It has emerged over the past 24 hours that the first cyclist to be killed in London this year was an experienced courier. This is a poignant reminder that even if you follow safety advice and have experience there are still many dangers out there. It also brings home once more the importance of campaigns such as the recent one by The Times.

Henry Warwick was a bicycle courier who worked for Rico Logistics. The incident occurred last Friday at the junction of Wormwood Street and Bishopsgate. This was promptly reported on by the Times and BBC London.

Many members of LFGSS have expressed their grief in the forum. In the thread there is also a video of Henry Warwick introducing Ed Robertson to life in London as a cycle courier.

A memorial ride will be held on Friday.

Three months ago Times Reporter Mary Bowers was hit by a lorry as she made her way to her office. She remains in critical condition in hospital. Today, her colleagues have launched a campaign to call for safer measures to be put in place to protect cyclists.

The campaign has a front page position in the Times newspaper and is calling for people to visit this page to pledge their support:

http://thetim.es/cyclecampaign

Additionally, people on Twitter are asked to use the #cyclesafe to see if it can become a trending topic.

The times is calling for the below measures:

1. Trucks entering a city centre should be required by law to fit sensors, audible truck-turning alarms, extra mirrors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels.
2. The 500 most dangerous road junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors that allow lorry drivers to see cyclists on their near-side.
3. A national audit of cycling to find out how many people cycle in Britain and how cyclists are killed or injured should be held to underpin effective cycle safety.
4. Two per cent of the Highways Agency budget should be earmarked for next generation cycle routes, providing £100 million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities should be graded on the quality of cycling provision.
5. The training of cyclists and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test.
6. 20mph should become the default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes.
7. Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycleways and cycling super-highways, mirroring the Barclays-backed bicycle hire scheme in London.
8. Every city, even those without an elected mayor, should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms.

It’s good to see a big newspaper getting behind the campaign for safer cycling conditions. A front page feature helps get the message across to an audience that perhaps is less aware of the issues. Hopefully they’ll be a few copies of the Times floating around parliament today.

Hey – my name is Anna, writing to you from Denmark, I have a rookie
question you might be able to answer.

I don’t know anything about the bike culture in London or the
facilities on the roads and would like to ride in zone one. Do you
think it’s too dangerous when you’re first of all used to ride in the
right side of the road, and don’t know the roads in inner London?
And…. do a lot of people go by bike in inner London?

Thanks in advance

Do you tell a person who is visiting that it is safe to cycle in London or do you tell them that it can be very dangerous?

I’ll leave it open to the comments..

This table lists the cyclists killed in London in 2011:

1. Gary Mason (48, male) Sandy Lane South
2. Daniel Cox (28, male) Dalston Junction
3. Tom Barrett (44, male) A40
4. David Poblet (20, male) Tanner Street
5. Paula Jurek (20, female) Camden Road
6. Gavin Taylor (40, male) Mildmay Grove North
7. Naoko (34, female) Queen Caroline Street
8. Thomas Stone (13, male) Bell Farm Avenue
9. Unknown (62, male) Layhams Road
10. Paul McGreal (44, male) Hackney Road
11. Johannah Bailey (49, female) Cavendish Road
12. Sam Harding (25, male) Holloway Road
13. Min Joo Lee (24, female) Pentonville Road
14. Brian Dorling (58, male) Payne Road
15. Svitlana Tereschenko (34, female) Bow Road
16. Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Carey (22, female) Abbey Street

This evening at 6 p.m. they’ll be a chance to remember them at the King’s Cross Vigil. The Vigil is organised by the LCC, RoadPeace, London Living Streets and cycling bloggers.

The event is open to anyone who wants to mark their respect. It will be part of a larger call on the Mayor and TfL to put cyclist safety above “smoothing traffic flow”.

On one hand it feels that posting the names of cyclists killed on London’s roads is off putting to new cyclists and creates the image that cycling is a risky activity. However, it would be wrong to let these tragic deaths go unrecognised. It reminds us of the dangers and to be as careful as we can be. It is also a chance to rally together as London cyclists.

What can be done?

Reading through what accident reports are available, a repeating pattern emerges. Heavy Goods Vehicles are involved in a disproportionate number of incidents. Wide blind spots are blamed for the problem.

Part of the solution is seen as a rollout of Trixi Mirrors. The mirrors installed at key junctions reduce drivers blind spots. Currently they’ve been implemented in the first Cycle Superhighway and have received positive feedback from drivers and cycling campaigners. Thanks to their perceived benefit, the Mayor has pledged to continue their rollout to all new cycle superhighways as they are built.

Unfortunately, any progress of getting Trixi mirrors installed in some of the most dangerous junctions in London is hampered pending approval by the Department for Transport. They are likely to need more statistical evidence before granting wider permissions.

Training for HGV drivers is another way of improving cycle safety in London. Currently it isn’t mandatory for freight companies to provide training to their drivers. The Freight Operator Recognition Scheme by TfL is one route some companies have pro-actively joined. Once again the feedback of these training schemes has been very positive. HGV drivers have noted an improved awareness of what it is like to be a cyclist and of the potential dangers.

The more recent rallying cry by cyclists and campaigners is for safer design of junctions. The Blackfriars Bridge protests were a part of this. However, so far this advice has largely been ignored and walkouts by the conservative assembly members have delayed any fruitful discussion as to ways of moving forward.

While Dutch style infrastructure remains largely a pipedream for London cyclists, it is clear that in 2012 the Mayor, whoever that will be, will continue to face tough questions about ignoring cyclist safety. Those tough questions will come from cyclists who continue to pile on the pressure in any way they can. Perhaps the most encouraging thing to have come out of 2011 is the increased organisation of cyclists as a group and the growing power that gives them.

Thanks to Ben Broomfield for the picture and Olaf Storbeck for compiling the statistics on serious cyclist incidents in London.

A few seconds into the above video we hear:

“Get in the f***** cycle lane you t***”

Charming. The video by Cycle Gaz paints a fairly bleak image of cycling in London. Fortunately, this isn’t representative of all cycle journeys in London.

But how should you respond in situations such as this?

Being sworn at for not being in the cycle lane

As a cyclist Gaz has every right to be cycling where he is. It can often be more dangerous to be in the cycle lane. As the taxi driver was driving dangerously close, at least as a cyclist you would be able to swerve into the cycle lane if you felt in danger. Whereas if you were already glued to the kerb you’d have nowhere to move.

Drivers ignoring your right of way

This is a common occurrence, especially during rush hour when the world famous English queuing patience evaporates into the smoggy London air.

There’s little you can do here other than keep an eye out for vehicles that look like they are going to make a move. Having your wits about you, as Boris raves about, is crucial.

Vehicles pulling into your lane too soon

Later on in the video we can see a Superdrug truck pulling into Gaz’s lane. This is a hair raising experience for even the most seasoned cyclists amongst us.

Once again Gaz’s road position away from the kerb is what protects him. Not only will the lorry driver have had more of a chance of spotting Gaz but Gaz also has the ability to move to the left if the truck is coming too close. In a situation like this you should be glancing behind your shoulder so you are not surprised when a huge lorries pulls up. Gaz could also contact the company to complain of bad driving. His comments should be taken seriously but in reality that isn’t always the case.

See also: Helmet camera reviews

Dangerous cab driving

Later on in the video we see Gaz pulling up at a traffic light and a taxi driver squeezing past two cyclists.

There’s an altercation and Gaz promises to report the driver to the Public Carriage Office. It helps with these reports to have evidence such as video and ideally an independent witness.

Getting beeped by drivers for being in a safe position

Time and time again in the video we see drivers who expect a cyclist to be glued to the kerb. There’s a clip where a car beeps at the cyclist and points towards the cycle lane. Another shows a cab driver complaining that Gaz touched his cab and stating “I was nowhere near you”. When Gaz casually explains how else could he have touched the cab, the logical argument is lost in a sea of abusive shouting.

In situations like this you need to stand firm in your road position. It is dangerous to be pedalling too near the kerb and many drivers unfortunately are unaware of this.

If the situation becomes intimidating then it is often better to stand down and take action later by reporting the driver.

See also: How to get the ultimate revenge on bad drivers

It turns out that the passenger had actually committed a criminal offence and would be liable of a fine up to £1000. (RVCUR r. 105; RTA s. 42; RTOA Sch 2). The exact wording is: it’s an offence to open “any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person”.

However, as UK Cycle Rules author Jorren Knibbe commented on the recent Radio 4 legal show Law in Action, this is rarely enforced. Since the 1960’s Mr Knibbe reports only being aware of 2-3 reported cases.

What is particularly interesting is that there doesn’t have to be a crash for the offence to have been committed. If you have to swerve to avoid the crash, then this would be classified as having been endangered by the driver.

For the many of us who’ve had to do this on more than one occasion it’s interesting to read that technically we’ve had an offence committed against us and could have pursued legal action.

(See also: Steps to keep in mind if you are ever in an accident)

If you’ve suffered a similar fate to that of my friend then it is worth knowing that you could pursue a dooring as an offence. Even if the person who doored you or nearly doored you was a passenger.

The driver or passenger of course can defend themselves by claiming you were riding too close or that there was no danger to you.

Jorren Knibbe has more on what to do if this happens to you in the excellent blog post Laws of Car Doors.

See also: What cyclists can be fined for

Image via Sreiny Flickr | Special thanks to reader Helen for bringing the show to my attention.

"It grieves me to sometimes, to see the way that [Transport for London] is blamed.” was Boris Johnson’s response when pushed by Jenny Jones about cyclist safety. In his response, the Mayor then continues by denouncing suggestions for safer measures in dangerous junctions. He states “But sometimes… I don’t think that interventions are really, that physical street works are the answer”.

The junctions that are in question will be visited tomorrow (November 12) starting at 10.30am from St Mark’s Church, The Oval, Kennington, SE11 4PW. The ride will be run by Cyclists in the City and the iBikeLondon blog in partnership with LCC campaign groups.

The locations the ride will visit include Hyde Park corner, Parliament Square and Waterloo. Over 100 cyclists are expected to attend and it is open for anyone who wishes to go along and see the dangers of these junctions for themselves.

The purpose of the ride is to demonstrate what is causing accidents and what could be done to prevent those accidents. The ride will be documented and it will give TfL even less space to hide behind when questioned on road safety. It is hoped amongst the attendants will be local reporters as well as a national newspaper.

The ride will last for approximately two hours and will end up at Look Mum No Hands.

For more on Boris Johnson’s performance see this post:

Boris Johnson’s cycle revolution. I don’t see how a single London cyclist could vote Boris after watching his performance today.

“Excuse me, you can’t leave your bike there” a woman climbing into her Toyota Prius stated.  A strange request I thought to myself, as bike racks tend to be a public space and there was three of them standing empty. “Oh sorry, I’ll only be 3 minutes”. I looked down on at the sorry remains of the previous bicycle resident in these racks. I couldn’t help but laugh that someone would want to stop me from locking my bike in such a clearly undesirable location.

“That’s my husbands bike, someone stole it last week.” I didn’t feel like preaching about his stupidity of only locking the front wheel. “Ah” I stated with a “I know how that is” look on my face.

Bikes left on the same rack in a predictable manner are easy picking for thieves. So what options do we have?

Obviously, indoors is great. But not everyone has the luxury of doing that. Especially, when you’ve come in from a ride in the rain and your bike is soaked.

If you have been graced with an outdoor area then a bike shed is another option. These can take up minimum of space and protect your bike from the elements and  thieves. There’s a range of these available and if your bike is relegated to the great outdoors then it’s worth considering. You generally have two options between a wooden version or a plastic storage container.

The wooden ones look good and aren’t too expensive. However, it doesn’t do a great deal to keep your bike away from moisture that causes rust. Though this can be treated every couple of years with oil based varnish to help the situation.

The plastic storage structure on the other hand whilst it doesn’t look quite as good, it does protect your bike more effectively.

Although London, being London, not a lot of people are graced with a garden. Many people end up carrying bikes up stairs or fitting them into tight escalators. Personally, I’ve been fortunate enough that our flat has a landing area outside with plenty of space to lock bikes. I’d be pretty stuck without this space!

The other option comes from a clever innovation known as folding bikes. These can easily be folded down and then stored away in a cupboard. Undeniably this is a great convenience for those that are happy to ride a folding bike.

Where do you store your bike when you are at home?

There’s an on-going drive by the police to get London’s bikes tagged. Doing so helps them recover the owner when one is stolen. There’s also excellent initiatives such as Bike Revolution where you can buy tags yourself and add your bike to the database.

I was wondering..

How many of you out there have your bike or bikes tagged?

See also:

• Hilarious video of NYC cyclist
• Blackfriars Bridge: What’s next?
• Cycling masks and the shocking results
• UltimateMobiles iPhone bike mount
• When is enough, enough?
• Is this the future of bike helmets?

Putting two and two together, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to get Claire’s reactions. I’ll warn you, her results are a little bit disgusting..

At the beginning of April I was suffering with a sore throat that was worse in the morning and evening – a trip to see my GP confirmed that it was a reaction to London pollution that I was sucking in during my 12 mile commute twice a day.

I had previously and sporadically used a Respro mask which is the only anti-pollution mask that I’ve found in the UK – but I used it sporadically because it has several big drawbacks for me:

1. The mask itself is pretty big on a girl’s face and can chafe my skin. It’s like wearing a muzzle and covers most of my face, plus the velcro is very strong and keeps getting caught in my hair.
2. Even using the ‘sports’ filter makes it exceptionally difficult to breathe in sufficient amounts of air when going at speed, leaving me heaving like a fish out of water.
3. The amount of condensation produced inside the mask is incredible – after a couple of miles at a decent pace, my nose felt as though it was submerged, and when breathing hard, condensation was projected out of the mask – when going fast it occasionally splattered all over my shades!

So, in desperation, I emailed the London Cyclist blog and asked Andreas if anyone had any ideas about alternatives – then he put me in touch with Totobobo.

Testing the Classic and SuperCool Totobobo Masks

Totobobo sent me 2 different masks, the Classic and the SuperCool – both made of very lightweight soft rubber with 2 small round white filters that sit on either side of the face.  The masks come with instructions on how to cut the rubber to suit your face – initially I was a little concerned about cutting too much of my Classic away, but eventually after much cautious trimming I fashioned a mask that covered my mouth and nose and felt comfortable.

Riding home with it on was interesting – people in London are generally used to seeing cyclists wearing Respro masks and resembling Darth Vader, but here I was looking as though I had forgotten to take off my surgical mask.  I got loads of odd looks and questions about how good it was.

The answer is that I highly recommend Totobobo (apart from the name, which is impossible to make anyone understand whilst actually wearing it!).  When I got home I checked the filters and was amazed to see that even in 30 minutes the pristine white had turned to sludgy grey.

I am quite horrified by this amount of pollution in London – I only wear each pair of filters for 2 or 3 days, by which time they are nearly black. With the Respro mask, until you’ve worn it for a couple of months you just don’t see any change of colour and probably don’t replace the filter when you should.

There is a little condensation produced by both the Classic and SuperCool, but the SuperCool doesn’t cover your nose, so there’s even less with that one.  The thin straps fit behind your ears and afford a surprisingly secure fit and there’s a alternative strap that fits both masks but is a little more complicated than just fitting around your ears.

There are also different filters – a matrix filter and 2 different grades of particulate filter – 94% and 96% – both are easy to breathe through and the 96% gives a slightly higher grade protection from particulates.

So, in summary, buy a Totobobo and breathe easy – I’ve discovered just how horrifying London pollution is, and I value my lungs.  Since I have been using my Totobobo my sore throat has disappeared – that makes me happy!

Thanks to Francis for the masks that were supplied for review and Claire for putting together her thoughts.

Does anyone else wear a cycling mask? What sort of results are you getting?

Edit: A couple of people are pointing out you may get similar results just sat in a car in traffic or on the underground. A valid point and I didn’t mean this post to be a scientific experiment. Just one users thoughts.