Driving instructors have their say on the Highway Code – “a recipe for disaster” or “not a big deal”?; Should helmets be compulsory?; Pidcock on the move for 2023?; Bernal's "second chance" + more on the live blog

Ah, driving instructors. The ones featured earlier today got a fair few of you talking, with the exception of Robert Collins, who seems to have earned himself a place in the road.cc hall of fame. Here’s an edited selection of some of your comments (sweary ones omitted):

"Learner drivers are generally quite nervous around cyclists because they're unpredictable, so they're already frightened, and I think this will just make people even more nervous about it,” he said.

Then it's such a pity that the learner drivers aren't being accompanied by an experienced and qualified driver who can give them correct guidance.

Erm - hang on...

Robert Collins sums it all up very well: "It's not that different to what I've always taught anyway so it's not making a big deal to me and my pupils.”

I wonder what the other driving instructors have been teaching their pupils? A little worrying really.

Someone I know has just passed her test. Her biggest worry before the test was "making sufficient progress". Not sure what her instructor was telling her but I think this is ridiculous.

What would have been interesting in the driving instructor report, is have they actually read the HC, and where do they their information from?  I'm fairly sure a couple of them either haven't read the new rules, and/or get their information from rabid right wing media.

We need someone to do a study into misinformation and its correlation with belief in fake news.

Well funny you mention that – media misinformation is a key theme in this week’s upcoming road.cc Podcast… 

"I can see that it's going to cause problems because the general standard of driving around here is appalling."

Said by a driving instructor... the irony!

Quick trip to the shop. Outward leg 8/10 exemplary overtakes, one ok and one poor.

The poor one was a driver under instruction - perhaps they had come from N Wales.

I think Phil Jones should consider his career choice - perhaps he and the Man U one could swap places for a few weeks. It would probably improve the standard of driving instruction in Rhyl, and have no noticeable effect on the Man U squad.

 Harsh… but fair.

And, finally, here are a few videos I’ve been sent today of driving instructors… well, not really instructing:

Checked Mrs pedalmania's cam ... wow.

With instructors like this, it's no wonder that we have so many incompetent and dangerous drivers on the road#majorfault #drivingfail #shouldnotbeaninstructor pic.twitter.com/bI33cZfGR0

— pedalmania (@pedalmania1) February 7, 2022

This was one of my driving instructor encounters.
Someone saying that they are have driven for years or a professional driver does not prove that they act in a professional manner. pic.twitter.com/wG8K86iESl

— Paul, walking and cycling is the new norm. (@lxtwin) January 24, 2022

I've been almost taken out by 1 @REDDriving instructor, and subjected to a deliberate close pass by a student in another because I wasn't using a #Murderstrip,
The dvla complaint response was, Umm...
And said cycle lane, at 61 cm wide. pic.twitter.com/EW4DgjoKYh

— TallTim (@TallestTim) January 24, 2022

HiVelo SCIO, a charity set up in 2015 with the aim of creating a velodrome for the Highlands, announced yesterday that it was abandoning its plans after the group failed to secure adequate funding for the project.

The charity had hoped to secure a site in Inverness for a cycling development and community hub centred on the velodrome, but was unsuccessful in obtaining grants from national sports agencies.

"The trustees could not be more disappointed with this outcome, but we need to be realistic about its impact on HiVelo itself,” a spokesman said yesterday.

"Plainly, our founding mission is now untenable."

However, Councillor Duncan Macpherson, a member of Highland Council’s cross-party Inverness East Sports Facility Working Group, said today that a velodrome for the Highlands could still be built if suitable funding could be secured in the future.

Macpherson urged HiVelo not to disband in the wake of the news and said there was still potential for “legacy projects” from events such as the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics to benefit Inverness.

“I would hope that we could see these projects come to fruition, but ultimately we need the funds. I was disappointed when I read that it’s not going ahead but I hope that it can be resurrected by the working group,” he said.

It is currently unclear if HiVelo will disband or if it will continue to carry on as an organisation supporting cycling events and youth development.

An e-cargo bike service has told its staff to stop wearing helmets while cycling.

They say you're more likely to get hit by a car when you are wearing a helmet as drivers might take less care when they're near you.

Do you agree?@theJeremyVine | @Knowlesy83 | #JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/PjdjHCiCAb

— Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) February 8, 2022

Yesterday we reported that E-cargo bike and pedicab company Pedal Me confirmed rumours it has banned staff riders from wearing helmets, citing safety reasons for the rule.

This morning, the company’s co-founder Ben Knowles appeared on Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 programme to discuss the decision and whether or not helmets should be made compulsory for all cyclists.

Responding to co-presenter Storm Huntley’s assertion that helmets can prevent serious injury, Vine – referring to Ian Walker’s 2006 study which found that motorists take more care when passing cyclists who aren’t wearing helmets – said: “I’m not telling anybody not to wear a helmet. I’m just saying it shouldn’t be compulsory to wear one. It’s not necessarily safer. That’s the whole point.”

Explaining his firm’s decision to ban employees from wearing helmets, Knowles told the programme that the company’s research showed that riders take more risks when wearing lids.

> Pedal Me bans cargo bike riders from wearing helmets for safety reasons

“We spent a lot of time looking at the data and thinking about this,” he said. “And what we found was that while helmets definitely protect you when you do have a crash, they seem to be doing something to increase the number of crashes that you have.

“And because we’re carrying people on the front of our bikes, and because the bikes are quite heavy when they’re fully loaded, and potentially quite risky, we decided that increasing risk acceptance by our staff was a bad idea.

“So this doesn’t mean that I necessarily believe that everyone should not wear a helmet, but in our case in particular it’s a bad idea for commercial use.

Ben continued: “I started off as a bike racer and I always used to wear a helmet, until I looked at the data… I almost stopped using a helmet entirely for my personal use as well.

“As regards mandatory helmet laws, I think it’s pretty clear that they’re a bad idea. The reason for that is because what causes the risks to people riding bikes is people driving cars.

“The less people cycle, then the more people drive cars. So we want to create an environment where people feel safe to ride bikes.

“The problem is that lots of people wearing helmets makes cycling look a lot more dangerous than it actually is.

“We repeatedly find that most of our injuries at Pedal Me happen off the bike, not on the bike,” Knowles said, before telling the panel that Pedal Me’s records include as many assaults with a machete on their employees as they do injuries that could have been prevented by wearing a helmet.

Now that’s a stat…

We’ll not get on to the caller who craftily brought up cyclists' insurance. Jeremy, thankfully, shut that one down quickly.

Some new gear to feast your eyes on this Tuesday afternoon (and no, it’s not an NFT either).

Apidura has added the City Handlebar Pack (£63 – cheaper than a Froomey tee) to its growing City Series, bringing “precision crafted technical gear” to the urban environment with a bag that provides quick access storage for layers, valuables and city riding essentials.

The pack is designed to attach quickly to any style of handlebar, and is made from Apidura’s bespoke waterproof and abrasion resistant CT420 Marle fabric for durable protection from the elements.

Subtle features include reflective screen printing, an internal mesh pocket to help with organising, a flexible slip pocket for valuables and a bike light friendly attachment system.

We’ll be asking for one in to review, so expect to hear our thoughts on the bag sometime soon…

It seems like everyone has had their say on the recent updates to the Highway Code over the last month (and when I say everyone, I mean every right-wing columnist who works for a national newspaper).

But what about the opinions of driving instructors, those tasked with moulding the habits and behaviour of the next generation of motorists?

Well, North Wales Live went to find out, and the results were decidedly mixed.

Phil Jones, an instructor around Rhyl and Abergele (not to be confused with the much-maligned Manchester United footballer) seemed to be most in line with the Richard Littlejohns of the world, saying the changes would be a “recipe for disaster”.

"I think overall the amount of collisions involving cyclists is going to increase,” Jones warned.

"As a driving instructor we train people to be aware of cyclists and other vulnerable road users but they have also got to take a little bit of responsibility for themselves.

"But I think if they're riding on the roads, then they should be insured, it should be mandatory and they should also have some type of formal training like every other road user."

"As for this riding in the middle of the road, all it's going to do is cause traffic chaos."

"Learner drivers are generally quite nervous around cyclists because they're unpredictable, so they're already frightened, and I think this will just make people even more nervous about it,” he said.

"I can see that it's going to cause problems because the general standard of driving around here is appalling. And it's going to cause drivers to be getting frustrated and overtaking when it's not safe to overtake and it's going to cause more road rage."

"We teach learner drivers to anticipate what's going to happen next. The problem is that people who have already passed their tests, they just won't bother checking what the changes are."

Another instructor based in Rhyl, Maxine Richards, agreed.

Maxine said: "I think it's silly, I don't know why they've changed it. I think it's going to cause a lot of accidents and a lot of problems for us instructors.

"We get a lot of road rage aimed at us anyway, without new rules that the general public are mostly unaware of.

"I've already seen a video from another instructor where a pupil following the new rules stopped for a pedestrian but the driver behind tried to overtake them and almost drove straight into a lady with a pram.”

However, Robert Collins, from Drive Passes Driving School, was much more ambivalent about the effects of the changes, which he said his students were coping with well.

"I've not got a problem with it at all, and my pupils are getting on quite well with it,” Hughes said.

"It's not that different to what I've always taught anyway so it's not making a big deal to me and my pupils.

"I think they're small changes that don't make a huge difference to be honest with you."

David Hughes, an instructor in Conwy, also said that he agreed with the new rules, but warned that they should be more readily available to the general public.

"I don't disagree with any of the rules,” he said. “But I've had difficulty finding all the new rules myself so how is my 84-year-old mother going to find out about it?

"I just think it's been introduced fairly quickly and there's not enough information publicised about it.

"Just to drop it in without much notice is bad, it could've been done a lot better."

Referencing the oft-misrepresented Dutch Reach method of opening a car door, Hughes said: "People need educating with the new rules. You can't just say, if you don't open the door with your left hand you'll get a £1000 fine and that's it.”

It should be noted, as we did last month, that it was already an offence, punishable by a maximum fine of £1,000, to open a car door, or cause or permit it to be opened, so as to cause injury.

"You need to be given the right information from the official source,” said Hughes. For an instructor, let’s just hope he doesn’t get all his driving information from the Daily Mail…

Two teams now… but Brailsford is rumoured to be in Monaco this week to finalise an extension offer. https://t.co/iyO3XZXAA9

— Daniel Benson (@dnlbenson) February 8, 2022

When you’re as exciting an all-rounder as Tom Pidcock, there are always going to be quite a few teams eager to snap up your services.

The Olympic MTB gold medallist and recently crowned cyclo-cross world champion’s contract with Ineos Grenadiers runs out at the end of this year – and according to VeloNews’ Daniel Benson, two top teams are currently preparing serious bids for the 22-year-old Yorkshireman.

One of the squads vying for Pidcock’s signature is rumoured to be associated with a powerful American bike manufacturer, who appear keen to finance the move.

However, Benson also says that Ineos chief Dave B is hovering around Monaco this week, with a contract extension offer for one of his most prized assets seemingly in his back pocket.

What do you think? Should Pidcock, the most exciting young British talent, continue to establish his reputation at the only British World Tour team and become the flag bearer for a new generation of stars?

Or should the prodigious all-rounder, who seems capable of winning almost any race he puts his mind to, jump at the chance to leave a team still so belligerently focused on the grand tours?

To paraphrase Mick Jones, should Pidcock stay or should he go?

EL AGUANTE!! 🤘🏽
Feliz de volver a nacer 😌 pic.twitter.com/qODpvr3ktL

— Egan Arley Bernal (@Eganbernal) February 7, 2022

Egan Bernal has paid tribute to the medical staff at Clínica Universidad de La Sabana in Bogotá for giving the Tour de France winner a “second chance” after his horror crash while training in Colombia two weeks ago.

Bernal was discharged from the hospital on Sunday to begin what he has described as a “very long process” of rehabilitation at home. 

Before leaving the hospital, the 2021 Giro d’Italia winner briefly stood for photographs with medical staff and recorded a video message.

“Life changed for me in one second. One moment I’m preparing for the Tour de France, giving it all on my time trial bike, and the next I’m fighting for my life,” Bernal said in the video.

“Fortunately, I fell into good hands, and I believe that if it wasn’t for you [the medical staff], it would be a different story, so I have to thank you for allowing me to have a second chance.

“In truth, for me it’s like being born again, the fact that I’m alive. In the days where I was in pain, I said to myself ‘at least I feel pain - at least I feel something’, and that’s thanks to you.

“I’m obviously now starting a very long process, but you have already done the hard work. My respects for everything you do – you deserve a lot more recognition than we give you, and thank you genuinely for giving me a second chance.

“I hope to one day be able to repay in some way all that you’ve done for me.”

The 25-year-old Colombian broke twenty bones, perforated both lungs and had to undergo two major spinal surgeries after he collided with a stationary bus while training with this Ineos Grenadiers teammates.

Bernal has said that he could have died, or that there was a 95 percent chance of paralysis, in the wake of the crash.

While any talk of a return to the peloton is pure speculation at the moment, Bernal’s own optimism and fighting spirit is certainly encouraging. His Ineos teammate, Tom Pidcock, took to Instagram yesterday to aptly describe his team leader as a “warrior”.