Cycle Eye and New low-level traffic lights for cyclists

New low-level traffic lights designed for cyclists have been authorised for use following safety trials, Transport Minister Stephen Hammond has announced.

 

 

More than 80% of cyclists favoured the use of low-level signals during the track-based trials of the system, which works by repeating the signal displayed on main traffic lights at the eye level of cyclists.

The clearance means that Transport for London (TfL) can now install the lights at Bow Roundabout – the first time the lights have been used in the UK.

Initially the system will be piloted at Bow but the Department for Transport (DfT) is working with TfL to extend it to a further 11 sites in London. The further 11 sites are listed below.

The lights will give cyclists improved, clearer signals to ensure they have the information they need at the junction. Research is currently underway that will give DfT the evidence to consider approving the use of these lights to provide an “early start” for cyclists.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and TfL have been trialling a range of measures to improve the safety of cyclists, including new designs for roundabouts and bus stop bypasses.

TfL is also working on delivering the ‘Quietways’, a network of high-quality, low-traffic back streets which form part of the Mayor’s vision for cycling. The department will work with TfL on the traffic signing needed to help implement these, starting in summer 2014.

The department is driving forward regulatory changes to give TfL and other authorities the freedom to implement new and innovative junction designs to help cyclists.

TfL has also been working closely with the department to develop a new junction design that will be used as standard by road planners. This design will include a ‘two-stage’ right turn for cyclists as used in other European countries.

The two-stage right turn saves cyclists from attempting to turn across several lanes of traffic. This ‘turn left to turn right’ idea allows bikes to turn left into a dedicated area in advance of the main traffic before completing the turn by going straight across the junction when the lights next change.

It is important that any changes to junctions help keep cyclists safe, and to that end TfL will be launching off-street trials of this new junction early next year. DfT will support these as the department continues to work closely with local authorities to improve cycling safety.

The government is also currently considering options for the enforcement of mandatory cycle lanes by local authorities.

Transport Minister Stephen Hammond said:

The government wants to see cycling made safer and we welcome innovative designs from local authorities.

 

Over the last few years we’ve worked very closely with Transport for London to deliver better infrastructure for cyclists. Transport for London are working hard on proposals to make cycling safer and these low-level lights mean that cyclists will have dedicated traffic lights that give them the information they need.

There is always more that we can do and there is a lot of research underway into further measures that we can look at.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, said:

This is very good news for cyclists in London, and across the country. Just one of a number of new safety measures we’ve been discussing with the government, this new piece of infrastructure forms a key element of our cycling vision for London. We look forward to continuing to work together on many more measures to help make cycling even safer, more attractive and convenient for Londoners.

Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL said:

Low level cycle signals are common place in certain parts of Europe and we are keen to make them common place in London. These new signals, which will be a further improvement to the innovative traffic signals at Bow, will provide cyclists with a better eye-level view as to which stage the traffic signals are at.

Working closely with the Department for Transport, we will work to have these on-street during January 2014, and should the technology prove to be successful, further trials will be carried out across London throughout 2014.

 

The 11 further sites TfL have identified for future low-level lights systems are:

Queen Street Place and Upper Thames Street

Euston Road and Pancras Road

Holloway Road and Madras Place and Fieldway Crescent

City Road and Colebrooke Row

Owen Street and Goswell Road

Cable Street and Dock Street and Royal Mint Street

Cable Street and Cannon Street Road

London Road, Princes Street and Ontario Street

St Georges Road, Princess Street and Elliots Row

Clapham Common Northside and Cedars Avenue

Clapham Common Southside and Narbonne Avenue

Cycle Eye Some of the newest and the most innovative technology being developed in the UK is coming from companies who are being supported by a partnership of universities, to view go too the BBC's Click here.

 

Knee jerk reactions don't work!

As we all know there has been a spate of tragic cyclist deaths on London's roads recently including 6 in two weeks during the past month. So the police were posted to specific junctions issuing fines and penalty points to both drivers and cyclists who broke safety rules to make them aware of the dangers of their behavior and to use them to set an example to others. A short term reaction with little or no long term effect. It wasn't long ago that we also heard some drivers pleading ignorance about the purpose and use of cycle box / blue box in front of traffic lights and there was a suggestion that drivers entering and abusing these protected cyclist areas would be fined, another apparent 'kneejerk'
As you can see, it didn't work!

 

October 2013 North London

 

Read the story of what the love of a mother Cynthia Barlow,  for her daughter can do in her own words, taken from the Sun Written by EMILY FAIRBAIRN Published: 05th December 2012.

 

"My daughter Alex was 26 when she was killed. Her life was just beginning. She had a masters degree, a great job at a law firm in the City and a boyfriend who she loved. Then, as she cycled to work one sunny morning, a cement mixer lorry turned across her path and knocked her down. The police came to my office to tell me my daughter was dead. I couldn’t take it in; she was my only child, my whole world.

"I’d been talking to her just the night before. The firm she worked at was having a staff party that week and as it was her and her boyfriend’s one year anniversary they were going to make something special out of it. She was telling me what she was going to wear and how she was having her hair done. I just couldn’t make sense of the fact she was gone.
"It was at least a year before I found out what had happened to her that terrible day. The driver was to be prosecuted for careless driving, and I wasn’t allowed to see any evidence in case it prejudiced the trial. "For the same reason, the driver didn’t have to answer any questions at the inquest. After the trial and inquest, at which the driver was acquitted, I became suicidally depressed. One day I was out for a walk with a colleague and literally bumped into the lorry driver’s barrister. I don’t know if he recognized me but I certainly recognized him."I started crying and didn’t stop crying for three days, and just shut myself in the house. After that time my mind was a lot clearer and I realised that the reason I felt like that was because I was blaming myself. I felt like I had let my daughter down, by not doing enough to stand up for her.
"That’s when I decided to hire a private traffic investigator, who went through all the evidence to establish what had happened. From the CCTV footage, he discovered that Alex had definitely seen the lorry. "She had stopped earlier to let it pass, but caught up with it at the traffic lights. The lights were changing to green as she approached and she carried on forward. "The lorry only started indicating to turn left when Alex was already alongside it, so she never saw its signal. How was she supposed to know it was about to turn?
"I bought £500 worth of shares in Ready Mix Concrete; enough to entitle me to attend their Annual General Meeting. I planned to look the directors in the eye and tell them how their lorry killed my daughter.
"On the day of the meeting, I was shaking like a leaf. Luckily, I had a friend with me who grabbed me by the arm and pushed me to stand up, when I was handed a microphone so I couldn’t let my nerves get the better of me. "I told the audience all about Alex, and what changes I wanted made so that deaths like hers would be prevented in the future.
"When I finished, there was complete silence in the room. I don’t know what I expected - but it wasn’t that.
"RMC contacted me soon afterwards and asked for a meeting. Since then, we have established a very productive relationship.
"Today Cemex (the company that took over RMC) is the industry leader when it comes to cycle safety. Their lorries are fitted with sensors which detect cyclists within two metres of the lorry when it turns left.
"An audible warning outside the lorry tells cyclists that it is turning and an alarm sounds inside the cab to alert the driver to unexpected obstructions. Extra mirrors are fitted to try to give a view of the blind spots around the cab. "Simple changes, but they have saved lives. I am pleased to say that many of the other major firms have followed suit.
"But I’m not stopping now. I am campaigning for a change in the law to make cycle safety measures for construction vehicles compulsory.
"There is still a problem with subcontractors, owner-drivers who have no obligation to fit these safety devices. Some say it is too expensive. But if it saves even one life, the £500 upfront cost looks like a small price to pay."