Journalism and cycling

amcalester wrote: »

It was the Communications Manager.

amcalester wrote: »

The RSA Communications Manager is a member of the Institute of Advance Motorists and also hold an advance driving qualification. This, and their period of employment with the RSA is what qualifies them as an expert.

I also asked if the RSA would issue a statement clarifying this misleading section, specifically in relation to the up to 1.5m of space comment, but I've been told that this is factually correct.



FYI - IAM membership is open to anyone who passes their advance test or qualifies by exemption.

amcalester wrote: »

Boom you can now call yourself an RSA Expert.

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I suppose one could ask why being an 'expert motorist' qualifies you to write about cycling?

Corca Baiscinn wrote: »

There's a thought, The Independent could be asked to publish an article next week by an "expert" cyclist, (Bikeability/Cycle Right) qualifications and experience of commuter cycling in Dublin on a daily basis on their observations of busy bee multi-tasking drivers

We Irish have taken to driving in a big way.

It's great to see the numbers driving to work each morning, expanding our horizons and clearly the boom is back.

On a wet November morning, I admire how motorists can sit comfortably away from the elements and safely get to work to earn a living.

But - and there is always a but - some of these busy bees seem to bending the rules of the road.

Perhaps it's because there has been such a huge decline in enforcing the rules of the road in such a short space of time, with city infrastructures struggling to cope with the swarming masses?

While their country cousins are happy to enjoy quieter roads, some city motorists are battling it out for last person through the red light.

Some veer into cycle lanes like they're part of the road and exit left without so much as a glance in their wing mirror or, more importantly, the blind spot.

I'm not saying that cyclists are without fault - far from it.

No one wants to be stuck behind the poor struggling climber (who is just short of being pushed up the hill), but weaving in and out of traffic and clipping wing mirrors is risky for both cyclists and others.

The RSA's recent advertisement asking cyclists to put on yellow jackets has, by and large, made almost zero difference.

So, if we are beginning to see cyclists wear yellow jackets more, and this placebo effect is believed to have made a difference, then equally motorists need to respect the more vulnerable cyclist

I repeatedly stand at red lights and watch as car and bus after car and bus break the red light, even though the green man crossing light was on.

The worst part of it was that it's in a school area and children are crossing.
We teach our children to always wait for the green man, so what kind of a message does it send when professional bus drivers are whizzing past at speed, ignoring the fact that pedestrians have right of way to cross the road, or the school warden for that matter?

On one particular occasion, I witnessed a Dublin Bus speed through a crossing mere metres from where one of his colleagues had knocked down and killed a cyclist. It might have even been the same driver, given he was allowed to delay his driving ban until after Christmas. The green man couldn't get any greener.

All the driver could say was “**** off“, after which they hurtled onwards, minus any helmet or high-visibility gear.

This is not an isolated incident. I see motorists breaking pedestrian lights all the time.
And it's not a case of 'there's no one crossing. I'll just edge past slowly'.

I'm talking flat out, ****ed-if-I’m-waiting, as pedestrians on opposite sides frantically bump into each other to avoid being flattened.

I accept that stopping to wait at an empty pedestrian crossing can be extremely frustrating.

But in a city, you'll still get to your destination quicker than either the pedestrian or the cyclist if you just plow on through.

On a more serious note, there is also the law.

Apart from the obvious danger, breaking a red light (pedestrian or otherwise) is a fineable offence for everyone, as is disregarding a school warden's sign.

There's no grey area here, just red and green.

The entirety of the Rules of the Road provides detailed safety advice for everyone, and it's free to download.

Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians have to share the road, so we all need to learn to live in harmony and avoid dangerous behaviours.

As the saying goes, if you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive (Dale Carnegie).

magicbastarder wrote: »

what's really head scratching is that a head of communications should be good at understanding what will and won't play well with an audience.
that article is so ham-fisted and counterproductive that the talk about whether they're qualified to talk on road safety surely must be eclipsed by the fact that they don't seem qualified to do their own job.
it's the sort of article that you expect the main role of the head of communications would have in its publication would be to prevent its publication.

magicbastarder wrote: »

what's really head scratching is that a head of communications should be good at understanding what will and won't play well with an audience.