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Ah, the murder strip. That thin line of paint on the road passing as infrastructure, exposing cyclists who dare to use them to drains, debris and – oh wait – close passing motorists, confident that they were in their lane and you were in yours, ‘so it really doesn’t matter if I brushed your shoulder, does it?’
As police officer and driver behaviour specialist Mark Hodson pointed out on Twitter yesterday, this year’s changes to the Highway Code (we’re legally obligated to mention them every four days, before you start complaining) have made murder strips more relevant than ever.
We never ran Operation Close Pass where there was a cycle lane as it effectively gave offenders a “faux defence” of “well if it’s dangerous, why is it designed like that?”, which in light of the HC updates earlier this year is even more relevant than ever.
Murder strips, as they are more popularly known, are available almost everywhere in the UK for the driver who wants an excuse for endangering a vulnerable road user, albeit not a legitimate one given the HC (and previous updates too), but can be used to muddy the waters of any potential prosecution.
So what to do about them…
Well there are three options for this sort of infrastructure which now has no other purpose apart from potentially endangering cyclists.
Option one – remove them completely. This changes driver behaviour and as in other driving scenarios the lack of “magic paint” actually improves behaviours as drivers start to think about what they should be doing rather than depending on lane markings for guidance.
Second – have a second white line, solid this time and 1.5 metres plus away from the edge of the cycle lane denoting the edge of the carriageway for motor vehicles when the cycle lane is occupied, increased accordingly for speed limits over 30mph.
Third – we could have dedicated separate infrastructure that separates road users, affording relative safety for cyclists & other vulnerable road users using it.
Option two would need a further HC change; option three is the best but given the cost and time implications would take generations at the rate we are currently installing…
Leaving option one… get rid, they encourage offending.
Best advice for cyclists, if one is present, ride just to the offside of them, firstly placing you the ideal distance from the kerb for cycling avoiding drain covers, debris and providing some room to work with if you encounter other hazards which you must avoid.
This also removes the faux defence of “they were in their lane, I was in mine, what’s the issue?”
Advice for drivers… Whenever you encounter a cyclist in whatever situation, just give at least 1.5 metres of room, further if you are travelling at over 30mph & show consideration. It’s not hard, no need for whataboutery at all, as you will find it won’t help you in a court of law.
So, there we are, time to abolish murder strips – it will help keep cyclists safer by changing behaviours and save some drivers points on their licence as well, as they start thinking about their driving rather than relying on paint to do their thinking for them.
What do you think? Do you agree with Hodson that abolishing painted cycle lanes – even before proper, segregated infrastructure can be introduced – would help change motorists’ behaviour and potentially keep cyclists safe on the roads?
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