Jon Barron

Around seventy local cyclists attended an interesting and informative event at Robert Gordon University, Garthdee, Aberdeen yesterday evening (Monday 2^nd September).

The event, which was called ‘Cycling in the North East – Collisions, Compensation & Civil Law’ was jointly organised by Cycle Law Scotland and Grampian Cycle Partnership in an effort to help provide advice and information for those interested in cycling across the north east.

Admission to the event was free and included presentations from representatives of both organisations and an open question-and-answer session where attendees were afforded the opportunity to seek further information and clarity on cycling-related issues.

The Cycle Law Scotland presentation, delivered jointly by Aberdeen based specialist solicitor, Roz Boynton and Cycle Law Scotland partner, Jodi Gordon included an explanation of Criminal v Civil Law, a synopsis of common cycling incidents, an overview of the primary causes of cycling collisions, what you should do in the event of a collision and a whole host of other aspects surrounding the subsequent processes.

Roz Boynton added, “It was encouraging to see such a large turnout of NE cyclists all eager to learn and understand how to better protect themselves out there on the roads. We hope they won’t need our specialist personal injury services, but we are always here to provide advice and support if needed.”

The Grampian Cycle Partnership presentation, delivered by Caroline Hood, Vice Chair of the recently constituted voluntary organisation, contained an overview of why the group has formed and details of the initial aims and objectives as well as a summary of the initial priorities they are currently working on.

Caroline Hood added, ““We hope that by engaging with our partners and prospective partners through valuable events such as these that we can raise awareness of the benefits of cycling and continue to develop strong, collaborative relationships with individuals, businesses and organisations to make cycling safer and easier for everyone in the North East.”

Cycle Law Scotland deal with personal injury claims for injured cyclists across Scotland every day.  They provide cyclists with unrivalled, specialist, personal representation with accident claims.  Cycle Law Scotland believe that, if you’ve been involved in a cycling accident in Scotland through no fault of your own, it’s important to seek expert legal advice as soon as possible, preferably from a lawyer who specialises in personal injury cases and has considerable experience in representing cyclists.  The Cycle Law Scotland team all ride bikes, they believe that only by cycling to and from work or for recreation can they truly understand the needs and requirements of their cycling clients.

Grampian Cycle Partnership focuses on the benefits that cycling contributes and represents and partners with anyone, individuals and organisations and hope to help make cycling safer and easier for everyone in the North East of Scotland by using cycling to improve both the environment and the health for those who live here, securing the best possible outcomes from all available funding and resources and helping make the area a better place to live, work in and visit, and travel safer for vulnerable road users, irrespective of their mode of travel.

Grampian Cycle Partnership has been asked by the http://www.northeast250.com/ team to suggest a circular cycling route (or routes) that best epitomises the natural beauty of the landscape that can be visited in NE Scotland and provide a challenge to cycle tourists.

The GCP team has developed a 250-mile perimeter road cycle route than can be tackled in two to three days (or however long you fancy!) giving both coastal and mountain aspects passing through the majestic countryside of Grampian/NE Scotland.

Using the safest and quietest roads the route takes in beaches, historic castles, lovely fishing villages, even a famous phonebox, spectacular views, some challenging climbs and offers fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities.

We have tried, where possible, to keep away from main car routes.

GCP are now publicly sharing our vision of a tourism-inspired cycle route (both for locals looking to experience different challenges close to home and for those from further afield) to bring cyclists from all over the world to our natural wonderland, with routes that can be enjoyed by riders of all abilities. This route is a physical challenge which will give cyclists of all abilities a tremendous sense of accomplishment when they complete it.

With North East 250 we aim to promote this route as the first of many tourist routes for our area. Other options will concentrate on shorter cycle rides around the countryside taking in towns, villages and tourist attractions within the 250-perimeter route.

The route can be viewed on these two links and downloaded to your favourite navigation device.

NE250 Route Coastal Section 

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/836578

NE250 Route Mountain Section

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/878904

We will post routes on Strava in due course (remember to join our Strava club if you haven’t already done so!).

Please note that we are also developing an off-road, gravel route.

NE250 Gravel / Off-Road 
https://www.strava.com/routes/13933732

*We have already shared these routes with our partners and members but would appreciate and welcome views from the wider cycling community on all the routes included in this message*

Further routes within the perimeter are in development by the GCP tourism project team. If you are interested in helping out with our tourism projects, or any of the others, please get in touch.

Comments, favourable or otherwise, and suggestions along with offers of help in creating the ‘best in class’ route options should be sent to us at info@grampiancyclepartnership.org.

Cycle Law Scotland deal with personal injury claims for injured cyclists across Scotland every day. Grampian Cycle Partnership are delighted to announce this presentation from one of Cycle Law Scotland’s specialist solicitors, Roz Boynton.

Roz will share information on and explain:-

• Criminal v Civil Law.

• Common cycling incidents.

• Primary causes of cycling collisions.

• What to do in the event of a collision.

• The claims process and why it is important.

• Dealing with Insurers.

• The role of Police Scotland.

• The role of Specialists.

• Witnesses.

• Case Law and how we apply it.

• Preparing a case.

• The use of CCTV and Video footage.

• Valuing injury, damage and loss.

• Rehabilitation and why it is important.

• Damaged bike assessments.

• Case study examples.

• Video footage.

• Presumed liability and Road Share update.

Admission to the event is free (on presentation of the Eventbrite ticket available through the following link; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cycling-in-the-north-east-collisions-compensation-and-civil-law-tickets-64663011809?fbclid=IwAR1zg8LjMzo-YbZ25F6V4uIrsNFoX81XPZOBxpuv3KLIG5iiuFBaNz6uIis).

The evening will include opportunity to ask questions and allow for a more general debate and discussion on related issues.

20, 57 or 95 mile options – Saturday 5th October 2019

More info here: http://www.kayleighsweestars.co.uk/site/events/kws-cycle-2019

The Cycle Nation Project is a four-year phased programme that will become the largest and most comprehensive trial of cycling participation ever conducted in the UK.

The programme will explore the best ways to get more people on bikes and will see the partnership testing cycling solutions with HSBC UK staff nationwide.

The independently-conducted scientific project will be overseen by Professor Jason Gill and Dr. Cindy Gray of the University of Glasgow, working in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. The ambition for the Cycle Nation Project is to prove which real-world methods work best and provide clear guidance on how to get more people on their bikes.

• The Cycle Nation Project is a four-year programme to test ways to get more people on their bikes
• The project aims to trial real-world solutions with HSBC UK employees across the country in a large-scale randomised controlled trial
• The Confidence to Ride, Confidence to Invest report lays the ground-work for an ambitious, long-term goal of turning the UK into a greener, fitter and healthier great cycling nation

Ian Stuart, CEO, HSBC UK, said:

“Riding a bike is good for you, but still millions do not cycle as much as they could or as much as they might like to. As a country, we need to know more about how to get people on two wheels. That’s why we are proud to be leading the Cycle Nation Project, which is the largest trial of its kind ever undertaken in the UK.

“The health and wellbeing of our colleagues, customers and communities are very important to us. The opportunity to work with our HSBC UK colleagues as voluntary participants in this unprecedented project with the University of Glasgow and University of Edinburgh is an exciting and important moment. We are serious about creating a legacy through our partnership with British Cycling and we hope this ambitious project will fundamentally change the country’s approach to cycling.”

The Cycle Nation Project is made up of four phases:  

• The first phase is the ‘Confidence to Ride, Confidence to Invest’ report which reviews all existing research into cycling participation and explains the barriers which stop us getting more people on bikes. This is the foundation on which the Cycle Nation Project is based.
• The second phase will test different approaches to increasing cycling participation amongst HSBC UK staff in four pilot locations around the country.
• The third phase will involve a large-scale roll-out of the interventions across designated HSBC UK offices throughout the country. This part of the project will look specifically at measuring cycling participation, health and productivity, as well as cost-effectiveness.
• The fourth and final phase will see the results of the trials evaluated and shared with government, policy-makers and other businesses to encourage the roll-out of further cycling schemes in the UK.

Julie Harrington, CEO, British Cycling, said:

“The Cycle Nation Project will provide us with a vast evidence base through which we can find real-world cycling solutions and effect a wide-scale change in cycling participation.

“We know that we need to change the way we move: for the benefit of our own personal health and wellbeing, to reduce congestion and pollution, and to make our communities nicer places to live. Being able to prove the best ways to get people to move differently will have lasting benefits – for the people who take part in these trials and all those who have an interest in making our country a great cycling nation.”

The Cycle Nation Project’s interventions include comprehensive cycle training courses to build confidence, the use of personal technology to create cycling habits, flexible work hours to avoid traffic, a cycle maintenance service and a subsidised cycle purchase scheme, amongst others. These varying interventions will be tested in different locations across the country and with staff of all ages and abilities to provide a comprehensive picture of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to cycling participation.

The Cycle Nation Project forms part of the eight-year partnership between HSBC UK and British Cycling which aims to make the UK a greener, fitter and healthier nation.

Today sees the first phase of the programme with the launch of the ‘Confidence to Ride, Confidence to Invest’ report which reviews existing scientific research into cycling participation from around the world. It identifies what is known, what is unproven, and where there are knowledge gaps around cycling behaviour.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/campaigning/article/20190530-British-Cycling-and-HSBC-UK-announce-launch-of-Cycle-Nation-Project-0