tim's experiment

More than 600 cyclists pedalled from Tsim Sha Tsui to Chaung Sha Wan and back on Wednesday night. This was a “Ride of Silence” in memory of cyclisats killed on the roads. It was apparently timed to coincide with similar rides in more than 300 cities worldwide. It seems rather touching that cuyclists should be so eager to commemorate fellow cyclists who died in road accidents. One does not see “Walks of Silence” to commemorate dead pedestrians. And as policies, driving habits and attitudes to cycling vary considerably around the world, this is not a political event, though no doubt a useful reminder of the importance of safety to all road users. That did not seem to be how local riders saw it, however.

The facts – and they are highly regrettable certainly – are that cyclists are killed on Hong Kong roads at an average rate of one a month. Serious accidents average about 20 a month and others about 140. This is a rather small contribution to death on the roads. Society seems to be willing to contemplate a steady flow of accident casualties, although we all feel painful grief if the victim is someone we know. Whether the figures for Hong Kong are unusually high on a regional, or global, basis we do not know. Nor were we offered any comparisons on — say — the number of accidents related to the number of cyclists. Instead we were offered the simplistic complaint that the figures were unreasonably high and it was all the government’s fault.

Michael Turner, chairman of the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance, said the consistency of the figures over the years proved (!) that cyclists had been neglected by the government. As a result, he said, drivers did not know how to deal with cyclists and treated them “aggressively”. He complained (and I think with good reason) that the government did not take cycling seriously as a form of transport (at least outside Shatin) but also accused it of failing to inform the public that cycling was “” normal, legal and cyclists deserve respect”.

In other words, the steady stream of dead cyclists is all down to the government and killer drivers. Now hang on a minute. No doubt there is something in these complaints. It is a commonplace observation in traffic engineering circles that cycling is safer in cities where there are lots of cyclists, because motorists are more perceptive of things they expect to see often. Standards of driving in Hong Kong are not high and driver education does not seem to include a great deal about dealing with cyclists. On the other hand complaints from cyclists would go down better if they were preceded by some self-criticism. Many cyclists seem to have a death wish.

In the urban area they are usually riding a heavy black sit-up job with a huge basket. Riders of this kind of bike wear neither bright clothing nor head protection. They routinely ride on whichever side of the road suits their purpose, whether that is the left or not, and totally disregard all traffic signals. The bike is frequently loaded to the point where the rider has difficulty keeping it going in a straight line. In rural areas you meet the sporting types. They do at least wear sensible headgear and bright clothing. They seem to be much attracted by Sui Wo Road, where I live, because it is a long hill. Unfortunately these people have jobs so they usually practise in the evening and many of them do not bother with lights. Sometimes they ride two to four abreast, which is asking for trouble. I must say also that the speeds they do going down the hill are well in excess of what I think reasonably safe in my four-wheeled carapace, Of course they are practising for races. This may not be a safe thing to do on a public road.

The report on the silent ride came with two touching stories of recently deceased cyclists, one of whom was “rammed by a minibus” and the other “struck by a car, sustaining serious head injuries”. Both of these accidents were tragedies for the two men concerned, for their families and for their friends. But I am afraid that drivers who have seen their share of local cyclists will also have some questions about these incidents. Was it dark, and if so were the cycles carrying lights? What was the gentleman who sustained fatal head injuries wearing on his head? Were the cyclists on the correct side of the road? Was there a red light in the vicinity? Were they racing, or practising for races? I do not know the answers to these questions and it may be that in the two cases concered the cyclists were conscientiously taking every possible precaution. But in that case they were not, I fear, typical.

Safety needs the cooperation of all road users. Including cyclists.