Cycle Safety

Last thing this morning I picked up a young fella heading my way home. ‘Thanks God, you stopped’, he said, ‘I’ve been waiting for ages. I was supposed to be in bed by midnight’. ‘Why’, I asked, ‘you working today ?’. ‘No, I’ve got to get up in four hours for a charity bike ride’. He was taking part in the annual Spring Cycle bike ride.

Whilst the event is largely a fun day my passenger was a dedicated cyclist who regularly rode to work in the City. ‘I bet you don’t like us bike riders’, he laughed. ‘Well, only about five percent’, I admitted. ‘The rest are reckless idiots. They have no idea of how to protect themselves or ride safely with traffic’. Then I tested him on his equipment.

Firstly he rode a mountain bike, rather than a racing or road bike of lesser stability and dangerous tyres. Road bike tyres are totally unsuitable for traction in the wet, sand/gravel drifts, drainage grates, potholes, etc. Negotiating such hazards requires the road biker to take evasive and unpredictable action, regardless of surrounding traffic, whereas a mountain-bike tyre can safely handle the same. Click the image for a comparison of a road bike tyre and a mountain bike tyre.

Furthermore my passenger insisted that road cyclists should be registered and required to pass a basic road rules knowledge test. Very sensible. ‘Plus why not have electronic indicators’, I suggested. ‘Much safer than employing hand signals which compromise a cyclist’s balance. Then nearby motorists would know exactly where they’re going’.

But most importantly, to me at least, he not only used a rear-view mirror but made a point I’ve long believed - all road cyclists should be required to fit rear-view mirrors, for obvious reasons understood by all motorists. The best mirrors are simply slotted into the handlebar end and present a low profile, thereby ensuring stability for fast, safe viewing (click on image). Yet bugger-all cyclists use these cheap mirrors which could one day save their life. Why? Because legally they don't have to. Dumb.

Actually it’s beyond dumb, which suggests a certain innocence through lack of intelligence. It’s wilful arrogance bordering on sheer recklessness. Basically cyclists who refuse to adopt adequate safety measures as those outlined above are tacitly saying, ‘I’m allowed to use the road so long as I wear a helmet, so bugger all the other road users. They’d better be careful because if they hit me, they’re liable’.

Yet in adopting this dopey attitude they are, by default, waiving and blindly entrusting responsibility for their own personal safety to total strangers. And that their negligence can tragically impact upon others also seems to be of little concern. They've got rights.

Comments

[Aurelius]

When I learnt to drive a cab, one of the first things I was told was that my safety, my job and my cashflow depended on not having accidents. And so I was not only responsible for what I did, but for the half dozen cars around me. Because they were all out to hit me.
Perhaps if more cyclists (and drivers) understood this, they'd do less of the "unpredictable" stuff you speak of Adrian.
Sounds like you found a sane one.

[Lee]

Everything you've written makes good sense, Adrian. And being someone is who is on the roads all the time, jobwise as you are...you must come across some sticky situations...like the one you referred to the other day in your post 'Distressing'. I think firm rules should be set for cyclists. So many of them abuse their rights to use the roads.

[Mark]

Tell me about it. San Francisco is a notoriously "bike friendly" place, which pretty much boils down to a bunch of cyclists shrieking "share the road" at you while they break about ten different traffic laws.

[Harry Buttle]

"Negotiating such hazards requires the road biker to take evasive and unpredictable action, regardless of surrounding traffic, whereas a mountain-bike tyre can safely handle the same."

a. bullshit,
b. wrong.

Drain grates? if you ride in the gutter, you ask for it and you'll have to pop out into traffic, worry about pedestrians and car doors - sand/gravel and potholes? were his eyes painted on? - any road biker who takes unpredictable actions on the road is a dead man - the key in traffic is to be seen and to be predictable, wear bright stuff and lights, then take a line on the road and hold it.

re the tyres, mountain bike tires are designed for mud and dirt, the knobs (on a solid surface) reduce your contact patch (bit of tyre on the road) and hence your actual grip on the road - they make slick tyres for a reason, why do you think normal cars don't use 4WD tyres?

[Nathaniel]

Adrian I'm sorry but I can't agree with you. I have 10 years experience taxi driving and at least 15yrs as an enthusiastic cyclist. I have never owned a mountain bike and have no desire to. I ride the racing style of bike with ultra skinny tyres. Living only 10km out of Perth CBD all my riding is done in relatively heavy traffic.

The solution to 'cyclists making unpredictable moves' is as the campaign said "Give cyclists a meter" That is allow 1 meters clearance between the curb and your car for the rider to make the changes to his line that he needs to avoid that crap in the gutter.

Finally I take issue with the rear view mirror statement. If a rider doesn't have the coordination to be able to check behind them whilst maintaining a straight line they shouldn't be riding. Its not that difficult and it gives a much better idea of what is behind you than looking in a mirror.

[adrian]

Harry, unpredictable actions by cyclists are not something done voluntarily, but rather employed to avoid coming a cropper. When required it's an inevitable course of action. As a cyclist I've done so myself and prayed that other vehicles adjust for my out of control action. Actions not necessarily confined to riding in the gutter either.

Yet the amount of extra tyre tread on the road a mountain tyre offers vastly increases the ability to handle hazards, without pulling unpredictable manoeuvers. Using skinny road bike tyres one is required to break line much more, thereby increasing risk.

My mountain bike tyre shown is a road/track version. When new the middle was covered in 2mm nipples for normal road running (which need replacing). The outside knobs are simply insurance for cornering and sharp adjustments and otherwise don't increase normal running friction. Yet why would one choose slick tyres for public roads, motor vehicles don't.

Nathaniel, regarding rear view mirrors, anything like turning to sight following traffic, as with taking a hand off to signal, compromises one's stability and safety. Until you try rear-view mirrors you'll have to trust me on their superior advantage. You couldn't drive a car without them.

Moreover the speed differential between bicycles and cars demands a cyclist be totally aware of their position at all times, without constantly turning and taking eyes off the line of travel. Using a mirror only requires a glance of the eyes, nothing more, and importantly retains peripheral vision of line.

All I'm saying is that safer road cycling should be about minimising risk and reducing the unnecessarily heavy reliance on motorists to avoid collisions.

[Harry Buttle]

Sorry Adrian, but you are completely wrong.

No road feature (pothole, gravel, grate) is a surprise to a cyclist who is looking. If you want to die on the road be unpredictable.

Re cars not using slicks, car tyres have a 'square/flat' contact patch and run at much lower pressures than bikes meaning they don't shed water well (hence all the channels in the tread) and can hyroplane - a bike has a an elongated oval shaped contact patch and runs at high pressure, they don't hydroplane. (the aerospace industry uses a guide that results in a speed of 167kmph being required to hydroplane a 100 PSI tyre - even ignoring the fundamental differences in a/c and bike tyres, it seems pretty safe).

read this -

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/slicks.html

Sheldon Brown is a widely acknowledged expert on cycling.

I've been commuter cycling in Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart and south of Hobart, by day and by night since 1989 - in that time, I've only been hit once, a classic SMIDSY (Sorry Mate I Didn't See You) and at the time (night) I was wearing reflective materials, the bike had the worlds supply of reflective materials on it, had a 1000 candlepower light on the handlebars and a 10W halogen spotlight on the helmet (being hit from the front my various rear lights don't come into play), the spotlight was trained on her car and she pulled out into my lane and hit me by going up my lane in the wrong direction.

Tell me again about how road safety is all down to the cyclist?

If you really want road safety, use as your model the way aircraft licences are awarded and how easy it is to lose them forever.

[Earl Grey]

Harry, your writing indicates that you're an educated man but the content shows that you have very little understanding of cycling and a bike's place on the roads.

A cyclist have every right to occupy a full lane on the road, but most will ride within a meter of the curb to allow traffic to pass.

All mototised traffic has to give way to man-powered traffic according to International law, so it is the mototists responsibility to safely negotiate their way around cyclists. A mirror does nothing to protect a cyclist from mototists who often force their way past or turn in front of bikes.

The issue of tyres has been covered above, but science shows that a slick tyre on road bikes has a better grip on hard surfaces than knobby mountain bike tyres.

Unfortunately, there are SOME cyclists who ignore the law and risk their own, and other's lives, and this is totally unacceptable, just as it's totally unacceptable for motorists to THINK they have more right to the road than cyclists, pass dangerously close to cyclists, pass on double lines, turn in front of cyclists, open roadside doors on cyclists without looking, pull out from the curb in front of cyclists etc.

Let me give you, and all mototists a tip; if you wouldn't do it to a Mack truck, don't do it to cyclists!

[craig durkee]

interesting

[Surly Dave]

This is something I've touched on from time to time on my own blog. All road users have a responsibilty to follow the law and to look out for each other's safety. I've been a motorcyclist, a motorist and a cyclist for 20 years and I've seen poor behavior by road users of every ilk. And yes, there is no excuse for most of it.

That having been said, I think some of the suggestions made in the original post are of little value to cyclists. You can't always blame poor behaviour on the equipment people are using.

Mirrors and thick heavy tyres are of little additional value if you develop good roadcraft and maintain situational awareness. I've never needed to make sudden evasive manouvers on any of my bikes because keep a careful lookout where I am going and plan my path ahead. If there is debris on the road, or potholes or dangerous grates, I move out, or slow down until it is safe to move out.

I have used rear vision mirrors, but I find that keeping my ears open and turning my head allows me to better know when cars are approaching, their relative position and speed. Turning my head to do a quick visual check doesn't need to take more than half a second or so. In that time, the bike will travel about eight metres, not a great distance to have checked ahead or to ride a predictable line.

These are skills, and like all skills they take some time to develop. Some cyclists are better than others. Some are more considerate than others. And some are simply ignorant. The police should enforce the law.

As far as percentages goes, I'd say that here in Melbourne, 95 per cent of cyclists are pretty good. I find taxi drivers here are far more unpredictable, but then they seem to lack some of the professionalism of their Sydney counterparts.

[Harry Buttle]

Be specific Earl, what exactly is "a bikes place on the roads?" hint, it is a road vehicle and has the same rights and obligations as a car.

[cfsmtb]

I'm inclined to agree with Surly Dave, the initial post contained too many generalisations. The rego debate is a complete furphy, as for tech specs on what treads we should be using for utility cycling, yeah, well, that should simply remain the authors P.O.V. Try telling that to commuter cyclists on roadies or fixies. Mirrors? I used them for 5-6 years then realised they weren't really a necessary part of my bike's kit.

I'm all for a level playing field & all that, but the final paragraph smacks of the prevailing Law of the Jungle attitude out there on Australian roads. Seriously though, you should broaden your knowledge on shared road use and related stuff, ie: have a gander at Wheels of Justice;
http://www.woj.com.au/

[Lee]

Seems strange someone suggesting Adrian should broaden his knowledge on shared road use! Ummmm....I guess he would spend more time than the majority of us on the roads...and I would also hazard a guess he knows more about shared road useage than the majority of us...just a guess, of course!

[dtmeister]

It's one thing to have knowledge about shared road use from a _drivers_ point of view. The reality is that 99% of cyclists are drivers too. The same cannot be said for 99% of drivers. Wobbling along the footpath twice a year doesn't qualify you to comment on the issues cyclists face when taking to the road. Yet the vast majority of cyclists are aware of the issues from _both_ points of view.

Get out there and commute to work a few days a week and I promise that you'll become enlightened on behaviour you can currently only make very poor assumptions about.

As for the rego comment, I don't know a cyclist who isn't paying rego for a car that sits in their driveway most days.

[Peter McCallum]

I drive a bus for a living and am constantly amazed at how few courteous drivers there are on the road. My basic principle is to watch out for and give way to pedestrians, cyclists and anyone else who's vehicle is smaller or more vulnerable than mine. All this whinging from drivers of large vehicles that they have trouble slowing up and giving way is total nonsense. The roads are there to share and those that can harm others must avoid harming others. Let's face it, a big proportion of cyclists are young and have probably never been trained to ride in traffic. We must all do what we can to ensure they remain safe, even if it means we have to travel a little slower and make the destination a few seconds later.

[Peter Miller]

Re the comments about all cyclists being required to fit mirrors, I have several bikes that I commute on and find that the mirror that is fitted to one of them is of very limited use. Its only use is sometimes I can see vehicles coming up behind me. It is of absoluely no use in seeing if the road is clear, I still need to turn and look over my shoulder for that, just as I would do when driving. So due to difficulty mounting on some handlebar designs, blurry image from vibration and the need to turn and check anyway I have concluded that far from being a necessity, they can't be trusted and are pretty useless.
I also run slicks on my mountain bike, which only gets ridden on the road.
Naturally my road bikes have road bike tyres which do what they were designed to do: be ridden on the road!
I don't believe biycles need to be registered or cyclists licensed.
I cycle commute about 10 km each way all year round and have done for about ten years.
I find cab drivers are mostly very responsible drivers, just as most cyclists are. It is the exceptions that people notice and remember and it is far too easy to generalise about all from observing the actions of a few.

[Patrick Keogh]

Adrian,

I am sorry but your article contains errors of fact that demonstrate insufficient first hand knowledge of cycle safety issues. It is probably sufficient for us to know that we heard it from a cab driver who heard it from a MTB rider...

However I do want to tell you about two pieces of indispensabe safety equpment that every cyclist and every driver and every cabbie should have. The first of these is more training. Our training of drivers is insufficient, and our training of cyclists is almost non existent. I have driven in many countries and it pains me to have to say that Australis "third world" when it comes to driving training and skills. This as got to be fixed.

The second is courtesy. Maybe if we had better training this would come with it, but right now aggressive, selfish and dangerous behaviour is one of the most significant contributors to multi vehicle accidents. It is not just drivers, it is also cyclists, but of course it is more difficult for a cyclist to bully and intimidate a bus driver than it is for a group of truckies on the Hume to bully an L-plate driver in a little Toyota.

Experienced and mature cyclists have a very good view of what constitutes safe cycling, just as experienced and mature drivers know how to drive safely. However of course on the road we all have to compensate for the occasional error, the moment of inattention or the bad judgement of others. So give cyclists a metre, back off in wet conditions, keep an eye out for hand signals, and in general help one another get around safely!

Patrick

[Dave]

Adrian. I drove cabs for 20 years. Trucks for Oz post in Richmond for 3. Courier motorcycles for 3 (part time) I have raced and motorkhanad cars and raced go carts. Have done advancced driving courses, driven on the thunderdrome, trained at the Police Motorcycle training center and done levels 8 and 9 (or maybe it wss 7 and 8) of the HART advanced motorcycle training centre amongst other courses. I have driven Tanks and ferrets and tractors and forklifts and earthmovers and buses.

So how am I doing on the relative experience front?

Trust me when I say you should broaden your knowledge on shared road use.

Dave

[adrian]

Dave, unfortunately your impressive road record doesn't match your understanding of my post and comments, I repeat,

All I'm saying is that safer road cycling should be about minimising risk and reducing the unnecessarily heavy reliance on motorists to avoid collisions.

For example, why use a skinny, slick tyre on wet roads ? It's irresponsible and dumb.

[Patrick Keogh]

Adrian,

The real paradox around safe cycling is that, if you look at the statistics from around the world, the more bikes there are on the road, the less accidents they have per kilometer travelled. This is true in Australia, in Europe and in North America. So why would this be the case? I venture to say that the possible causes of improved safety in those cities where a greater percentage of journeys are conducted by bicycle could include:

• Better on-road cycling facilities (dedicated lanes etc.)
  
• Better education of road users
  
• More cycle-aware drivers
  

Yes, cyclists can certainly contribute to improved cycling safety, but it is in the best interests of all of us to have an increasing percentage of journeys done by cycle, walking and public transport, so we must all have a look at ourselves and our behavior and ask "What can I personally do to make our city safer for pedestrians and cyclists?"

As to the other part of your comment about slick tyres and wet roads, I'm sorry you are not well informed on this. Have a look at the Jobst Brandt reference that one of the contributers to this thread provided. Slick tyres on a bicycle are the performance equivalent of grooved road tyres on a car. The reason why car tyres need grooves is because, with their larger footprint (you can work it out roughly by dividing the vehicle mass by the tyre pressure) a slick car tyre would aquaplane at quite low speeds. A slick road bicycle tyre footprint is so much smaller (lower weight and much higher pressure) that the road tyre "squeeges" water out of the way and will not aquaplane. In fact if you think about a car tyre with grooves it is really like five or six slick bicycle tyres side by side with little gaps in between.

The apparent better grip of MTB tyres is an illusion on sealed surfaces. MTB tyres (depending on their specific design) work really well in mud, in sand, and on rough rocky surfaces. However they do not work well on the road. So much so that if I do a ride that is a mixture of off-road and on-road on my MTB then I have to be especially careful braking and cornering on bitumen with MTB tyres. The "knobbies" work well on dirt but on bitumen they are very unpredictable.

Adran, keep this discussion going: every venue where these issues can be discussed contributes positively to a better understanding of cycling safety. But be aware that some people may think that you are an authority on cycle safety and take your well meant but not necessarily correct advice.

Regards,
Patrick

[Patrick Keogh]

Adrian,

The real paradox around safe cycling is that, if you look at the statistics from around the world, the more bikes there are on the road, the less accidents they have per kilometer travelled. This is true in Australia, in Europe and in North America. So why would this be the case? I venture to say that the possible causes of improved safety in those cities where a greater percentage of journeys are conducted by bicycle could include:

• Better on-road cycling facilities (dedicated lanes etc.)
  
• Better education of road users
  
• More cycle-aware drivers
  

Yes, cyclists can certainly contribute to improved cycling safety, but it is in the best interests of all of us to have an increasing percentage of journeys done by cycle, walking and public transport, so we must all have a look at ourselves and our behavior and ask "What can I personally do to make our city safer for pedestrians and cyclists?"

Regards,
Patrick

[Patrick Keogh]

Adrian,

As to the other part of your comment about slick tyres and wet roads, I'm sorry you are not well informed on this. Have a look at the Jobst Brandt reference that one of the contributers to this thread provided.

Slick tyres on a bicycle are the performance equivalent of grooved road tyres on a car. The reason why car tyres need grooves is because, with their larger footprint (you can work it out roughly by dividing the vehicle mass by the tyre pressure) a slick car tyre would aquaplane at quite low speeds. A slick road bicycle tyre footprint is so much smaller (lower weight and much higher pressure) that the road tyre "squeeges" water out of the way and will not aquaplane. In fact if you think about a car tyre with grooves it is really like five or six slick bicycle tyres side by side with little gaps in between.

The apparent better grip of MTB tyres is an illusion on sealed surfaces. MTB tyres (depending on their specific design) work really well in mud, in sand, and on rough rocky surfaces. However they do not work well on the road. So much so that if I do a ride that is a mixture of off-road and on-road on my MTB then I have to be especially careful braking and cornering on bitumen with MTB tyres. The "knobbies" work well on dirt but on bitumen they are very unpredictable.

Adran, keep this discussion going: every venue where these issues can be discussed contributes positively to a better understanding of cycling safety. But be aware that some people may think that you are an authority on cycle safety and take your well meant but not necessarily correct advice.

Regards,
Patrick

[Lee]

Whew! I'm glad I wasn't on the streets when you were driving tanks, Patrick! ;)

[Patrick Keogh]

Er sorry about the duplicate post... don't quite know how I did that :-)

[Patrick Keogh]

No, I've never driven a tank. That was Dave (whoever he is). I've driven a variety of things, but never a tank. Actually I've always wanted to drive a bobcat. I'll probably never get around to it, but they look like fun. I have driven some tracked vehicles, mostly small bulldozers, but that defintely wasn't on the road!!!!

[Dave]

Well Adrian... And I won't be nasty here cos you seem like an intelligent bloke.

What I was trying to get at is 20 000 klicks or so on a pushy in traffic and suddenly it will all make sense to you. Suddenly the curb huggers will seem the silly riders the slick road tires will make perfect sense, as will the lycra. Trying not to clip out at the lights will make perfect sense the first time you try and clip in with a cab inches behind you accelerating hard and you slip, hurt your shin and try not to weave all in the same painful half second.

You dont know cos you have not been there. Like you dont know just how well a powerful tracked vehicle can accelerate (well to 20 or so) Or probably that fork lifts handle more like a boat than a car.

Tell you one thing Adrian. When I drove cabs I was not all that fit. Maybe you should get a bike. And you know I am serious here. Lots of driving skills translate directly. Some dont. But if you get a bike.. get a road bike. Cos they call em that becouse, well they belong on roads.

[adrian]

Dave, I should get a bike ? I ride a MB to the shops every other day, the bike in the image. It's the only way I can stay awake driving cabs through the night. Check my latest post, do I look unfit ?

Also my understanding is that road bikes are technically racing bikes and are primarily designed for race circuits. Moreover, why don't the overwhelming majority of dedicated road cyclists choose road/race bikes ?

[Stuart]

"Moreover, why don't the overwhelming majority of dedicated road cyclists choose road/race bikes?"

Several reasons. Cost is the first one. You can get a mountain bike or a hybrid for just a couple of hundred bucks (not that it's necessarily a *good* bike, but that's not the point.) Road bikes, on the other hand, start at a thousand dollars (I know - I bought one a couple of years ago, and that was the cheapest one I could find in Melbourne.)

There's also the perception of comfort; you tend to think you'll be more comfortable sitting up straight than "hunched" over the bars. I actually find it more comfortable now to have the handlebars in close to the stem, crouched over in race position; yes, my neck isn't quite as comfortable when I'm looking ahead, but the rest of my body is significantly more so.

But I'd say that cost is the most significant factor.

Interesting sidenote: when I went from a hybrid to a road bike, my commute went from an hour to forty minutes ...

[Reece]

I think a good law would be to require people to have experience of riding a bicycle in traffic before making pronouncements of what is safe or reasonable. I know I'm am tired of listening to uninformed people cast opinions on cycling based on false assumptions.

[bob moore]

Adrian wrote: "I ride a MB to the shops every other day, the bike in the image."

What was the Santa on the front luggage rack for? Love it! Wish more taxi drivers rode bikes like that!

As for taxi drivers, their worst fault is when they stop suddenly in the traffic lane to pick up a passenger and force a poor cyclist either to come to a grinding halt or to go out and around, possibly risking a collision with vehicles in the other lanes.

Cyclists develop special techniques to deal with taxi drivers, much as they do with us, so we are about square I'd say.

[dave]

I dunno mate are you unfit?
Wait until you have done a million more miles in the cab

Mountain bike to the shops.. That would make you a trundler. How far are the shops? Seriously.. its like a guy who has driven a half dozen shifts on quiet sundays talking about driving a cab. Or worse a passenger. I mean most of them can drive so they think they have a clue. See where I am going with this?

I am not all that fit and I can ride 200 clicks in about 7 hours. Wanna try and stay with me? Shouldnt be that hard.. most people I know can.

Dave

[IanH]

I'm reminded of an incident many years ago. After overtaking a cyclist on Fullarton Road in Adelaide she waved her fist agressively at me. Presumably she felt I'd got too close and endangered her life. If my memory serves me correctly she was taking off her jacket when I went past. Cyclists these days are a menace. They should be licenced and have to follow the road rules. My old man always reckoned you should give a cyclist more than enough room to fall off when you overtake. About 3 metres is probably enough but sadly that's not always possible.

[FooFoo]

I'm reminded of an incident many years ago. After overtaking a motorist on Fullarton Road in Adelaide she waved her fist agressively at me. Presumably she felt I'd got too close and endangered her life. If my memory serves me correctly she was taking off her jacket when I went past. Motorists these days are a menace. They should be licenced and have to follow the road rules. My old man always reckoned you should give a motorist more than enough room to crash when you overtake. About 3 metres is probably enough but sadly that's not always possible.

[bob]

In reply to IanH, riders dont just fall off in front of a car for no reason, its usually because they hit a pothole or a rock or maybe they touched wheels with a rider in front. Maybe rarely a chain might break or handlebar fail. None of these are common accidents but they do happen. Motorists cant do much about these but they could reduce chance of death or serious injury by slowing down when passing and giving at least one metre clearance at speeds below 50 and 2 metres or more at higher speeds, often requiring a lane change. If there is oncoming traffic it is not always possible to change lanes to pass cyclists, in which case please slow down until you can, just like you would do for a slow motor vehicle or a horse and cart etc. Motorists could also observe the state of the shoulder or lane, if it is rough or potholed etc give cyclists even more space and/or slow down some more. It is not useful in most cases to blow your horn when passing cyclists as they can usually hear a motor vehicle, but if there is danger, like an oncoming truck and no time to change lanes or slow down, an urgent horn blast may save a life. My thoughts anyway, there may be some other opinions.

[Lee]

As in all things in life...'it should be give and take on all sides...two-way streets...meeting half-way'.

This discussion could go on forever and ever.

Some motorists, like that drunken, drugged, useless-waste-of-space woman who struck and killed Luke Harrop a couple of years or so ago, should NEVER been allowed to be in charge of a vehicle. Luke Harrop, the sister of Loretta Harrop, world-winning triathlete, Olympic Silver medallist, was a fine young man...a good, athletic young lad from a good home, with his whole life ahead of him and along this woman came...out of her brain with drugs and alcohol...whoosh...and the life of a young man is no longer!

Then there are the cyclists who have an arrogant attitude towards others on the road or simply don't know how to ride or how to stick to the rules of the road.

There is wrong on both sides...maybe there should be classes held for both motorists and cyclists to attend simultaneously...but the same old problems would still exist...perhaps if we took out the human equation...we might stand a chance! ;)

[kimbofo]

Mountain bike tyres make riding more difficult on the road, not easier.

Rearvision mirrors make cyclists lazy and they're just one more thing for the thieves to nick when you park you bike -- if you can't turn your head to check what's coming you shouldn't be on the road in the first place.

[Krupo]

The other comments are well made, so I'll just comment on something different: IMHO, there's one key accessory: a very high powered air horn. I use one called the AirZound or something like that and it's stellar - I pump it up to about 100psi using my bike pump, and when you use it on a truck about to cut you off, it stops dead in its tracks.

It's bailed me out on more than one occasion when a driver didn't check his blindspot.