CYCLING

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One of Britain’s biggest engineering companies has banned staff from travelling on bicycles or motorbikes after declaring them too dangerous. Jacobs Babtie advises local authorities on sustainable transport projects, including how to get more people to switch from four wheels to two. It has told staff at its 36 offices across Britain that they must drive or use public transport. They can use bicycles only if they are working away from roads, such as on canal towpaths.

In an e-mail to all employees, the company’s health and safety manager says, “It’s patently obvious that if you are struck by a wayward vehicle when you are on a bicycle or motorbike you are going to be more severely affected than if you were in a car. The reason for this policy is to protect our employees from other vehicles on the road. There will be a few limited exceptions when employees will be permitted to travel by bicycle, but that would be when that mode of transport is required to undertake the job, for example, carrying out surveys along river banks and tow paths.”

One of Jacobs’ biggest customers is Transport for London, which has a target of achieving a fivefold increase in the level of cycling by 2025. TfL paid Jacobs £6 million last year for various projects, including monitoring the impact of the congestion charge and measuring how many people have switched from driving to walking or cycling. On its website, Jacobs states, “In the area of cycling, we can offer expert resources at every stage from cycle policy and promotion through to the detailed design and implementation of cycle schemes.”

Jenny Jones, the green transport adviser to Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said TfL should consider cancelling its contracts with Jacobs. A TfL spokesman said, “We find the attitude of Jacobs bizarre and we will be urging them to rethink this decision. TfL is committed to encouraging Londoners to get on their bikes whenever and wherever possible. Our serious investment in growing cycling has seen journeys by bike on soar by 83% since 2000. The number of number of cyclists killed or seriously injured has fallen by 28% since the mid to late 1990s.” (Source: Times Online, Jul/07)

New cycling proficiency tests for children, to be carried out on roads, are set to be launched. The Bikeability award scheme aims to give children a more realistic experience of coping on the road and comes after a pilot project involving more than 5,000 children in eight regions. The government is putting £10m into children's cycling, which will pay for around half of all 10-year-olds to take the Bikeability course. It is estimated that more than 90% of youngsters have never cycled to school.

Bikeability is run by Cycling England, a body set up by the government to encourage children and adults to cycle. In the last 10 years the number of trips taken by bike is estimated to have fallen by one fifth. Cycling England's Kevin Mayne said Bikeability's predecessor, the Cycling Proficiency Test, "wasn't doing the job". He said, "In some cases, it kind of told children about the dangers of cycling without telling them about all the positive things. As much as anything else, what Bikeability is there for is actually to convince mums and to convince people like teachers that cycling is really OK."

Unlike the Cycling Proficiency Test, which generally took place in the school playground, many of the Bikeability tests are carried out on the roads. Children are taught the kind of observation, road positioning and defensive driving tactics that new motorists learn. Cycling England has said it hopes that within five years all school-leaving children will have passed the test. In the pilot scheme, which involved Merseyside, Exeter, Essex, Cornwall, Manchester, Hertfordshire, the Isle of Wight, and Kingston in London, nearly 10,000 badges were awarded. (Source: BBC News, Mar/07)

Bells on new bikes were compulsory until 1983, when the requirement was scrapped by Mrs Thatcher's government. But from May 2004, they will once again be mandatory. Walkers fear that although the Pedal Bicycle Safety Regulations Act makes it an offence to sell a bell-less bike, there's nothing to stop the new owner removing it as soon as they wheel their new purchase out of the shop.

Karen Blanchette, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, says this is a mistake, as bells act as an effective warning to pedestrians, who might otherwise step out in front of an on-coming cyclist. Nick Palmer, the Labour MP for Broxtowe, agrees. He has campaigned for compulsory bells for five years, after several thousand of his constituents signed a petition in favour of such a Bill.

Mainly pensioners and partially-sighted people, they complained that they felt at risk from cyclists who rode on pavements or sped past just as they stepped off the pavement to cross the road. "Local police have told me it is very difficult to stop cyclists whizzing by," Mr Palmer says. "Wherever possible, there needs to be cycle paths, but you will still get those who will ride on the pavements."

If they used bells to warn of their presence, it might just make the pavements a safer place, he says. In 2002, 170 pedestrians collided with a cyclist, three of those died, and 40 sustained serious injuries, according to the Royal Society.

Roger Geffen, of the Cyclists Touring Club, the national body which represents cyclists' interests, says bells are a good idea especially for novice riders. "We feel the Act is appropriate given that so many new bikes are bought by people, including children, who are new to cycling and who are therefore likely to share the space with pedestrians."

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