gets it and has a much sharper image than the one taken on an overcast day (exposure time will be shorter as there is much better light).
Good grief...I've just seen the torrent of hate towards cyclists on both the Daily Mail and the Telegraph pages re the new Highway Code cycling rules/advice...no wonder this country voted for both Brexit and Boris. Pig ignorance is obviously in fashion!
Kermit complaining about pig ignorance.
Well it made it me laugh.
What's green and smells of pork?
Kermit's finger.
Littlejohn is just another Boris the Liar. I look forward to him coming over to be PM when we finally kick out the latter.
So, FLORIDA-resident Richard Littlejohnson is up in arms about what the HC changes has done to "OUR city centres"?
hmmm, will other Floridians even know what the Dutch-reach method is?
Isn't it how they put their suncream on, due to obesity issues?
They'll probably think it is some Marine slang that you shouldn't mention in front of your wife.
Florida consistently tops the list as the most dangerous state to ride a bicycle in the USA. It's too bad, as it has some of the best weather and terrain for practical cycling, with no real winter, and a high point of 345 feet (105 m) for the entire state!
"and a high point of 345 feet (105 m) for the entire state!"
If they had mountains as well it would be too grossly unfair.
From down here in the Fens, 105m sounds like a mountain!
Nice to see The Spectator giving a good write up on the new Highway Code.
"At last, the Highway Code appears to have caught up with standards of behaviour that would be treated as normal in any other sphere of human activity..."
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/entitled-motorists-have-ruled-the-ro...
Nigel's brain will explode when he sees this.....
That's a really good article, thanks.
I particularly like the description of the Alliance of British Drivers as "the trade union for Mr Toads"
I'm a little blown away to see something I agree with in The Spectator!
Indeed. Usually they are more off the scale than the Daily Fail...
Ignore Littlejohn. He's just a better paid version of this site's own would-be agent provocateur. They're both far less smart than they think they are and usually neither makes much sense. Ignore and do not engage in either case. Your life will be better for it. Their lives, however, are improved by a reaction. That's desperately sad for them, but it's not our place to make them feel better about the gaping holes that exist for them in their pitiable existences.
Sadly there are many thousands of people out there driving on the UK roads that DO read the crap that Littlejohn and his ilk put into print. For many of them it simply reinforces and supports their downright dangerous attitudes towards people on bikes. As for our own resident shit stirrer, I have simply decided to not read any of his posts, and not even any of the replies to his posts for fear of being sucked in!
Maybe more troubling, as an opinion piece is just an opinion piece however objectionable it is, is how many saw Mike Grahams appearance on GMB today and now believe his completely mad take on the roundabout rules, which I'm assuming went completely unchallenged. https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1555360/Highway-code-change-c...
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