Saturday, 16 August 2014

Cycling and Safety - and confusing sinage

In a world of occupational health and safety and duty of care one wonders about sinage like this:


...and what it means.

  • Is this an acknowledgment that  riding across these tracks will rip your wheel off (therefore don't) and just about tantamount to an admission of a problem?
  • or is it advice to get off and walk it across? Strange that this is signed at a place where you cross at 90 degrees not at a tangent (note the cycle path painted on the road) it shouldn't rip your wheel off
  • just where is that wheel?

So far it hasn't ripped my wheel off, but then I think the vulnerable cycles are those with the really skinny tyres (and mine's a Hybrid MTB) and crossing at a tangent.

Unlike normal trams (street cars) this one is designed to prohibit "mixed" traffic, so it all seems incongruous to me.

2 comments:

Lens Bubble said...

Here in Toronto we have streetcars (trams) that run on major streets. The tracks are a major problem in wet/snowy days, especially when you accidentally run in parallel to the tracks. I personally have two accidents involving the tracks so yes it's a real risk to cyclists.

obakesan said...

Hi Yu-Lin

I am quite sure that crossing the tracks at a tangent would be risky, however this sign is warning at a crossing where you cross at 90 degrees, which would seem safe to me.

I guess I'm also commenting on the sign (where is the front wheel?) and the fact that the Govt is head over heels in love with "workplace health and safety", yet puts up such a sign.

The portions of the track where one could cross at a tangent are not signed (and most of the track is made to not be able to cross it or ride along it).

:-)