Rob Ashwell (aka Bob)

@cyclistandstats.bsky.social

Based in the UK, getting old and now a very average road rider... even more average on an MTB. But I still like cycling... and stats.

Just fucking hell Just found out my old employer (I left after discovering it was taking pension contributions but not paying to nest), owes 437k in unpaid PAYE and national insurance. Dont even know how many years that's not been paid but it has only 3 staff (190k salaries) for past 2 ISH years.

Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and fairer

Cardiff set to tackle SUV 'carspreading' in UK first

Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and f...

nation.cymru

A cool natural experiment using cellphone data finds that, when people relocate to more walkable areas, they walk more and are more active. Why does this matter? Because many related studies were affected by self-selection bias, where people who like to walk might choose to live in walkable places

Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity - Nature

By analysing the smartphone data of 2,112,288 participants, in particular observing and comparing the activity of the same individual in two different environments, we find that increases in the walka...

nature.com

Can we now have an article like this that talks sympathetically about victims of road rage when it's cyclists. BBC News - Driving tests: 'Learner driver abuse left me shaking - but I'm not giving up on lessons' - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Driving tests: 'Learner driver abuse left me shaking - but I'm not giving up on lessons'

Learning to drive is a right of passage for many, but drivers and instructors face increasing abuse.

bbc.co.uk

It is very nearly the tenth anniversary of that brief moment when, for 2 or 3 days, British newspapers remembered refugees are desperate human beings who need our help, rather than scum that it's okay to threaten with violence.

A truly chilling report. The Israeli Defence Minister has is asking the IDF to draw up plans to force 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah- something he’s calling a “humanitarian city.” Once in they wouldn’t be allowed to leave. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Israeli plan for forced transfer of Gaza’s population ‘a blueprint for crimes against humanity’

Military ordered to turn ruins of Rafah into ‘humanitarian city’ but experts call the plan an internment camp for all Palestinians in Gaza

theguardian.com

Research with @transenv.bsky.social finds that average bonnet height in newly-sold cars is increasing by 0.5cm a year, reaching 83.8cm in 2024, up from 76.9cm in 2010. This increases severity of crashes & reduce drivers’ visibility. Clear need for regulation. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Ever-rising height of car bonnets a ‘clear threat’ to children, report says

High-fronted vehicles are more likely to kill and are on the rise in Europe with the UK an extreme example

theguardian.com