Charities Commission

I was being shown by my bf the Charities Commission site so we looked for stuff on Sustrans and LCC.

Someone said as we were doing this ‘you know know how to give a girl a good time’.

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Myth: Safety in Numbers

It is generally perceived that it is safer to cycle with lots of cyclists, that’s a false sense of security.

Well, you kind of hope it is, but if a bad driver is crap, he or she WILL mow the cyclists down. Never assume every motorist is an idiot, assume they are psychos.

It is russian roulette every single time you cycle.

Worst areas in the UK for bad drivers: Hampshire

Stats from myroadrage.co.uk:

Hampshire 5.4%
Greater London 5.1%
Surrey 4.4%
Nottinghamshire 3.8%
Essex 3.6%
Lancashire 3.3%
West Yorkshire 3.3%
East Sussex 3.3%
West Midlands 3.3%
Kent 3.0%
West Sussex 3.0%
Berkshire 2.9%
Cheshire 2.7%
Oxfordshire 2.6%
Hertfordshire 2.3%
Wiltshire 2.3%
Greater Manchester 2.2%
Gloucestershire 2.2%
Worcestershire 2.2%
Buckinghamshire 2.2%
North Yorkshire 2.0%
Bedfordshire 1.7%
Northamptonshire 1.7%
Leicestershire 1.7%
Middlesex 1.6%
Somerset 1.5%
Norfolk 1.5%
Devon 1.5%
Staffordshire 1.4%
South Yorkshire 1.3%
Lanarkshire 1.3%
Cambridgeshire 1.3%
Lincolnshire 1.2%
Warwickshire 1.2%
Derbyshire 1.2%
Shropshire 1.2%
Aberdeenshire 1.1%
Herefordshire 1.0%
Dorset 1.0%
Tyne and Wear 0.8%
Midlothian 0.8%
Merseyside 0.7%
Suffolk 0.6%
Cornwall 0.6%
Fife 0.6%
Cleveland 0.5%
Durham 0.5%
Down 0.4%
Zetland 0.4%
Cumbria 0.4%
Humberside 0.3%
Perthshire 0.3%
Renfrewshire 0.3%
Clackmannanshire 0.3%
Angus 0.3%
Inverness-shire 0.2%
Ayrshire 0.2%
West Lothian 0.2%
Northumberland 0.2%
East Lothian 0.2%
Londonderry 0.2%
Dunbartonshire 0.1%
Antrim 0.1%
Isle of Wight 0.1%
Clare 0.1%
Argyll 0.1%
Nairnshire 0.1%
Dumfriesshire 0.1%
Monaghan 0.1%
Ross and Cromarty 0.0%
Peeblesshire 0.0%
Sligo 0.0%
Cork 0.0%
Wicklow 0.0%
Stirlingshire 0.0%
Caithness 0.0%
Tyrone 0.0%
Berwickshire 0.0%
Armagh 0.0%
Limerick 0.0%
Louth 0.0%
Mayo 0.0%
Longford 0.0%
Kirkcudbrightshire 0.0%
Kinross-shire 0.0%
County of Bute 0.0%

Bad Drivers: Worst Behaviour – Aggressive Driving

Stats found on myroadrage.co.uk:

“Aggressive behaviour 22.6%
Dangerous driving 18.7%
Other 11.0%
Dangerous overtaking 11.0%
Cutting me up 9.9%
Speeding 6.2%
Driving too close 5.6%
Using phone while driving 5.4%
Erratic lane changing 4.2%
Ignoring traffic signals 2.8%
Driving too slow 2.6%”

Bad Drivers’ Cars: Worst is Black and Silver, followed by Blue

Stats compiled from myroadrage.go.uk:

“black 21.6%
silver 21.6%
blue 18.0%
white 13.4%
red 7.6%
green 5.0%
other 4.3%
unknown 4.0%
maroon 2.2%
yellow 1.2%
brown 0.8%
orange 0.5%”

Worst vehicles involved in bad driving: Ford

Stats from http://www.myroadrage.co.uk – Ford is the worst, and BMW driver is not far behind:-

“Ford 13.7%
Unknown vehicle 11.1%
Vauxhall 9.1%
BMW 7.7%
Volkswagen 6.8%
Peugeot 4.6%
Mercedes 4.5%
Audi 4.2%
Renault 4.2%
Citroen 2.7%
Land Rover 2.7%
Toyota 2.4%
Nissan 2.2%
Honda 2.0%
Volvo 1.7%
White Van Man 1.7%
Rover 1.5%
Lorry/Wagon 1.4%
Fiat 1.3%
Saab 1.2%
Van 1.2%
Porsche 1.1%
HGV 1.1%
Mini 1.0%
Mitsubishi 0.9%
Jaguar 0.8%
Suzuki 0.6%
Mazda 0.6%
Subaru 0.6%
Motorcycle 0.6%
Chrysler 0.5%
Skoda 0.5%
Alfa Romeo 0.5%
Hyundai 0.4%
Lexus 0.4%
Bentley 0.3%
Seat 0.3%
Jeep 0.3%
Ferrari 0.3%
Kia 0.2%
Lada 0.2%
TVR 0.2%
Aston Martin 0.1%
Lotus 0.1%
Bugatti 0.1%
Rolls Royce 0.1%
Ssangyong 0.1%
Daewoo 0.1%
Lamborghini 0.0%
Zastava 0.0%
Aro 0.0%”

Worst Drivers: Men!

Stats from http://www.myroadrage.co.uk, (people report them directly on this site):

73 % male

15 % female

unknown driver 12%

Anti-Social Motorists still using Mobile Phones say YouGov Poll

“Drivers are illegally using hand-held mobiles not just for making and receiving calls but for texting, calling up the internet and even checking messages on Facebook and Twitter, the YouGov poll for car parts company Halfords found.

The survey of 2,100 adults revealed 31% of drivers admitted taking a call while at the wheel and 22% said they had made a call.

As many as 28% of motorists confessed to reading a text while driving and 18% had sent a text.

The survey also showed that 5% of drivers had read a post on Facebook, Twitter or another social website, with 2% even admitting posting on Facebook or sending an email while at the wheel.

Also, 3% read their emails while still in charge of a car, with 2% saying they had used the internet while driving to check traffic reports and find directions.

Some tried to justify in-car internet usage by claiming they only did it when in stationary traffic or at traffic lights, though this is still illegal.

Overall, 52% of adults have been a passenger in a car when the driver has made or received a phone call”.

They just don’t care do they, even if they have another passenger or passengers. That’s why the UK needs tougher laws, and more Smart Cars.

Prof David Vilaseca, Memorial Ride – South London to Ashdown Forest

Cyclist blogger in ‘The Big Smurf’ writes:

“This ride is dedicated to the memory of David Vilaseca, professor of Hispanic Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London and a friend of Inaki Lajas, who was killed in Tower Bridge Road while riding his bike. Another life cut tragically short on the roads of London. All our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

For more details on the ride see The Big Smurf on my Blogroll on the right or you can use this link

http://thebigsmurf.blogspot.com/2010/02/south-london-to-hildenborough-via.html<a href="http://http://thebigsmurf.blogspot.com/2010/02/south-london-to-hildenborough-via.html&quot;

Meanwhile the School of Modern Langages, Literature, Holloway have this to say on their website (http://www.rhul.ac.uk/modern-languages/staff/vilaseca.html):

“It is with the very greatest sadness that we report the tragic death of Professor David Vilaseca in a road traffic accident on Tuesday 9 February 2010. The thoughts of the whole School are with his family, friends, colleagues and students at this most difficult of times."

but looking at RonSmithRecycling (the truck driver’s company) on their website, http://www.ronsmithrecycling.co.uk/, there are no words of sympathy.

Wos he up to?

On my commute home late at night when it is pretty dead here, I saw a bloke fiddling with the front left wheel of a silver car. I thought at first he could have had a puncture and he was the owner but it was still odd at midnight. He had a small bag with him (tool kit?). And the houses by the vehicle were dark and no doors were open. I walked past him and watched him for a while. Then he walked away down the street.

I am not sure what he was doing, he could have been tampering with the vehicle out of vengence for something or trying to nick tyres. I tried to follow him on my bike but he disappeared. I reported it to the police just in case.