Latest news with #BikeWorcester
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Vigilante cyclist reveals film showing 300 law-breaking drivers in a single day on just ONE street in the UK
A vigilante cyclist filmed more than 300 law-breaking drivers in just one day on a single street in the UK. Dan Brothwell, who leads campaign group Bike Worcester, set up a secret camera to catch motorists in the act of breaking the law in the city's busy Foregate Street. Over one 24-hour period, a staggering 315 drivers were caught breaching various traffic laws, primarily parking and loading offences. The timelapse video shows road users and taxis illegally parking on white zig-zag markings on the street, which is not permitted. It also captures vehicles mounting the kerb and even a lorry unloading while parked on a pavement. The video comes as police figures show more than 15,000 clips of cyclists being overtaken too closely by motorists were submitted in England and Wales last year. This was more than double the 7,249 clips sent to police in 2021. The increase comes as increasing numbers of cyclists use helmet cameras to film bad drivers and report them to police. Jeremy Vine, who is thought to have helped in encouraging road users to report vehicles who pass cyclists too closely, says he will no longer share videos of his cycling on social media because of the hatred he receives in response TV presenter Jeremy Vine is credited with boosting the trend, for regularly posting footage of his daily commute through London on social media. But he's recently stopped the practice due to the backlash and hatred he receives in response, saying he is 'worn down'. Bike Worcester has come under fire for releasing the video by councillors who accuse the group of being 'anti-car and anti-taxi'. Richard Udall, chair of Worcester City Council's licensing committee, said: 'We can only enforce at times when we are present. 'Hundreds of fixed penalties have been issued and repeat offenders will lose their licenses. 'Taxis are allowed to load and unload passengers on yellow lines, this may account for some of the issues they are complaining about. 'Enforcement officers cannot just issue a ticket, they need to wait a few minutes to try and locate the driver or ask the driver to move. CCTV and ANPR parking enforcement is therefore not legal at this location. 'The area is patrolled regularly and enforcement officers do act and do enforce the rules. 'Taxi drivers are becoming increasingly concerned about the attacks upon them by Bike Worcester. They feel it's unfair and unjustified. 'The vast majority are law abiding professionals, providing a quality public service. 'They feel the constant attacks from Bike Worcester are beginning to look like an anti-taxi or an anti-car campaign. 'Worcester City Council will continue to enforce our rules and will take action against any offending taxi driver, we will continue to work with the drivers and their representatives to reduce any problems problems which occur.' The covert footage shows the hundreds of drivers committing offences over a 24-hour period last October. Bike Worcester spokesperson Dan Brothwell defended the secret camera, claiming illegal parking is dangerous for cyclists. He said: 'This is a massive problem - and we don't have a vendetta against taxis or cars. 'Our time lapse video recorded over 300 parking offences and incidents of over-ranking in 24 hours. People turn a blind eye to it. 'I feel for Worcester's taxi drivers - they're being swamped by drivers from Wychavon and Wolverhampton. 'But parking here causes the problem that cars overtaking cross the solid white line into the bike/bus lane, meaning cars drive head-on at people cycling - many of these are also taxis.' In April, TV and radio presenter Vine announced he was finished sharing clips of his commutes online. The 59-year-old Radio 2 and Channel 5 star has attracted a combination of praise and derision for his social media clips shaming the capital's worst drivers - which have become more elaborate in their edits over time. But after years of enduring foul-mouthed comments calling for him to be crushed under lorries - and others suggesting that his wife was committing infidelities with car drivers - he's calling it a day on his crusade. 'Small announcement. I'm stopping my cycling videos. The trolling just got too bad. They have had well over 100 million views but in the end the anger they generate has genuinely upset me,' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. But he did say he will continue to report drivers privately to police. Speaking to MailOnline in April, Vine said that the recent theft of his £620 bicycle from outside his home in Chiswick, west London gave him pause for thought on whether he ought to continue making himself a target for online vitriol. 'It's all just the c-word, the f-word, the w-word - it wears you down eventually,' he continued. 'Even if you look at the responses when I said I wasn't going to do it anymore, people on there are still wanting to see me squashed under a truck. 'Whether it's because their mum hasn't made their breakfast yet, I don't know. You can only laugh it off for so long.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Cyclist's mission to measure city air quality
A cyclist has taken on a mission to help tackle pollution by using his bike to measure air quality across Worcester. Al Pagan, a Bike Worcester volunteer, has fitted a SmogOff device to his bicycle that measures nitrogen oxides and particulate matter - a mixture of solid and liquid particles suspended in the air. Alongside Bike Buses across the city, he has been gathering readings on some of Worcester's busiest streets during rush-hour traffic. The data collected will be used to complement the city council's air quality management projects. The monitor is designed as a stationary device but the sensors take readings often enough that useful data has been collected, Mr Pagan said. He added: "They say you breathe in just as much pollution if you're sat in the car and most of us at Bike Worcester are car drivers too, so this is something that affects us all." Worcester MP Tom Collins, said: "Air quality is a huge issue in Worcester, especially for our young people, who tell me that they see it damaging the environment and their own health. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Two city areas over nitrogen dioxide legal limits New air quality plan for city discussed Charity's playground air pollution warning Bike Worcester Local Democracy Reporting Service
BBC News
5 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Cyclist's mission to measure Worcester air quality
A cyclist has taken on a mission to help tackle pollution by using his bike to measure air quality across Pagan, a Bike Worcester volunteer, has fitted a SmogOff device to his bicycle that measures nitrogen oxides and particulate matter - a mixture of solid and liquid particles suspended in the Bike Buses across the city, he has been gathering readings on some of Worcester's busiest streets during rush-hour data collected will be used to complement the city council's air quality management projects. The monitor is designed as a stationary device but the sensors take readings often enough that useful data has been collected, Mr Pagan added: "They say you breathe in just as much pollution if you're sat in the car and most of us at Bike Worcester are car drivers too, so this is something that affects us all."Worcester MP Tom Collins, said: "Air quality is a huge issue in Worcester, especially for our young people, who tell me that they see it damaging the environment and their own health. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- BBC News
Illegal parking 'massive problem' near Worcester taxi rank
Illegal parking near a taxi rank in Worcester is a "massive problem", a campaign group has Worcester said it recorded 300 offences in 24 hours using a time-lapse camera in Foregate Street last there and by The Cross causes problems, spokesperson Dan Brothwell said, because cars overtaking "cross the solid white line into the bike/bus lane, meaning cars drive head-on at people cycling – many of these are also taxis".Richard Udall, chair of Worcester City Council's licensing committee, said the authority had issued "hundreds" of fixed penalties and accused Bike Worcester of becoming an "anti-taxi campaign". Mr Brothwell said: "This is a massive problem – and we don't have a vendetta against taxis or cars.""Our time lapse video recorded over 300 parking offences and incidents of over-ranking in 24 hours. People turn a blind eye to it."I feel for Worcester's taxi drivers – they're being swamped by drivers from Wychavon and Wolverhampton."Mr Udall said the council could only enforce "at times when we are present" and repeated offenders would lose their licences. 'Unfair and unjustified' "Taxis are allowed to load and unload passengers on yellow lines, this may account for some of the issues they are complaining about.A Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that 10 Worcester taxi drivers have had their licences revoked in the past three Udall said taxi drivers were becoming increasingly concerned about attacks upon them by Bike Worcester, saying they felt they were "unfair and unjustified"."The vast majority are law abiding professionals, providing a quality public service."They feel the constant attacks from Bike Worcester are beginning to look like an anti-taxi or an anti-car campaign."The council would continue to take action against any offending taxi drivers and work with drivers to reduce any problems, he added. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Free city centre bike store to close
A cycling charity has said it is "gutted" by the closure of a bike store, intended to reduce bicycle thefts in Worcester city centre. Bike Worcester said the free facility in Friary Walk shopping centre - formerly Crowngate - has been used to securely store 28,000 bikes a year. The space, which has now been leased to a rent-paying customer, will close on Wednesday, four years after it opened. Dan Brothwell, from the charity, said it was "as good a place to lock our bikes as we've found anywhere in the world". Mr Brothwell paid tribute to the shopping centre's manager for making the facility available to cyclists for free. "Bike Worcester were approached by Mike Lloyd in the depths of Covid with an idea of making an unused commercial unit available as a place for people to store bikes," he said. "It would be under the watchful eyes of CCTV with the security team regularly checking in. It was a no-brainer." Mr Lloyd said the centre had been "incredibly proud" of the role it had played in "encouraging more sustainable travel", adding it "was the right thing to do during a difficult time for the city". "Now, as we celebrate a full return to occupancy at Friary Walk - a real milestone for the local economy - we must transition the unit back into retail use," he said. The store also included a repair station for people to carry out minor services of their bikes. Mr Brothwell said any bikes which were found unlocked would be secured, along with details on how to get it released - for which Mr Brothwell himself admitted to having been grateful on occasions when he had been distracted and forgotten to lock his own bike. "It is with a heavy heart we say farewell to the Friary Walk bike store," he said. "We've used it to store our bikes, fix our bikes, and help others fix their bikes. "It's been instrumental in growing Bike Worcester." Mr Lloyd said Friary Walk was "committed to supporting active travel" and was working to install external bike racks. He added that the stands and racks from the bike store were being donated to the city council for potential relocation. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. 'Beryl' bike share scheme rolled out across city Work to start on new purpose-built cycle track This is a £16m bridge to nowhere, say cyclists Bike Worcester Friary Walk
