Through my door in my Blackfriars flat comes a leaflet that asks me to comment on a proposal to build a cycleway from Aldgate to Blackfriars. I am grateful to comment.
On 15th of November I cycled on the CS7 cycleway over Southwark Bridge. Yesterday I went to the sight of the site which the Metropolitan promised me (excellent team).
I was the incident. Given 20% chance of survival after brain damage – lucky!
— Henry Tapper (@henrytapper.bsky.social) January 11, 2025 at 8:38 AM
We have no proof of how I, cycling a Santander bike, was jettisoned onto the pavement outside what was the FT. Apparently I said when awaking from being knocked out that I had been driven off the cycleway by something going very fast.
Sadly there was no CCTV and even if there had been, it is unlikely a fast moving cyclist (especially if wearing a face covering) would have been identified
Even on an icy Friday afternoon, this bike must have been doing more than 20 mph. Imagine that coming by you going twice or even three times your speed.
I had walked down to the place of the incident and as I went over the bridge , a scooter passed me on the payment going even faster.
Shortly after I took this shot, the fellow jumped into the cycle lane. My incident spot is just after where those bollards have been placed into the cycleway.
Imagine meeting him and the bollards. I suspect something like that may have happened to occasion my crash. As well have multiple breaks to my shoulder, I am not looking too good on the dental front!
Dodgy dentals post crash
— Henry Tapper (@henrytapper.bsky.social) January 11, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Thanks to the NHS I am safe, apart from dentals, bones and brain, things seem ok and I have a dentist, several neurologists and nature to cure me!
But this was a huge trauma and I have been cycling in the City for 20 years. I have no history of this problem of flying into the sky for no apparent reason. What reports the police have concur that I went violently into the gutter to avoid something else.
This is why I am against the current proposal to require people to use cycleways between Aldgate and Blackfriars. I spoke with Adam Norris (Dad of Lando) in rehabilitation. He told me that the bikes and scooters he manufactured can only go 15 mph – it’s encouraging but everyone knows that the speed limiters can be taken off. I saw a speeding electric biker working out his route on his phone . He was working for a food company while breaking multiple rules.
Cycleways worked when they were introduced some years ago but they are beginning to become a menace. Here is the view of the cycleway down from St Pauls and up from the Millennium Bridge
Strange vision for cycleways
— Henry Tapper (@henrytapper.bsky.social) January 11, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Compare the architects vision with my photos and then imagine having electric bikes and scooters making their way at a pace that makes work commercial.
These are a summary of my views
- We need a better way to accommodate commercial traffic on London roads
- We need to reconsider the implications for slow cyclists like me of having to pedal in cycleways. Are they really safer?
- We need better protection. I was on the CS7 on a major bridge from the City to South London – there was no CETV
- There should be a requirement to wear head protection if biking
I don’t pretend top be an angel- I had finished work early to wish my son well on his birthday.
I didn’t have a helmet on which was wrong but I am unlikely to return to biking for some time!
I hadn’t had a drink that day or the precious and I haven’t had any alcohol since (56 days)
Sophie and Georgia – my police support are good news. They tell me that incidents like mine are fat growing and are worrying to the Met Police. I am told I will be contacted by the City of London who too are worried by the amount of injuries from cycleways.
I am sending this blog to the people running the consultation. It’s not scientific but it’s heartfelt. If it hadn’t been for Kings College Hospital , I would have died. They reckoned me 20% survival stuff when in A & E.
Let’s take this injury threat seriously
Henry, so sorry (and so appalled) to read the details of this. I hadn’t really picked up on what you were saying about the brain damage! Does nobody care about anything/one any more? Keep strong my friend and get back to one piece as soon as you can! All the best.
Robin Rowles (predictive text gave me “tripwires” as my surname!)
Hello Henry,
Cyclests etc
I am pleased to see that you are still making progress in your recovery. Keep up the good work!
Back in the 1950s (the dark ages) my Father obtained a moped. It’s engine size was under 50cc (2-stroke combustion). It was started by a roller resting on the rear wheel and, I think, he was limited to a certain speed when under power. He also had to take a test and possibly get Third party insurance.
In the 1960s the Japanese improved moped engines to the point that they e.g. Suzuki, raced them internationally. In the 1990s the Europeans introduced mopeds that were similar in construction to the former Italian scooters that had, had a maximum engine size of 125cc. The Chinese have since developed electric motors that can propel a pedal cycle/scooter/skate-board, at or above 30mph, the international maximum urban vehicle speed. You write that the Police are reportedly interested in the number of such accidents etc. The public are possibly even more interested in how the cyclists/scooters/ skate-boards seem to be evading the motor vehicle Regulations with impunity. If the Regulations state propulsion only by/from combustion engines, then surely an amendment to state e.g. auto powered, is needed for safety reasons.
Whilst in the UK where the pedestrain is always right, obtaining compensation from a collision is often doubtful.
Cyclists asssert that drivers/pedestrains only notice cyclists who are misbehaving but casually overlook the accidents cyclists suffer from motorists; I don’t doubt it. Yet, on the odd occasions that I visit the City, I am surprised that there aren’t many more collisions directly due to the electric scooters etc.
Let us look at the pedestrians. In 2015 I was working at the bottom of Borough High Street (the road that runs up to London Bridge). At the top end, where the shops are, the pavements are narrow. A cyclist making their way down from the Bridge collided with a young pedestrian who had stepped into the road while engrossed in a mobile telephone conversation. Luckily for the cyclist, several others stood witness for them. However the Magistrate (or whoever) didn’t agree and made a conviction saying that, in a busy urban area, drivers had to expect such events . More bad luck: the pedestrain’s partner persuaded them to sue for compensation and it went to Court where the cyclist lost to the tune of £15k plus all legal expenses. The last I read was that a national cyclists’ association was taking the Case to Appeal. Meanwhile the cyclist, not having those sort of funds, had exiled themselves to France…!
A sign of the times, I suggest.
Kind regards,
Tim Simpson
Sounds like Brushett v Hazeldean?
https://clinicalnegligencebarrister.wordpress.com/2019/06/24/brushett-v-hazeldean-the-facts/
If BvH highlights the need for insurance, this earlier case considers whether cyclists should wear helmets:
https://scotways.com/ken/smith-v-finch/
I’m often struck (no pun intended) when visiting Copenhagen or Amsterdam, seeing so few cyclists there wearing helmets.
I think that bicyclists should wear helmets. I would be a lot better off if I did and caused a lot less trouble. The trouble is that Santander Bikes rarely get helmet wearers.
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