Cargofiets Ben
@cargobikeben
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Utility cycling and active travel advocate. Passionate about ending car dependency (not banning cars), urban planning, and cargo bikes.
Wirral, UK
Joined October 2022
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Both of these trucks have the same length bed.
One is illegal to buy new in the US because of 'safety'.
The other is the leading cause of the 59% rise in pedestrian fatalities annually on US roads since 2009.
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Video of the driver in an Audi TT hitting the outdoor seating on Lark Lane, Liverpool.
If your first thought is that the seating should be removed, rather than stopping the ability to drive down the lane, then you need to (as Scousers would say) "give your head a fucking wobble".
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Two words. Bounty app.
You don't need to employ an army of ticket wardens.
You just need a quick and simple way that just requires nothing more than taking a picture and submitting it, with successful fines paying the reporter a small percentage.
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This is absolutely glorious. More politicians need to respond to “cyclists don’t pay” claims like this.
this is absolutely glorious - mayor of quebec city slaps down a very silly question from a journalist about taxing cyclists
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Nice one. Blocking the pavement with barely enough room for a fully grown adult to get past. It’s for cars; it should be in the road. Not on the pavement.
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Not really sure riding like a dickhead around pedestrians is the message you want to be sending
@DecathlonUK
about the new Van Rysel line.
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Sorry, but if you have epilepsy, you shouldn't be allowed to drive. Your convenience is not more important than other people's lives.
It's far from the only condition that should preclude you driving. Anything that could lead to loss of control should be grounds for a ban.
2 more kids sacrificed on the altar of your right to drive.
Epilepsy should be no barrier to getting behind the wheel of your
@Wankpanzer
.
@LandRover
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Even at this low speed, cars have so much energy in them due to their weight, they can demolish a house.
Even the fattest person in the world on a cargo bike going 70mph couldn't do this amount of damage. That's why 20mph limits are so crucial; it's about reducing impact energy.
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Height of absolutely fucking arrogance. Not even three days and dickheads are already parking on the resurfaced footway that was only needed resurfacing because drivers like them can’t keep four fucking wheels on the road. What a waste of council tax funds.
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A cycling-based observation from my four days in Paris. I saw several bike shops on our travels around by foot and metro.
Not a single one of them sold road bikes or mountain bikes. Every single one was focused on selling utility bikes.
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So basically National Highways objections to Brompton's new car-free factory basically boils down to "we've built our country so the only way you can get around is by car to justify our own existence; how dare you try to change that".
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Heads up. You'll be able to easily spot entitled cry-baby car drivers who shouldn't be allowed to drive because they'll be tying red ribbons to the front of their cars to protest not being able to drive at child-killing speeds in Wales.
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I genuinely feel for this lady, but let's be real for a min. This is the result of car dependency and of urban sprawl. Forget that insurance has gone up. Owning and operating a car should not be the only option for her to get to work in a reasonable time.
This video & ladies anguish at cost of surviving has really hit me.
Resonates for so many.
Working people left with nothing. She gives Sunak both barrels
“You have us paying for your 2nd homes? £40 daily food allowance? I don’t even spend that a week”
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Good. Nice to know that you’re on the side of killing children, and screwing the futures of those who don’t get hit by cars, or have their respiratory systems ravaged from all tailpipe, tyre, and brake pollution.
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"WHy dOn't CYcLISTs USE ThE cYClE paThs?"
This is why. Because arseholes like this driver can't follow the absolute basics of road markings.
They'd have stopped at the road though, which is why cyclists ride on it; it's simply far safer (even though it shouldn't be).
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This. This is what we should be doing for every car in every city/country. Link the price you pay to the weight of the vehicle. Exclusions for commercial use where it can be proved it’s genuinely needed (no BIK loopholes for pickups).
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A year ago today, I picked up my
#UrbanArrow
. It's pretty safe to say that it's changed my life for the better.
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I bet we won't hear a peep about this from Mark Harper or Iain Duncan Smith. The maximum sentence this person will receive is a £1,000 fine despite killing someone through carelessness, and even that is unlikely.
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If we can go through the hassle of adding speedometers to the tens of millions of bikes, and ensure they are calibrated annually, then we absolutely can go through the hassle of adding GPS speed limiters to every single car.
Be careful what you wish for.
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500,000 signatures on a petition to undo the 20mph limit in Wales doesn't mean they have a point.
It just means there are 500,000 selfish and entitled people who believe their own convenience is more important than the lives and health of children and elderly people.
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Watched the piece on potholes on BBC Breakfast. It was good they focused on the fact a pothole that might damage a car, can kill a cyclist, but poor that they didn't touch on the fact that cars *cause* potholes. We don't just need more funding, we need fewer miles driven by cars.
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@UllPetrus
They're both ugly, to be honest. But useful things don't need to worry about aesthetics.
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Few pictures do as good a job at showing how much weight I’ve lost than this one.
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@CycleNott
Driver used their car as a weapon.
Cyclist retaliated by using their car as a weapon.
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The real question is why are people driving five minute journeys? 🤦♂️
Why can't I use my local road to move locally in Lewisham? 5 min journey increased to 20 mins ...
@LewishamCouncil
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Can we just take a minute to applaud
@cheshirepolice
for this accurate and helpful post, including it pointing out that modding an ebike's speed turns it into an electric moped.
All too often, forces spread misinformation about ebikes. Factual posts like this should be welcomed.
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This is what happens when you build a business focused on selling a mode of transportation around recreational use.
If all car dealerships sold were race cars and convertibles, they'd be seeing a dip in demand too.
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Saw an article bemoaning how many smaller town centres are dead and wishing the shops would come back.
Well, maybe if you hadn't gotten used to jumping in your car and driving to that big retail park or ordering stuff online, they'd still be around.
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@ehnyay
@grubbulous
@hoagie_fun
@the_transit_guy
Nope. That’s the right tweet. You may require a car, no one is saying YOU don’t. But to extrapolate your personal experience and claim all disabled people need a car because you do is the point of contention.
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People have been asking for the ability to drive down this busy, and thriving street to be removed for years. And yet councillors have continued to ignore those requests.
While the actions of the driver were shocking, and an indictment on the impact of car dependency.
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£2bn cash cow? More like heavily subsidised. Why on earth should you be allowed to store your private property for free on public land. Anything else - garden furniture, sheds, etc would rightly be removed - but somehow a car should get a free pass?
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Meanwhile, while the press is rubbing their hands at glee over the pedestrian who walked out in front of a group of cyclists, this horrible woman has had her conviction for manslaughter of a cyclist on a shared path quashed. Absolutely disgusting outcome.
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A common misconception is that you can get further in the same time by train or bus, than by bike. The reality is different. Sure, intercity trains do get further, but for the majority of people, the bike will get you further.
This is 30 mins by bike (red) vs bus/train (blue).
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@MarkSharon_DP
It s a footpath. The hint is in the name. It’s not designed for cars to be stored on it.
Pavements are for people, not entitled pricks.
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This is a great example of why cars need to be removed from around schools. The risk is too great.
Wow, it’s a godsend that the babies weren’t in that nursery when this car went through here today 🙏🏼
Happened in Everton today.
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@HarryCarroll1
"It’s a main through road"
So was Church Street.
So was Paradise Street.
So was Lord Street.
So was Whitechapel.
At some point, the most important user of the road changes, and that means a reprioritisation.
Cars are no longer the most important user of Lark Lane.
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"How to cycle to work - without becoming a cyclist". 🤦♂️
This just goes to show why we need to adopt the Dutch term fiets/fietser. Clearly the right wing have made a name for someone who rides toxic and now they're realising the issue with that...
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The ultimate responsibility for the man's physical injuries (thankfully minor) lies with the councillors who have continuously refused to do what is obvious.
Irrespective of his injuries being minor, it shouldn't have been possible in the first place.
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“Man charged with murder over Sheffield car crash”
This shouldn’t be the exception to the rule; it should be the rule when it comes to cases where a vehicle is used as a weapon.
Death by driving shouldn’t exist. Murder and manslaughter do the job.
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Having just gotten back from Paris, the most remarkable thing was how few cars there were on the roads. And this was in the centre of a major European capital. Even towns in the UK had more traffic.
So many of our towns and cities are decades behind what Paris has achieved.
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This is the key thing those who are obsessed with driving everywhere don't understand. It's not about cycling. It's about not making everything require a car.
It just happens that bikes are that the most convenient way to get around in places designed for people; not cars.
The Dutch blueprint for urban vitality isn’t really about bikes.
It’s about refusing to carve out enormous amounts of space from their cities for cars; instead reserving it for commerce, community, and social connection.
The bikes are simply a means to help reach that end goal.
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If you want to understand one of the key reasons why the UK bike retail space is struggling, it's the focus on cycling as a sport, or recreational activity, rather than as a mode of transport.
The latter has a far larger market, and far better upsell/cross-selling opportunities.
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@tfolbrecht
@FuckCarsReddit
You don’t need to drive one to realise how useless they are compared to yesteryear’s pickups.
And you’re absolutely correct, you can get them with what you described. And those who do are probably those who really need a pickup. But what percentage of sales do you think it is?
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@KatieLidster
Perfectly acceptable to park it there. They’re not exclusive for cars.
The only worry I’d have is locking it up to be compliant with insurance requirements.
But as far as that driver is concerned, they can do one.
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This is unsustainable from both a financial and health perspective. Car dependency is at the root of the cost of living crisis, and at the core of the UK's health issues. This requires a massive change in the way we build our towns and cities.
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No need to defrost this to go and pick up some dishwasher tablets from the shop.
It might have been -3C, but thats' nothing a nice warm jacket, scarf, hat, gloves, and my poggies couldn't fix.
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Wow. So apparently
@WirralCouncil
has a system where if multiple vehicles go through red lights at a junction, to protect pedestrians trying to cross that busy junction it...
*checks notes*
Turns off the pedestrian crossing.
I'm actually speechless.
#carbrain
#motornormativity
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Dutch police now have a new way of testing whether an ebike is legal, or if it has been adapted to become an illegal electric motorbike.
Would be great to see one of these in each UK city to deal with illegal motorbikes masquerading as ebikes, especially by delivery riders.
De politie heeft nieuwe rollentestbanken. Met deze testbank kunnen we naast het controleren van de snelheid van brom- en snorfietsen, ook toetsen of elektrische fietsen, speed pedelecs en fatbikes aan de wet voldoen.
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You don’t need a car to do your weekly shop. You absolutely can do it on a
#cargobike
, like the
@UrbanArrowcom
Family.
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@ShropshireLad72
"If your first thought is that the seating should be removed, rather than stopping the ability to drive down the lane, then you need to (as Scousers would say) "give your head a fucking wobble"."
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Remember. The speed & power an ebike can provide assistance at is limited for safety reasons. The speed & power a car can provide are not.
In 2022 in London, 5 pedestrians were injured (0 deaths) by ebikes (s: Met Pol). The same year, 1235 pedestrians were KSI'd by cars (s: TfL)
"Didn't realise it was a drive thru!"😝
"You can't park there, sir!"🤭
"Just window shopping!"🤪
It's funny until the footage emerges and shows the level of panic, and how close we came to disaster 😮
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Sainsbury’s Birkenhead once again showing absolutely no respect to anyone arriving by bike.
I’ve asked the manager. Councillors have spoken to the store. And they continue…
Bike parking is not somewhere to dump gardening stock.
@WeAreCyclingUK
@GreenWirral
@WirralLibDems
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Right leaning papers in the UK all carrying stories about how “sick note culture” is being fuelled by obesity.
If we want to tackle the obesity crisis, then we need to tackle car dependency & urban sprawl. Both reduce activity & increase time poverty, major drivers of obesity.
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No thanks Cllr. I’m going to the shops, not a rave.
Tackle the source of the danger. You already have their names and addresses. They’re the muppets asking you to push for these stupid ideas so they can continue driving anti-socially.
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Meanwhile, an 80kg cyclist on a 10kg bike (~195lbs) traveling at 35mph (an unrealistic speed except downhill) hits with less than 11,000 joules.
Speed isn't everything in a collision despite what the anti-cycling lobby tries to tell you. It's the impact energy that matters most.
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Just responded to this. All penalties should be massively increased. Reporting should be made easier with the introduction of a bounty app. No 'exceptional hardship' exclusions.
Caught out by driving in bus lanes or yellow box junctions?
We want to hear from you on whether the current traffic enforcement measures are fair to drivers.
Have your say by 11 May:
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We can only dream of such a rewrite of the Highway Code in the UK. Really sensible rule changes, including the ones adding new responsibilities for people on bikes.
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The state of the absolutely crybabies in the replies. "wha wha. I can't go faster than people on their bikes". "It's a tax on motorists".
No, it's all because you can't be trusted to drive sensibly and share the road with other road users.
Why is Wirral introducing 20mph speed limits? It's a fair question:
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This is precisely why floating bus stops exist. Yes, there are issues with them. But they don't result in the risk of people being ran over by buses.
If you're against them, you're pro people being run over.
Another
@TfL
bus trying to kill someone on Kensington High Street...
Paint isn't infrastructure 🖌️🚳
@laurencyclist
@JeremyVineOn5
@RBKC_cycling
@betterstreetskc
@RBKC
@SonOfTheWinds
🟥
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It's almost like this sort of stuff works. 🤯
One year since
#Brussels
introduced the 'Good Move' traffic circulation plan:
🚗 27% LESS car traffic ⬇️
🏫 up to 54% less cars near schools ⬇️
🚲 36% MORE cyclists ⬆️
🤸♂️ Calmer and safer streets ⬆️
👨👩👧👦 More space for citizens ⬆️
👍 Increasing support ⬆️
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Those inside cars don't want to be inconvenienced.
Those outside of cars don't want to die.
One of those wants completely overrides the other. If you complain about 20s, fuck you and fuck your entitlement.
Wirral’s roll out of 20mph zones faces a key test tonight as its council’s Conservative group call for a review of the policy
I spoke to all the different parties involved, including the public on both sides of this issue to work out where things stand
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Rather than wasting money on fantasy solutions like 'self healing roads', let's do the one thing we know can do today that will reduce the number and severity of pot holes. Drive less.
It's no coincidence the number of potholes have gone up with the number of cars on the roads.
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This is what cyclists are talking about when they say focus on the danger first; we don’t have an issue with the legislation; what we have an issue with is them doing it without fixing these pitiful sentences first.
93mph in a 30mph. Fled the scene. Left an injured child IN HIS OWN CAR. Tried to flee the UK on a ferry.
He had no license and no insurance.
Surely he got a huge prison sentence and driving ban to deter it?
Nope. 4 years in prison. He'll be out in 2
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I'm getting sick of seeing people blame parking fees for Wilko's failure. The business was badly run for one, but on that particular issue, the problem is urban sprawl and car dependency; not parking fees. If you could walk there, you wouldn't need to pay for parking.
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@ChrisC_CFC
She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. That's not to say that a phone wasn't involved, but it's hard enough for someone DUI to drive straight.
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Totally a legit way of getting your shopping home without a car…
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Turns out that the seatbelts in the
#urbanarrow
family are also perfect for carrying pumpkins 🎃😂
#cargobike
#Halloween
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100% agree. The speed limit on single track roads should be 20mph, unless a higher speed deemed safe after review.
Any route frequented by walkers, horse riders, and/or cyclists should immediately be banned from being higher than 20mph for motorised vehicles.
Ben Fogle 'nearly died' in delivery van crash as he calls for 20mph roads
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It's a small thing, but turning up to a retail park and finding that I'm not the only bike there puts a smile on my face.
Both bikes had pannier racks, and one of the riders was shopping in the supermarket I went into.
Both could do with better locks though 🫣
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High quality active travel infrastructure isn’t built for cyclists like me who are comfortable on the roads.
It’s for people like these two people on their bikes on the pavement who are (understandably) too afraid to ride in the road with cars.
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If I moaned every time I came across shit driving while cycling, that's all I'd do. But this incident this morning took the piss.
Riding up a slight hill at 20mph in a 20mph zone for at least 300m with a Sportage behind me. We'd passed multiple mandatory signs and road markings.
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@ciar_nfahey
@paulgannonbike
Drivers don't want to be inconvenienced.
People on bikes don't want to die.
Only one of those 'wants' should be paid attention to by governments; all to often, it's the wrong one.
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Also, just to be 100% clear. My opinion of her being a 'horrible woman' is based on her walking off after the incident to do her shopping.
Unlike the cyclist who hit the pedestrian in Regents Park who stayed there until told they could leave by the police.
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Hey Toyota. “The SUV designed for the city” is an oxymoron. By their very nature, they can’t be ‘designed for the city’ because they shouldn’t be there in the first place.
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Six years ago today, I joined the club no one who rides a bike wants to join; I was hit by a car. The driver (thankfully) stopped and admitted fault.
It’s just one of the reasons why I advocate for safer infrastructure. No one else should have to go through what I went through.
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@tandemkate
See, that would be a legitimate objection; rather than just 'you need to add car parking spaces because some people may come by car'.
However, I do believe that there are parking spaces for those use cases; it's that they aren't providing spaces for able bodied people.
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Thousands of drivers driving without due car and attention finally being told they can't pull that shit anymore.
Shouldn't be a grace period. It should be fines and points from day one.
Thousands of drivers were caught out in the first 24 HOURS of new traffic cameras going live in Liverpool city centre
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@happymerlot2020
Cars don't either. State DOTs and local cities own them in the US. Here in the UK, they're paid for by income tax and council tax (think property tax). Absolutely nothing drivers pay for funds them, because they're there for everyone.
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CHILDREN. CANNOT. TELEPORT. TO. SCHOOL.
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This would be a good start, but it needs to be zero-tolerance; not just aimed at 'persistent offenders'. Tow and fine heavily, even if a single wheel isn't 100% on the road surface.
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This is a great visualisation of why a lot of people don’t cycle. If the road network was as patchy as most cycle networks are, no one would drive.
It’s time to connect the dots.
Happy to share the second piece of campaign creative done with the incredible people at
@BetterSts4AUS
Find out what they’re doing to make things Better.
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The fact that a section of one of Liverpool's main protected cycle lanes has been closed for construction while onroad car parking has been retained is a clear indicator that Liverpool still too car-focused. It should be coned off as a temp cycle lane as a condition of planning.
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There seems to be some confusion about when you can overtake a cyclist on a road with no overtaking (solid white line on your lane's right).
The cyclist (or other road user) has to be going 10mph or less. If they're going faster than that, you can't legally overtake.
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@GraemeRobinson2
Motorists pay nothing of the sort. They pay for the pollution their cars create; that goes into the general taxation pot. It's not ringfenced.
Yes, the businesses pay for licences to have seating on the street.
Yes, they have public liability insurance.
Yes, deliveries happen.
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Many had child seats, and accessories for carrying children displayed prominently in their window displays. Same with baskets.
It wasn't at all unusual to see kids being carried in the quiet Parisian traffic on the back of bikes; some hybrids, others long tail cargo bikes.
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In fact, I can count on one hand the roads bikes I saw in the four days there. I saw only one person in lycra.
Just look at these bikes parked up outside this cafe. Not a single road bike or mountain bike.
(Note the Goldens, which is the actual reason I took this picture 😂)
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If we want to tackle the cost of living crisis, we have to move away from an economic model that requires people to spend £300 a month on average a month (and probably a lot more due to inflation, as this lady demonstrates) just to get to work.
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Let’s say it loudly for those in the backs
Cars slow down response times; not speed limits, which emergency responders don’t have to stick to.
How many lies can you cram into a single tweet.
Who is this streak of awfulness?
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This is concerning. It will either prevent, or make extremely difficult, the roll out of active travel infrastructure on key routes. BT should have to prove the route will never be used for active travel before being allowed to do this anywhere.
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@roadcc
It's almost like it was never about road safety, and that it was entirely motivated by a desire to see cycling killed off as a viable alternative to being forced to own and operate a car to do anything in this country.
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People should be able to walk or ride. They should be able to take fast, reliable, and frequent buses, trams, and trains that are operated to help facilitate businesses to be productive; not as businesses themselves.
We need to stop building in car dependency to our socieity.
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@nbg70
No, it's called being a member of a functioning society. A society calls out bad behaviour that puts other members at risk because of selfishness or entitlement.
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If you're planning on driving to your local polling station, and you don't have a disability that makes walking difficult/impossible, or live in a remote area, then you need to give your head a shake.
The vast majority are in easy walking distance. Stop being fucking lazy.
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Absolute fucking joke. War on motorists my arse. It’s a war by motorists on everyone else, including other motorists.
Government has U turned on tax treatment of double cabbed pick-up trucks so these monsters will continue to endanger kids on our city streets.
I counted 7 single occupancy ones today.
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✅ Close pass
✅ Speeding in a 20mph area
✅ Careless driving (at a minimum)
Chances of Merseyside Police doing anything if I reported it...? Fuck all. 🤦♂️
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