e.CAN 202 - The email bulletin of Cycling Advocates' Network, NZ

e.CAN 202 - The email bulletin of Cycling Advocates' Network, NZ

e.CAN

Contents:

Dip those dazzling bike lights

Cyclists need to make sure they are well lit now that daylight saving has ended, says the Cycling Advocates Network.

But those using super-bright LED lights should avoid dazzling other road users.

"Flashing super-bright bike lights can be a distraction, so keep them aimed low," says CAN spokesperson Patrick Morgan.

And it's time for cyclists to check their lights and batteries, he says.

"Some may be caught out by earlier evening twilight, so we all need to be extra careful. Cycling offers the ultimate trip: it's a fast and convenient way to get around, while improving your health and saving you money.

"Our message to bikers is to get out there and enjoy the ride, and to remember to use lights whenever visibility is poor.

"For drivers, the message is to look twice for people on bikes, especially at intersections."

Bicyclists, when riding at night, are required to have:

  • one or two, white or yellow front lights. One may flash.
  • one or more red rear lights, flashing or steady
  • lights must be visible from 100m
  • pedal reflectors or reflective clothing.

Funding Assistance Rates (FAR) review - submissions invited

NZTA is undertaking a comprehensive review of the approach used to set funding assistance rates, which determine the proportion of project costs that can be paid from the National Land Transport Fund.

The same general approach to setting FARs has been around for a long time, with the last significant changes being made more than 30 years ago. Different groups and organisations have raised concerns with the NZTA about whether this approach to setting FARs is appropriate today. The aim is that the review outcomes will be reflected in the 2015-18 National Land Transport Programme.

The discussion document and submission form are available from the NZTA website:

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/consultation/far-review/index.html

Submissions are due by 3 May 2013.

Plan for 30 km/h limit in Palmerston North

23 April 2013- Motorists could be in for a shock - the speed limit for Palmerston North's central city streets, and those within 300 metres of every school, could be lowered to 30 km/h.

A radical overhaul of proposed changes to the Speed Limits Bylaw was recommended by the city council's community wellbeing committee last night, seven hours into a series of meetings expected to continue until 11pm.

Cr Chris Teo-Sherrell, who pushed for the permanent lower limits around schools, said he was ecstatic that enough councillors supported putting the plan out for public consultation.

Read more here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/8585112/Plan-for-30kmh-limit-in-city

...and Copenhagen-style separate cycleways for Christchurch

4 April 2013- Christchurch's push to become a premier cycling city is gaining momentum with ambitious plans for separating cyclists and motorists on busy routes.

Ambitious new guidelines for the design of cycling facilities in Christchurch have been approved by the city council's environment and infrastructure committee and should get approval from the full council this month.

The guidelines map out how new cycleways should look and come as the council considers imposing a $20 levy on ratepayers to help pay for the proposed $70 million network.

Research was done around the country and overseas before drawing up the guidelines, which are designed to ensure that network takes advantage of international best practice.

Read more here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8508885/Copenhagen-style-separate-cycleways-planned

Upgraded website for Nga Haerenga/NZ Cycle Trail

The new website for the Nga Haerenga/NZ Cycle Trail project makes it easier to plan a cycling adventure in New Zealand.

The 'Official Partners' section lists services that support individual trails, such as accommodation, restaurants and bike hire businesses, and improvements to the 'Explore the Trails' section means that you can filter your search by trail grade or region.

http://www.nzcycletrail.com/

London mayor launches new 'cycling vision'

7 March 2013- Cycle routes named after tube lines, better cycling infrastructure and increases to cycle parking at mainline stations are some of the proposals in the Mayor of London's Cycling Vision.

The Mayor's Vision has been developed in consultation with cycling groups with an accompanying budget of GBP 913 million.

He is also keen to make cycling appear more normal, broadening its appeal to a wider cross-section of society.

By the end of the 2016, the Mayor's Cycling Commissioner, Andrew Gilligan, claimed that spending on cycling would be GBP 18 per head per year, roughly the same as is spent in Copenhagen. The aim will be to double cycle use within 10 years.

Read more here:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/mayor-launches-cycling-vision-to-de-lycrafy-london

Changing liability laws in Scotland

Road Share is a new 'strict liability' campaign focused on changing civil law in Scotland, so that cyclists and pedestrians would be awarded automatic compensation for injuries or damage sustained in crashes with motor vehicles.

At present, the UK is out of step with Europe as one of only five EU countries (along with Cyprus, Malta, Romania and Ireland) that does not operate system of strict liability for vulnerable road users.

As a consequence, the current system expects those injured or the families of those killed to go through an often harsh and protracted process to gain much needed treatment, care or compensation. On the Continent, strict liability is seen as an integral factor of cycle safety and Scotland has the power to introduce this principle into civil law to demonstrate its credentials as a civilised, cycle-friendly nation.

Read more here:

http://www.cycling-accident-compensation.co.uk/strict-liability.aspx

What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road

1 November 2012- "Sorry mate, I didn't see you". Is a catchphrase used by drivers up and down the country. Is this a driver being careless and dangerous or did the driver genuinely not see you?

According to a report by John Sullivan of the RAF, the answer may have important repercussions for the way we train drivers and how as cyclists we stay safe on the roads.

John Sullivan is a Royal Air Force pilot with over 4,000 flight hours in his career, and a keen cyclist. He is a crash investigator and has contributed to multiple reports. Fighter pilots have to cope with speeds of over 1000 mph. Any crashes are closely analysed to extract lessons that can be of use.

We are the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. Our eyes, and the way that our brain processes the images that they receive, are very well suited to creeping up on unsuspecting antelopes and spotting threats such as sabre-toothed tigers.

These threats are largely gone and they've been replaced by vehicles travelling towards us at high speeds. This, we've not yet adapted to deal with.

Read more here:

http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/

Eye-tracking experiment finds drivers don't see more than 1 in 5 riders

25 April 2013- More than one in five cyclists go unseen by motorists on the road, according to an experiment using eye tracking technology conducted for the insurance company Direct Line, confirming the extent of the 'SMIDSY' - "Sorry mate, I didn't see you". Younger drivers missed spotting nearly one in three riders, and female motorists one in four. By contrast, just 4 per cent of what Direct Line terms "jaywalking" pedestrians were not seen, and 15 per cent of motorcyclists.

Motorists who took part in the experiment wore "specialist glasses that pinpoint the exact focus of the eye by tracking microscopic movements in the cornea," said the company, adding that film footage "enabled researchers to establish exactly where drivers focus their vision, which was often at clouds, buildings and passers-by."

Read more here:

http://road.cc/content/news/81753-invisible-cyclists-eye-tracking-experiment-finds-drivers-dont-see-more-1-5-riders

'Bicycle highways' help save healthcare costs in Northern Europe

4 April 2013- Bicycle highways, a new transport experiment, are spreading fast across the European Union, notably in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the UK.

In the suburbs of Copenhagen, a bicycle highway project launched in April last year has proven a hit with the city's commuters. Authorities plan to open 28 bicycle highways in total.

According to its promoters, bicycle highways should be rolled out across the EU, especially in a time of crisis as they can help governments save on healthcare costs.

The bicycle network is currently saving the Danish state an estimated 40 million Euro per year in health costs, with only a relatively small amount of money going to building and maintaining the highways.

Read more here:

http://www.euractiv.com/health/bicycle-highway-projects-europe-news-518865

Helmet cameras highlight divisions between cyclists and drivers

28 April 2013- A cyclist who recorded and posted a road-rage incident online in which he was attacked by a van driver says he now regrets the way the motorist has been subjected to a campaign of abusive calls and emails.

Stephen Perrin is one of a burgeoning number of cyclists who, fed up of daily run-ins with drivers, has taken to wearing a camera on his cycling helmet. But he has now appealed for people to leave the man involved alone.

"It's the modern version of being put in the stocks," said Perrin, who was knocked off his bike and punched repeatedly earlier this month. The driver was apparently infuriated by the cyclist for sounding his air horn after Perrin claimed he had been "cut up" for "giving parked cars room".

"I put the video online because it needs to be seen, but the grief he and his family have got since from trolls and the like disgusts me," he said.

Read more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/28/cyclist-regrets-posting-video-road-rage-attack

Weblinks

Why separated cycle facilities?: arguments for separated cycleways in Dunedin:

http://spokesdunedin.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/protectedoneways/

Dooring data: an analysis of 2010-2012 car-door vs. bike crashes from ACC data:

https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/ipru/accdooringdata

Doublin' in Dublin: cycling has doubled in the Irish capital over the past eight years:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2013/0206/breaking48.html

Toolkit for accelerating the adoption of cycling for transport:

http://www.torontocycling.org/a-tool-kit-to-accelerate-the-adoption-of-cycling-for-transport.html

Bikes recycled out of cars:

http://www.bicycledbikes.com/

Critical analysis of conventional transport economic evaluation: from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute:

http://www.vtpi.org/crit_econ_eval.pdf

POLITE uniforms: a hi-vis vest with a twist:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cyclists-dress-like-police-to-slow-drivers-down-8568155.html

Satnav cyclist alert for lorry drivers:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22193472

The Copenhagenize Index: an index of bike-friendly cities of the world:

http://copenhagenize.eu/index/index.html

Cyclodeo: where cyclists around the globe can upload videos of their rides to a Google map (at present, mostly so that the rest of us can drool over the cycling conditions in the Netherlands and Copenhagen):

http://cyclodeo.com/Cyclodeo.jsp

MadeGood: free bike repair videos and tutorials:

http://www.madegood.org/

Stoopidtall: outrageously tall bike video at Ciclavia 2013 in LA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bJXXckWLc0E#

About e.CAN

e.CAN is distributed approximately every 1-2 months to CAN members, Friends of CAN and other interested people. CAN members also get our bi-monthly magazine, ChainLinks.

To check back issues of e.CAN, go to http://www.can.org.nz/ecan .

About CAN

Cycling Advocates' Network (CAN) is New Zealand's voice for cyclists. We want to see cycling become an everyday activity in NZ. CAN's membership includes experienced cyclists, advocates, engineers, planners, local and regional councils, bike shops, and local advocacy groups throughout the country.

To find out more about CAN, go to our website, http://www.can.org.nz.

Sign up to CAN online via credit card at http://www.can.org.nz/join-can/. Join us!

We also welcome donations to support our work. You can donate online at: http://can.org.nz/donate

address: PO Box 25-424, Wellington 6146 email: secretary@can.org.nz
website: http://www.can.org.nz

Comments

Submitted by Dyan Joy on 17 August, 2014 - 00:10

The cycling is becoming more and more popular in the New Zealand. The Cycling advocates network is doing a great job. The others countries should follow their styles. They already involved with cycling in everyday activities. It will help them to keep fit and well in both physically, as well as mentally. This research paper sites review will help to understand the important of the cycling and it's benefits.