Cycle instructor crash victim says it's important for cyclists to be careful

I asked about BC non-race training but I'd have to wear a plastic hat and travel to the next city but one.

My sons did a bikability course through the local council and with an instructor who happens to live around the corner, and is also someone I know through BC and racing. She was very good and taught them a lot of additional positioning skills and also awareness.

They'd been riding some years already and I had given them a lot of knowledge but what she taught boosted their knowledge. They did ride on some busy roads but she appreciated they were already quite experienced on road (both have also raced) and could move on to something slightly more advanced.

I've seen the benefit to their riding since and my elder son now makes cycle trips by himself to football training, which I wouldn't have wanted him to do before he did the bikability course.

I suppose the quality of instructors varies and perhaps my sons were lucky to have one of the better ones. I've been wanting to do an instructor's course through BC myself for my own club so I can act as an assistant coach, but haven't had the time due to work commitments. I do think there's more potential for more people to do cycle coaching/training courses. There are a lot of riders I see who could do with some proper training, both for on road commuting and also for competition.

Ha, yes, I see what you're doing with this article and while I refuse to be riled, I do agree, the reported comments are a lot of thoughtless victim-blaming idiocy from someone we would expect to know better.

She said her crash showed how important it was for cyclists to take care. Mrs Cook has taught cycle safety for Richmond Council for 10 years, and said she would use her experience in her teaching.

I live in Richmond, and applied to do the level 3/adult bikability last year (was trying to convince a friend to do it so felt I should at least do the same). They had to get an outside cycle instructor in as none of the instructors employed by the borough (which I guess includes Mrs Cook) teach level 3. They seem quite happy teaching school children bike control and how to cycle on quiet raods, but not dealing with busy traffic.

So I'm not sure what she will include in her teaching aprt maybe to dress like an illuminous lemon at all times.

As an instructor, she will already have been taking all the precautions that she espouses.

Yet she was hospitalised by a car driver anyway.

This case is therefore a very clear example of why those precautions are not enough to protect people on bikes. This terribly unfortunate incident (and by that I mean just the bit about the car hitting her, not the ambulance response stuff) should be held up high by cycle safety campaigners.

It is basically proof that all the cops in the world can stop you and criticise your clothing, and you can comply with their directives all you like, but this solve road safety.

Do you have to be a cyclist-blamer to work as a cycling instructor these days? Would someone a bit more like Chris Boardman be comfortable telling novices that they should dress like radioactive lemons?

I wonder how much of her comments were misquoted by the Standard if any.

I'm struggling with the thought that as an experienced cycle instructor, she genuinely thought that hivis and a helmet etc helped her in that situation.

I would prefer to think that it was more along the lines of "I was wearing hivis, a helmet, and was taking a correct line and the driver still failed to see me"

If it's the former then I have just died a little inside.
Hopefully, she will use the experience to stress to her trainees that hivis & helmets are bugger all use against idiotic and careless drivers, and that she will add her voice to calls for safe infra.

I got knocked off once broke my ankle, some very nice pedestrians helped me and called an ambulance. The ambulance service rung back and told me to get a taxi or wait 45 minutes, so I literally hopped into a taxi and hopped into A&E (hopping in cycling shoes isn't easy). It was around 5:30 in the middle of London rush hour. I assume they get many calls at this time from cyclists so just treat them as low priority as they nurse at A&E said I was the third one in the last hour.

I'm pleased most commenters have criticised the victim-blaming ideology espoused by the cycle training instructor (and yes, sorry she was knocked down, hope she recovers, and the ambulance service gets better funded so it can be more effective).

I have to say that comment is due because is story has been the main item on the front of the Evening Standard for much of the last two days, and that I note:
1. If she was already on the roundabout, the driver should have been arrested and charged with careless driving.
2. If she cycled on to it as the driver was already there, then she was legally at fault . Some of her carelessness could well be due to risk compensation effects of wearing hi-viz and a helmet Asch she evidently regards both as very effective she is thus likely to adapt to wearing them.
3. The hi-viz ad helmet certainly had no beneficial effect at all.
4. Her comments (which of course may have been selected/edited by the journalist) both dangerise cycling and chuck blame at (at least some of) London's cyclists without addressing danger from the motorised.

For all these reasons commenters are right to go on about victim blaming. It show that some cycle trainers can have the wrong idea and are likely to pass this mind-set on the children they work with. Luckily when I managed cycle training in a London Borough I can say that our trainer would not have had this kind of attitude. They were up for good quality confidence training for adults and children: sadly some trainers may not be.

Hope you're feeling better soon Angie.
Hi-viz - very useful for your solicitor in an accident.

As an instructor she will be insured, however, this will be a claim against the driver's insurance, it being their fault apparently....although we don't know do we, because I'm unaware that the media have actually got any idea what really happened, as it's all been about the delay in the ambulance arriving. All we know is that Angie got hit by a car.
Earsofthewolf - sorry your lads had such a bad experience during cycle training. Problem is we get a lot of kids coming to the courses who go out with their dad's knowing it all, and actually knowing nothing.... and then match that up with the kids who can't quite ride their bike properly so therefore need to be able to touch the ground...or children who have grown a foot since the bike was bought....or kids that turn up on a bike bought the day before which is way too big....or a bike with no brakes (upset child when they're turned away from the course)...or a child on stabilisers.... but we do our best to improve their cycling ability and road safety awareness, if they are proficient enough to go on the road. Get yourself on an instructors course - well worth it!

Angie is likely the perfect role model for cycling and even with that premise and all the high viz another lady in her motorised chariot was unable to drive along a public highway without hitting and injuring her.

So, will her licence be suspended pending proof from an optician that she is actually fit to drive?

If she fails that sight test will the DVLA intervene immediately until fitness to drive is certified?

If she fails that sight test doesn't it follow any defence is essentially invalid given she doesn't meet legal requirements, ergo shouldn't have been operating a killing machine?

If she was fit to drive then we can instead presume she did see Angie but instead chose not to take sufficient care around a vulnerable road user, resulting in the collision?

So many relevent questions. Does it matter?

Nah...the law collects it all up into a little bundle, wraps it in a sheet of couldn't care less and sticks a careless label on it.

As for the obscene waiting time? Nothing to do at all with the traffic

Wish you all the best Angie, you're a very graceful lady.

I would bet that safety instructor had a lot of points to make. And then the reporter decided which of them they wanted in the article.

This seems an odd to use an incident like this to complain about other cyclists. The only mention of the driver was that it was her fault. Had one of these errant cyclists caused her crash I could see her point.
But anyway, I hope she recovers OK from the crash and had proper insurance through BC/CTC

"Luckily I was wearing a 'please don't shoot me' t-shirt and a stab vest: this really helped when I got shot in the leg walking down the High Street. Still, I should have been more careful."

"She said her crash showed how important it was for cyclists to take care."

And in the Netherlands, she'd never have come into contact with motor vehicles at a cr@ppy junction like that...

The comment about being fortunate because she was wearing hi-viz made me laugh. It was clearly useless because she was hit by a car. You can wear whatever bright/reflective clothing you want and have a thousand lights if you like, but if the driver doesn't look it doesn't matter. You can also wear the best helmet on the market, but it won't stop you fracturing your spine.

Also, why would a London cyclist not taking the same precautions as her not have got off as lightly? If you are in a crash you are in a crash. Having a luminous yellow jacket doesn't protect you from a bruised coccyx. I wouldn't mind betting that her helmet didn't even get a scratch on it given that the injuries she suffered were to her lower extremities.

Personally I can't understand why this article is on this website other than to get people to comment on how dumb it is.

Interesting to see the comparison between the humane and considered comments of this lady and the usual repellent bile of the nutters who post on this site.

That's not very logical is it. How could it have been worse had she gone out without helmet and hi-viz? She didn't hit her head, and the hi-viz didn't result in her being seen.

Black is the new hi-viz .

Dressing in Hi-viz gives drivers something to aim at.

Quote:

Fortunately I’m very careful and was wearing high visibility clothing and a helmet. Otherwise it could have been much more serious

Goes to show how insidious and pervasive the view is that the safety of a cyclist is the sole responsibility of that cyclist and no one else's.

Pretty sad when even the victims are doing the victim-blaming.

"Fortunately I’m very careful and was wearing high visibility clothing"

Schoolgirl error, obviously she should have been wearing SUPERMAX high visibility clothing.

I feel sorry for this lady and disgusted by the ambulance service. I do have to say however that being a cycling "instructor" well that don't impress me much. When my two lads did their cycling proficiency the instructor was worse than useless. Positively dangerous advice and practice was proffered. Luckily I knew so and so did my elder son who was already riding in a club at that age. Unfortunately he had to go along with the claptrap so he would be allowed to ride to school.

Of course this lady may be an experienced cyclist that does know about the door zone and the primary position and that you set your saddle height relative to the pedals and not so that you can put both feet flat on the ground while sitting on the saddle and that cycling isn't dangerous and it isn't "best to stay nice and safe right by the kerb". Let's hope so anyway.

Unfortunately she failed the test. Cyclists should be careful she says - but aparently not the motorist that knocked her off.