The leader of Oxfordshire County Council has pledged “zero tolerance” on road traffic deaths after two women were killed while cycling in Oxford in recent weeks.

Liberal Democrat councillor Liz Leffman also said that the county should be somewhere that people should be able to ride bikes without fear of being killed or seriously injured.

Her comments come after the deaths of University of Oxford postdoctoral scientist Dr Ling Felce at The Plain roundabout last week, just three weeks after Reuben College administrator Ellen Moilanen was killed close to Oxford Parkway station.

“It has been heart-breaking to learn of the tragic deaths of two young women killed while cycling in or near Oxford over the last few weeks,” Ms Leffman said.

“I’ve been moved by the unwavering commitment of the bereaved families to cycling. In both cases the relatives have insisted that a fitting legacy would be a safer cycling city. A city where everyone from the ages of eight to 80 can cycle without the fear of death or serious injury.

“I am constantly impressed by the hard work and dedication of cycling advocate groups across the county,” she continued.

“They represent a wealth of talent and expertise that is impossible to ignore, and we are extraordinarily lucky to have.

“I know that, in particular, Cyclox, is keen for the county to put the Vision Zero policy at the front and centre of our Local Transport and Connectivity Plan.

“Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all..

“It was first implemented in Sweden in the 1990s and has proved successful across many important European cities. I would like to see it made a success here, across Oxfordshire.

“Of course, we will need to look hard at whether there are immediate measures that we can take and our Cycling Champion, Cllr Andrew Gant, will lead on this work in conjunction with the county council’s Corporate Director of Environment and Place, Bill Cotton, in consultation with the chair of Cyclox.

“These women who tragically lost their lives while cycling on our roads must not be forgotten and their legacy will be a radical commitment to a transport network where we take a zero tolerance attitude to having anyone else killed or seriously injured,” she added.

At a vigil for Dr Felce this week, Dr Allison Hill, chair of the local cycling campaign group Cyclox, said: “We all should be calling for a ‘vision zero’ which is about total intolerance of any road user death because it is just awful for any road user to lose their life.”

She added that the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, currently under consultation, gave an opportunity to create safer roads for cyclists.

“That involves a large number of different actions,” she said. “It involves things like reducing speed and reducing traffic volume, which is utterly crucial because people see the huge number of cars and just feel too intimidated to get on their bikes.

“It involves making safe, segregated cycle routes that are separated from traffic because that is the only way people will feel safe.”

The post of Oxfordshire County Council’s cycling champion was scrapped by the county’s former Conservative administration in late 2020 when the previous holder, Dr Suzanne Bartington, resigned from the position.

> Oxfordshire ‘cycling champion’ role binned after previous holder complained she was powerless to effect change

The Conservative councillor said it was impossible to act as the local authority’s “face of cycling” while not having any say in transport decision-making at the council, such as having a seat in its cabinet.

“It's seemingly impossible to enact positive change in Oxfordshire without a portfolio or budget responsibility,” she said at the time..

“I felt that what I would like to make happen was very difficult to do without being a cabinet member for the council.

"It is the cabinet who make decisions for the authority and I am a back bencher. It is very difficult to be the person who is the face of cycling and funding it but doesn't actually have any responsibility for decision making around transport,” she added.

The council changed control last year and is now run by the Liberal Democrats in partnership with Labour and the Green Party.

https://road.cc/content/news/oxfordshire-leader-pledges-zero-tolerance-cyclist-deaths-290995

On 10/03/2022 21:48, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> The leader of Oxfordshire County Council has pledged “zero tolerance” on road traffic deaths after two women were killed while cycling in Oxford in recent weeks.

> The council changed control last year and is now run by the Liberal Democrats in partnership with Labour and the Green Party.

"now run by the Liberal Democrats in partnership with Labour and the
Green Party".

That's Oxfordshire fucked, then.

> <https://road.cc/content/news/oxfordshire-leader-pledges-zero-tolerance-cyclist-deaths-290995>

--
Spike

On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
And the Oxford Mail's response was...

(Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)

On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> And the Oxford Mail's response was...

> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)

It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.

If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.

--
Spike

On 11/03/2022 11:38 am, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> And the Oxford Mail's response was...
>
> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)

You say "driver", but having no licence or insurance, and operating
under the influence of dugs, he was obviously and patently a
*fairy-cyclist* and nothing more.

That's all he was qualified for (and with an attitude to third-party
safety like he displayed, he is the consummate fairy-cyclist).

NOtotheEU replied to eburtthebike | 6 posts | 12 hours ago
3 likes
I agree they can improve the situation but unless every road in the country has a seperated cycle lane which obviously isn't practical then the only solution is better enforcment. Safe drivers don't endanger cyclists even on dangerous roads or in poor conditions but dangerous drivers will continue to endanger cyclists until they kill someone or are caught and punished. If someone was walking down the street shooting at people we would be pretty upset if the Police responce was to allow them to continue shooting and just make us all stay indoors behind bullet proof glass.

> https://road.cc/content/news/oxfordshire-leader-pledges-zero-tolerance-cyclist-deaths-290995

quite

On 11/03/2022 14:45, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> NOtotheEU replied to eburtthebike | 6 posts | 12 hours ago
> 3 likes

> I agree they can improve the situation but unless every road in the country has a seperated cycle lane which obviously isn't practical then the only solution is better enforcment. Safe drivers don't endanger cyclists even on dangerous roads or in poor conditions but dangerous drivers will continue to endanger cyclists until they kill someone or are caught and punished. If someone was walking down the street shooting at people we would be pretty upset if the Police responce was to allow them to continue shooting and just make us all stay indoors behind bullet proof glass.

>> https://road.cc/content/news/oxfordshire-leader-pledges-zero-tolerance-cyclist-deaths-290995

> quite

Apples and oranges.

--
Spike

On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
Hmm... not quite, is it? Even The Netherlands doesn't have that - because it's neither practical nor needed (here's why - [1] (link is external) [2] (link is external) [3] (link is external)). It's never 100% safe for cyclists to be around cars - nor for pedestrians to be for that matter. However we understand the dangers very well and with a small amount of extra money / effort * we can reduce the danger to an extremely low level. Remember - cycling is already a very safe activity in the UK. Selective segregation, junction fixes, speed reduction etc. actually make it "subjectively safe" to cycle and much more convenient. This gets you into a virtuous circle where more people cycle so there are fewer car journeys, which lowers the number of accidents. It may also lower the rate of accidents. That's because with good design there are fewer conflict points between cyclists and cars, driving becomes easier - fewer cars to deal with - and more drivers will have experience of cycling as daily transport.

Your other analogy would be better written as "because people continue to stab each other are you suggesting we ban knives and have to have the police cut things for us?".

I'm all for fewer drastically fewer trips made by motor vehicles. The answer - from where we are - is both better infrastructure AND better policing. Which costs money. The selling point for that is it's much more effective to spend on this than subsidising mass motoring / commercial road transport..

* Small as in "fraction of the 'road budget', not as in 'we spaffed 80k on consultants then sent the trainees out with some paint and signs so we got two cycle lanes for only 100k!".
> https://road.cc/content/news/oxfordshire-leader-pledges-zero-tolerance-cyclist-deaths-290995

On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > And the Oxford Mail's response was...
>
> > (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)
> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.
>
> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.
>
> --
> Spike

So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles. Maybe we should address the problem rather than blaming the victims.

On Friday, March 11, 2022 at 5:49:52 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:

> So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles. Maybe we should address the problem rather than blaming the victims.

Motorists kill or seriously injure 22000 people in the UK every year, so obviously the new Highway Code is addressing that major risk with its new hierarchy rankings and new rules.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-highway-code-8-changes-you-need-to-know-from-29-january-2022

On 11/03/2022 17:49, Mike Collins wrote:
> On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>> And the Oxford Mail's response was...

>>> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)

>> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.

>> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
>> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
>> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
>> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.

> So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles.

Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
involved.

> Maybe we should address the problem rather than blaming the victims.

--
Spike

On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 09:54:45 UTC, Spike wrote:
> On 11/03/2022 17:49, Mike Collins wrote:
> > On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
> >> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> >>> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >>> And the Oxford Mail's response was...
>
> >>> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)
>
> >> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.
>
> >> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
> >> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
> >> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
> >> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.
> > So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles.

> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
> involved.

Please cite evidence from the peer reviewed literature to support this claim.

On 12/03/2022 10:15, Mike Collins wrote:
> On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 09:54:45 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 11/03/2022 17:49, Mike Collins wrote:
>>> On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
>>>> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>>> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>>>> And the Oxford Mail's response was...

>>>>> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)

>>>> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.

>>>> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
>>>> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
>>>> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
>>>> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.

>>> So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles.

>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>> involved.

> Please cite evidence from the peer reviewed literature to support this claim.

<https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-pedal-cyclist-factsheet-2020/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-pedal-cycle-factsheet-2020>

2015-2020 out of 643 cyclists killed, 98 died with no other vehicle
involved. 15%. One every 3 weeks.

--
Spike

On 12/03/22 22:54, Spike wrote:
> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
> involved.

That sounds like wishful thinking by you.

On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 10:37:10 UTC, Spike wrote:
> On 12/03/2022 10:15, Mike Collins wrote:
> > On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 09:54:45 UTC, Spike wrote:
> >> On 11/03/2022 17:49, Mike Collins wrote:
> >>> On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
> >>>> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> >>>>> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >>>>> And the Oxford Mail's response was...
>
> >>>>> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)
>
> >>>> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.
>
> >>>> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
> >>>> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
> >>>> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
> >>>> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.
>
> >>> So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles.
>
> >> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
> >> involved.
>
> > Please cite evidence from the peer reviewed literature to support this claim.
> <https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-pedal-cyclist-factsheet-2020/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-pedal-cycle-factsheet-2020>
>
> 2015-2020 out of 643 cyclists killed, 98 died with no other vehicle
> involved. 15%. One every 3 weeks.
>
> --
> Spike

So no evidence to support your claim.

On 13/03/2022 09:12 am, Peter Keller wrote:

> On 12/03/22 22:54, Spike wrote:

>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>> involved.

> That sounds like wishful thinking by you.

No. It's a fact.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of motor vehicle
occupant deaths occur in a single vehicle accident (hitting a tree,
etc). It does happen. But maybe not in the same proportions as
single-vehicle fairy-cycle accidents. There are obvious reasons for it,
I suggest.

On 13/03/2022 12:47 pm, Mike Collins wrote:

> On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 10:37:10 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 12/03/2022 10:15, Mike Collins wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 09:54:45 UTC, Spike wrote:
>>>> On 11/03/2022 17:49, Mike Collins wrote:
>>>>> On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
>>>>>> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>>>>>> And the Oxford Mail's response was...
>
>>>>>>> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)
>
>>>>>> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.
>
>>>>>> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
>>>>>> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
>>>>>> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
>>>>>> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.
>
>>>>> So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles.
>
>>>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>>>> involved.
>
>>> Please cite evidence from the peer reviewed literature to support this claim.
>> <https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-pedal-cyclist-factsheet-2020/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-pedal-cycle-factsheet-2020>
>
>> 2015-2020 out of 643 cyclists killed, 98 died with no other vehicle
>> involved. 15%. One every 3 weeks.
>
>> --
>> Spike
>
> So no evidence to support your claim.

Apart from the official statistics, you mean?

On 13/03/2022 09:12, Peter Keller wrote:
> On 12/03/22 22:54, Spike wrote:

>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>> involved.

> That sounds like wishful thinking by you.

I keep posting the data, you keep ignoring it. Tough.

--
Spike

On 13/03/2022 12:47, Mike Collins wrote:
> On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 10:37:10 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 12/03/2022 10:15, Mike Collins wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 12 March 2022 at 09:54:45 UTC, Spike wrote:
>>>> On 11/03/2022 17:49, Mike Collins wrote:
>>>>> On Friday, 11 March 2022 at 12:45:58 UTC, Spike wrote:
>>>>>> On 11/03/2022 11:38, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>>>>> On Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 9:48:19 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>>>>>> And the Oxford Mail's response was...

>>>>>>> (Don't know the details of Ms Moilanen's death but Dr Ling Felce, an expert working on cancer and Covid vaccines, who was 35 and leaves a husband and two children aged three and five, was killed by the driver of a tipper truck who has been charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance and driving under the influence of drugs as well as causing death by dangerous driving. How, precisely, would a number plate and/or cycling licence have protected her?)

>>>>>> It depends on the training involved in getting a cycling licence.

>>>>>> If it included topics such as defensive cycling, for example walking
>>>>>> one's cycle through a notorious hotspot or taking a safer, less
>>>>>> congested route - in the same manner that I undertook when commuting by
>>>>>> motorcycle to Central London - it might have helped a lot.

>>>>> So you are saying all road danger comes from motor vehicles.

>>>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>>>> involved.

>>> Please cite evidence from the peer reviewed literature to support this claim.

>> <https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-pedal-cyclist-factsheet-2020/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-pedal-cycle-factsheet-2020>

>> 2015-2020 out of 643 cyclists killed, 98 died with no other vehicle
>> involved. 15%. One every 3 weeks.

> So no evidence to support your claim.

Government data supports my claim. If you don't like it, keep sticking
your head in a bucket.

--
Spike

On Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 12:47:54 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:
>
> So no evidence to support your claim.

Here you go.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEi6yDeXMAAnNr4?format=jpg&name=large

On 14/03/22 05:10, Spike wrote:
> On 13/03/2022 09:12, Peter Keller wrote:
>> On 12/03/22 22:54, Spike wrote:
>
>>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>>> involved.
>
>> That sounds like wishful thinking by you.
>
> I keep posting the data, you keep ignoring it. Tough.
>
>
I love biking. I am alive. Sorry that I spoil the view for you.

On 14/03/2022 09:07, Peter Keller wrote:
> On 14/03/22 05:10, Spike wrote:
>> On 13/03/2022 09:12, Peter Keller wrote:
>>> On 12/03/22 22:54, Spike wrote:

>>>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>>>> involved.

>>> That sounds like wishful thinking by you.

>> I keep posting the data, you keep ignoring it. Tough.

> I love biking. I am alive. Sorry that I spoil the view for you.

I don't care if you have sex with your bicycle, but please stop arguing
from the general to the particular.

--
Spike

On 15/03/22 00:24, Spike wrote:
> On 14/03/2022 09:07, Peter Keller wrote:
>> On 14/03/22 05:10, Spike wrote:
>>> On 13/03/2022 09:12, Peter Keller wrote:
>>>> On 12/03/22 22:54, Spike wrote:
>
>>>>> Nope. Cyclists kill themselves with some regularity. No motor vehicles
>>>>> involved.
>
>>>> That sounds like wishful thinking by you.
>
>>> I keep posting the data, you keep ignoring it. Tough.
>
>> I love biking. I am alive. Sorry that I spoil the view for you.
>
> I don't care if you have sex with your bicycle, but please stop arguing
> from the general to the particular.
>
>
Don't dare tell me what to do. I am a free person.
I live in the particular. Anything one does to enjoy life has risks.
You sound as though you want bicyclists to kill themselves. It seems as
though most bicyclists do not succeed in doing that.
Sorry.