An MP has urged the government to commit to keeping cyclists safe on the roads after two women were killed less than a month apart while riding bikes in Oxford.

On 8 February Ellen Moilanen, a university worker in her 40s, was killed when she was struck by a lorry driver while cycling on the A4165 near Oxford Parkway station, a busy commuter route between Kidlington and Oxford.

Less than a month later, on 1 March Dr Ling Felce died in a collision involving a lorry at the notorious roundabout junction of St Clement's Street and The Plain.

A 39-year-old lorry driver was later charged with causing Dr Felce’s death by careless driving whilst unfit through drugs, causing death while driving unlicensed and causing death while driving without insurance.
Five women have now been killed cycling in and around Oxford since 2017.

Local cycling campaign group Cyclox has called for protected cycle lanes and a reduction in speeds and traffic to be introduced across the city, and for clearer road signs and markings to be installed on the “hostile” A4165.

The group’s chair Dr Alison Hill 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.”

Yesterday in parliament, during a meeting in which MPs could ask the Department for Transport (DfT) questions, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon Layla Moran said that government money was needed to ensure Oxford’s cyclists are safe.

“Speaking after Ling's death her husband James said he hopes one day to take his children to the roundabout where she died and tell them ‘look, no one else dies here because of mummy’,” Moran said.

“The county council has rightly made cycle safety a top priority but desperately needs the government's help, particularly financially.

“Would the minister consider meeting with me to discuss how to keep Oxfordshire's cyclists safe and avoid any more senseless deaths?”

DfT parliamentary under-secretary Trudy Harrison replied: “I'm terribly sorry to hear of the sad passing of her constituents, and we agree that infrastructure needs to be properly funded and of the highest quality.”

Harrison said that the government’s new executive agency Active Travel England was working to improve infrastructure across the country and that she would meet with the Lib Dem MP to discuss the situation in Oxford.

Vigils were organised by Cyclox in memory of Mrs Moilanen and Dr Felce.

Dr Hill urged locals to take the opportunity afforded by a public consultation on the proposed Local Transport and Connectivity Plan to “call for urgent action faster and sooner to make our roads safer.”

She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. 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.”

https://road.cc/content/news/mp-urges-government-make-oxfords-roads-safer-291183

On 18/03/2022 05:08 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> An MP has urged the government to commit to keeping cyclists safe on the roads after two women were killed less than a month apart while riding bikes in Oxford.
>
> On 8 February Ellen Moilanen, a university worker in her 40s, was killed when she was struck by a lorry driver while cycling on the A4165 near Oxford Parkway station, a busy commuter route between Kidlington and Oxford.
>
> Less than a month later, on 1 March Dr Ling Felce died in a collision involving a lorry at the notorious roundabout junction of St Clement's Street and The Plain.
>
> A 39-year-old lorry driver was later charged with causing Dr Felce’s death by careless driving whilst unfit through drugs, causing death while driving unlicensed and causing death while driving without insurance.
> Five women have now been killed cycling in and around Oxford since 2017.
>
> Local cycling campaign group Cyclox has called for protected cycle lanes and a reduction in speeds and traffic to be introduced across the city, and for clearer road signs and markings to be installed on the “hostile” A4165.
>
> The group’s chair Dr Alison Hill 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.”
>
> Yesterday in parliament, during a meeting in which MPs could ask the Department for Transport (DfT) questions, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon Layla Moran said that government money was needed to ensure Oxford’s cyclists are safe.
>
> “Speaking after Ling's death her husband James said he hopes one day to take his children to the roundabout where she died and tell them ‘look, no one else dies here because of mummy’,” Moran said.
>
> “The county council has rightly made cycle safety a top priority but desperately needs the government's help, particularly financially.
>
> “Would the minister consider meeting with me to discuss how to keep Oxfordshire's cyclists safe and avoid any more senseless deaths?”
>
> DfT parliamentary under-secretary Trudy Harrison replied: “I'm terribly sorry to hear of the sad passing of her constituents, and we agree that infrastructure needs to be properly funded and of the highest quality.”
>
> Harrison said that the government’s new executive agency Active Travel England was working to improve infrastructure across the country and that she would meet with the Lib Dem MP to discuss the situation in Oxford.
>
> Vigils were organised by Cyclox in memory of Mrs Moilanen and Dr Felce.
>
> Dr Hill urged locals to take the opportunity afforded by a public consultation on the proposed Local Transport and Connectivity Plan to “call for urgent action faster and sooner to make our roads safer.”
>
> She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. 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.”
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/mp-urges-government-make-oxfords-roads-safer-291183

Easy: ban cycling in Oxford.

Problem sorted, with adverse effects (if any) only to a small minority
of people.

On 18/03/2022 19:02, JNugent wrote:
> On 18/03/2022 05:08 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>> An MP has urged the government to commit to keeping cyclists safe on the roads after two women were killed less than a month apart while riding bikes in Oxford.

>> https://road.cc/content/news/mp-urges-government-make-oxfords-roads-safer-291183

> Easy: ban cycling in Oxford.

> Problem sorted, with adverse effects (if any) only to a small minority
> of people.

Think of the health benefits of walking over cycling - banning cyclists
from Oxford is a slam-dunk.

--
Spike

On 19/03/2022 09:25 am, Spike wrote:

> On 18/03/2022 19:02, JNugent wrote:
>> On 18/03/2022 05:08 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>> An MP has urged the government to commit to keeping cyclists safe on the roads after two women were killed less than a month apart while riding bikes in Oxford.

>>> https://road.cc/content/news/mp-urges-government-make-oxfords-roads-safer-291183

>> Easy: ban cycling in Oxford.
>> Problem sorted, with adverse effects (if any) only to a small minority
>> of people.
>
> Think of the health benefits of walking over cycling - banning cyclists
> from Oxford is a slam-dunk.

Quite. But on reflection, I should have put it slightly differently:

Easy: ban cycling in Oxford.

Problem sorted, with adverse effects (if any) only to a small (and often
quite nasty and officious) minority of people.

On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed.

Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.

On 19/03/2022 14:46, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>> She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed.

> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.

Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear helmets?

--
Spike

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:46:18 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >
> > She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed.
>
> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.

Here's the story - ONE MILLION DRIVERS TO BE FINED FOR SPEEDING.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-drivers-hitech-speed-cameras-20mph-zones-speeding-tfl-b984475.html

On 19/03/2022 05:29 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:46:18 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

You're back on a upward trend:

....talking to yourself talking to yourself.
>>
>>>
>>> She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed.
>>
>> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.
>
> Here's the story - ONE MILLION DRIVERS TO BE FINED FOR SPEEDING.
>
> https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-drivers-hitech-speed-cameras-20mph-zones-speeding-tfl-b984475.html

What will happen to those fairy-cyclists who boast of speeding past
schools, heedless of the danger they cause?

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 5:29:31 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:46:18 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > She added: “That involves a large number of different actions.. It involves things like reducing speed.
> >
> > Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.
> Here's the story - ONE MILLION DRIVERS TO BE FINED FOR SPEEDING.
>
> https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-drivers-hitech-speed-cameras-20mph-zones-speeding-tfl-b984475.html

21 days ago
quote
Personally I think that 25 would be a better limit. There is one place I would love to see these cameras though, at that is in the stretch of road that runs from where you come off the Westway and go towards the large roundabout near shepherds bush. That dual carriageway stretch always seems to have maniacs going at 80mph on a friday and saturday night. Would be great to catch those selfish morons. Likewise the stretch from Hogarth Roundabout towards M4 would be good.

On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
> On 19/03/2022 14:46, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >> She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed.
>
> > Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.
> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear helmets?
>
>
> --
> Spike

Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 6:36:01 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:

> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.

Mr Loophole has tried and failed.

https://road.cc/content/news/government-confirms-no-plans-make-cyclists-wear-id-288905

On 19/03/2022 06:35 pm, Mike Collins wrote:

> On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 19/03/2022 14:46, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5:08:26 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>>> She added: “That involves a large number of different actions. It involves things like reducing speed.
>
>>> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.

>> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear helmets?

> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.

But perhaps it should. There's plenty of precedent:

<https://ibb.co/s6KkYbW>

On 19/03/2022 18:35, Mike Collins wrote:
> On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 19/03/2022 14:46, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.

>> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear helmets?

> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.

The government has a duty to protect the vulnerable, such as children.
As a group, cyclists wilfully ignore the safety precautions that could
save their lives, such as having a bell on their bicycles, wearing a
helmet, using lights at the appropriate time, donning hi-vis clothing,
not using their phones while cycling and avoiding drunk cycling. If
cyclists continue to ignore such things and deaths from failing to use
them do not fall, pressure will grow to change the law.

--
Spike

On 19/03/2022 17:45, JNugent wrote:
> On 19/03/2022 05:29 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>> Here's the story - ONE MILLION DRIVERS TO BE FINED FOR SPEEDING.

>> https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-drivers-hitech-speed-cameras-20mph-zones-speeding-tfl-b984475.html

> What will happen to those fairy-cyclists who boast of speeding past
> schools, heedless of the danger they cause?

The Standard article blithely assumes that drivers won't change their
behaviour, presumably assuming they are as stupid as cyclists.

The data quoted compares the lockdown year of 2020 with the
far-less-restricted 2021 to produce a sensational figure in order for
Khan to impose his will.

ISTM the Khan is trying to turn attention away from how violent London
is, and his inability to do anything about it.

--
Spike

On Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 6:36:01 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:

> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.

This is why:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSkFxBWUAsj28Z?format=jpg&name=medium

On 20/03/2022 09:48 am, Spike wrote:

> On 19/03/2022 17:45, JNugent wrote:
>> On 19/03/2022 05:29 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>> Here's the story - ONE MILLION DRIVERS TO BE FINED FOR SPEEDING.
>
>>> https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-drivers-hitech-speed-cameras-20mph-zones-speeding-tfl-b984475.html
>
>> What will happen to those fairy-cyclists who boast of speeding past
>> schools, heedless of the danger they cause?
>
> The Standard article blithely assumes that drivers won't change their
> behaviour, presumably assuming they are as stupid as cyclists.
>
> The data quoted compares the lockdown year of 2020 with the
> far-less-restricted 2021 to produce a sensational figure in order for
> Khan to impose his will.
>
> ISTM the Khan is trying to turn attention away from how violent London
> is, and his inability to do anything about it.

"Inability"?

"Unwillingness"!

On Sunday, 20 March 2022 at 09:48:24 UTC, Spike wrote:
> On 19/03/2022 18:35, Mike Collins wrote:
> > On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
> >> On 19/03/2022 14:46, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> >>> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.
>
> >> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear helmets?
> > Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.
> The government has a duty to protect the vulnerable, such as children.
> As a group, cyclists wilfully ignore the safety precautions that could
> save their lives, such as having a bell on their bicycles, wearing a
> helmet, using lights at the appropriate time, donning hi-vis clothing,
> not using their phones while cycling and avoiding drunk cycling. If
> cyclists continue to ignore such things and deaths from failing to use
> them do not fall, pressure will grow to change the law.
>
>
> --
> Spike

Please supply peer reviewed data to support this claim.
How many child car passengers die from head injuries every year?

On 20/03/2022 12:51, Mike Collins wrote:
> On Sunday, 20 March 2022 at 09:48:24 UTC, Spike wrote:
>> On 19/03/2022 18:35, Mike Collins wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
>>>> On 19/03/2022 14:46, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>>>> Why not introduce 20mph speed cameras in Oxford like London has done in certain areas - that will cut deaths at a stroke.

>>>> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear helmets?

>>> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.

>> The government has a duty to protect the vulnerable, such as children.
>> As a group, cyclists wilfully ignore the safety precautions that could
>> save their lives, such as having a bell on their bicycles, wearing a
>> helmet, using lights at the appropriate time, donning hi-vis clothing,
>> not using their phones while cycling and avoiding drunk cycling. If
>> cyclists continue to ignore such things and deaths from failing to use
>> them do not fall, pressure will grow to change the law.

> Please supply peer reviewed data to support this claim.

You are joking, of course.

> How many child car passengers die from head injuries every year?

Please supply peer reviewed data to support this claim.

--
Spike

On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 12:51:05 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:
> How many child car passengers die from head injuries every year?

Many more than are killed by being strangled to death by cycle hats:

https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1227.html

On 20/03/2022 09:48, Spike wrote:
> On 19/03/2022 18:35, Mike Collins wrote:
>> On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
>
>>> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear
>>> helmets?
>
>> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear
>> helmets.
>
> The government has a duty to protect the vulnerable, such as
> children. As a group, cyclists wilfully ignore the safety
> precautions that could save their lives, such as having a bell on
> their bicycles,

How can a bell save a cyclist's life?

> wearing a helmet, using lights at the appropriate time,

Use of lights at appropriate times is already mandatory.

> donning hi-vis clothing, not using their phones while cycling

Provide statistical analysis of a problem.

> and avoiding drunk cycling.

If the vulnerable, such as children are drunk cycling, the problem lies
elsewhere.

> If cyclists continue to ignore such things and deaths from failing to
> use them do not fall, pressure will grow to change the law.

For all your bluster, cyclists have a lower death rate per mile than
pedestrians.

What comes across from your attitude is that you don't really care a
stuff about cyclist safety. You're only here to stir.

On 21/03/2022 11:48 am, TMS320 wrote:

> On 20/03/2022 09:48, Spike wrote:
>> On 19/03/2022 18:35, Mike Collins wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:
>
>>>> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear
>>>> helmets?
>
>>> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear helmets.
>
>> The government has a duty to protect the vulnerable, such as children.
>> As a group, cyclists wilfully ignore the safety
>> precautions that could save their lives, such as having a bell on
>> their bicycles,
>
> How can a bell save a cyclist's life?

????

It was very straightforward English. Given an adequate understanding of
the language's grammar and syntax (not always guaranteed hereabouts),
one cannot interpret that particular iteration of "they" as referring to
anyone other than the children already cited as an example of "the
vulnerable" about whose safety so many fairy-cyclists are so
demonstrably cavalier.
>
>> wearing a helmet, using lights at the appropriate time,
>
> Use of lights at appropriate times is already mandatory.

But is it complied with?

>> donning hi-vis clothing, not using their phones while cycling
>
> Provide statistical analysis of a problem.

Why?

Is it only dangerous if "statistically analysed"?

>> and avoiding drunk cycling.

> If the vulnerable, such as children are drunk cycling, the problem lies
> elsewhere.

Now you see, that was an exceptionally ridiculous thing for you to say,
particularly in a context where you were pretending that you didn't
understand the previous points made in the post.

Wasn't it?

>> If cyclists continue to ignore such things and deaths from failing to
>> use them do not fall, pressure will grow to change the law.
>
> For all your bluster, cyclists have a lower death rate per mile than
> pedestrians.

That stat (if true) should be the other way round and fairy-cyclists
have their part to play in bringing it about.
>
> What comes across from your attitude is that you don't really care a
> stuff about cyclist safety. You're only here to stir.

fairy-cyclists are (generally) interested only in getting their own way,
at minimum cost to them and maximum cost to others.

On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 12:51:05 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:

> How many child car passengers die from head injuries every year?

48% of all head injuries are car occupants - motorbikers are 13% despite only being 1% of all traffic.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSkFxBWUAsj28Z?format=jpg&name=medium

On 21/03/2022 11:48, TMS320 wrote:
> On 20/03/2022 09:48, Spike wrote:
>> On 19/03/2022 18:35, Mike Collins wrote:
>>> On Saturday, 19 March 2022 at 17:26:20 UTC, Spike wrote:

>>>> Why not enforce bicycles having bells, and their riders to wear
>>>> helmets?

>>> Because the law does not require cyclists to have bells or wear
>>> helmets.

>> The government has a duty to protect the vulnerable, such as
>> children. As a group, cyclists wilfully ignore the safety
>> precautions that could save their lives, such as having a bell on
>> their bicycles,

> How can a bell save a cyclist's life?

By warning of his approach?

>> wearing a helmet, using lights at the appropriate time,

> Use of lights at appropriate times is already mandatory.

But is a major factor in some visibility-related accidents.

>> donning hi-vis clothing, not using their phones while cycling

> Provide statistical analysis of a problem.

Recent threads on here have highlighted the issue.

>> and avoiding drunk cycling.

> If the vulnerable, such as children are drunk cycling, the problem lies
> elsewhere.

Don't be silly.

>> If cyclists continue to ignore such things and deaths from failing to
>> use them do not fall, pressure will grow to change the law.

> For all your bluster, cyclists have a lower death rate per mile than
> pedestrians.

So you're saying that some deaths are acceptable.

> What comes across from your attitude is that you don't really care a
> stuff about cyclist safety. You're only here to stir.

Cyclists are their own worst enemy. What are you here for?

--
Spike

On Monday, March 21, 2022 at 2:10:16 PM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 12:51:05 PM UTC, Mike Collins wrote:
> > How many child car passengers die from head injuries every year?
> 48% of all head injuries are car occupants - motorbikers are 13% despite only being 1% of all traffic.
>
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOSkFxBWUAsj28Z?format=jpg&name=medium

Most motorcycle deaths are from head injuries - so much for their "superior" helmets:

QUOTE:

If you’re a motorcyclist, you've probably heard the term "organ donor" in certain circles. But what does it mean in relation to riding motorcycle crash?

"Organ donor" is slang used by experienced riders, emergency room staff, doctors, nurses, and police officers to refer to motorcyclists who either ride without a helmet or, in motorcyclist's lingo, ride like a "SQUID": an acronym for "stupidly quick, underdressed, and imminently dead." The lack of protective features on motorcycles, in conjunction with a rider failing to use a helmet or operating the bike recklessly, directly influences the severity of his injuries. In fatal motorcycle accidents, riders most likely die from head injuries, allowing the rest of the body's organs to be donated.

https://www.mylegalneeds.com/faqs/motorcycle-injury-severity-and-fatality-statistics.cfm

On 21/03/2022 16:59, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> If you’re a motorcyclist, you've probably heard the term "organ donor" in certain circles. But what does it mean in relation to riding motorcycle crash?

> "Organ donor" is slang used by experienced riders, emergency room staff, doctors, nurses, and police officers to refer to motorcyclists who either ride without a helmet or, in motorcyclist's lingo, ride like a "SQUID": an acronym for "stupidly quick, underdressed, and imminently dead." The lack of protective features on motorcycles, in conjunction with a rider failing to use a helmet or operating the bike recklessly, directly influences the severity of his injuries. In fatal motorcycle accidents, riders most likely die from head injuries, allowing the rest of the body's organs to be donated.

> https://www.mylegalneeds.com/faqs/motorcycle-injury-severity-and-fatality-statistics.cfm

Three Simple Ways to Connect With Us
Call us to make an appointment

Phone: (386) 673-4412
Toll-free: (800) 556-8890
Fax: (386) 673-8916

Visit us at our Ormond Beach office location

--
Spike