In the same week that cyclists have criticised plans to completely close a road in the Lake District due to storm damage – which Cycling UK says would “block off a key part of the National Cycle Network” and force cyclists to use “a narrow section of busy A-road, hemmed in by walls with fast traffic and HGVs” – a holiday firm in the area has urged visitors to ditch their car in favour of a bike if they want to take in the sights.

With the majority of the Lake District’s 16 million visitors a year travelling by car, the sight of queues of traffic and badly parked vehicles on narrow roads has become a ubiquitous one in the region during the holidays, prompting last year’s ban on parking at some of the area’s major tourist spots.

Following that ban, the Friends of the Lake District group said that “we have reached a tipping point where we can either embrace a radical re-think on transport within the Lake District National Park or risk destroying the sense of tranquillity and escape that this landscape has delivered for generations”.

And this week, Jeffrey Rebbeck, from the Elterwater-based holiday cottages company Wheelwrights, has now called on visitors to take to two wheels when soaking in the picturesque views, and reducing congestion and keeping vulnerable road users safer in the process.

“There are lots of ways to travel around the Lake District without a car,” Jerry told Lancashire Live (link is external). “Cycling and hiking from place to place is one of the best ways to see the park whilst reducing congestion. There are plenty of places to hire bikes if you don’t have your own.”

As part of his tips for properly enjoying the area, Rebbeck also criticised the standard of driving from some holiday makers.

“People are often driving over the speed limits on the country roads in the Lake District or accelerating down straight sections of road and then braking at corners. This type of driving increases noise and air pollution, as well as emptying your wallet, as it uses fuel much quicker,” he said.

“Driving smoothly and adhering to local speed limits will be better for the local environment and better for your bank account.”

Not that the local authorities are making the switch from car to bike in the Lake District easy, of course.

Last week, we reported that Cycling UK has launched a campaign in response to Cumberland Council’s consultation to completely close a storm-damaged road, which forms part of the National Cycling Network and described by the cycling charity as “one of the only safe road cycling routes leading towards Keswick”.

The quiet route alongside Thirlmere reservoir was badly damaged during Storm Arwen in 2021. Having been temporarily closed for two years, it now faces permanent closure.

Cycling UK has objected to the proposals that would see cyclists forced to use the A591 instead, “a narrow section of busy A-road, hemmed in by walls with fast traffic and HGVs”.

Furthermore, it was revealed that the council's diversion route “only stipulates suitability for vehicular traffic; therefore no diversion route is provided for pedestrians and cyclists at this time”, a plan Cycling UK has branded “ridiculous”.

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-12-september-2023-303801#live-blog-item-49585

When reading this story, keep in mind that today sees the end of the High
Street chain Wilco.

One of the reasons cited for the company’s failure is the falling numbers
of people visiting High Streets, a major reason for which is the lack of
car parking and other motor-vehicle traffic difficulties.

This, of course, has been a the result of major campaigns by cyclists and
the cycling media to get private cars out of cities, presumably as a
prelude to getting them off all roads under the mantra of ‘car delenda
est’.

So the good burghers of the Lake District should be careful for what they
wish, because car drivers bring custom in a manner that cyclists,
penny-pinching and demanding to the last, won’t replace.

The Lake District could become a cycling paradise, empty and denuded of the
businesses that currently support it. Is that what the good burghers really
want?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> With the majority of the Lake District’s 16 million visitors a year
> travelling by car, the sight of queues of traffic and badly parked
> vehicles on narrow roads has become a ubiquitous one in the region during
> the holidays, prompting last year’s ban on parking at some of the area’s
> major tourist spots.

> https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-12-september-2023-303801#live-blog-item-49585

--
Spike

QUOTE: “With so many diverse landscapes from lakes to mountains, the Lake District is a great place for an adventure holiday. To keep as safe as possible on your trip, from hiking to mountain biking, ensure you have the appropriate gear or equipment to keep yourself and your group safe."

“Make sure you have a good map, not just a smart phone, as there’s often no signal in the Lakes. A compass is also essential. Check the weather before you set off and be prepared for all eventualities. Accidents and emergencies do happen, but do your best to reduce the risk,” says Jerry. ENDS

I have a Garmin Edge 750 GPS on the bike - who uses a compass these days?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: “With so many diverse landscapes from lakes to mountains, the Lake
> District is a great place for an adventure holiday. To keep as safe as
> possible on your trip, from hiking to mountain biking, ensure you have
> the appropriate gear or equipment to keep yourself and your group safe."
>
> “Make sure you have a good map, not just a smart phone, as there’s often
> no signal in the Lakes. A compass is also essential. Check the weather
> before you set off and be prepared for all eventualities. Accidents and
> emergencies do happen, but do your best to reduce the risk,” says Jerry. ENDS

> I have a Garmin Edge 750 GPS on the bike - who uses a compass these days?

Anyone with brains and a sense of self-preservation (neither being a noted
feature of cyclists)?

Maps and compasses work 24/7/365, day or night, summer or winter, bad
weather or good.

--
Spike

wtjs replied to hawkinspeter | 3034 posts | 47 min ago
0 likes
Whilst there is real danger on the roads, it tends to be magnified in the minds of non-cyclists as it's easy to imagine situations where you get hurt

There definitely is real danger, with disaster lurking milliseconds away. Yesterday, I was returning from the Lakes on the bike below. I was descending towards Lancaster at about 25mph down hill coming from Nether Kellett. There's a very rural crossroads and I saw a white Jaguar approaching fast from my left and not slowing at all while turning left onto my road. The driver came within a few feet of ploughing straight into me- she was no doubt looking to her right, but only looking for large vehicles with 4 or more wheels.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> wtjs replied to hawkinspeter | 3034 posts | 47 min ago
> 0 likes
> Whilst there is real danger on the roads, it tends to be magnified in
> the minds of non-cyclists as it's easy to imagine situations where you get hurt
>
> There definitely is real danger, with disaster lurking milliseconds away.
> Yesterday, I was returning from the Lakes on the bike below. I was
> descending towards Lancaster at about 25mph down hill coming from Nether
> Kellett. There's a very rural crossroads and I saw a white Jaguar
> approaching fast from my left and not slowing at all while turning left
> onto my road. The driver came within a few feet of ploughing straight
> into me- she was no doubt looking to her right, but only looking for
> large vehicles with 4 or more wheels.

A motorcyclist, having a greater sense of self preservation than your
average cyclist, would, seeing this situation develop, roll off the
throttle and cover the brakes in preparation for an emergency developing.
Cyclists don’t seem to be aware of these things.

--
Spike

No wonder the Lake District wants to clamp down on this mayhem.

https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/teasers/public/congestion-buttermere-friends-lake-district.jpg

Totally unsustainable.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> No wonder the Lake District wants to clamp down on this mayhem.

> https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/teasers/public/congestion-buttermere-friends-lake-district.jpg

> Totally unsustainable.

And what sustainability would tight-purse cyclists bring?

--
Spike

I love my bike replied to chrisonatrike | 362 posts | 4 hours ago
5 likes
I don't think separated cycle infrastructure should be the answer to illegal driving - there will never be 100% coverage, so it can only reduce the danger where it does exist (& likely increases it elsewhere, as motorists increasingly believe cyclists don't belong on 'their' roads (not just motorways)).

The common use of language (even on road.cc) hides that it's an issue of motor vehicles driven by licenced drivers, e.g.

'queues of (motor) traffic and badly parked (motor) vehicles on narrow roads'

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> I love my bike replied to chrisonatrike | 362 posts | 4 hours ago
> 5 likes
>
> I don't think separated cycle infrastructure should be the answer to
> illegal driving - there will never be 100% coverage, so it can only
> reduce the danger where it does exist (& likely increases it elsewhere,
> as motorists increasingly believe cyclists don't belong on 'their' roads
> (not just motorways)).
>
> The common use of language (even on road.cc) hides that it's an issue of
> motor vehicles driven by licenced drivers, e.g.
>
> 'queues of (motor) traffic and badly parked (motor) vehicles on narrow roads'

And the point of this homily is what, exactly?

--
Spike

QUOTE: “People are often driving over the speed limits on the country roads in the Lake District or accelerating down straight sections of road and then braking at corners. This type of driving increases noise and air pollution, as well as emptying your wallet, as it uses fuel much quicker,” he said. ENDS

Who cares about fresh air, speed limits, peace, quiet and nasty dust pollution in such National Parks? :-/

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> QUOTE: “People are often driving over the speed limits on the country
> roads in the Lake District or accelerating down straight sections of road
> and then braking at corners. This type of driving increases noise and air
> pollution, as well as emptying your wallet, as it uses fuel much quicker,” he said. ENDS

The implication of the above is that one should drive at the slowest speed
on would encounter on one’s journey, noting that cyclists don’t do this
either. 🙄

> Who cares about fresh air, speed limits, peace, quiet and nasty dust
> pollution in such National Parks? :-/

The same people that imply one drives at the slowest speed one will
encounter on one’s journey, thereby wasting time and fuel. 🙄

--
Spike

Avatar
I love my bike replied to Hirsute | 362 posts | 18 hours ago
1 like
It was in the quote from Jerry Rebbeck, from the Elterwater-based holiday cottages company Wheelwrights “People are often driving over the speed limits on the country roads . . .

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Avatar
> I love my bike replied to Hirsute | 362 posts | 18 hours ago
> 1 like
>
> It was in the quote from Jerry Rebbeck, from the Elterwater-based holiday
> cottages company Wheelwrights “People are often driving over the speed
> limits on the country roads . . .

One just has to love anecdata that supports one’s own agenda.

--
Spike

QUOTE: Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke the law by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the annual DfT report on speed limit compliance. ENDS

Plus ça change, eh?.

On 12/09/2023 04:56, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> In the same week that cyclists have criticised plans to completely close a road in the Lake District due to storm damage – which Cycling UK says would “block off a key part of the National Cycle Network” and force cyclists to use “a narrow section of busy A-road, hemmed in by walls with fast traffic and HGVs” – a holiday firm in the area has urged visitors to ditch their car in favour of a bike if they want to take in the sights.
>
> With the majority of the Lake District’s 16 million visitors a year travelling by car, the sight of queues of traffic and badly parked vehicles on narrow roads has become a ubiquitous one in the region during the holidays, prompting last year’s ban on parking at some of the area’s major tourist spots.
>
> Following that ban, the Friends of the Lake District group said that “we have reached a tipping point where we can either embrace a radical re-think on transport within the Lake District National Park or risk destroying the sense of tranquillity and escape that this landscape has delivered for generations”.
>
> And this week, Jeffrey Rebbeck, from the Elterwater-based holiday cottages company Wheelwrights, has now called on visitors to take to two wheels when soaking in the picturesque views, and reducing congestion and keeping vulnerable road users safer in the process.
>
> “There are lots of ways to travel around the Lake District without a car,” Jerry told Lancashire Live (link is external). “Cycling and hiking from place to place is one of the best ways to see the park whilst reducing congestion. There are plenty of places to hire bikes if you don’t have your own.”
>
> As part of his tips for properly enjoying the area, Rebbeck also criticised the standard of driving from some holiday makers.
>
> “People are often driving over the speed limits on the country roads in the Lake District or accelerating down straight sections of road and then braking at corners. This type of driving increases noise and air pollution, as well as emptying your wallet, as it uses fuel much quicker,” he said.
>
> “Driving smoothly and adhering to local speed limits will be better for the local environment and better for your bank account.”
>
> Not that the local authorities are making the switch from car to bike in the Lake District easy, of course.
>
> Last week, we reported that Cycling UK has launched a campaign in response to Cumberland Council’s consultation to completely close a storm-damaged road, which forms part of the National Cycling Network and described by the cycling charity as “one of the only safe road cycling routes leading towards Keswick”.
>
> The quiet route alongside Thirlmere reservoir was badly damaged during Storm Arwen in 2021. Having been temporarily closed for two years, it now faces permanent closure.
>
> Cycling UK has objected to the proposals that would see cyclists forced to use the A591 instead, “a narrow section of busy A-road, hemmed in by walls with fast traffic and HGVs”.
>
> Furthermore, it was revealed that the council's diversion route “only stipulates suitability for vehicular traffic; therefore no diversion route is provided for pedestrians and cyclists at this time”, a plan Cycling UK has branded “ridiculous”.
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-12-september-2023-303801#live-blog-item-49585

Chav-cyclists (such as your good self) are not "forced" to use any Lake
District road.

Just stay away and let the adults enjoy themselves.
>

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 1:23:44 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> QUOTE: Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke the law by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the annual DfT report on speed limit compliance. ENDS
>
> Plus ça change, eh?.

The UK’s first national lockdown in March 2020 brought with it a significant increase in the proportion of drivers breaking 30mph speed limits, according to official Government statistics.

Some 73 per cent of people driving cars on 30mph roads exceeded the speed limit on one day in April 2020, while April as a whole saw 68 per cent of people speed in 30mph zones. For comparison, 53 per cent of drivers broke 30mph limits in 2019 as a whole.

Urban roads, which typically have 30mph limits, take 37 per cent of all traffic, but are the roads on which 63 per cent of casualties occur.

Data from individual police forces had previously shown that the frequency of certain motoring offences increased when lockdown was introduced, but these latest national statistics reveal just how prevalent speeding became when roads were left free-flowing due to vastly reduced traffic volumes that fell to almost 20 per cent of normal levels at some points in April 2020.

The Department for Transport’s figures reveal increases in the prevalence of speeding across all road types during the coronavirus pandemic. Looking at 2020 as a whole, 56 per cent of people broke 30mph limits, compared with 53.5 per cent in 2019.

On roads with the 60mph national speed limit, 12.4 per cent of car drivers sped in 2020, up from nine per cent in 2019. Speed compliance on motorways was largely steady from 2019 to 2020, rising just 0.5 per cent, but that trend has changed this year, with 50 per cent of drivers speeding on motorways in the first quarter of 2021, up from 46 per cent in 2020

Commenting on the figures, the RAC’s Simon Williams said: “While these figures show fewer drivers were tempted to speed during the third national lockdown than in the first, they sadly indicate a clear correlation between quieter roads and people breaking the speed limit. Given compliance was at its worst on 30mph limit roads, this dangerous behaviour unnecessarily put lives at risk when more people were walking and cycling.”

This is an interesting report regarding a survey of speeds on one day
during the lockdown in the first part of 2020.

Unfortunately, there is no mention of the rates of collisions, deaths,
serious or slight injuries during that time.

Just suppose that speeding increased but KSI numbers were relatively
lower…what message do you think that mind send during a period when the
country is rushing headlong into blanket 20mph limits quoting ‘safety’ as
the justification?

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 1:23:44 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> QUOTE: Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport
>> (DfT) show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke
>> the law by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads
>> with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the
>> annual DfT report on speed limit compliance. ENDS
>>
>> Plus ça change, eh?.
>
> The UK’s first national lockdown in March 2020 brought with it a
> significant increase in the proportion of drivers breaking 30mph speed
> limits, according to official Government statistics.
>
> Some 73 per cent of people driving cars on 30mph roads exceeded the speed
> limit on one day in April 2020, while April as a whole saw 68 per cent of
> people speed in 30mph zones. For comparison, 53 per cent of drivers broke
> 30mph limits in 2019 as a whole.
>
> Urban roads, which typically have 30mph limits, take 37 per cent of all
> traffic, but are the roads on which 63 per cent of casualties occur.
>
> Data from individual police forces had previously shown that the
> frequency of certain motoring offences increased when lockdown was
> introduced, but these latest national statistics reveal just how
> prevalent speeding became when roads were left free-flowing due to vastly
> reduced traffic volumes that fell to almost 20 per cent of normal levels
> at some points in April 2020.
>
> The Department for Transport’s figures reveal increases in the prevalence
> of speeding across all road types during the coronavirus pandemic.
> Looking at 2020 as a whole, 56 per cent of people broke 30mph limits,
> compared with 53.5 per cent in 2019.
>
> On roads with the 60mph national speed limit, 12.4 per cent of car
> drivers sped in 2020, up from nine per cent in 2019. Speed compliance on
> motorways was largely steady from 2019 to 2020, rising just 0.5 per cent,
> but that trend has changed this year, with 50 per cent of drivers
> speeding on motorways in the first quarter of 2021, up from 46 per cent in 2020
>
> Commenting on the figures, the RAC’s Simon Williams said: “While these
> figures show fewer drivers were tempted to speed during the third
> national lockdown than in the first, they sadly indicate a clear
> correlation between quieter roads and people breaking the speed limit.
> Given compliance was at its worst on 30mph limit roads, this dangerous
> behaviour unnecessarily put lives at risk when more people were walking and cycling.”
>

--
Spike

A speeding drink driver who fled the scene of a collision in Leeds in which a woman pedestrian was killed has been jailed.

Vanessa Barnes, aged 59, from Rossendale, Lancashire, had just left the Planet Ice rink, in Elland Road, after watching her son play for Leeds Knights on December 10 last year.

As she walked along the pavement at about 7.30pm, she was struck by a Ford Transit van driven by Jason Ward who was breaking the speed limit and contravening a solid double white line in the road.

He got out of the van following the collision before moving it back onto the pavement and then running away.

A passing police officer was flagged down and gave Mrs Barnes CPR, but she was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics a short time later.

Ward, aged 52, of Throstle Road, Middleton, was subsequently identified as a suspect and arrested the following day.

Enquiries showed he had spent the three hours prior to the collision in the Morley drinking nearly six pints of lager before getting behind the wheel.

He was charged and pleaded guilty at court to causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit and failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

Today, he was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to eight years and four months in prison. He received a driving ban for a total of eleven and a half years.

In a Victim Personal Statement, Vanessa’s son Adam Barnes said: “Vanessa Barnes was my Mum. An extraordinary person who treated everyone with love and kindness. She was also a wife, a daughter, a sister, a carer, and a dear friend to so many. A beautiful, selfless, amazing human being, who was brutally taken from us by the irresponsible actions of a drunk driver.

“On the night of the 10th December 2022, I was playing ice hockey for Leeds Knights, a team I’d been a part of for three years. My Mum and Dad had worked immensely hard and made so many sacrifices to enable me to play hockey at national league level.

“My Mum came to every game and never missed an opportunity to tell me how proud she was. She would stand, week on week, with my Grandma, on the same bench jumping and screaming with excitement. With her outgoing personality and infectious laugh, she was well known in the rink by everyone and had made many special friends within the ice hockey community over the years.

“Every week after each game my Mum would always wait outside the changing rooms for me. When I came out, she would squeeze me so hard, chatting and laughing before we said our goodbyes. Little did I know that that night would be our final goodbye before she was brutally killed by a coward who left her in the road to die with no care or compassion.

“No words will ever be able to pay tribute to how special my Mum was. She was always happy, the most selfless, loving person I will ever know. She lit up every room with her vibrant personality and infectious laugh. She was loved by everyone and will be missed every single day. A sentence will be served but I believe there is no limit to the never-ending suffering and grief we now feel as a family.”

Detective Constable Mark Turner, of the Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: “Ward has done everything possible to avoid accepting responsibility for his actions on that evening. Despite drinking and clearly being over the drink drive limit, he got behind the wheel of his van without any consideration for other road users or pedestrians.

“After colliding with Vanessa, he continued to think only of himself, making off from the scene to avoid the police.

“He didn’t enter a plea until the last minute, which I am sure has extended the suffering endured by Vanessa’s family. My thoughts, and those of all the officers who dealt with this terrible incident, are with the family at this time.”