The Mind of a Helmet Camera Cyclist

20sPlentyForUs Campaign

2012-02-08T18:03:00.003Z

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bit of a cycle campaigner.

Really?

Shocking I know but, over the last few years I've seen wrongs that I just want to right. However, I'm a minnow. A virtual campaigner. I just don't have the time to devote to getting out there and actually doing stuff. Maybe as my kids get older I'll get more involved.

There are plenty of real campaigners out there who I greatly respect and I got chatting to one of them yesterday, Mark Kiehlmann from East Dunbartonshire's Cycle Co-operative. He and his fellow ED Cycle Co-op members are real campaigners.

For anyone who hasn't heard of ED Cycle Co-op:

East Dunbartonshire's Cycle Co-operative is a not for profit community based social enterprise that aims to support children and adults get on their bikes. We have been pretty successful in this aim with an increase in cycling to primary schools in the local area from 3% (the current national average) to over 7% across 7 primary schools, with one, as high at 19%. We have also been successful in gaining significant political interest from parliaments in Edinburgh, London and Brussels. Our co-operative ethos is based in a holistic approach working with families and the community.

ED's Cycle Co-op have a range of programmes. Here are some to give you a flavour of their work:

nursery interventions from 3 to 5years
primary school projects from 5 to 7 years in conjunction with their parents/carers;
after school clubs;
secondary school projects;
youth BMX Club;
women only group rides;
mechanic sessions for all;
community events that have won UK Bike Week 2010 and 2011.

One of the Projects Run by ED's Cycle Co-op

I'm considering going along for the mechanic sessions myself!

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am not averse to using the media to highlight the odd issue. Mark and his team recognise the usefulness of using the media to win hearts and minds. Here is what they have been up to.

What really sparked my interest during our conversation though, was the fabulous work he and East Dunbartonshire Council have been doing to make Bishopbriggs (a town near me) one of the first areas to have blanket 20mph speed restrictions within the towns built up areas. (This might be a first. Does anyone know of a town that has done this before?)

Mark describes it in his own words:

With some of the highest levels of children cycling to primary schools in Scotland, based on the latest Sustrans, Hands up Survey data (2010), Bishopbriggs is soon to be Scotland’s first wholly 20mph town. East Dunbartonshire Council has been supporting the cycle revolution in Bishopbriggs through their Healthy Habits programme, delivered by community based social enterprise, ED’s Cycle Co-op.

Rhondda Geekie, Council Leader said:

East Dunbartonshire is working closely with the Cycle Co-op to consider how to best bring forward a 20MPH restriction which would give confidence to cyclists.

This fantastic news is directly in line with The Times campaign for Cities fit for Cycling and the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland, produced by Transport Scotland, which aims to see 10% of journeys by bike by 2020. With an average of nearly 8% of primary children cycling to school, where all seven primaries have achieved the Cycling Scotland Cycle Friendly School Award, the only town in Scotland to do so, it has nearly reached the government target, 10 years ahead of schedule.

The 20sPlentyForUs campaign in Bishopbriggs is supported by a wide range of community leaders including:
·    All seven primary school parent councils;
·    All nine church leaders from Bishopbriggs Churches Together;
·    Local business leaders from Huntershill Village
·    Bishopbriggs Community Council and residents groups.

I claim to be a cycle campaigner, but this is cycle campaigning at its finest. East Dunbartonshire Council and ED Co-op are on the brink of something big. Something that if it can be made to work could be repeated the country over.

I wish Mark, the ED Cycle Co-op, East Dunbartonshire Council and all the supporting groups all the best in this new endeavour. I might even bring my three kids into Bishopbriggs to experience safe, on road cycling, once it's up and running.

Actually, there's a thought...

Mark!? Are there any plans to extend this scheme into Torrance......?

Early Start at Traffic Lights....EEEK!

2012-02-07T21:34:00.000Z

It would appear that there are plans in London for introducing an early start at traffic lights in London.

Eeek!

Eeek? Why the eeek? What the eeek are you on about?

In principle early start traffic lights sound like a great idea. To be fair they are a great idea. It does allow cyclists to get away from junctions before the mad rush of traffic rumbles across. Junctions are a dangerous place to be and getting across them quickly and without fuss is a good thing. They certainly do work in other parts of the world as well, there is no doubting that.

However, "early start" traffic lights must not implemented alone. There must be safe access to the front of the traffic queue that eliminates the risk of vehicle cyclist interactions. I've only just recently posted this blog on why I think ASL's are the Spawn of Satan. Part of the reasoning is that they encourage cyclists to 'aim for the front', often without thinking of the possible consequences of doing so.

Now, lets imagine a cyclist is coming up to the junction and they see that the Cycle Early Light has turned green. There are a few cars and HGVs between the cyclist and the front, but they, 'should be able to make that'. They filter down the left of the HGV.

The HGV driver knows the sequence and knows that his lights are about to change, so sets off just as they start changing. The cyclist has misjudged the timing slightly and the HGV has went a little early. The HGV turns left......

So once again, we could end up with conflict, the very conflict that is the biggest killer of cyclists.

Of course, it doesn't need to be that way. There are probably junctions where the system would work and work well. My worry is that it won't just be implemented appropriately. Since when has infrastructure always been implemented correctly and with safety as the top priority?

Yes, let's all cheer at another victory on the road to making our roads cycle friendly, but let us employ a little caution in our praise. We need to sure that the infrastructure that is implemented make life safer and not more dangerous for the people it is trying to protect

Cycling and the BBC

2012-02-07T17:21:00.000Z

Yesterday I received a message from the BBC to call them. It was with regards to an article that they were going to run today. They wanted to check that it was ok to use some of my footage. At the time I was busy cooking dinner for the family (a rare event), so I agreed, being assured it would be a reasonable and balance article.

Here it is.

Having the reporter/researchers e-mail address who contacted me, I decided to send the following e-mail.

I managed to watch the report this morning, It was reasonable in a lot of aspects. However, myself and a large number of cyclists feel that the balance is a bit skewed. This criticism is not aimed just at this article, but at a lot of similar articles on the BBC.

Would you be interested chatting about this at all?

The biggest problem is the victim culture that the BBC appears to support in this and in similar reports. In every report about cycling and cycle safety, red light jumping cyclists, Hi-Vis clothing and bike lights seem to get mentioned. It is indeed correct that some cyclists run red lights, they shoudn't. It is indeed correct that, 'in certain circumstances' Hi-Vis can help make a cyclist more visible. It is indeed correct that a cyclist should have lights at night.

However, if there was a hypothetical report on car drivers being bulled and put at risk by irresponsible HGV and bus drivers I am sure the article would not mention drivers using mobile phones, drivers speeding, and drivers tailgating. By focusing on red light jumping cyclists, hi-viz and lights (the cyclist in the piece was very visible despite not having lights) the BBC is blaming the victim.

'The victim didn't have hi-viz on, so they are partly to blame..... '

This is where the reporting is skewed. By far the biggest effect on cycle safety comes from proper infrastructure such as there is in Amsterdam and Copenhagan (you don't see cyclists with Hi-Viz on there!) and from better driver awareness of what cyclists require, and better enforcement of the law with regard to careless and dangerous driving. Cyclists and of course pedestrians are by far the most vulnerable road users. We have every right to be there ( I won't even mention the 'Road Tax' argument.)

I was interested in the comments on lack of space for decent infrastructure, in fact this is generally not true. Look at how tight the space is in sections of Amsterdam!

There is a significant upsurge in cycling at the moment and this is likely to continue. However, if we are to truly see a significant increase in sustainable transport we need a change in attitude from all road users. It's not easy for many to stomach, but we need a change of focus, we need to make cycling easier and it will cost money. However, what we never seem to get across in the media is that one more cyclist equals one less car. More cycling, means less congestion. I'd really love if the BBC would show other videos I have (or parts of), such as these ( http://youtu.be/z8t3tAlBl4I or http://youtu.be/VW0vSPA5-V4).

I think there is lots of potential for a follow up piece to this. I think the BBC has an opportunity to set the record straight and to take the debate further forward. I, and many other cyclists like me, feel that the time has come to stop blaming the victim and to start looking at how we can make the roads a better place for everyone to use.

As with many of the e-mails I send to companies and individuals on this subject I will be posting this e-mail on my blog (later). Rest assured though, that I would never post any identifiable information.

I look forward to your reply.

I'll let you know if I hear back.

Success

2012-02-02T17:22:00.000Z

Today I found out that a driver who I reported to the police has been successfully charged and prosecuted. I am very happy.

Very happy?!? Very happy about someone being prosecuted?!?

Yes I am. However, the reason I am happy is not because a heavy fine was slapped on the driver, or they lost their licence. In fact I am happy, because quite the opposite happened.

Instead they attended and completed a Driver Improvement Course. In my eyes, that is a result!

This is the incident in question.

What was interesting about the police follow up of this incident was the drivers reaction to the police arriving at their door.

You're here about the cyclist I nearly knocked over, aren't you?

According to the police that was the first thing they said. Apparently they then suggested that they had felt bad about the incident afterwards and were sorry about the way they drove. Of course, it is easy to say that when the police come to your door, but I suspect that it was genuine. After all, we can all (even I!) make mistakes.

I suspect that this is one driver who will give cyclists plenty of space in the future. That is the true measure of success.

Advanced Stop Lines: The Spawn of Satan?

2012-01-31T13:00:00.201Z

Advanced Stop Lines (ASL) are the Spawn of Satan. There I've said it. I'm certainly not mincing my words.

So what exactly has led me to this opinion?

First let me show anyone who doesn't know what an ASL is, a picture of one.

It's a pedal bus....honest!

Oops! Sorry, there seems to be a bus in that one. I'll try again.

There you go. It is usually a red or green zone in which is designated for cyclists to wait in when the traffic lights are red (yes a lot of us do stop!). It places the cyclist at the front of the traffic queue. The idea is that you are very visible to the traffic behind you because you are sat right in front of them. Most of the time that works really well. Unfortunately there is one minor problem if you have an HGV behind you.

The blind spot of an HGV marked on the floor

Ah. That's unfortunate the blind spot is exactly the same shape as the ASL. That is a bit of a problem, but that is not why I despise them so much.

There are many ways that you can categorise cyclists. Lycra clad cyclists, shopping basket cyclists, all the gear/no idea cyclists etc. The list is very long. However, when it comes to utilisation of cycling infrastructure (and I am ignoring anarchist cyclists who ignore all infrastructure) there are two types of cyclists. Experienced and inexperienced. There are significant differences in how these two groups use ASLs.

Some would disagree, but I'd class myself as an experienced cyclist. I've been at it for over 6 years now, and I try to keep myself safe. So what goes through my mind when I approach a junction with an ASL?

You can probably tell from the flow chart that more often than not I ignore the ASL. I either don't need it, won't gain any advantage by using it, or find it too dangerous to get to.

So what goes through an inexperienced cyclists mind when they approach the same junction?

OK, I'll admit I may have been a bit simplistic and made a huge sweeping generalisation, but there is some truth behind it. Many cyclists see ASLs as a target.

There is an ASL at the front of that queue, I'm damn well going to use it!

To be fair it's an understandable response. You would expect that cycle infrastructure was designed and implemented in such a way that it would make cycling safer. It is probably reasonable, as a new cyclist, to expect this.Unfortunately, this is often far from the reality. Left side feeder lanes are an excellent example of this.

What a wonderful feeder this is. It's not only extremely narrow and takes the cyclist right next to the wobble cobbles, it also incorporates its very own slippery yellow lines. Marvellous. But it gets worse. Look ahead. This feeder, and many like it encourages the cyclist to filter up the left hand side of traffic on approach to a left turn.

Let's imagine the cyclist filters up here and the lights change whilst the cyclist is still in the feeder (an inexperienced cyclist who hasn't worked out the timing of the lights). The cars start pulling off. The car that is now moving at about the same speed as the cyclist and is to the cyclists right is taking the left turn. However, this driver didn't indicate, which happens from time to time. The driver also hasn't noticed the cyclist to his left, which also happens from time to time. Unfortunately the cyclist hasn't been cycling long enough to develop fully operational cycling spider senses, and so doesn't anticipate the left turn. He keeps on pedalling.

The car turns and....crunch. One very hurt cyclist.

Now imagine the same scenario except this time the car, is not a car, it's an HGV.......

But cyclists filter up the left hand side at junctions where there no ASLs!!!!

Correct. I still think ASLs are partly to blame for this. Imagine that the inexperienced cyclist has came across a few junctions where the infrastructure, that is surely designed to be safe, encourages them to filter up the left. What do they then do when they come across a junction without an ASL? Filter up the left of course. It must be safe!!

I suspect this cyclist is a great believer in ASLs...

You can probably sense a pattern emerging now. It would seem I am not a big fan of ASLs. I haven't even mentioned the fact that they are generally ignored by drivers anyway, or that the painted surface is sometimes more slippery than normal tarmac or that their very existence sometimes antagonises drivers. I could probably write a book, just on ASLs.....probably not a very interesting book, admittedly.

There is, though, one final rusty nail that needs to be hammered into the coffin. For me, the worst thing about ASLs is that they waste time. No, they don't waste the time of road users. Yes I feel they waste time for the council employees that have to paint them, although that is not what irks me the most.

They waste huge amounts of cycle campaigner time. I am always saddened to hear of campaigners and campaigns who wave flags and claim victories when they have convinced a council to implement more ASLs.

It's further proof of the councils commitment to cycling.....

Oh no it isnt!!

It is time, effort and money wasted on cycle infrastructure that is downright dangerous, encourages poor cycling practice and has probably contributed to the deaths of some inexperienced cyclists. The councils only implement them to tick a box. To fulfil a commitment that might just get the councillor a few extra 'cycling' votes at the next election.

It is time to stop wasting time with utterly useless infrastructure and think big. If we really want to increase the modal share of cycling then we need to put infrastructure in place that doesn't just tick councillors boxes, but it make cycling safer, easier and more convenient.

This is why I now fully support the objectives of the Cycle Embassy of Great Britain. Not because I think we need another campaigning organisation, there are plenty of those to chose from, but because they will not accept second rate infrastructure.

Lets make a stand and Amsterdamize, the streets of Britain!

My Cycle Embassy of Great Britain Entry

2012-01-26T21:17:00.002Z

A great meeting is about to occur.

Brilliant minds from the 4 corners of this fair land (by fair I mean fairly damp) will be meeting in a secret room. Their aim is to solve problems that have perplexed and confused all who have seeked solutions over the years. (Yes I know this is bad grammar and stuff. It's a magnatomism). They will lock themselves in this room, only occasionally popping out for a wee bike ride to clear their thoughts, until they find the answers. And answers they will deliver.

No pressure then! ;-)

Yes the Cycle Embassy of Great Britain is meeting in London for its policy bash. Along the way they intend to look at some real life cycle infrastructure, or lack of it, to see how they can Amsterdamize it, i.e. design it right!

Unfortunately one of the greatest minds of them all can't make it....oh and I'm busy that weekend too.... so instead I will deliver my own wee teaser. How would we redesign this section of 'cycle infrastructure' so that it actually works?

The video 'commentary' describes the issues.

Additionally at the end of this lane is a roundabout. It’s quite an infamous roundabout, as the following incident happened when coming in the other direction.

An almost identical incident has happened recently, again with an HGV. Unfortunately due to an ongoing police investigation I can't share the footage. Very bad driving in both incidents, however, I feel that the roundabout design has a part to play.

For reference the 'cycle infrastructure' starts here at Hillfoot Station

View Larger Map

It heads north on Milngavie Road, becomes Main street, then reaches Burnbrae Roundabout (where I had the incident coming the other way)

View Larger Map

and then finishes further north here.

View Larger Map

The road is nice and wide, so I think there is ample opportunity to make this a shining example of how we can Amsterdamize Glasgow.

Good luck to those meeting in Londinium.

Driving Dystopia

2012-01-20T18:55:00.000Z

I've now got video adverts on some of my videos. Not on any of my incident videos, i.e. videos that focus on specific drivers or cars, they will always remain free of adverts. I have them on my general videos. Not that I make much money of course. I'm still waiting to get past the payment threshold. I don't expect to give up my day job anytime soon!

Oh and before anyone asks I will pay tax on any earnings...if I ever get any!!

I was looking at one of my videos the other day, a video of me filtering past about 2.5 miles of stationary traffic. I couldn't help laugh at the video that had been selected by Google to play at the start of mine. It was of course a car advert. It was for a Nissan Qashqai car that I would never consider buying. What was most amusing was the contrast of the advert to my video.

In the advert the Nissan car drives along deserted roads. No other cars to be seen (except in one scene where there is a nice free-flowing section of motorway/highway). I must admit the roads looked a joy to drive and it probably would be fun to drive a car in conditions like that.

Then my video starts, and reality sets in. There I am on my bike, filtering past hundreds of stationary cars, all held up by the hundreds of stationary cars in front of it, which are held up by hundreds of stationary cars in front of them.

Not quite the Driving Utopia suggested by the advert.

I may have passed this car on a road that was a little bit busier.

So advertisers...if you want to sell more cars off the back of my videos, you might want to focus more on features that make it a little less stressful being stuck in a long queue of traffic......

Buy one Nissan Qashqai and get one commuting bike, free....

Now You See It, Now You Don't

2012-01-15T21:18:00.000Z

Apologies.

The observant among you will have noticed that the video in my previous post has disappeared. There is good reason for this, although I can't go into too much detail about the reasons at the moment.

All I can say is that the police have changed their approach to this incident quite dramatically. It is now in the cases best interest for the video not to be in the public domain.

Obviously I will keep you informed of any progress. In fact I was in the process of writing a very detailed blog on the incident, that will now have to wait.

Watch this space.

HGV incident

2012-01-10T21:23:00.000Z

I'd be interested in your thoughts about this video.

Please feel free to leave your comments here or on my YouTube channel.

I'll write a lot more detail about this incident shortly. It might take a day or so though, as there is a lot to it. It might even be followed up by a guest blog by a Traffic Police officer.

Watch this space.

Admission of Guilt

2012-01-09T17:22:00.000Z

There are a number of drivers who, through there reaction following an incident, make it quite clear that they were guilty.
Let me explain.

I'm cycling along a nice straight dual carriageway road at a reasonable speed. Cars are overtaking in the outside lane with no difficulty. Then, out of the blue a car drives right up to my rear wheel and overtakes far too close. A 'typical' close pass. There was of course no need for it, as there was nothing stopping the driver taking the outside lane.

Cyclists will know exactly what I am about to say......I catch up with them at the lights 50m down the road.

I pull in front of them at the lights and look around and make a gesture that they should give a bit more room Nothing rude. They put their hand to their ear suggesting they don't understand, when it is quite clear that they do, and then comes the admission of guilt.....

They signal 'you should be further over to the left', i.e. 'You're too far out.'

This driver wants me over to the left. It might be a good idea....

How is this admitting guilt? Not only does it prove the fact that they saw me, it also proves that they were fully aware of my position on the road and that they were unhappy about it. 'It was too far out'.

I was too far out for what?

The answer is that I was too far out for them to overtake safely without them moving into the outside lane. So they understand that I require space in an overtake.Why then do they proceed to overtake within the lane? Why, having pointed out that I was impeding their progress within the lane that they wish to remain within, do they proceed to pass whilst remaining within the lane that they have indicated that they know they should not be within (a long sentence I know!)?

There are two possible conclusions:

1) F*ck it.
2) I'll teach you.

F*ck it: I can't be bothered pulling out. I'll have to expend 0.1 calories turning my wheel a fraction to give you the space that is required. I know what I am doing anyway. You'll be fine.

I'll teach you: You have absolutely no right cycling that far out in the lane. Why the hell would you do that?! I bet you are doing that to make a point. Right, I'll pass close to you just to make a point back. Just close enough to give you a wee fright. I know what I am doing.

So you know what you are doing do you?

Guilty as charged.

What a crazy year that has been.

2011-12-30T17:20:00.010Z

Glasgow's Squinty Bridge at New Year?

It's that time of year again when, due to a totally artificial division in our calender we are forced to look back at the 365 or so days that have just passed. And what a 365 days they have been!

Of course this is a personal blog. It is not a blog about world events, so there is no point in me recounting them here. Others are much better at that, and have much better insight into the ramifications of the Arab spring, and Prince Phillips heart condition. So I'll keep it personal. What has 2011 been like for me?

Crazy!

It all started off well. I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Boston in the US and to take pictures of pretty bikes stuck in the snow (that's not what I was there for!). The weather did reduce the amount of time I could spend on the bike though which was annoying. However, I made it onto TV (ok my video did) and onto radio!

Early 2011 was also the time when I really started writing my blog more regularly. I realised that I enjoyed writing, despite being very bad at it. In fact I even dabbled in writing some 'bike comedy' (here and here), although I quickly realised that I was better to stick to my day job!! I was more successful when writing about the abuse I was receiving and the abusers. I really shouldn't have made it to the end of 2011 alive!!

I thought a lot about cycle lanes, and decided that they were indeed very badly designed and often downright dangerous. However, as the year went on I began to realise that I wasn't 100% against cycle lanes or cycle specific infrastructure. In fact, I came across a realisation that not everyone could, would, or should be a vehicular cyclist such as myself. Perhaps there was another way...

In the middle of the year I had lots of grand ideas. Most of which I didn't have any time to follow up unfortunately. Events, not totally in my control took over my time. In fact during the summer things took a nasty turn and made life very uncomfortable for me for a while. I'm not going to go into detail here, but suffice it to say a driver who didn't like the fact that I caught him on camera decided to try to make my life very difficult.Of course you can't keep a good Magnatom down, and I've managed to turn negativity into positivity. Out of it all came the idea for a book. Yes, I started writing a book. So if you are interested to find out more about who I am, what I do, why I do it, and some of the crazy stuff that has happened as a result; stay tuned to these pages for more details!

Things did turn more positive again with a great meeting with First Buses, for it only to go a bit pear shaped again with my run in with the law. I really have lost a lot of faith in the police as a result. However, in good Magnatom style there is a ray of hope, and I hope to have some more details of some positive developments in the new year.

There was of course the very successfully Cycle video Day. Which resulted in video submissions from all over the world. Brilliant. Of course, time towards the end of the year (I also have three young kids as well!) was becoming tight, so I didn't manage to follow this up the way I had intended. Me bad. Must do better.

Mind you, I did become a millionaire! Ok, not in money terms, but in YouTube viewing terms. Great, except for the fact that most of the views were probably from people wanting to see me knocked off my bike. Oh well, a view is a view!

Towards the end of the year, life as Magnatom seemed to get a little quieter with nicer commutes and fewer incidents (and less threat of arrest etc!). I recorded one particularly glorious commute. This was probably my favourite video of the year, closely followed by this beauty!

Don't be fooled by the quiet end to the year, though. As I have hinted before, there are already plans afoot for 2012. Possible progress with the police, a planned project with a campaigning group and.......something else I can't quite tell you about yet. Sorry! Mind you it should be worth the wait if it all comes off.

There is one thing that is as certain as death and taxes: there will be more videos! Who knows I may even try something a little different in 2012.

Happy New Year when it comes and safe driving/cycling!

Hate Crimes?

2011-12-27T21:10:00.000Z

I am used to abuse. I get lots of it. It's to be expected when you put your 'head above the parapet' and make a stand. Someone will always find a reason to hate you.

When does YouTube abuse cross the line? When does abuse become a hate crime?

Hate crime is undoubtedly an emotive subject, one that I am certainly no expert in. Personally I am a strong believer in the right to free speech. That's part of the reason why I leave a lot of the abusive posts on my videos, when many others remove them. I often find that the 'haters' hang themselves with their own words.

However, there is a line that, when crossed, takes abuse to another level. For me that was crossed recently with this comment.

I'm ramming the next biker off the road because of this vid and yes....I will reverse over them.

In some ways this comment is not as bad as some, I've had plenty saying they would run me over, etc. However, this isn't directed at me. It is directed at a random cyclist, the next he meets perhaps. Of course, he may well be kidding, and is likely to be an 'internet hard man', however, that was the excuse of some facebook posters in Dundee recently. In their defence one of their lawyers said,

He was certainly not serious about there being a 'riot in the toon'.

The facebook rioters were both sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Should I report this and similar comments as hate crimes?

Looking at the Strathclyde Police website hate crime is defined as a crime motivated by hatred of someone because of their race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability. On the reporting form there are no other options, certainly no option for hate crime motivated by transport choice.

Ok, so maybe there is an option with YouTube. Again, they specify protected groups similar to above and make it difficult to report this as a serious offence. It can be reported as abuse, but their isn't an option for threats directed at a non-protected group.

So, whilst I completely agree that abuse against the listed 'protected groups' is unacceptable, why does it appear that hate against groups such as cyclists are not. Yes, I could try and force the issue with the police. I could try and force them to take me seriously, though I doubt they would. The problem is that I could probably report 3 or 4 people a day.

So is hate against cyclists on YouTube and elsewhere which incites violence against cyclists acceptable? Is it an unfortunate side effect of free speech? Or should we strive to make hate such as the example above punishable via the law?

What are your thoughts?

My Most Popular Video - Analysis

2011-12-15T17:22:00.000Z

For some reason the video below has recently become my most popular video on YouTube by far. Over the last month it has been viewed 9,308 times.

Why, I'm not sure. It seems to be the haters that have latched on to it. I'm getting lots of abuse for not cycling in the cycle lane, for my reaction to the driver, and quite a few suggest that the pass wasn't close. So I thought I would explain the video in detail here. Hopefully some of my haters might even get to the bottom of this page! :-)

First lets look at the road and lane layout of the road on google map (see here).

It's a dual-carriage way with a 30mph limit on it. It has two wide lanes (approximately 3.5 metres wide each). There is an intermittent cycle lane that ends abruptly, a good distance before the lights. It's width varies along its length, but it is never wider than about 1 metre. There are a number of junctions along the length, including the one that the aggressive driver turns into. This is a car park for some local shops.

A recent publication by Transport Scotland points out that the absolute minimum width of a cycle lane should be 1.5m and that the desired width should be 2m. This lane falls well short of even the minimum requirements. The following text from the Transport Scotland document makes interesting reading:

Sub-standard width or poorly located cycle lanes can provide a false sense of security for both cyclists and motor vehicle drivers and encourage poor lane discipline from both. In many cases, a narrow cycle lane can encourage close proximity overtaking by motor vehicles (Parkin, J and Meyers, C (2009)). Limited space alone is not a reason for providing sub-standard width cycle lanes. Alternative solutions should be sought at such locations.

So on this section of the road I choose not to use a cycle lane that falls well below the absolute minimum standards for a cycle lane. Which, as I have pointed out in a previous blog and is backed up by the Transport for Scotland (Cycling by Design), the lane encourages close passes.

Of course, staying out of the lane in this instance did not discourage this particular close pass. Why not? The problem here is that the lanes are quite wide. About 3.5 metres wide. In fact where the close pass took place, the width of the the left hand lane, excluding the cycle lane is about 3.1m.

In this video I was probably cycling about 20cm outside the edge of the lane. When on my bike I am probably about 60cm wide. So within the lane that leaves 2.4 metres of lane to my right. When the close pass occurs the car remains just within the left hand lane (there is a car in the outside lane). Looking it up on the internet a Honda Civic is about 1.7m wide. That leaves 60cm between me and the Honda Civic. It is generally accepted that the minimum distance you should give a cyclist when passing is about 1 metre. That is of course a minimum.

Of course, how close a pass that is acceptable depends to some extent on the speed of the passing vehicle, which in this instance was undertaking the vehicle in the right hand lane. Using google maps and relating that to where where the car passed me, and noting the time it took to get to the end of the cycle lane (4 seconds approximately over a distance of 76m) the car was travelling at approximately 43mph. Remember this is a 30mph section of road. Also note it is probably a little less than 4 seconds, so I have probably underestimated his speed.

So, lets recap so far. I was out of the lane as it was poorly designed and below minimum standards, he passed me well below the minimal acceptable distance for a car to pass, and he did so, whilst undertaking another car and travelling in excess of the speed limit (remember that's a limit not a target).

So what could he have done to prevent it? He could have slowed down and waited to pass when it was safe to do so at a safe distance and within the speed limit. It's a big ask, I know, but for anyone with reasonable car handling skills it should be pretty easy to do. So he is wanting to turn into the shops. Perhaps his safest option would be to wait behind me for the distance. Now that will be totally unacceptable to some! Lets look at how long he would have been delayed.

He reaches the back of the queue at about 41 seconds. I reach him at 46 seconds. Now lets assume he is a good driver and he left a 2 second gap behind me, so he would have been delayed by 7 seconds. He would have reached the queue at 48 seconds in the video. the car in front doesn't start moving until 50 seconds into the video.

So had he waited behind me he would have been delayed for the grand total of...........

Diddly squat. Zero. Nill. None. Nada seconds.

What could I have done to prevent it. According to the 'collected wisdom of YouTube' (is there such a thing?!?) I should be in the lane. Would that really prevent a close pass? Or, would the driver just pull out less and leave me the same amount of room, or possibly even less? I think this is likely here.

Do I have any other options?

Yes I do, but I suspect that the haters would not like it. Cycle further out into the lane. Cycling further out would 'close the door' and would leave no gap for a pass. By cycling 90cm or more from the edge of the cycle lane, there would be no space for his car to fit. The driver would either have to wait behind (in blind rage no doubt) and look for a safe gap to overtake (in the outside lane that the council have provided for the purpose) or run me over.

Would he run me over? I very much doubt that. For all the bravado and testosterone that is on display in the comments section of the video which would suggest that 50% of drivers would run cyclists over in this situation, I have yet be be run over.

So thanks guys for making me revisit this video. Having taken the time to look at it in detail and take into account your comments, I now know what to do to prevent this type of driving again.

Cycle further out in the lane.

Beavering in the Background

2011-12-13T21:02:00.000Z

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, which isn't like me. I like writing the blog. I like forcing my opinions on people that are daft enough to read them! (You're not daft, honest!) However, I've been busy.

Not busy on my normal noisy, tell the world about it sort of way, but quietly beavering away in the background. Not like me at all....quiet that is, I'm always busy!

There are a couple of things cycling wise that I am working on with others. I don't want to share too much until things are more concrete, but there are a couple of things happening that I am excited to be part of.

One is related to my recent dealings with the police. There may be a silver lining to all of this, not directly related to my complaint. My complaint is dead in the water. There is no point in me wasting my time pursuing it. However, my recent interactions with the police may have opened a new line of communication that could be very useful for the future. More when I know more.

Another possible development is also quite exciting if it comes off. It would be working with other campaigners and a particular campaign group to produce a cycling infrastructure visualisation. Again it's early days yet, but if it works out, I'll certainly share the project with you.

In fact, I'm beginning to wonder what the point was of this blog post. It's a post telling you, that I have things that would be interesting to post about, I would love to post about, but it's best if I don't post about them....not yet anyway.

Sorry. I'll stop writing this and get back to my beavering.....

Anger, Frustration, Police

2011-11-30T21:12:00.000Z

Sorry, but this post requires a little bit of background reading. If you haven't already read it, look at this post first about an incident I had in Milngavie Police station 3 months ago, where I was threatened with arrest. Now, again if you haven't read it, read my post from yesterday here.

Right, you should be up to speed now. In fact you are probably about as up to speed as I am. I've had a busy day looking after the kids, so I haven't had a chance to think though this mornings phone call from the police. So this post is just about me thinking this through as letting you know what has happened. Apologies if it reads strange.

So this morning the phone rings. It is the officer that is in charge of the investigation. Obviously my e-mail has at last got a response. The introductions out the way the officer tells me that he was surprised to hear from me. It turns out that the complaint had been dealt with informally as I had requested.

Eh?

Going back in time a bit, after I had sent the request in, Sgt xxxxxxx the investigating officer phoned me to say that he was in charge of it. He discussed the detail with me and pointed out that there were two options available to me. Informal complain, or formal complaint. He suggested that in the first instance we should treat this informally and see what the officer has to say for himself. Then I could decide from there if I wanted to take it further. This seemed reasonable, especially as it turned out the officer was on holiday at that time and would be for a couple of weeks. Sgt xxxxxxx would speak to him then and get back.

Fair enough.

So time passed and I hadn't heard anything. So I called on (and I have checked this time on my mobile phone records) 29th September at 13:02. Sgt xxxxxxxx wasn't in so I left a message for him to get back to me. He didn't. I'm busy so I didn't manage to phone again until the 30th October at 13:34 (again on my phone records). Again he was not in, and again I left a message for him to get back to me. Again he did not.

I finally found some time to e-mail as described in my last blog and today came the call.

The following is a rough reconstruction from my memory of the main points of the conversation

Sgt: We agreed that this would be dealt with informally, so I had a chat with him.

Me: No, I agreed that it was reasonable to chat with him to start with to know where we stood.

Sgt: No, we agreed to deal only with it informally.

Me: That was not what I agreed. Anyway, surely I would expect some form of reply from you about what happened at that meeting, especially considering he was not available when I first complained.

Sgt: I can only apologise about that.

Me: Is it not normal policy to respond to a complaint even if informal only

Sgt: I can only apoligise

Me: What was the outcome of the chat?

Sgt: Both officer xxxxxxx and the desk lady both denied they mentioned anything about arrest.

Me: That is a downright lie!

Sgt: Ummm, errr, sorry about that.

Me: What about the fact that he was saying filming faces and licence wasn't allowed

Sgt: He was only suggesting that there was a civil issue (There isn't!!!)

Me: Also I tried to contact you twice and left a message twice to call me back. Why didn't you?

Sgt: We have system where if someone leaves a message an e-mail is sent to me to contact you back. I never received such an e-mail

Me: But I definitely phoned twice

Sgt: I can only apologise.

Me: What about CCTV in the station, does that back up any of my events as described?

Sgt: Unfortunately this is an older station and doesn't have CCTV. They only get it when refurbished.

Sgt: You can make this formal if you wish

Me: I'll need to go away and think all of this through.....

So here I am. Feeling completely let down by the police.

Surely, even if he did get the wrong end of the stick and thought I just wanted an informal chat I should get some feedback? I was always considering the option of making it formal, after I had heard his response.
There is no way I said I was happy for it just to be treated informally. I very clearly remember it being suggested that it could be taken further later. If it isn't policy now, it should be policy for any complaint, formal or informal to get feedback after the person being complained about has been interviewed.

Why were my two phone calls ignored? Incompetence from those taking the messages? Was it ignored by the investigating officer?

What is certain is that the police officers lied about threatening to arrest me. I can assure you that happened. My wife would attest to how shook up and angry I was when I came back home.

What do I do now? Do I just drop this? Do I put it down to experience?
Should I put in a formal complaint against the original officer? They will just deny it again anyway.
Should I take it further? More senior officer? PCCS? MP or MSP?

I really don't know.

The only thing for certain is that I used to hold the police in high regard. Now, I feel like I can't trust them at all. I have lost all faith in Strathclyde police. That is very, very sad.

Ongoing Police Complaint

2011-11-29T21:30:00.000Z

What follows is a letter sent to Strathclyde Police today (contains some minor changes).

Dear Sir/madam,

On the 28th of August the complaint, ( see here), was sent to you via e-mail concerning the conduct of Officer xxxxxxx on the 14th of August at Milngavie Police Station. Following this I was contacted by Sgt xxxxxx via phone indicating that he would be dealing with the complaint against the officer and would get back to me with regards to it.

It is now just over 3 months since I made the formal complaint via e-mail and I have had no further word on the progress, or lack of progress of this complaint. I have tried phoning Sgt xxxxxxx on two separate occasions to find out what was happening. Sgt xxxxxxx was not available on either occasion, but my contact details were left and I asked to be contacted back. I have never been contacted back.

I feel I have waited long enough for this complaint to be progressed and I am now considering taking this to the PCCS if I do not hear about the state of the investigation within the next few days.

It feels like this complaint has been ignored or swept under the carpet.

Many thanks for your help in this matter.

I am not holding my breath.

It Has Happened Again

2011-11-25T17:15:00.000Z

I'm sure most of you will remember my Oil Tanker incident which occured in March 2008. It was a horrible incident that unfortunately, due to technical issues never went to court.

Unfortunately, this morning I suffered a very similar incident in exactly the same place. This time instead of being icy it was pouring with rain. It was an HGV, although this time a tipper truck instead of an oil tanker. I came on at the same junction, I was well on the roundabout, more so than last time and the HGV pulled straight out. Had I not stopped on this occasion I would have been run over with the cab.

He did slow down a bit, gave a bit of a wave and drove off. He saw me all right. No question there.

There were plenty of drivers around who witnessed it, but they drove off.

So there I was stuck in the middle of the roundabout completely dazed and absolutely furious that the same thing could happen again.

I swore a lot and once the adrenalin had worn off, I was a bit shaken.

Of course, I'm no ordinary cyclist, I am a helmet camera cyclist, so I have it all on video, front and back. Interestingly, this time, due to the angle I ended up at, it is the rear footage which demonstrates how close it was better than the front. I know the name of the company that operates the HGV and I have it's registration. I even have a GPS trace showing my position and speed on approach to the roundabout. So the video has been edited and the police have been informed. Of course, with it being a weekend it will probably be a day or so before they have time to see me, which is fair enough.

So where is the video? It is on YouTube, but it will remain unlisted for the time being. I am determined to do this one by the book, so it may be a while before it is released for general consumption. Sorry.

On the bright side, that is two HGV drivers who have done their best to wipe me off the planet and two that have failed. Perhaps, contrary to what my 'fans' suggest, I am actually riding a bike in a way that allows me to avoid collision.

I've decided that a slight change to my route is in order. I can come to that roundabout via a different direction. I'm not going to let that happen again.

After today hope I still have a few lives left.

Crash, Bang, Wallop!

2011-11-22T17:45:00.003Z

As a follow on from my previous blog I thought I should be as open as possible about the videos where I have made mistakes. So he is my list of videos where I either admitted I made a mistake from the start, realised later that I made a mistake, or more spectacularly, I crashed!

This will probably be a blog that my haters enjoy!

Crash 1
Filtering mistake
Undertaking an HGV
Blocking a car
Crash 2
Crash 3
Overtaking mistake
Almost a crash!
Cutting up a car
I hit a car!
Crash 4
My sheep incident
Lucky escape
Almost hit a car
Clipless Moment
Crash 5 (Ouch!)
Crash 6

I should point out that the above videos have occured over a 4 year period!

I try to be honest about my mistakes. I also try and learn from them. All I ask of other road users is that you do the same.

Too many incidents?

2011-11-17T18:00:00.000Z

I'm a cyclist and I'm not involved in anywhere near as many incidents as you!

I'm on the receving end of many comments like this on a regular basis. Often on YouTube, but I am certainly not immune to this on internet forum sites either. This thread is an interesting example of how a thread can turn into Magnatom Bashing. You will need some time and patience to get through it!

I have certainly never claimed to be perfect. Sometimes I over-react, but I always try to remain honest. If that means showing a video where I come across badly, then so be it.

The argument that I am a troublemake and involved in far more incidents than anyone else is often banded about during these forum jousts. I can actually understand how it comes about. Imagine you have come across my videos for the first time and you start working your way through them. You flick past the boring videos, the ones where it shows me filtering through traffic, battling through floods, taking in the wonderful views and focus on the incidents. 15 or 20 videos later and it seems that all that idiot ever does is get into spats with drivers....he's a menace!!

What happens though if we take a step back. Actually look at all of my videos (I can also see the ones that are private for one reason or another) and see what the videos actually consit of.

This is how I would split them (186 at time of writing including a few private videos):

65 Incidents which were only annoying

15 Incidents which I considered risky to me

1 serious incident

31 which were observational of something positive (I was not directly involved)

27 which were observational of something negative (I was not directly involved)

17 which were either a mistake by me, or a fall that was my fault (admitted from the start or later)

14 that were demonstrating equipment

13 which were educational in some way

2 containing my family members

1 radio interview

So only 81 of my videos are of incidents where I felt someone else was at fault, and were at the very least annoying. Whilst I have been using a camera I estimate I have cycled 11320 miles. So that is about 140 miles between incidents. Remember that is incidents of any kind on predominently busy, urban, bike-unfriendly roads.

Taking only risky or serious incidents I have to cycle about 710 miles before I have a risky or very serious incident. Taking only the serious incidents (my oil tanker incident) which really risked my life, at the moment that stands at 11,320 miles.

So, do I really seem to get into bother more than other cyclists? I know that the vast majority of the incidents that I have had, had I not recorded them, I would not now remember. So without a camera, if I reflected back, I too would think Magnatom seems to get into a lot more bother than me..

Cyclist Scum

2011-11-11T17:15:00.000Z

Cyclist scum?! That is exactly what a lady driver appeared to think of me.

I was actually quite shocked at this interaction with a driver for a few reasons. Firstly, I have been having great commutes for the last few weeks, so this has unfortunately ended my good run. It came out of he blue. Secondly, I have no idea why she reacted the way she did I did not holder her up. The large queue that I filtered past may have held her up, but I didn't, certainly no more than a few seconds. Lastly, she didn't look the aggressive sort, but as you'll see from this video she was particularly aggressive and most shockingly, full of contempt for me.

Why?

A cyclist DARED to speak to her and question her.

See for yourself....

The Ultimate Cycle Commute Rucksack?

2011-11-08T21:05:00.004Z

There are two distinct camps of cycle commuters. I'm not talking about those that want to cycle on the roads and those that want lanes. That's for another blog post. I'm talking about a far more contentious division.

Panniers or rucksack!?!

You have to get stuff to work, and unfortunately you sometimes have to bring work home. But how do you get it there? Some cyclists swear by Panniers as the answer. You will certainly have less issues with sweaty back syndrome. However, I am proud to be a Rucksack wearer, and have been since I started commuting.

So if you fall into the Rucksack crew, I can heartily recommend a rucksack.

The Deuter Trans Alpine 30. Trans Alpine? Remember I cycle in Scotland!

Seriously though this has been an amazing bag for me.

How many times have you read a review saying something was amazing only to find out that the reviewer had only had the item for 2 weeks?! Can you trust reviews like that? Rest assured this is no short term use review. I have in fact been cycle commuting with this rucksack since October 2006. The same one throughout.

I have had this bag just over 5 years. Think about that. That's 5 summers, and 5 winters. I've had this bag longer than I have been filming my rides with a helmet camera! It's been rained on, snowed on, I've came off my bike (a few times) with it on. It has been on my back in temperatures of 28C and temperatures of -15C. Over that time I have cycled many thousands of miles. It has taken a beating.

So what about the bag itself?

It's not a small bag, and that is exactly why I bought it. I needed space, as I tend to carry quite a bit. It's not unusual for me to be carrying, clothes for work, shoes for work, a note book or two, wallet, spare cycling jacket, spare batteries, tubes, multi-tool, puncture repair kit, water, mobile phone etc. So it can carry a lot! It has a nice number and nicely proportioned compartments and very importantly for the poor weather a rain cover (that is Hi-Vis yellow).

It also fits very well with restraining straps on the main shoulder straps and around the users waist. Once it's on I forget it is there. Do I get a sweaty back? Of course I do, but its not too bad, and with the Airstripes system, better than average. Mind you, it doesn't really bother me, and I think it is a price worth paying for the convenience of a rucksack.

Here is what it looks like new.

Looks good new...

So what does it look like now, having been through all weathers etc? Not too bad!

Ok, so it's understandably a bit tatty, but pretty good considering its use. Most importantly it has plenty of life left in it.

So how much is the 'ultimate commute rucksack'? Currently it is just under £80 from Amazon. Not cheap, but for a bag that does what it should and is built to last, its a good investment.

(If you're quick, Wiggle have one for £67.50. Only one left though!)

Does it get any better?

2011-11-06T21:02:00.001Z

You may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet recently. Not like me, I'm not known for being quiet as I am sure you've noticed!

So why the radio silence?

A couple of reasons really. The first, and most boring is that I am busy. Yes, contrary to what many people say about me on my YouTube videos I do actually have a life. That life which has a busy job, a wife and three young children in it, has been pretty demanding recently. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. Mind you, as I write this my wife is battling to get our youngest to sleep, now she has contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth for the second time in 2 months. That isn't such a great thing.

However, the slightly less mundane reason I have been quiet is that.....my commute has been quiet. No, the roads haven't suddenly cleared of cars, far from it. It has been pretty busy on the roads recently. It's just that I am going through a magical period of stress free cycle commuting.

Yippee!

It's never perfect, but any incidents have been of a very minor, forget in 10 seconds nature.

So no, videos then?....not quite. In fact I think I have produced my best video to date. Ok, that's my opinion, but you can have a look and decide for yourself below. The only thing I'll say about the video is that it was filmed during one of my best commutes ever. One of those commutes where from start to finish you just can't stop grinning. You just feel at one with the bike and everything around you...including the traffic.

I got to work totally buzzing and wanting to keep cycling for another 100 miles.

I love driving. Not commute driving, that's never much fun in Glasgow, but I do love driving, especially on open country roads. However, driving has never made me feel the way I felt during this commute, and never will.

Enjoy! :-)

The Police Came Calling...

2011-10-15T22:13:00.001+01:00

Saturday was a busy day in Magnatom Towers. My in-laws are staying at the moment and due to the help with childcare and the extra labour, it's always a good time to get work done on the house. So 70% of the 23 year old lounge paper is stripped (I know it's 23 years as the decorators wrote the year down!) a back boiler has been stripped out (a Corgi engineer had disconnected it before anyone asks!), I slice my finger open taking said boiler out, and the police turned up at the door....

Police!? It's ok, I've not been rumbled. At least not yet. In fact they came with good news.

A few weeks back I had a nasty incident where a car overtook me so close I honestly can't understand how it didn't hit me, and I had to swerve out of the way. I felt it was bad enough to show the police.They were back to tell me they had spoken to the lady, and she has been charged with Careless Driving.

It's funny, upon hearing that I felt a little guilty. Human nature I suppose. I don't like taking action like that, which is part of the reason why I very rarely do. So that wasn't the good news. What was good news was her reaction. Upon the police arriving at her door, a few weeks after the incident, her initial words were:

You're here about the cyclist I nearly knocked down aren't you?

According to what she told the police, she has been concerned about the incident ever since and felt bad about it. She has apparently learnt from this and now gives cyclists a much wider berth.

That is good news!

So whilst this driver will, if she does plead guilty as expected, get 3 points and a small fine, this is not the good news. The good news is that one driver will be much more careful around cyclists in the future.

A result.

As for the video. It is private at the moment and will remain that way until I can find a way of blanking her number plates. She has been good enough to apologise and admit fault. I think it is only fair.

Anyway, I'm being totally anti-social to my in-laws at the moment. So no chance to check spelling and grammar..... :-)

I'm a Millionaire !

2011-10-12T17:15:00.000+01:00

It's official. My YouTube channel has now had 1 million views.

Blimey. I'd never have thought that when I started!

Yes I know, 900,000 of those are probably me looking at my own videos, and 98,000 are probably people who glance at my videos to see if I have been run down yet, but that means I've had 2000 views from people who like what I do.

Thank you! :-)

What is fascinating is the list of my most popular videos at the moment (i.e. what people are looking at over the last few weeks).

The most popular is this one.

Look at the comments and you'll see that the majority of comments are of the 'hate' variety. What is also interesting is to go to the YouTube channels of these haters. They do tend to fall into a couple of particular stereotypes!

I am proud though of my second most popular video at the moment. It is one of my favourites.

What I found very interesting though, is that if you Google 'Hate Cyclists' this video comes up on the second search page.

Mmmm. Wouldn't it be fun if this video were to come up as a top result on Google when searching for 'Hate Cyclists' or 'I Hate Cyclists'

So if you are looking for a well done gift for me for reaching 1 million views, link to my filtering video above from your web page so that it rises the google rankings! :-)

Dedicated Cycle Video Day Blog

2011-10-05T22:40:00.000+01:00

A quick entry before bed....there is a sickness bug going through my family at the moment, so I need an early night!!

I've set up a new blog focusing on the Cycle Video Day. You can find it here.

Happy videoing! :-)