• Back copies of other recent SPOKES Leaflets are available by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to SPOKES (address at bottom of page).
• For a set of all available back copies, please send £1 (we have copies left of roughly 50 issues).
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• There are rumours the Forth Estuary Forum is about to reject or postpone the concept of a Forth Circular path - which public consultation had suggested as a priority, and for which Spokes had campaigned [Spokes 66,68,70, Factsheet 31], but apparently is now downplayed by consultants. If so, Spokes may take up the idea through SESTRANS, the body which links local transport authorities. We are also considering a Forth-Circular map, and Sustrans is planning a Forth-Circular Trailblazing Ride. If these ideas appeal, contact Spokes or Sustrans [0131.624.7660].
• Discussions are underway between cycling groups and the Scottish Executive to set up Scottish Cycling, to work with councils etc to promote cycling for transport, leisure and sport. Spokes supports the idea, though our own aims concern only transport & leisure [Spokes 69]. We will also continue to pressurise councils/government - in particular, the Executive must lead, incentivise and finance councils to meet national cycle-use targets.
• The Scottish Executive has allocated to Sustrans £1.5m from the Integrated Transport Fund, to surface 34km of cycleroute in the west of Scotland and for many smaller projects [SO20.11.02]. The grant is highly significant: it shows that the ITF, whose rules are secret, can be used for cycle projects; and it is the first large Executive cycle allocation which does not date back to decisions made when Sarah Boyack was minister. However, we still wholly lack a transparent and effective funding mechanism which ensures all Scottish councils cater seriously for cycling as a means of transport [see previous article].
• The Scottish Executive has put up £5m to buy 22 new ScotRail 3-car trains and recruit more drivers, to lengthen Edinburgh-Glasgow trains and replace 2-car units on Edinburgh/Glasgow-Aberdeen/Inverness and Dunblane, Fife and Bathgate lines. We think the design will be like Edinburgh-Glasgow class-170 Turbostars: if so, bike capacity will rise

from CARtoons, a book of powerful text and potent (and freely-reproducible) artwork  [£5 post-free from Spokes]

on some routes, but may decline on some if 6-bike class-156 trains are replaced (e.g. Dunblane services). We urge members who use bike-rail to write to: Peter Cotton, ScotRail Director, 87 Union St, Glasgow G1 3TA. Compliment him on the new trains, then raise your bike-capacity questions.

• Cycling is far safer than driving when health benefits are included; cycling gets even safer as it gets more popular; and there is no recent example where an increase in cycle use led to an increase in cyclist deaths. [Assessing the Actual Risks faced by Cyclists, Traffic Engineering and Control journal, Dec 2002].
• Increasing the number of cyclists is a very effective way to increase safety per cyclist, possibly as motorists become more aware. A 50% jump in Edinburgh bike commuting saw serious injuries fall 33%. A 10% York cycling rise saw casualties fall 30%. Denmark has 18% of journeys by bike, but one casualty per 100m km; compared to the UK 2% and 8 per 100m km [Spokes 80].
• Prominent on-road cycle facilities are an effective way to increase numbers of cyclists - and therefore safety - possibly because they make cycling look a more valid transport mode [Spokes 80, and Scottish Cycle Forum Progress Report - www.scotland.gov.uk/publications].
• Advanced Stop Lines at junctions have been found to benefit pedestrian as well as cyclist safety. It is thought that ASLs give all road users better visibility, and make motorists less likely to jump the lights [Edinb Council].
• Most cars score just 1 star out of 5 for pedestrian protection in Euro NCAP tests [none get over 2!], yet they are sold to use on public roads! But six years ago, when the Rover 100 scored just one star for occupant safety, it was withdrawn from sale. [Which, Dec 2002].
• Road risk can be very effectively reduced (crashes often down 30% or so) by rewarding crash-free driving. Examples... free license renewal, insurance cash-backs, bonuses for crash-free truck drivers. Why does the UK ignore this option? [Risk Homoeostasis Theory implications for Road Safety, British Medical Journal, 11 May 2002].
• Driver training doesn't improve road safety (reduce crashes); but physical measures (eg traffic calming) and effectively policed laws (eg speed, drink driving) can. [Reducing Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths and Injuries in Newly Motorising Countries, British Medical Journal, 11 May 2002].
• Alcohol blood levels in crash fatalities exceeded the legal driving limit in only 14% of cyclists, but 21% of car passengers, 23% of drivers, and 35% of pedestrians [Blood Alcohol... Transport Research Lab, LF2086, Oct 2002]

• Compulsory Helmet Legislation continues to wreak havoc with public health in regions where it has been introduced. Nova Scotia is following the same pattern as Western Australia: big falls in bike use, more injuries per remaining cyclist (a doubling in Nova Scotia), more cyclists hospitalised (despite cycle use falling!) and only a small reduction in actual numbers of head injuries. In W.Australia, for example, some 200,000 people stopped cycling after helmet compulsion! Despite this, total cyclist injuries rose, particularly spinal and upper body, while head injuries (not all serious) fell a mere14 a year [www.cycle-helmets.com, www.cmaj.ca/cgi/eletters/166/5/592].
• Even without compulsion, helmet promotion appears to be "strongly linked to a decrease in the numbers of cyclists" [Cycle Helmet Wearing in 1996, Transport Research Lab report 286]. Perhaps cycling feels more dangerous when helmeting is stressed, so people are put off?
• Is individual safety helped by wearing a helmet? There is evidence that while helmets help in some types of crash, the chances of having a crash in the first place rise significantly, making injury more likely. Reasons could include cyclists being slightly less cautious due to feeling safer, motorists being slightly less cautious as cyclists look safer, or discomfort or other effects of the helmet. Most such reactions would be unconscious, but a Transport Research Lab report even found many cyclists who knowingly cycle less carefully if helmeted! [ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/8/2/e1 - 'dissent'. Also TRL154 Attitudes to Cycle Helmets; and Cycle Helmets & Accident Involvement, colin@vood.freeserve.co.uk].
• Risk Compensation, or acting slightly less cautiously because of a 'safety' measure, is normal - not just a helmet problem. For example, joggers using top-of-the-range hi-tech shoes get more foot injuries than if using cheap brands [H 9.12.97], and it is thought that use of toughened glasses in pubs can lead staff to "feel more confident and therefore take more risks" [H 2.3.00].
• Stephen Norris, UK National Cycling Board chair, hit the headlines by saying, "the idea you have to dress up like a bloody spaceman to ride a bike is potty. I never wear a helmet, for the same reason I never wear Lycra" [LTT 6.6.02]. Mr Norris is famed for colourful speech, but he is also rightly concerned that UK targets for everyday cycle use will only be met if cycling is seen as an everyday activity, not as something for 'enthusiasts'.
• Speed-reduction and car-use-reduction are the best ways to improve cycle safety - with compulsory cycle helmets coming last of 6 choices - according to a British Medical Journal 500-doctor poll [11 May 2002].
• More on helmets - www.lesberries.co.uk/cycling/helmets, and a future comprehensive site - www.cyclehelmets.org. Sadly a new government study Bicycle Helmets- Review of effectiveness [0870.1226.236] again omits all evidence of the effect on overall injuries of increased helmet use.

HOLIDAYS ... Globetrotting cyclist Josie Dew says, "If you can cycle to the shops, you can cycle round the world." Dervla Murphy cycled to India on the 3-speed she had used for years in her Irish home town. Properly prepared, cycle touring is a joy and a challenge, but you can still head for the hills without a great outlay. Where-ever you cycle, you travel lightly, leaving the local environment as you find it, riding on humankind's happiest, most friendly invention!

SAFETY ... It's much safer to cycle, even in the UK, than not to! Research shows that if you cycle regularly you can expect to be as fit as someone 10 years younger, and to add 2.5 years to your life - despite the (tiny) risk of road death.

Adapted from Get Cycling: Practical Guide to Pedal Power from Company of Cyclists. CoC works with councils etc on bike promotion initiatives - businesses, schools, public try-outs, literature, forums, etc. www.getcycling.info 01904.778080

Adapted from Guide to Railway Safety Roald Dahl, 1991

Traveline Scotland: rail, bus, ferry info [to include cycle aspects and cyclemap leaflets?] 0870.608.2608 www.traveline.org.uk.

Potholes, glass on cycleroutes, broken lights, etc anywhere in Lothian [including Edinburgh], or Falkirk District: [Use number on nearest lamp-post to report exact location]. Phone 0800.232323; Or see www.edinburgh.gov.uk - transport -Clarence.

Bad glass/dumping [Ed only]: Rapid Response 0808.100.3366

Smoky commercial vehicles: 01506.445216.

Bad taxi-driving: The Inspector, 33 Murrayburn Rd EH14 2TF.

Drink-driving, speeding, driving whilst disqualified, and other road crime: Freephone Crimestoppers 0800.555.111.

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AIR CONSULTATION

Please respond if you haven't yet! We suggest choosing the 'UK-wide constrained' option - but since the questions don't allow you a proper reply on environmental aspects, consider also sending an email or letter. For more ideas see: Spokesworker02.12.02 [Spokes web site]; www.airwatch.org.uk; and www.greenparty.org.uk [Aviation's Economic Downside]. Transport planners, please contact catherine.elliot@york.gov.uk. 

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FOOD MILES

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