Monthly Archives: January 2014

The Advertising Standards Authority – not fit for purpose

Posted on January 29, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Scotland’s The Nice Way Code campaign got an almighty and justifiable thrashing from campaigners last year, particularly for its nonsensical advice, and notions of collective responsibility. However, with one judgement, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has managed to make me … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising Standards Authority, Helmets | 40 Comments

Visibility in context

Posted on January 28, 2014 by aseasyasriding

The winter is of course the period of the year when people riding bikes get urged to ‘lighten up’ and to make themselves visible. It is easy to lose count of the number of articles and police campaigns on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cyclists' Touring Club, Lights, Road safety, The Netherlands | 43 Comments

If driving in Britain was like cycling in Britain

Posted on January 24, 2014 by aseasyasriding

You need to make a short trip with your children, by car. The first thing to do is to dress them (and yourself) appropriately. That means ensuring you are wearing dayglo reflective tabards, and crash helmets. Driving a car is … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurd transport solutions, The Netherlands | 34 Comments

The problem with the word ‘cyclist’

Posted on January 22, 2014 by aseasyasriding

The news that the police should use some discretion and not issue Fixed Penalty Notices to anyone who rides a bike on a footway, irrespective of the local context, the type of person riding, and how they are behaving, was … Continue reading →

Posted in Pavement cycling, Stereotyping | 48 Comments

Consistency on helmets

Posted on January 15, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Note: some of what follows isn’t actually true. But only slightly. In a move that has caused controversy in the pedestrian community, James Cracknell has come out in favour of a law to make it compulsory to wear a helmet … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 28 Comments

There is no ‘us’

Posted on January 13, 2014 by aseasyasriding

A few months ago I had a bit of a near miss with a driver who, in essence, failed to expect me to come around a corner on a bicycle. Likewise, I failed to expect him to appear so suddenly … Continue reading →

Posted in Stereotyping, Uncategorized | 34 Comments

The natural impulse to protect, and what it means for the school run

Posted on January 8, 2014 by aseasyasriding

A couple of days ago I was sent this email circular from PTRC, a company that runs training courses for transport and planning. It’s by David Jilks, the PR manager for CILT (the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport). Running … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Cycling policy, Infrastructure, Safety, Space for Cycling, Subjective safety, The Netherlands | 54 Comments

One activity can have different forms

Posted on January 3, 2014 by aseasyasriding

We use words to describe things. They are useful. A small problem, however, is that there aren’t enough of them. Human beings can only remember a finite number of words, and that means, inevitably, that there aren’t enough words to … Continue reading →

Posted in Helmets, Infrastructure, James Cracknell, The Netherlands, Uncategorized | 31 Comments