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Press Release - Vigil for Sixth London Person Killed While Cycling This Year

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Press Release Header with logo (Abby Taubin)
Vigil for Sixth London Person Killed While Cycling This Year

* For Immediate Release *

For the sixth time this year, Stop Killing Cyclists, the cycling activist group, will commemorate a person killed by a lorry while riding her bicycle, with a Vigil and Die-In.

The person being remembered is 32 year old Esther Hartsilver, who died as a result of her bicycle being hit by a lorry on Denmark Hill at the junction with Orpheus Street just before 8am on Thursday, 28th May.

Esther was on her way to Kings College Hospital where she worked in the Physiotherapy Department but very sadly died of her injuries at the hospital.

Stop Killing Cyclists will begin gathering from 6pm on Monday 8th June at Camberwell Green, and the vigil will formally start after 6.30pm. In this sadly increasingly familiar sight on the streets of London, short speeches will be given, candles lit, and flowers laid around a ghost bike in memory of Ms Hartsilver, before hundreds of people will lay on the road, many with their bikes.

Traffic will be brought to a standstill for two minutes, and all will be given a space to contemplate the terrible price paid by Esther Hartsilver, and by cyclists and pedestrians killed and seriously injured on the streets of London.

Southwark Council (LBS) is notorious for poor cycling provision, and must take responsibility, along with the construction industry, for this latest tragedy. They are complicit in her death. Southwark Council’s Transport Department proposed a by-pass two years ago to allow cyclists to avoid that junction by using Love Walk, but Deputy Leader Labour Cllr Ian Wingfield refused this proposal due to cyclists being according to him “a danger to pedestrians” - thus insisting all cyclists, including children to use the major junctions.

Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder Donnachadh McCarthy said:

“Let’s make sure Southwark Council is held accountable for their murderous policies. They refused a proposal to have a bypass because (they said) it would endanger pedestrians on Love Walk”

Ends.

Release Dated: 1 June 2015

Event Listings (including feeder rides info):

Notes:

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red

Stop Killing Cyclists calls on Southwark Council and Transport for London to truly recognise that cycling must be a priority for road design and transport planning if London is to become a safe place for everyone to cycle, not just the fit and the brave, but the pensioner, the child, the parent taking children to school, the ordinary person going about their daily business.

Transport for London must appoint cycling representatives to its board, to balance the representatives of the HGV and taxi industries. It should allocate 10% of its budget to cycling provision, and ensure that every facet of road maintenance, building and planning considers the needs of people to cycle.

Southwark Council must take immediate action to provide protected lanes for people who cycle in this busy borough. No money has been spent on segregated cycle lanes in the borough in 4 years, with LBS having deleted ALL cycle provision proposals in the Peckham & Camberwell Action Plan. Camberwell Green Junction is being refurbished and Southwark Council are refusing to include safe protected left hand turns for cyclists. We call on LBS to reverse their policy on both Camberwell Green and the junction where Esther Hartsilver was killed IMMEDIATELY. It is criminal not to make improvements.

See http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/02february/pages/cycling-safety-a-special-report.aspx for statistics re the health benefits of riding a bike and what needs to be done to cut down the cost to the country through KSIs.

Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up in November 2013 after the terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the first mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

All photos on the website are available for media use (with credit given to the photographer and Stop Killing Cyclists), and representatives are available for interviews and media contact by emailing [email protected] or by calling Donnachadh on 07947 884299

Press Releases

Press Release - A Terrible Place to Walk or Cycle

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Press Release Header with logo (Abby Taubin)

A Terrible Place to Walk or Cycle;
Local Death, Local Action

* For immediate release *

For the fourth time this year, Stop Killing Cyclists, the cycling activist group, will commemorate with a Vigil and Die-In a person killed, while riding a bicycle, by a lorry being driven through our streets.

The person being remembered is 36 year old Claire Hitier-Abadie, who died when her bicycle was hit by a Cross Rail lorry as she cycled through the road works at Bressenden Place near Victoria Station on Thursday, 19 February.

Stop Killing Cyclists will start their protest outside Westminster City Hall in Victoria Street, gathering to music from 5pm on Monday 2nd March 2015.

From 5.30 there will be speakers who campaign for safer streets for people who walk and cycle in Westminster. These include Tom Kearney, Oxford Street Collision Survivor & TfL Bus Safety Campaigner; Caroline Russell, Walking and Cycling campaigner; speakers from Westminster Living Streets, and representatives from Road Peace.

Westminster City Council is notorious for poor cycling provision, and must take responsibility, along with Transport for London and the construction industry, for this latest tragedy. This area, outside one of the busiest stations in London, is terribly dangerous for people on foot or bicycle.

At 6.30, the vigil for Claire will begin, still at Westminster City Hall rather than on the dangerous corner of Bressenden Place where she died.

In this, sadly now familiar ritual, short speeches will be offered along with a candle-lit ghost bike before everyone lies on the ground, with their bikes, to silently commemorate Claire Hitier-Abadie.

Traffic will be brought to a standstill for two minutes, and all will be given a space to contemplate the terrible price paid by cyclists and pedestrians through traffic violence in London.

Stop Killing Cyclists calls on Westminster City Council and Transport for London to truly recognise that cycling must be a priority for road design and transport planning if London is to become a safe place for everyone to cycle, not just the fit and the brave, but the pensioner, the child, the parent taking children to school, the ordinary person going about their daily business.

Transport for London must appoint cycling representatives to its board, to balance the representatives of the HGV and taxi industries. It should allocate 10% of its budget to cycling provision, and ensure that every facet of road maintenance, building and planning considers the needs of cyclists.

Westminster City Council must take immediate action to provide protected lanes for people who cycle in this busy area. If our streets are allowed to become construction sites, as has happened outside Victoria Station, then construction site standards must apply to vehicles on them, with restrictions on movements, careful checking and provision for those who must pass through.

Vigil Co-organiser Abby Taubin said:

“We must put an end to these terrible tragedies and invest in making our roads safe for all who use them. “

Ends.

Release Dated: 24 February 2015

Event Listings:

 

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red

Notes:

Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up in November 2013 after the terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the first mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

Photos and information about previous vigils can be found on our website at http://StopKillingCyclists.org. All photos on the website are available for media use - with credit given to the photographer and Stop Killing Cyclists.

Representatives are available for interviews and media contact by emailing [email protected] or by calling 07947 884299.

We would like to highlight this video about road danger in Westminster; it was published in January by Rod King of the 20’s Plenty campaign: http://youtu.be/-sNImwSaC1k

Press Releases

Press Release - Local Death, Local Action at Vernon Place, Holborn

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Press Release Header with logo (Abby Taubin)

Local Death, Local Action

* For immediate release *

For the third time this year, Stop Killing Cyclists, the cycling activist group, will commemorate a person killed by a lorry while riding her bicycle, with a vigil and die-in for Federica Baldassa who died on the evening of Friday, 6 February.

Everyone who cycles or walks in London is invited to the site of this tragedy, Vernon Place, Bloomsbury Square, WC1A on Monday, 16 February, at 6pm, on a bike, or on foot.

These vigils are sadly becoming far too frequent in London, as the group seeks to draw attention to the terrible cost of traffic violence in our city. Last week, 300 people converged on Homerton High St to remember Akis Kollaros, bringing traffic to a halt as they lay on the road with their bikes observing a two minute silence.

The last few weeks have seen announcements of two major initiatives to make cycling safer for Londoners, the new protected routes on which work is already underway [1] and the Safer Lorry Scheme due to start in September [2]. These are a start, but more must be done if Londoners are to be safe on their bicycles.

Stop Killing Cyclists calls on Camden Council and Transport for London to truly recognise that cycling must be a priority for road design and transport planning if London is to become a safe place for everyone to cycle, not just the fit and the brave, but the pensioner, the child, the parent taking children to school, the ordinary person going about their daily business.

Transport for London must appoint cycling representatives to its board, to balance the representatives of the HGV and taxi industries. It should allocate 10% of its budget to cycling provision, and ensure that every facet of road maintenance, building and planning considers the needs of cyclists.

Camden Council must take immediate action to improve provision for cyclists in this area. After the death of Francis Golding only a few meters away on the corner of Vernon Place and Southhampton Row, the Coroner called for an investigation. Camden Council investigated but did nothing, citing a lack of space and funding [3], and now another person has died. It is time for Camden Council, and TfL, to give priority to the needs of the growing number people who cycle, and for central Government to increase funding available to meet those needs.

Vigil Co-organiser Abby Taubin said:

We must put an end to these terrible tragedies and invest in making our roads safe for all who use them.

Release Dated: 12 February 2015

Facebook Event Listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/1549959765290811/

 

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red

Notes:

[1]. Cycle superhighways scheme given green light. BBC News. [Online] February 4, 2015. [Cited: February 9, 2015.] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31132101.

[2]. Unsafe lorries ‘banned’ from London to protect cyclists. BBC News. [Online] February 6, 2015. [Cited: February 9, 2015.] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31161801.

[3]. Camden Council. Report on prevention on future deaths following the inquest touching the death of Francis Nelson Golding. Camden Council. [Online] May 2014. http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/download/asset?asset_id=3222685.

Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up in November 2013 after the terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the first mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

Press Releases

Press Release - Local Death, Local Action at Homerton High Street

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Press Release Header with logo (Abby Taubin)

Local Death, Local Action

* For immediate release *

For the second time in less than a month, London’s cyclists will gather to commemorate the tragic and untimely death of one of their own in a vigil and die-in organized by the direct action protest group Stop Killing Cyclists.

On Monday, 9 February 2015 at 6pm (for 6:30pm) at Homerton High Street, near the Fire Station at Wardle Street, London E9, hundreds will ride in memory of Akis Kollaros who was crushed under the wheels of a tipper truck a week before.

Akis, a music producer, was the 14th cyclist to be killed in the UK in 2015, and the second in London.

This week, Transport for London approved two new cycle superhighways, which, by 2018, will finally start to provide the infrastructure needed to make cycling safe for anyone who wants to ride – young or old, experienced or new. The cyclists at the vigil will call on the Government, TFL and local authorities to take urgent action to build on this excellent start, and set up Dutch style infrastructure, with well designed, safe, segregated cycle lanes throughout London and the rest of the country.

They will also call for other safety improvements, such as bringing forward the regulations to improve the ability of lorry drivers to see cyclists and pedestrians, which will be required under EU law from 2022.

Stop Killing Cyclists calls for segregated lanes, and safer lorries to prevent tragedies such as this, and allow many more people to enjoy the convenience, better fitness and money-saving benefits of getting on their bikes.

Vigil co-organiser Abby Taubin said:

“What people across Britain want to see is real investment in making our streets safe for humans, not billions more for the motor lobby.”

Ends.

Release Dated: 5 February 2015

Facebook Event Listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/892034997520775//

 

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up in November 2013 after the terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the first mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. Stop Killing Cyclists organised another mass Die-In at Marble Arch in November 2014 which followed a protest march down Oxford Street. For details see: The National Funeral for The Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence.

3. A series of FOI requests by members of Stop Killing Cyclists in 2014 revealed how little (zero!) had been invested in hard-segregated cycle routes:

4. Statistics on the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) can be found at each of these government websites: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES, and NORTHERN IRELAND. There is a summary at: https://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/reference/uk-cycling-fatalities-2015/

5. Our Facebook Event Listing can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/892034997520775/

6. The 10 Demands made by Stop Killing Cyclists and Stop the Killing Coalition are:

  1. Stop the Killing of Children – set up national multi-billion pound programme to convert residential communities across Britain into living-street Home Zones to abolish dangerous rat-runs.
  2. Stop the Killing of Pedestrians – establish a national programme to fund pedestrianisation of our city and town centres, including the nation’s high-street – Oxford Street.
  3. Stop the Killing of Pensioners from excessive speed. Introduce and enforce speed limit of 20 mph on all urban roads, 40 mph on rural roads/lanes and 60 mph on all other trunk roads.
  4. Stop the Killing of Cyclists. Invest £15 billion in a National Segregated Cycle Network over the next 5 years.
  5. Stop the Killing by HGVs. Ban trucks with blind spots by making safety equipment mandatory and strictly enforce current truck-safety regulations, to reduce levels of illegally dangerous trucks down from estimated 30% to less than 1%.
  6. Stop the Killing without liability – introduce a presumed civil liability law on behalf of vehicular traffic when they kill or seriously injure vulnerable road-users, where there is no evidence blaming the victim.
  7. Stop the Killing from Lung, Heart and other Diseases caused by vehicular pollutants. Make it mandatory for particulate filters that meet latest EU emission standards to be fitted to all existing buses, lorries and taxis.
  8. Stop the Killing at Junctions. Introduce pedestrian crossing times long enough for elderly disabled to cross. Legalise filtered junction crossings by cyclists with strict legal priority for pedestrians and carry out urgent programme of physically protected left-hand turns for cyclists.
  9. Stop the Killing from CO2 emissions from impacts of the climate crisis. All transport fuels to be from environmentally-sustainable renewable sources within 10 years.
  10. Focus on Life! Transport governance must make safety and quality of life the top priority. Reform all council transport departments, the Department of Transport and Transport for London into Cycling, Walking and Transport Departments with formal pedestrian and cyclist representation.
Press Releases

Press Release - Local Death, Local Action

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Press Release Header with logo (Abby Taubin)

Local Death, Local Action

* For immediate release *

Stop Killing Cyclists will stage a Vigil and Die-In on Monday, 26 January 2015 at 18:00 (for 18:30) at the Amhurst Park Junction with Seven Sisters Road, N16, in memory of the cyclist who was crushed under the wheels of an HGV at 8am on Tuesday, 20 January 2015.

She was the 13th cyclist to be killed in the UK in 2015 (a list can be found at: UK CYCLING FATALITIES 2015) - Each leaves a grieving network of friends and family. Over 26,000 cyclists were killed or seriously injured across England and Wales between 2006 and 2013.

The UK Government must take urgent action to improve safety for cyclists and reduce road danger. We need Dutch style infrastructure, with well designed, safe, segregated cycle lanes, now. Safety improvements to improve the ability of lorry drivers to see cyclists and pedestrians, which will be required under EU law from 2022, must also be made mandatory immediately.

The Dutch government spends £28 per person on cycling infrastructure, compared to our paltry £2. To bring ourselves up to their standards we need to spend £40 per person. Then, the UK would be a safe, attractive place to cycle, with all the health and environmental benefits that would bring, but most importantly to prevent tragedies such as the one we recognize on Monday with our Vigil and Die-In.

Stop Killing Cyclists calls on the government to amend the Infrastructure Bill currently before the House to fund appropriate and safe infrastructure for cycling and mandate safety improvements to lorries.

Vigil Co-organiser Abby Taubin said:

“What people across Britain want to see is real investment in making our streets safe for humans, not billions more for the motor lobby.”

Ends.

Press contact: Abby Taubin on 0777 5151 816
Release Dated: 22 January 2015

Facebook Event Listing: https://www.facebook.com/events/545314158904738/

 

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up in November 2013 after the terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the first mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. Stop Killing Cyclists organised another mass Die-In at Marble Arch in November 2014 which followed a protest march down Oxford Street. For details see: The National Funeral for The Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence.

3. Statistics on the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) can be found at each of these government websites: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES, and NORTHERN IRELAND.

4. Facebook Event Listing can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/545314158904738/

5. The 10 Demands made by Stop Killing Cyclists and Stop the Killing Coalition are:

  1. Stop the Killing of Children – set up national multi-billion pound programme to convert residential communities across Britain into living-street Home Zones to abolish dangerous rat-runs.
  2. Stop the Killing of Pedestrians – establish a national programme to fund pedestrianisation of our city and town centres, including the nation’s high-street – Oxford Street.
  3. Stop the Killing of Pensioners from excessive speed. Introduce and enforce speed limit of 20 mph on all urban roads, 40 mph on rural roads/lanes and 60 mph on all other trunk roads.
  4. Stop the Killing of Cyclists. Invest £15 billion in a National Segregated Cycle Network over the next 5 years.
  5. Stop the Killing by HGVs. Ban trucks with blind spots by making safety equipment mandatory and strictly enforce current truck-safety regulations, to reduce levels of illegally dangerous trucks down from estimated 30% to less than 1%.
  6. Stop the Killing without liability – introduce a presumed civil liability law on behalf of vehicular traffic when they kill or seriously injure vulnerable road-users, where there is no evidence blaming the victim.
  7. Stop the Killing from Lung, Heart and other Diseases caused by vehicular pollutants. Make it mandatory for particulate filters that meet latest EU emission standards to be fitted to all existing buses, lorries and taxis.
  8. Stop the Killing at Junctions. Introduce pedestrian crossing times long enough for elderly disabled to cross. Legalise filtered junction crossings by cyclists with strict legal priority for pedestrians and carry out urgent programme of physically protected left-hand turns for cyclists.
  9. Stop the Killing from CO2 emissions from impacts of the climate crisis. All transport fuels to be from environmentally-sustainable renewable sources within 10 years.
  10. Focus on Life! Transport governance must make safety and quality of life the top priority. Reform all council transport departments, the Department of Transport and Transport for London into Cycling, Walking and Transport Departments with formal pedestrian and cyclist representation.
Press Releases

Press Release - Thousands See Dramatic Funeral Protest Bring Oxford Circus to a Standstill

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Press Release Header with logo

Thousands See Dramatic Funeral Protest
Bring Oxford Circus to a Standstill
in Memory of all those killed
by UK’s Lethal & Poisonous
Car-culture

* For immediate release *

Cycling and pedestrian safety protesters staged a symbolic funeral protest down Oxford Street to Marble Arch yesterday, Saturday 15th November.

The horse-drawn hearse paused at Oxford Circus for 2 minutes silence, to allow the crowds to mark the terrible toll of death, injuries and poisonings caused by motorised transport.

It then proceeded to Marble Arch, led by a lone bagpiper, where the protesters placed the symbolic coffin on a catafalque and staged a Dutch style die-in around it, in a ten minute meditation to mark the memory of the dead.

The crowd was then addressed by a range of crash survivors, victims’ families and grassroots campaigners. Among the marchers’ 10 demands were:

  • A multi-billion pound fund to create home zones to make our residential neighbourhoods safe for children again;
  • £3 billion annual investment fund for the creation of a national segregated cycle route; and,
  • The reform of national, regional and local Transport Departments into Walking, Cycling and Transport Departments.

Speakers included Professor Brendan Delaney, Kings College; Tom Kearney, Safer Oxford Street; and Caroline Russell, Green Party Transport Spokesperson.

Stop Killing Cyclists Co-organiser Donnachadh McCarthy said:

“Saturday’s powerful protest sent a loud message to the Government and London’s Mayor that the time for meaningless spin-doctoring about cycling and walking are over. What people across Britain want to see is real investment in making our streets safe for humans, not billions more for the motor lobby.”

Tom Kearney, Safer Oxford Street campaign in his speech said:

“I am just one of thousands of cyclists and pedestrians who’ve been killed or seriously-injured from a collision with a TfL bus since Boris Johnson became Chairman of Transport for London. Boris you cannot ignore us.”

Professor Brendan Delaney in his speech said:

“This car culture is destroying our bodies through pollution and inactivity as much as it destroys lives through so called accidents and our environment through emissions.”

He added:

“I spend my working life dealing with the end results of our collective blindness to the hidden killer. Diseases of inactivity will break our national health system in the coming decade. We have to stop.”

End.

Donnachadh McCarthy, co-founder of Stop Killing Cyclists, stands in Oxford Circus, as part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence protest organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by Brendan Delaney, used with permission, click to see larger version)
Donnachadh McCarthy, co-founder of Stop Killing Cyclists, stands in Oxford Circus, as part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence protest organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by Brendan Delaney, used with permission, click to see larger version)
Thousands watched the horse-drawn hearse travel through Oxford Circus, as part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence protest organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by DrMorocho, used with permission, click to see larger version)
Thousands watched the horse-drawn hearse travel along Oxford Street and through Oxford Circus, as part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence protest organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by DrMorocho, used with permission, click to see larger version)
People by the hundreds marched through Oxford Circus, as part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence protest organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by Tom Kearney, used with permission, click to see larger version)
People by the hundreds marched through Oxford Circus, as part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence protest organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by Tom Kearney, used with permission, click to see larger version)
Die-in at Marble Arch, part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by Brendan Delaney, used with permission, click to see larger version)
Die-in at Marble Arch, part of the National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence organised by the Stop The Killing coalition (Photo by Brendan Delaney, used with permission, click to see larger version)

*Stop the Killing Coalition includes: Westminster Living Streets, Campaign Against Climate Change, Stop Killing Cyclists, London Green Party, Safer Oxford Street Campaign, The Ecologist Magazine, Permaculture Magazine.

 

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in redRelease Dated: 16 November 2014
Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after last November’s terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. Stop The Killing is the associated group of pedestrian, cycling and environmental grass-root activists who want to eliminate Traffic Violence which includes Westminster Living Streets, Stop Killing Cyclists and the Campaign Against Climate Change.

3. Some of the statistics which the National Funeral wishes to highlight:

UK Cyclists Killed: 1,233 (DoT)
UK Pedestrians Killed: 5,787 (DoT)
UK Motorists Killed: 19,293 (DoT)
UK Patients Killed by Transport Pollution: 50,000 (NHS)
UK residents killed through physical inactivity due to lack of cycling infrastructure (estimated): 400,000 (Prof. Garfield UCL)
Ten Year Total Killings: 476,313

Thus the number of people whose deaths can be attributed to traffic violence over the last decade is the equivalent of the population of Manchester!

Total Cyclists killed seriously injured or injured: 198,000
Total Pedestrians killed, seriously injured or injured: 298,300
Total Motorists killed, seriously injured or injured: 1,913,502
Total killed, seriously injured or injured on UK Roads: 2, 409,802

This is the equivalent of the entire populations being injured or killed of Birmingham (1.1 million), Glasgow (0.6), Cardiff (0.3) and Manchester (0.5) combined!

4. The rally after the Mega Die-In under Marble Arch included Medical Professor Brendan Delaney, Oxford Street Bus Victim Tom Kearney, HGV cyclist victim Bart Chan, Poet Helen Moore, Opera Singer Louisa Beard and Stop Killing Cyclists Co-founder Donnachadh McCarthy.

5. The National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence 10 Demands are:

  1. Stop the Killing of Children – set up national multi-billion pound programme to convert residential communities across Britain into living-street Home Zones to abolish dangerous rat-runs.
  2. Stop the Killing of Pedestrians – establish a national programme to fund pedestrianisation of our city and town centres, including the nation’s high-street – Oxford Street.
  3. Stop the Killing of Pensioners from excessive speed. Introduce and enforce speed limit of 20 mph on all urban roads, 40 mph on rural roads/lanes and 60 mph on all other trunk roads.
  4. Stop the Killing of Cyclists. Invest £15 billion in a National Segregated Cycle Network over the next 5 years.
  5. Stop the Killing by HGVs. Ban trucks with blind spots by making safety equipment mandatory and strictly enforce current truck-safety regulations, to reduce levels of illegally dangerous trucks down from estimated 30% to less than 1%.
  6. Stop the Killing without liability – introduce a presumed civil liability law on behalf of vehicular traffic when they kill or seriously injure vulnerable road-users, where there is no evidence blaming the victim.
  7. Stop the Killing from Lung, Heart and other Diseases caused by vehicular pollutants. Make it mandatory for particulate filters that meet latest EU emission standards to be fitted to all existing buses, lorries and taxis.
  8. Stop the Killing at Junctions. Introduce pedestrian crossing times long enough for elderly disabled to cross. Legalise filtered junction crossings by cyclists with strict legal priority for pedestrians and carry out urgent programme of physically protected left-hand turns for cyclists.
  9. Stop the Killing from CO2 emissions from impacts of the climate crisis. All transport fuels to be from environmentally-sustainable renewable sources within 10 years.
  10. Focus on Life! Transport governance must make safety and quality of life the top priority. Reform all council transport departments, the Department of Transport and Transport for London into Cycling, Walking and Transport Departments with formal pedestrian and cyclist representation.
Press Releases

Press Release - Oxford Street Horse-drawn Funeral Protest and Marble Arch Mega Die-In

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Press Release Header with logoOxford Street - Horse-drawn Funeral Protest
and
Marble Arch Mega Die-In
For Cycling/Pedestrian Safety

 

* For immediate release *

National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence

When: Saturday November 15th, 2014 from noon.
Where: Oxford Street/Marble Arch, London
What:
  1. Oxford Street: A symbolic funeral protest led by a horse-drawn hearse containing a coffin representing all the unknown victims who have lost or had their lives destroyed on Britain’s roads.
  2. Marble Arch: Mega Die-In around the coffin of the unknown victim and rally.

 

Cycling, Pedestrian, Climate Change and Medical Staff grassroots activists who are part of the Stop Killing Cyclists and Stop The Killing Coalition* are organising the first ever massive peaceful, dignified National Funeral of the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence.

It will go from Bedford Square along Oxford Street to Marble Arch., to symbolically mark all the unknown victims who have lost or had their lives destroyed on Britain’s roads including:

  • Traffic Crash Violence
  • Death from traffic air-pollution
  • Obesity related deaths through fear of walking or cycling
  • The millions dying worldwide as a result of climate change.

Please see our moving Launch Videos for the National Funeral on YouTube at: http://goo.gl/v3KRtz and http://goo.gl/OEG7iM

The Facebook page for the event is at http://goo.gl/DX2l13 where we welcome people letting us know they wish to attend this dignified protest.

Stop the Killing Co-organiser Fred Smith said:

“The UK’s road network is not fit for purpose. We need to end the culture of acceptance which surrounds traffic-violence and unite road users of all kinds from across the country to create positive human-friendly roads and public-spaces in Britain.”

Stop Killing Cyclists Co-organiser Donnachadh McCarthy also said:

“The staggering number of deaths and injuries resulting from motorised traffic over the last decade stands at 2,400,000 people!

This horrifically equates to the combined populations of Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Cardiff!!

Hundreds of thousands more are suffering life-impairing terrible diseases.

This symbolic protest funeral and mega die-in is an urgent clarion call to end this carnage and environmental destruction.”

The National Funeral Protest will place 10 Demands calling for urgent action from local and national government – see details below.

End.

*Stop the Killing Coalition includes: Westminster Living Streets, Campaign Against Climate Change, Stop Killing Cyclists, London Green Party, Safer Oxford Street Campaign, The Ecologist Magazine, Permaculture Magazine.

 

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in redRelease Dated: 5 November 2014
Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after last November’s terrible spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. Stop The Killing is the associated group of pedestrian, cycling and environmental grass-root activists who want to eliminate Traffic Violence which includes Westminster Living Streets, Stop Killing Cyclists and the Campaign Against Climate Change.

3. Some of the statistics which the National Funeral wishes to highlight:

UK Cyclists Killed: 1,233 (DoT)
UK Pedestrians Killed: 5,787 (DoT)
UK Motorists Killed: 19,293 (DoT)
UK Patients Killed by Transport Pollution: 50,000 (NHS)
UK residents killed through physical inactivity due to lack of cycling infrastructure (estimated): 400,000 (Prof. Garfield UCL)
Ten Year Total Killings: 476,313

Thus the number of people whose deaths can be attributed to traffic violence over the last decade is the equivalent of the population of Manchester!

Total Cyclists killed seriously injured or injured: 198,000
Total Pedestrians killed, seriously injured or injured: 298,300
Total Motorists killed, seriously injured or injured: 1,913,502
Total killed, seriously injured or injured on UK Roads: 2, 409,802

This is the equivalent of the entire populations being injured or killed of Birmingham (1.1 million), Glasgow (0.6), Cardiff (0.3) and Manchester (0.5) combined!

4. The rally after the Mega Die-In under Marble Arch will include Medical Professor Brendan Delaney, Oxford Street Bus Victim Tom Kearney, HGV cyclist victim Bart Chan, Poet Helen Moore, Opera Singer Louisa Beard and Stop Killing Cyclists Co-founder Donnachadh McCarthy.

5. The National Funeral for the Unknown Victim of Traffic Violence
10 Demands are:

  1. Stop the Killing of Children – set up national multi-billion pound programme to convert residential communities across Britain into living-street Home Zones to abolish dangerous rat-runs.
  2. Stop the Killing of Pedestrians – establish a national programme to fund pedestrianisation of our city and town centres, including the nation’s high-street – Oxford Street.
  3. Stop the Killing of Pensioners from excessive speed. Introduce and enforce speed limit of 20 mph on all urban roads, 40 mph on rural roads/lanes and 60 mph on all other trunk roads.
  4. Stop the Killing of Cyclists. Invest £15 billion in a National Segregated Cycle Network over the next 5 years.
  5. Stop the Killing by HGVs. Ban trucks with blind spots by making safety equipment mandatory and strictly enforce current truck-safety regulations, to reduce levels of illegally dangerous trucks down from estimated 30% to less than 1%.
  6. Stop the Killing without liability – introduce a presumed civil liability law on behalf of vehicular traffic when they kill or seriously injure vulnerable road-users, where there is no evidence blaming the victim.
  7. Stop the Killing from Lung, Heart and other Diseases caused by vehicular pollutants. Make it mandatory for particulate filters that meet latest EU emission standards to be fitted to all existing buses, lorries and taxis.
  8. Stop the Killing at Junctions. Introduce pedestrian crossing times long enough for elderly disabled to cross. Legalise filtered junction crossings by cyclists with strict legal priority for pedestrians and carry out urgent programme of physically protected left-hand turns for cyclists.
  9. Stop the Killing from CO2 emissions from impacts of the climate crisis. All transport fuels to be from environmentally-sustainable renewable sources within 10 years.
  10. Focus on Life! Transport governance must make safety and quality of life the top priority. Reform all council transport departments, the Department of Transport and Transport for London into Cycling, Walking and Transport Departments with formal pedestrian and cyclist representation.
Press Releases

Press Release - Mayor Must End London’s Illegal Truck Epidemic Now!

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Press Release Header with logoMayor Must End London’s Illegal Truck Epidemic Now!

Online Petition Launched by Stop Killing Cyclists

After yet another cyclist was killed by a truck at Vauxhall Cross, Stop Killing Cyclists have today (22nd June 2014) launched a petition calling on the London Mayor to set a target of reducing the illegally driven trucks on London’s roads down from its current epidemic levels (estimated to be over 30%) to a maximum of 1%.

The petition also calls on the Mayor to:

  • Provide the funding to achieve this to the Metropolitan Police Enforcement Unit
  • End the dangerous driver time-penalty systems used by TfL Buses and trucks used on the Crossrail Project.

The full text of the petition is below.

It is estimated that up to 30% of all trucks being driven in London were in an illegally dangerous state or were being driven illegally.

Stop Killing Cyclists petition author Fred Smith said:

“After yet another preventable killing at Vauxhall Cross we are calling for thousands of Londoners to sign this petition to pressure the Mayor to end the illegal truck epidemic on London’s roads and set a 2 year target to reduce illegality to a maximum of 1%, from its current estimated level of 30%”.

Donnachadh McCarthy, Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder said:

“Stop Killing Cyclists held a demonstration at Vauxhall Cross in December 2013, following the 6 awful November tragedies, calling for greater enforcement of truck safety regulations to protect London’s pedestrians and cyclists, yet almost nothing has changed. Dangerous illegal trucks keep putting Londoners lives at risk.

London’s vulnerable road users cannot tolerate TfL’s complacency any longer. The Mayor must target the killers not the victims.”

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in redDate: Sunday June 22nd 2014
Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after the recent spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. The online petition is hosted by 38 Degrees; Hotlink to the online petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/London-Mayor-Must-End-Lethal-Truck-Epidemic-Now

Vauxhall die-in protest3. Link to pictures and press coverage of December’s Vauxhall Cross Die-In Protest:

http://stopthekilling.org.uk/VauxhallDemo

4. This press release was revised on 22nd June to add a quote from the author of the petition and to provide a clearer hotlink petition web address (item 2, above).

Full Text of Petition

“Following the tragic death of yet another cyclist at Vauxhall under the wheels of a HGV truck, Stop Killing Cyclists call on the London Mayor to urgently increase enforcement of Truck Safety Laws and set a target of pushing the level of illegally driven or in an illegally dangerous state trucks down below 1% by the end of 2015, from the current estimated 30% level.

The Mayor must:

  • Increase the funding to the Metropolitan Police Truck Enforcement Unit to achieve this target
  • Amend all TfL Bus and HGV contracts (including Crossrail) to ban the practice of penalising drivers using time or load-based key performance indicators (KPI)
  • Ban the use of iBus to text TfL Bus Drivers while they’re driving and introduce safety performance KPIs which reward drivers for driving safely

Why is this important?

In London over half cyclist fatalities involve HGVs, despite HGVs making up only 5% of traffic [1].

The Metropolitan Police found in one targeted action that as few as a third of lorries met safety regulations [2]. The police must step up enforcement efforts to catch dangerous lorries before they kill more Londoners.

TfL and other bus and truck companies must stop using incentives which encourage dangerous driving, a practice which has been linked to the disproportionate number of accidents involving HGVs, especially those from the construction industry [3].

A TRL study showed texting whilst driving could be more dangerous than drink or drug driving [4]. Therefore it is unacceptable that TfL is using a text based system to communicate with bus drivers while they are driving.

With one cycling death a month so far in 2014 and even more pedestrian deaths, urgent action must be taken to prevent further fatalities on our roads.”

Press Releases

Press Release - Minister for Cycling Agrees to Consider Call for National Cycling & Highways Agency

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Press Release Header with logo

Minister for Cycling Agrees to Consider Call for ‘National Cycling & Highways Agency’

Ahead of today’s (June 11th) All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) bike ride, the co-founders of Stop Killing Cyclists Steven Routley and Donnachadh McCarthy, met with the Minister for Cycling Robert Goodwill MP on Monday.

He agreed to consider amendments to the new Infrastructure Bill that would ensure cycling was included in the remit of the proposed re-structured Highways Agency.

Donnachadh McCarthy said,

“We welcome the Minister’s commitment to considering such an amendment from MPs. It is crucial that a National Cycling & Highways Agency takes the lead for funding and overseeing the creation of a National Cycling Infrastructure.”

Steven Routley said,

“Cycling must be included in the title and remit of the reformed Highway’s Agency.

For too long cycling provision has been the invisible Cinderella of Britain’s transport investments despite its enormous potential to reduce epidemic levels of diabetes, lung and heart diseases from traffic pollution and obesity, improve economic competitiveness through congestion reduction, making our roads safer for pedestrians and other road users and reducing carbon emissions.”

Other items discussed during the Stop Killing Cyclists meeting with the Minister for Cycling were:

1. The creation of a national version of TfL’s Mini-Holland cycle funding scheme for councils across the country.

2. The introduction of improved national standards for truck safety equipment on existing trucks.

3. Raising the penalties for texting and speaking on a mobile phone whilst driving, to the same severity as drink driving.

4. Increasing UK cycling funding levels to modern Dutch levels.

Date: Wednesday June 11th 2014
Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with website in red
Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

Note to editors:

1. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after the recent spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

2. The new Infrastructure Bill proposes to turn the Highways Agency into an arms-length government-owned company.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infrastructure-bill

3. A study by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) found that a driver’s reaction times slowed by 46% when he or she was making a call on a hand-held mobile, by 37% when texting while driving and by 27% during hands-free calls. For those on the drink-drive limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, reaction times were reduced by 13%. For those who had used cannabis it was 21%.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/Politics/article1420279.ece

4. Britain currently spends a tiny £2.20 per person on cycling infrastructure annually compared to the Dutch £24. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3789794.ece

5. Link to pictures and press coverage of Stop Killing Cyclists Direct-Actions: http://stopkillingcyclists.org/

Press Releases

Press Release - Elephant & Castle Emergency Cycling Safety Proposals Revealed

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press release header Elephant & Castle Emergency Cycling Safety Proposals Revealed

Date: 5 June 2014

Stop Killing Cyclists have today released their detailed proposals to install emergency cycling safety measures at the Elephant & Castle southern junction, following their direct action there on May 21st.

The proposals, which have been submitted to TfL Managing Director of Surface Transport, Leon Daniels and the Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner Andrew Gilligan, were prepared in conjunction with professional traffic engineers. This was done in response to Leon Daniels’ commitment to treat our proposals seriously.

Click to read the report (pdf format)
Click to read the report (pdf format)

The proposals, included in a report prepared by Stop Killing Cyclists member Fred Smith, provide for safe segregated cycle lanes at the junction’s left-hand turns and also provide safer routes for right-hand turns. (Report is HERE.)

As the plans use existing infrastructure at the recently refurbished junction, estimated costs are in the low thousands.

Fred Smith, the Stop Killing Cyclists‘ report author said:

“Implementing the signs, lines and small number of separators we propose would be straightforward, very cheap and, we consider, could be achieved within a week.”

Donnachadh McCarthy Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder said:

“Stop Killing Cyclists called for emergency by-passes at the junction in March, prior to last month’s tragic killing of cyclist Abdelkhalak Lahyani. Hundreds of cyclists lay down on the ground at our Direct Action Die-In Protest calling for urgent action at this junction.

We are calling on TfL to implement these practical, low-cost, low-tech proposals as fast as humanly possible. Every day’s delay is another day with unprotected cyclists risking their lives as they pass through the junction”.

He added,

“If successful, as we believe they will be, such low tech, low-cost, emergency measures should be rolled out urgently by Boris Johnson across all of London’s dangerous junctions wherever there is sufficient space for both cycling and pedestrian infrastructure”.

Press Contact: Donnachadh McCarthy
Telephone: 07947 8842 99

UPDATE: Various media outlets picked up this story - thank you - some are listed under ‘Follow-Up’ in our article: Elephant & Castle Die-In - Media Coverage

Stop Killing Cyclists - logo with websiteNotes to editors:

1. Link to pictures and press coverage of May’s Elephant and Castle Draw-In and Die-In Protest by Stop Killing Cyclists:
http://stopkillingcyclists.org/elephant

2. Stop Killing Cyclists is the direct action protest group set up after the recent spate of cyclist killings in London. They arranged the mass Die-In at TfL HQ where 1,500 cyclists laid down in the road in protest at lack of safety investment in London.

3. The London boroughs, including Southwark where the Elephant & Castle junction is situated, are responsible for 95% of London’s roads, whereas the London Mayor and TfL control the remaining 5%, i.e. the large arterial routes.

4. Southwark Council has not installed a single metre of segregated cycle-lane in the four years since the last election.

5. A recent FOI survey by Stop Killing Cyclists revealed that 24 London Boroughs had installed ZERO metres of segregated cycle-lanes since the last elections in 2010.