It has been a difficult time to be a cyclist over the last few weeks – more difficult than usual that is. Following a small number of unfortunate incidents involving cyclists and pedestrians certain sections of the media have mounted a prolonged campaign in which cyclists are vilified and demonised. Inevitably some politicians have joined in and moves are afoot to introduce legislation designed to punish cyclists.
A number of media outlets have a long and inglorious history in the way in which they deal with cyclists and cycling issues. One of the repeat offenders is the Daily Mail. Between April 2019 and March 2020 the Daily Mail had an average daily readership of approximately 2.18 million. Its website had more than 218 million unique visitors per month in 2020. Those figures are slightly out of date but the bottom line is that the contents of the Daily Mail are seen by a lot of people.
A flavour of the Mail’s approach to cycling issues can be gained by a simple Google search using ‘Daily Mail Cycling’ as the search criteria and setting the search time range to ‘past month’.
The results include these headlines:
The rise of deadly cyclists: Chilling number of pedestrians mowed down by reckless riders as Sir Iain Duncan Smith plans to close shocking legal loophole that allows bike users to speed with immunity.
Peter Hitchens: I’m a cyclist but I can’t stand them …… and now I fully expect that one of those hunched morons dressed as an insect in Lycra will one day kill me.
There were others of course but Daily Mail headlines could be considered as low hanging fruit.
road.cc has a regular feature entitled “20 of the most hysterical Daily Mail anti-cycling headlines“. (In my opinion road.cc is an excellent website and well worth visiting).
By contrast, the Daily Telegraph has a much smaller circulation (360 345 in 2020) but is considered a quality newspaper and a bastion of the UK’s political right.
According to the Press Gazette half of The Telegraph readers in print and online identify as Conservative supporters, with the audience skewing older and male. Based on my research, Telegraph headline writers assume the readership consists of old, male, Conservative supporting cyclophobes. Using the same Google search technique described above, here is a selection of Daily Telegraph cycling headlines.
Force bikes to have number plates to stop dangerous cyclists.
Celia Walden: The law needs to catch up with rogue cyclists .
Dangerous cyclists are a lawless menace.
Cyclists who kill or injure pedestrians face harsher prison sentences.
Politics latest news: Cyclists who kill face life in prison.
Bereaved families demand new PM for tougher cycling laws.
52 mph in a 20 mph zone: How cyclists are turning UK roads into death traps.
The last headline (52 mph in a 20 mph zone) is particularly interesting. It has been ridiculed and refuted on a number of platforms (see here). It is interesting because perhaps it gives us a clue as to what is going on. There is a war going on and motorists are the unlucky victims apparently. Rishi Sunak has identified the problem and is firmly on the side of the persecuted motorist.
Rishi Sunak attacks ‘hare-brained’ traffic schemes and vows to ‘slam brakes on the war on motorists.
Given recent events that vow is probably null and void, at least as far as Rishi Sunak is concerned. Motorists are overtaxed and forever being burdened with unfair new rules and restrictions, or, even worse, marginalised in favour of cyclists. In this war motorists are the victims and cyclists are the villains.
Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ), Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and 20 mph speed limits are some of the weapons used in the war against motorists and for some, cycle lanes are the final insult.
Now we are in the run up to a General Election (Thursday 4th July 2024} it will be interesting to see how things pan out. It seems likely that the Criminal Justice Bill, which was to include new laws to prosecute dangerous cyclists, is to be shelved. Its future is uncertain. Philip Davies MP is attempting to breathe new life into the number plates for cyclists debate. insurance for cyclists was debated in the House of Lords, with Lord Hogan-Howe expressing his feelings about why it should be legislated. To be fair the Lords were far from enthusiastic. Reform UK, who would like to see themselves as a popular alternative to the Conservative Party, don’t seem to have any policies with regard to cycling (or anything else it seems) but might be tempted to think an anti-cycling stance will attract disgruntled Conservative voters. The signs aren’t good. In 2020 Nigel Farage wrote an article for the Daily Mail.
NIGEL FARAGE: Cyclists need to stop being so pious, pay road tax – and obey the rules like us motorists
Obviously irony isn’t Nigel Farage’s strong point.
Farage’s reference to Road Tax reminds me that there is an excellent website entitled cycling fallacies.com. which deals with a fairly long list of common myths about cycling.
The future? At one level. A few miles from me there is a cycling route under development. Inevitably there is a lot of disruption and inevitably there is a lot of opposition. Every two weeks or so I cycle around the area to see how things are going. Quite often I get shouted at, sworn at and abused by motorists. I don’t live in the area so I had no part in the consultation processes which preceded the cycle route development. I wasn’t able to vote for or against the councillors who made decisions about the cycle route because I don’t live in the area. I do ride a bike though so obviously I bear some responsibly for what is happening.
Never mind though. I enjoy riding my bike and I’ll continue to do so.
Addendum 29th May 2024
The prospect of “dangerous cycling” laws being introduced in the United Kingdom in the near future looks increasingly likely, Labour joining the Conservatives in committing to introduce stricter laws if they win the upcoming general election.
Seaton Sluice Backpedalers 