British police are telling riders to “cycle like you drive” and not break speed limits
The advice is not being received well
A tweet by the Merseyside Police is the talk of Twitter today, after the account posted some “advice” for cyclists. “Many cyclists can exceed urban speed limits, yet brakes on pedal cycles can be weak,” the post read. “Think, if a child or elderly person were to unexpectedly step into your path, could you stop in time? Cycle like you drive, with courtesy, care and within the law.”
Many were perplexed with the tweet, especially the idea that bikes would be breaking urban speed limits. Others were simply flabbergasted that the authorities would tweet something that seems to blame cyclists for collisions. “That’s not the law, and you know it. Few cyclists can break urban speed limits, not many,” Mikeycycling responded. “Drivers are far more law-breaking and dangerous and careless than cyclists. So no, I won’t be cycling like drivers drive. Your tweet is almost all wrong.”
Jon Burke posted some stats about collisions in the United Kingdom. “In 2018, drivers in the UK killed 555 pedestrians and cyclists. In the same year, three people died after collisions with cyclists (not clear who was responsible for the collision) in 765 million cycle trips in England.”
The tweet is in a similar vein as a Toronto Sun article from May 9, by Liz Braun. The piece, entitled “Cyclists need to smarten up when they’re on Toronto’s streets” asked the question: “When you’re out on your bike without a helmet, weaving in and out of traffic and running red lights, do you ever worry about the police? They worry about you.”
The author then continued on a rather shallow analysis into road safety for cyclists. “Toronto Police have a whole wish list for cyclists, starting with the wish that you get home safe and sound every day. After that, the wish list includes mandatory helmets, proper lights, an education in the rules of the road and freedom from e-bikes.”
Opinion: The Toronto Sun telling cyclists to smarten up is paternalistic and privileged
In the Sun piece, it mentioned how the police have given 1,076 tickets to bike riders. The article did not mention stats about how often vulnerable road users are hit by cars. There was a 2016 study that pointed out the frequency of collisions by vehicles in Toronto: cyclists and pedestrians are hit at a rate of one every two and a half hours.
Burke also pointed out a similar stat in Britain. “81 per cent of drivers exceed the speed limit in 20mph zones. 53 per cent exceed the speed limit in 30mph zones. In 2019, 570 pedestrians and cyclists were killed by motor vehicles.”
Despite the outrage, the tweet is still there.
