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The ECF\'s new office was opened in Brussels in December 2006. At the same time a contract was signed to hold the 2009 Velo City in Brussels. As the city focus for cycling in Europe and the principal home of the European institutions, this Velo City is expected to be a very high profile event which much expectation for positive outcome for cycling throughout Europe.

Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006 shows that the amount of cycling in 2005 was 4.4 bkm, up from 4.2 bkm in 2004 Previous totals were 4.5 bkm in 2003 and 4.4 bkm in 2002.

However, the National Travel Survey, also recently published, shows a fall in the amount of cycling per person from 2004 to 2005 - 39 miles down to just 36 miles. In 2003 it was 37 miles and in 2002 36 miles.

Research at the University of Bolton has concluded that whatever puts commuters off cycling to work, it is not their perception of danger on the road. And, the study, conducted by John Parkin, has discovered cyclists-only road markings, such as cycle lanes, do not make any difference to people\'s view of any potential hazards. He concludes more road markings are not going to convince the public to get on their bike. Other solutions must be found to attracting people out of their cars.

Dr Parkin of the university\'s Department of the Built Environment interviewed a sample group of workers from his own university, Bolton Council and the Royal Bolton Hospital. He asked individuals within the group to think about the various stages of the journey to work and assess the possible hazards they might encounter on a bike. Showing them a video of clips from a cyclist\'s viewpoint, he asked the study participants to assess the risks involved in a range of scenarios, including junctions and roundabouts with and without road markings for cyclists. Of the total sample, 72 per cent said the overall journey as represented by the scenarios shown in the video clips showed acceptable risks.

Says John Parkin: \'What this research shows is that in terms of promoting cycling there is little we can do to the roads in terms of minor infrastructure works such as signing and road marking. Off-road cycling was seen to offer a lower risk than cycling on the roads, but within the group of respondents there were very high levels of acceptability for both on and off-road situations on the basis of perceived risk.

\'What keeps people in their cars - is it that they are just so much more comfortable and require little effort? Issues that need to be addressed include comfort, the attractiveness of the journey, and making cycling journeys more direct, and importantly more direct than the car alternative particularly in urban centres which exhibit a lot of traffic management, for example one way streets.\'

The paper has been accepted for publication and is due to be published in Accident Analysis & Prevention in 2007. The sample group was made up of 144 people working in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Of the group, 24% were age 34 and under, 36% were age 35-44, 40% were 54 and over. 35% did not normally cycle but could, 39% cycled occasionally, 26% cycled 1-3 times a month or greater.

University of Bolton press release

With the onset of darker nights, Cambridge Cycling Campaign has issued its latest cycle lighting poster, updated for the latest regulations and available for free download. This poster is a top hit on Google for \'cycle lighting\', and it has been used by Cumbria Police to inform cyclists of their legal requirements.

Campaigner member, Simon Nuttall says: \" Each year new cyclists come to Cambridge to buy bikes at the end of the summer. They are often caught out by the time the clocks go back in October. Our poster shows the minimum legal requirement and has been updated to show that non-flashing LED cycle lights are now street-legal. We encourage members of the public and businesses and organisations across Cambridge to print off copies of our poster.\"

The winners of the 2006 National Cycling Project Awards received their certificates at the CCN/CTC Autumn Conference in Cheltenham on 25th November. This year there were three winners and two \'honourable commendations\'.

Full details

The Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service is inviting applications to deliver a complete Cycle to Work package.

Figures just published show cycle usage in Belfast has increased by 65% between 2000 and 2005. The data was collected at 11 automatic counter sites. Over the same period, use of the National Cycle Network in Northern Ireland is up by 31.4%.

The population of Northern Ireland takes the least exercise in the UK and has the highest rate of obesity; the province is also the most car dependent region of the UK apart from the Scottish Highlands. However, another £400m is to be spent on the highway network – way and above what is to be spent on cycling and public transport.

The United States mid-term elections may have clipped the wings of the mountain biking President but three pro-cycling Democrats have landed as yet unconfirmed key roles on Congressional transport committees.

Jim Oberstar, co-author of the 1991 law that led to federal funding for bicycle projects, is in line to become chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Nancy Pelosi, the new speaker in the next Congress, is also a cyclist. She\'s a member of the Bi-partisan Congressional Bike Caucus (BCBC), the US equivalent of the All-party parliamentary cycling group.

Former bike mechanic Peter DeFazio is likely to chair the surface transportation subcommittee. And Earl Blumenauer, founder of BCBC, could take a senior position on the transportation committee or the Ways and Means tax-writing committee.

Last year Oberstar helped secure $600m for a Safe Routes to School programme. Blumenauer is sponsoring a bill that would give tax breaks to cycle commuters. He said: \"I think this is going to be a very good session for cycling\". DeFazio said: \"Bikes are going to be an integral part of our transportation network\".

Bike Biz

Bike Week events in June generated positive press coverage in more than one thousand publications with a combined circulation of 60 million, according to information released by Nick Harvey, the national co-ordinator of Bike Week and the Bike2Work campaign.

\"We tracked press coverage worth more than £725,000 in advertising terms\" said Harvey, \"and that’s not including electronic media. The total value is estimated at £1.81M, more than 12 times our total £150,000 budget, of which only £28,000 was spent by Bike Week HQ on PR activity.\"

Continued Harvey: \"Local organisers have got the message that not only must their cycling events attract participants, they need media appeal too. There was widespread local newspaper and radio interest in cycling this summer, partly as a result of the excellent pre-Bike Week coverage in The Independent.\"

This year 1,717 Bike Week and Bike2Work events were run by 1,171 local organisers, ranging from cycling clubs and campaign groups to local authorities, NHS trusts and other major employers. There were 147 charity fundraising rides, many for Leukaemia Research, Bike Week’s national charity partner. The total number of participants was estimated at 221,226, of which half were novice, lapsed or occasional cyclists.

Bike Week will be 16th to 24th June in 2007. Further details will be available on the Bike Week website next month.

Cyclist Daniel Cadden has been found guilty by Telford Magistrates Court of a charge of Inconsiderate Riding brought by the police because he cycled home from work by road instead of using a parallel cycle track. He was fined £100 with £200 costs. Cadden was riding along the B5072 in Telford as he had done for nearly two years when he was stopped by a police patrol car. An officer told him that he was obstructing traffic by riding in the road and that he ought to ride either in the 0.9m wide space between the kerb and the lane marking (which the police claimed was a cycle lane although it was not), or preferably on the cycle/pedestrian path along the other side of the road. The B5072 at the incident location comprises a single lane downhill in the direction Cadden was riding and two lanes uphill. Double white lines separate the two directions of travel and the police asserted that motor traffic would be obliged to break the law by crossing these lines in order to pass the cyclist. At the time he was stopped, Cadden was travelling at over 20 mph, but police claimed that traffic should be able to travel without hindrance at the legal limit for the road of 60 mph. The number of vehicles held up by the cyclist was between two and four (there was conflicting evidence on the exact number) and average traffic speed on the road less than 50 mph. When the case went before the District Judge, the police admitted under cross-examination that it would not have been possible for Cadden to have been overtaken at a safe distance by any vehicle that did not contravene the double white lines no matter where he had ridden, even up against the kerb in the space outside the traffic lane. The police therefore considered that as the cyclist had the choice of a cycle route where he would not have been of hindrance to traffic, he should not have ridden on the road at all. A similar view was taken in judgement. The judge agreed that Cadden\'s position on the road was not a material factor, but that his presence on the road when an alternative existed was. Cadden was found guilty because he knew the road well and should therefore have recognised that he might be an obstruction to traffic during the rush hour. By riding on the road he had not shown reasonable consideration for others. The judge was not interested in the poor quality of the cycle track or its hazards, which are many. The surface is worse than the road with broken glass common, visibility at junctions is bad and it circumnavigates a roundabout, in the direction Cadden was travelling, in 6 stages without priority or protection at any. If safety or discomfort was a problem, the judge considered that Cadden should have slowed down or dismounted as a pedestrian. A common theme of the case from police and judge was that the ability of motorists to travel at the 60 mph maximum was more important than any considerations of safety or convenience for the cyclist. The judge was also strict in considering only matters leading up to detention of the cyclist and was not interested in what typically would have happened thereafter whereby, because of the gradient, the cyclist would have gained in speed and have caught up with overtaking cars queuing at the junction little more than 1/4 mile ahead. Although this case does not set a formal legal precedent, it has far-reaching implications for every cyclist in Britain. Daniel Cadden has already said that he will no longer be able to cycle in Telford as he cannot risk a second prosecution and the quality of the cycle tracks is too bad to be considered a practical transport system. Every other cyclist in Telford must also brace themselves for the real possibility that they, too, will be targeted by the police in their apparent determination to free the town\'s main road network of cyclists. Throughout Britain, those in authority who wish to limit where cyclists may ride now have an excuse to exercise their prejudice. The case is being supported by the CTC\'s Cyclists Defence Fund and an appeal is likely. CCN encourages all cyclists to contribute to the Cyclists Defence Fund to stop this absurd injustice from succeeding.

The London Assembly has endorsed recommendations to introduce a licensing system for pedicabs, which are common in London\'s West End. Pedicab riders would need a National Standard for Cycle Training Level 3 qualification as a requirement for getting a licence.

The Public Carriage Office (PCO) wants local authorities to establish pedicab ranks, but these should be separate from taxi-cab ranks because of the \"strained relations between the two groups\". The PCO also proposes regulating pedicab fares.

Cycling England has launched Bikeability, the new public face for child cycle training. It is part of the National Standard for Cycle Training and will be trialled initially with 3,000 children and then rolled out across the country from Spring 2007. The aim is that by 2009 half of all year 6 pupils in England will be trained through schemes awarding Bikeability.

Children who are successful in attaining the Bikeability standards will receive an award at each of the 3 levels comprising a luminous metal badge, booklet, certificate and a letter to parents. Phillip Darnton, Chairman of Cycling England says: \"Bikeability is more than just teaching children to ride a bike. It’s also about introducing them to cycling as an everyday activity – an alternative mode of transport, an enjoyable pastime, which brings a healthier lifestyle and is ultimately lots of fun.\"

Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman has said that he will look again at the question of whether legislation should be introduced to make it a requirement for all bicycles to be fitted with bells at all times. He was replying to a question from Phil Willis, Lib Dem MP for Harrogate & Knaresborough, who is in support of such a requirement.

New harmonised European construction standards for bicycles come into force in Novembe 2006 and although these do not cover bells, Ladyman says that: \"the introduction of these standards makes this a sensible time to review our current policies on cycle construction, including the question of bells.\"

Since 2004, bells have had to be supplied with all new bikes in Great Britain, but cyclists are under no obligation to retain or use them. In Northern Ireland, however, the law already requires bells on all bikes.

If bells did become mandatory, it has been suggested that the fine for riding without one could be as much as £2,500 with the possibility of a two-year jail sentence. By comparison, a motorist who illegally uses a mobile phone when driving is fined only £30.

Bike Biz

Judge Bruce Morgan, who convicted cyclist Daniel Cadden of riding on the road instead of a cycle track, has a track record of not going against the police in road traffic cases.

Last year he famously acquitted a police officer who was “practicing” going fast in a new car.PC Milton’s in-car video showed he did 159mph on the M54, 84mph in a 30mph zone and 131mph on a A-road. Morgan set him free.

However, in February, PC Milton was ordered to return to court for a second trial. Lady Justice Hallen allowed an appeal against Morgan’s verdict expressing concern that Milton had reached \"grossly excessive, eye-watering speeds\" without any warning lights to alert other motorists. \"I consider it a failure not to have taken account of the effect upon other road users of somebody coming at this speed into their path,\" said Justice Hallen, a critic of district judge Morgan.

In July, the same judge also looked kindly on another cop who was twice over the legal drink limit when he crashed his police car, then went back and got another car to drag the first out of a ditch. Instead of a custodial sentence, he was given 200 hours of community service.

Bike Biz, Cycling Weekly

According to data from the Department for Transport, total cycling casualties continued their year-on-year small but steady decline in 2005, falling to 16,561 from 16,648 the previous year. Both serious and fatal injuries rose – the latter by 10% following a 17% rise from 2003 to 2004 – but looked at from the point of view of average injury severity, there has been little change since 1998.

Based on a new methodology for estimating cycle traffic which takes more account of cycling on minor roads, there was a 5.2% increase in cycling during 2005. Applying the same new methods to 2004 showed a decline in cycling of only 6.7% compared with the 14.4% previously estimated.

In London in 2005, the number of cyclist KSI (killed + serious injured) was up 9% compared with the previous year but down 34% compared with the 1994-98 average. However, the situation has been less good for fatalities which were 21 in 2005 compared with 8 in 2004 (an exceptionally low year), 19 in 2003 and a 1994-98 average of 14.8. Slight casualties were down 7% on 2004 and 28% on 1994-98. Transport for London points out the very high increase in cycling in the capital over this period.

Bookings are now open for a conference on 12th September at the University of Bolton on the benefits of cycling to leisure and tourism.

The aim of the conference is to demonstate to the leisure and toursim industry the benefits of cycling, effective ways of marketing cycling and ways of overcoming barriers to cycling in the leisure and tourism context.

Speakers include Susan Achmatowicz from Country Lanes and the British Waterways Board, Andy Ryland from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Joanne Morrissey from Sustrans and Prof Les Lumsdon from the University of Central Lancashire. Case studies are being presented by Karl Bartlett from the Forestry Commission Scotland, Adrian Lord from Halesowen Cycling Club, Wayne Bexton from Derbyshire County Council and Ian Warby from CTC.

Sessions are being chaired by Kevin Mayne, Director of CTC and James Berresford, Director of Tourism for the North West Development Agency.

Workshop sessions are on the themes of marketing, cost and benefit estimation, people issues, infrastructure issues and partnership working.

The conference cost is £150 with a £55 concessionary rate for cycle campaigners.

Dutch cyclists union ENFB has launched the first door-to-door route finder for bicycles, which is the result of a large volunteer project inspired by the collaborative Internet project Wikipedia.

One in every three trips in the Netherlands is done on a push bike and the country has thousands of bicycle lanes that are not accessible to cars. None of these bicycle lanes were known to navigation software or route finding devices.

\"This is really a Dutch problem. Other countries have very few dedicated bike lanes and in those countries car route finders can be used by cyclists, too. But here in Holland, car route finders are unaware of the best cycle lanes,\" said Kees Bakker, project leader for the Dutch cycle route planner available at http://www.fietsersbond.nl/fietsrouteplanner.

In recent months, dozens of volunteers have mapped all roads and cycle lanes in the central province of Utrecht which has 1.17 million citizens.

The volunteers needed to be much more precise than commercial digital map makers for car navigation devices like Navteq and Tele Atlas, jotting down details such as road surface, scenery and if a road is well lit.

\"Detail is what cyclists need and what makes this so valuable. You need to be able to choose a safe route at night, and a racing cyclist wants a hard bike lane and no dirt roads,\" said 34-year-old Erik Jonkman, one of 70 volunteers.

Over a period of one month he spent 80 hours cycling the roads around his home and putting the data in the computer.

Bakker said: \"We looked at projects like Wikipedia and figured a collaborative approach would also work well in this case. Cyclists love to share their favorite routes, and are often discussing them.\"

Jonkman said the collaborative approach offers unexpected benefits, such as the possibility to quickly correct errors.

The planner is already used by around 1,000 visitors a day who can also download the routes onto Garmin global positioning systems.

The cyclists union is in talks with other provinces to get access to maps. The goal is to cover the entire country.

Reuters

Utrecht route planner>

The Welsh assembly is consulting on a new transport strategy for Wales. The document is favourably disposed to cycling but not all the proposed policies, which are aimed at facilitating movement, will work in cyclists\' favour. Groups in Wales should read the full document and send in their submission by the 14th October 2006.

It looks as if the European Commission will mainly focus on making transport greener and has given up on shifting the balance between modes of transport and on trying to push back transport growth. Transport commissioner Barrot has said: “Mobility is essential for free movement of European citizens and economic growth. The EU will continue to boost rail and waterways for long distance connections. We also need to step up our efforts to make road transport and aviation more efficient and greener. That is why I want to focus on logistics, green propulsion and intelligent transport systems which use the latest technologies.”

The Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety (PACTS) has launched the Beyond 2010 project, to generate debate about the next stage in road casualty reduction after the 2010 targets expire. It includes an on-line questionnaire to get views on road safety issues and to which CCN groups (and individuals) may wish to respond. The PACTS website has further details on the project and will be updated on progress.

A campaign spearheaded by cycle dealer Andy Shrimpton of Cycle Heaven in York is urging cyclists to obey traffic lights for the good of cycling. Over the past ten months, City of London police have fined 1,294 cyclists for running red lights. A survey at one junction showed that up to 60 per cent of cyclists jump red lights. According to Andy Shrimpton: \"You can detect a rising tide of hostility towards cyclists everywhere: on the streets, in the tabloids, on radio phone-in shows, from the mouths of politicians. Whilst much of this outcry is disproportionate when compared to the socially accepted carnage that motor vehicles cause to life and limb, there is still a case to answer.\" Andy believes that running red lights and other law-breaking by cyclists is directly affecting the treatments all cyclists get on the streets and is harming the prospects of enhancing our protection and status under the law and the possibility of improved cycling facilities generally. The \'Stop at Red\' campaign has the endorsement of the Bicycle Association, the Association of Cycle Traders and Sustrans. Over 900 people - almost all cyclists - have signed the on-line petition at the campaign\'s website. Urging everyone to support the campaign, Andy says: \"We have to put our own house in order first, and we have to be seen to be doing it.\" More information

An article in the 24th March issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) argues that helmet laws don\'t work and that nowhere in the world has a large increase in the proportion of cyclists wearing helmets, brought about by legislation, led to fewer head injuries.

Australian statistician Dorothy Robinson reviewed data before and after helmet legislation in Australia, New Zealand and Canada and believes helmet laws discourage cycling and produce no obvious response in the number of head injuries. She says: \"This contradiction may be due to risk compensation, incorrect helmet wearing, reduced safety in numbers (injury rates per cyclist are lower when more people cycle), or bias in case control studies.\"

She suggests that helmet laws are counterproductive and that governments should instead focus on measures that lead to more effective drops in casualties, such as campaigns to against speeding, drink-driving, and failure to obey road rules. \"Helmet laws would be counter productive if they discouraged cycling and increased car use,\" says Robinson. \"Wearing helmets may also encourage cyclists to take more risks, or motorists to take less care when they encounter cyclists.\"

The same issue of the journal also carries a rebuttal by four academics who aren among the strongest advocates of helmet laws and who themselves have written many of the papers that support this. Hagel et al assert that \"Robinson\'s opposition to helmet laws is contrary to published evidence on the effectiveness of bicycle helmets. At least six independent studies have reported a protective association between wearing bicycle helmets and head injuries.\"

However, the butt of Hagel et al\'s argument is that less cycling resulting from laws is not necessarily a bad thing. Acknowledging for the first time publicly that helmet laws cause many people to stop cycling, they suggest that those who do so may take up in-line skating (!) or other exercise instead. They appear to be unaware of the obesity epidemic!

This is the first time BMJ has given so much space to research that suggests that helmets don\'t work and it is to be hoped that the issue will now be considered more seriously by doctors and bodies such as the BMA. \'Rapid Responses\' to the articles on the BMJ website certainly suggest that there is growing scepticism about uncompromising approach of Hagel and colleagues.

The DfT has published new guidance on how companies and organisations can loan cycle and safety equipment to employees as a tax free benefit. Groups and in particular BUGs might like to look at this guidance to see if they can use it to increase the number of employees cycling to work.

Guidance document

Transport 2000 has launched a new campaign calling on Government to make it easier for 20mph speed limits to be designated on roads where people live, shop, work and play.

Road crashes are the leading cause of mortality in children, and child pedestrians are most at risk from traffic, but little action has so far been taken to reduce traffic speed in urban areas. Lowering the speed limit has many benefits, including making streets safer, reducing road casualties, encouraging people to walk and cycle, reducing social exclusion, and improving traffic flow. Additionally, a report by the Health Development Agency has shown that children\'s deaths and injuries would fall by 67 per cent if 20mph were the speed limit on residential roads.

At present, Government regulations make introducing 20mph speed limits a long and expensive process. 20\'s Plenty! calls on Government to change the rules to make it easier for local authorities to designate streets as 20mph zones, and presents an opportunity to influence the Road Safety Bill as it passes through Parliament. Proposed amendments include:

* Making it easier for local authorities to introduce area-wide 20 mph limits in the majority of residential streets, shopping streets, on roads to schools, and to places where children play

* Providing increased resources to enable the police to enforce the 20mph speed limit on residential streets

* Amending the regulations for traffic calming to encourage more innovative measures, which enhance the environment and also slow down traffic

T2000\'s Linda Beard explains, \"20\'s Plenty! is about saving lives, preventing injuries and reducing the fear of road danger, but it\'s also about improving our quality of life. People all over the country have contacted us to say they want a 20mph limit near their homes, so this is the opportunity for them to take direct action.\"

The National Children\'s Bureau has published a very comprehensive report about children and cycling. As an organisation directly concerned with the health and welfare of children, its report will carry weight and it is therefore very pleasing that its treatment of the subject is thorough, free of emotion and clearly written by someone knowledgeable about cycling. Many of the conclusions are at odds with those normally put forward as being in childrens\' \'best interests\'. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the appendix with looks in depth at the debate about cycle helmets.

Though based almost entirely on peer-reviewed papers, which numerically are strongly biased pro-helmet, the helmet review gives proper consideration to helmet-sceptic papers that have been published and agrees with the argument that the evidence in favour of helmet effectiveness is very weak. Full credit is given to the safeness of cycling compared with other common child activities, such as being a pedestrian. Also the ramifications of a reduction in cycling by children as a consequence of helmet promotion or legislation are fully assessed.

The helmet review concludes: \"Those of us who cycle should be under no illusion that helmets offer reliable protection in crash situations where our lives may be in danger. Neither should we believe that widespread adoption of helmet wearing would see many fewer cyclists killed or permanently disabled. The evidence so far suggests otherwise.\"

This is a landmark report which makes a very clear case for more cycling by children, a prerequisite to which is putting danger when cycling into perspective and less emphasis on helmets as a necessary or effective accessory.

It is also the third UK report in a few months to find no evidence that cycle helmets are effective against serious or fatal injury. Previous reports were a survey for the Scottish Executive that found that wearing a helmet makes no detectable difference to head injuries requiring admission to hospital (see January 2006 CCN News), and an analysis of road crashes (see below).

Full report

An analysis of traffic casualty data based on police records concludes that there is no evidence that helmets have a significant safety benefit at the population level for cyclists using the roads in the UK. Although injury rates are decreasing all the time, and for pedestrians as well as for cyclists, these changes do not correspond in any way to helmet wearing rates. Among children, reductions in head injuries have been slightly greater for pedestrians than for cyclists, and this is very little difference in change of risk between boy and girl cyclists although there are big differences in helmet use between these groups.

Although the police data is subject to under-reporting, all fatal and almost all of the most serious injuries are reported. Similarly, although the data comprises predominantly on-road casualties involving a motor vehicle, these are associated with the great majority of serious injuries.

Cycle Helmets and Road Casualties in the UK

Paul J Hewson

Traffic Injury Prevention, 2005;6:127-134.

During his presentation to the CCN/CTC Conference in Warrington, Director Tom Franklin mentioned that Living Streets has started an affiliation scheme to enable local groups to join in their campaigning for better streets and public spaces. CCN groups may like to consider affiliating as a local campaigning group.

The cost of affiliation is £15 a year, and in return you receive:

* Copies of Street Campaigner, an e-bulletin for local activists, which can be sent directly to all of your local members who would like to receive it;

* Multiple copies of Living Streets newsletter, our bi-monthly magazine;

* Policy briefings on key issues;

* Priority advice on campaigning issues, and notice of training days and seminars;

* Advice for local campaigns from national office.

The Government is consulting on a new version of the Highway Code. But what should be a publica-tion to enhance road safety and to promote harmony and equality between road users threatens to have quite the opposite consequences for cyclists if proposed changes go ahead. Added to existing injustices, it is time to take action. The most significant change is to old Rule 45, new Rule 58. Cyclists were previously told to \'Use cycle routes when practicable. They can make your journey safer.\' - in itself controversial. Now it reads: \'Use cycle routes when practicable and cycle facilities such as advanced stop lines, cycle boxes, and toucan crossings where they are provided, as they can make your journeys safer\'. \'Use cycle facilities\' does not have the discretion applied to cycle routes, and the \'such as\' does not exclude other types of facility. If this rule stands, cyclists will therefore have to use facilities, irrespec-tive of the consequences for personal safety or convenience. You will no longer have the discretion to cycle in the way most appropriate for enhancing your safety in the prevailing circumstances. In effect, it is compulsory use of facilities by the back door. This is not just an academic nicety. Insurance companies are increasingly taking advantage of the Highway Code to resist claims from cyclists by citing contributory negligence. Many, many cyclists have already lost thousands of pounds after crashes that have not been their fault for fear of facing what can be a traumatic challenge through the courts. Some solicitors, poorly informed about the is-sues, encourage this and reductions of 20 to 50 percent are typical. Existing rule 49 (new 60) instructs cyclists to keep within cycle lanes \'wherever possible\', and has al-ready been used to deny cyclists their rights. It conflicts with good practice on cycling technique as taught to the National Cycle Training Standard and set out in Cyclecraft. Rule 62/74 that advocates as an option cycling to the left on roundabouts is another example, directing less competent cyclists to the very places where risk of conflict is greatest. The caveats in this rule create legal uncertainties no matter where you ride. It is the rule (45/56) that says that you \'should\' wear a cycle helmet that has given insurance compa-nies the greatest excuse to avoid meeting their obligations. Although no case that has proceeded to court has yet decided in their favour, insurers now routinely offer reduced damages to unhelmeted cyclists with head injuries. This has created enormous additional distress to victims and their families. The Government has no evidence that helmet wearing reduces head injuries serious enough to be of concern and the courts have not yet been so persuaded either. Neither pedestrians nor car occupants are told to wear helmets although, if helmets were effective, many more of them would benefit than cyclists. This rule must be removed or greatly circumscribed. There are other rules that are poorly considered. Rule 51/63 tells cyclists to ride in single file on nar-row or busy roads, to which is now added \'and when riding round bends\'. There are circumstances when this is good advice but at other times riding two abreast on narrow roads and round bends can dissuade following drivers from overtaking dangerously in places where there is insufficient space or visibility to pass. The police advise horse riders to ride two abreast where it is in their interests to re-strict the actions of others; the advice can be good for cyclists too. Probably in response to pressure from pedestrian and disabled groups, rule 63 now says that \'It is strongly recommended that a bell be fitted\'. Good advice, perhaps, if you use off-road paths, but why if you don\'t? Moreover the rule suggests that ringing a bell is an appropriate action to warn any other road user, failing to acknowledge that it will not be heard by the driver of a motor vehicle. When will insurers claim that a cyclist was hit because he didn\'t ring his bell to warn a motorist? A fundamental failing of Highway Code advice for cyclists is that it is too prescriptive and not based on practical experience in the real world. It is perverse to suggest that cyclists should follow a rigid and poorly informed set of rules irrespective of the consequences for their safety. On the other hand, some of the most important advice to give to cyclists, such as the importance of positioning and not using unsafe facilities, is conspicuous by its absence. CCN and CTC have launched a campaign to rid the Highway Code of such bad advice and to put in its place more sensible guidance to cyclists and motorists on how to share roads safely. A meeting with Road Safety Minister Dr Ladyman is a high priority. The campaign needs the help of all cyclists. Please: * Respond to the official consultation on the new Code: follow this link ; * Write to Dr Ladyman via your MP (letters via MPs must be read by ministers); * Arrange to see your MP to explain your concerns, asking him/her to write to Dr Ladyman in support and to back a meeting with the cycling organisations to resolve the issues. Please act soon; the deadline for the consultation is 10th May 2006 but we need the Minister to be acting on our concerns as soon as possible.

Velo Mondial wins \'Energy Globe\' award

The international cycling promotion organisation Velo Mondial, whose next conference is to be held in 2006 in South Africa, has been awarded third prize in the 2005 \'Energy Globe\' awards in the category \'air\'.

The awards are made every year to the best-implemented projects from around the world which contribute to the protection of the four basic elements of life - earth, fire (energy), water and air. In 2005, around 700 projects competed.

Velo Mondial won its award with its bicycle-friendly community program, a program executed in conjunction with the League of American Bicyclists and Velo-Info. The project involves individuals, companies, foundations, associations, networks and local governments turning their cities into \'bicycle friendly communities\' and to reduce traffic, improve the environment, air quality and health, to enhance physical fitness and quality of life, and to strengthen business by creating new tourism destinations. Since starting the project in 2000, about 25 cities from 18 countries have signed the charter.With the \'Velo-Info Tool\', which identifies 19 fundamental components necessary for successful cycling planning, member cities can see and compare their performance through Bronze, Silver, Gold and or Platinum awards.

In September, French Railways SNCF revealed the first of 183 TGV high-speed train sets to be refurbished, a programme to continue over the next 5 years. At one end, the former Le Salon first class compartment, originally aimed at business passengers holding meetings, has been converted to a second class compartment specially for people travelling with bikes. There are 12 seats arranged face-to-face around three tables plus four other seats which are folded up to make room for four bikes. The bike area is isolated from other second class accommodation by three coaches with first class seats and the buffet-bar coach. The first modified TGV vehicles will be operated on the Paris to Nantes and Paris to Luxembourg routes, but by 2007 they should be seen more widely. Today's Railways