The Death Zone

 Red pins are men, blue pins are women,-Central London cyclist fatalties, 2001-12 (source I Cycle Liverpool)

A UK cycling blogger recently wrote a post exposing a peculiar trend occurring in central London near UCL. He notes that in a particular area in central London, which has seen 14 deaths in the past 14 years, women have been disproportionately killed while cycling. This brief study also notes that 13 out of the 14 total deaths involved large vehicles, HGVs and buses.

This report makes one think, what can be done to train the drivers of large vehicles better? How can roads be made safer for cyclists? Why are women at a higher risk in this area?

The full report can be found here: http://icycleliverpool.co.uk/2013/02/18/the-ladykiller/

 

Free cycle training

Camden council offer free cycle training to those who want to build their confidence on the road. Josie, a third year mathematics student at UCL, gave this recommendation:

“I just went on a free “cycle lesson” provided by Camden council. It was actually really great!

The cycle instructor Diego was a super bike geek, and was extremely knowledgable about road positioning, the best way to filter, and common avoidable mistakes.

I really recommend it, I especially found the positioning stuff good. You can sign up on the link below, and they’ll assign you an instructor who’ll give you a call to arrange a 2hr session.

He also recommended ordering free cycle maps from TFL: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11682.aspx“

As you can see, it is a really useful experience! Read more about the training here http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/transport-and-streets/cycling-and-pedestrians/cycle-training-in-camden.en

 

 

Very handy cycle route planner!

There are a number of really useful journey planners which are tailored specifically to cyclists. This is just one of them http://www.cyclestreets.net/  and it is definitely work a look at!

Cycling Articles

A lot of really interesting articles have popped up lately about cycling in London. Here is a brief description and links to some of these.

The Guardian recently published a piece on cycle safety, stating that construction lorries account for a disproportionate amount cyclist deaths. These dangers were demonstrated last week during Cycle Safety Day when participants were able to sit on the driver’s seat of a lorrie and observe first-hand how a lorrie driver perceives cyclists. This activity demonstrated the completed disconnection between cyclists and lorries, one that is extremely dangerous.

The article can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/01/construction-lorries-cyclist-deaths-report

A related article stating that construction companies lack awareness of the danger lorries pose to cyclists can be found here: http://road.cc/content/news/75482-construction-firms-london-lack-awareness-risk-lorries-pose-cyclists-says-trl

Another interesting article came out last week claiming that the number of people in the London borough of Hackney that cycle to work has surpassed those that drive to work. The article states that according to the most recent census,  nearly 12 percent of Hackney residents use bicycles to commute to work. This is three percent more than those that use cars.

The full article can be found here: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/so-hackney-steals-the-cycling-show–but-why-its-bikefriendly-policies-stupid-8476581.html

And, another thumbs up for Hackney since this London borough’s cyclists have been named the “most stylish commuter cyclists”

That article can be found here: http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-bikesters-hackeys-most-stylish-commuter-cyclists-8481205.html

Hope you find some of those interesting and worth a read!

Cycle Safety Day Notes

Thank you to all that came out today to the Cycle Safety event on the UCL Quad, there was a great turnout.
This is part of a program Transport for London (TfL) has initiated which promotes cycle safety at London universities. UCL has been chosen to take part in this project.

The even included bike tagging, bike repairs and active demonstrations about bike safety on the road.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Green UCL is  looking for staff and students with a passion for cycling to become part of the new cycle safety project. Look here for more information:www.ucl.ac.uk/greenucl/whats-happening/programmes/tfl-cycle-safety-ambassador-scheme.