Appealing to our better angels just isn't enough, apparently.

kanchan@kayehm.bsky.social · 6h ago

A UK study found that telling potential SUV buyers that those vehicles directly result in higher fatalities for pedestrians, cyclists and children had zero effect on their decision to buy them. What does work? Financial penalties: Increased fees, taxes, parking. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

A UK study found that telling potential SUV buyers that those vehicles directly result in higher fatalities for pedestrians, cyclists and children had zero effect on their decision to buy them. What does work? Financial penalties: Increased fees, taxes, parking. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

SUV buyers undeterred by warnings of risk to pedestrians, UK study finds

Exclusive: Research suggests financial penalties necessary if number of large vehicles on roads is to be reduced

theguardian.com

Just saw a Crosscountry Trains advert on TV and it was brutally accurate in the sense that everybody on it was enjoying being with their family rather than accessing a single pathetic byte of mobile data

Your regular reminder that there ISN’T a “war on cars.” Any objective observation in most cities however, would conclude that for 60+ years there’s been a war on every mobility choice EXCEPT cars. And that’s been bad for EVERYONE, including drivers. Poster via @urbantruth.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth

“3/4ths of disabled people don’t drive. Stop using us as an excuse for car dependency.” — @nondriver.bsky.social in collaboration with @urbantruth.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth Worth repeating. #UrbanTruth

Update: big shout-out to Uprise Trek in Swansea who managed to file a mech hanger to fit and got our Warm Showers visitor back on the road today - and didn't even charge for it

Prof. Ian Walker@ianwalker.bsky.social · yesterday

Got someone staying with us who's just broken their mech hanger. Anyone know any bodges to get back on the road?

“As Aydin jumps a scooter over ramps set up in the middle of the road, children around him are drawing with chalk, blowing bubbles and kicking a football in a spot where cars are usually driving through.” Good job Leeds. More children should have the chance to play in their neighbourhood like this.

Leeds: The city closing down streets so children can play

In Leeds, streets are being temporarily closed to traffic so kids have more space to safely play - an initiative proving beneficial to both children and adults.

bbc.co.uk

A Memorandum of Understanding with Active Travel England, adopted in 2024, wasn't published until we unearthed it under the Freedom of Information Act. Even now, we can see no signs of the promised annual reports on progress in putting it into practice transportactionnetwork.org.uk/national-hig...

National Highways must come clean on pedestrian and cycle safety

We recently highlighted National Highways' serious failure to meet its road casualty reduction targets - despite their claim that "safety is our most important commitment”. Worse still is their failur...

transportactionnetwork.org.uk

Got someone staying with us who's just broken their mech hanger. Anyone know any bodges to get back on the road?

Right you lot. I need some good poetic inverted syntax, wrongly corrected. Send me examples like these: The six hundred rode into the valley of death. The eye of heaven shines too hot sometimes. Thy father lies five full fathoms. Kubla Khan did decree a stately pleasure-dome in Xanadu. Thanks

By the way, even the #strawbale panels that we build with newbies like YOU in workshops all the time are already a #passivehouse component. This means that they make better walls than 99% of what is out there. database.passivehouse.com/de/component...

“It’s perverse that people who want to walk and cycle are penalised because the motor traffic is too polluting". National Highways closes cycling and walking routes beside heavily polluted roads lauralaker.substack.com/p/national-h...

National Highways closes walking and cycling routes beside heavily polluted roads

Roads body accused of 'perversely penalising' walkers and cyclists for motor traffic pollution

lauralaker.substack.com

Just found this photo from the late stages of riding the Transcontinental Race. I was just a mobile picnic by this point. Can't believe I wasn't mobbed by seagulls and wasps

Its great to see this new webpage from DfT that maps casualty stats over the last 5 years in communities. It has filters such as age, speed limit, local authority and you can drill down into every crash. See

In other amateur astronomy news, last night I caught my first meteor on my new sky camera (excuse all the glare - if somebody could find a way to switch off the moon that would be a big help)

What I love about all train companies is they all believe very deeply that they have Japanese or Swiss levels of reliability when they plan your transfer time. Ten minutes interchange at Florence, Trenitalia? Really? Ten minutes at Darlington, LNER? Seriously?

Still looking at the Sun

Honestly, I’m professionally embarrassed we’re still calling for action on road safety. There’s evidence of progress but it’s slow, and nowhere near ambitious enough. Meanwhile, people keep dying needlessly. That’s why I’m running for Brake. More on why 👇 www.northants.police.uk/news/northan...

Andy Cox takes on 200km challenge for road safety charity Brake

Andy Cox is nearing the halfway point of a gruelling 200km running challenge to raise awareness of road danger and support the road safety charity, Brake.

northants.police.uk

We need to take a moment to salute Gianni Infantino for being the first person in history to get 55 European countries to unanimously agree on anything.

One of the worst things you can ever hear is a politician use the word "pragmatic" I remember John Glen(n?) doing this when telling a Salisbury community land trust they were about to get shafted. And he didn't even have the decency to be the cool John Glen(n?) www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Burnham promises ‘pragmatic’ approach to North Sea oil and gas

PM tells reporters the government cannot ignore the energy resource ‘when people are struggling’

theguardian.com

the four stages: 1. Allister Heath's columns are not real 2. Allister Heath's columns are not serious 3. OK, they are real and serious but it's too late to do anything about them 4. Our only hope is to find a way of adapting to Allister Heath's columns

Anyway, just in case there are clear skies for the eclipse on 12 August*, I was checking the Sun was still there yesterday evening. It's good news *no chance

Started my day trying to be collegial by reviewing a journal paper, only to find it was clearly vomited out by a chatbot. Pre-registration ID code didn't exist when I checked the database; DOIs linked to totally irrelevant papers Fuck you, anonymous "author"

The #EdFringe starts early with car brain comedy* signs: 1. Single file traffic: so let’s make the pavement single file too 2. Road ahead closed: so we’ve blocked the pavement too 3. Road ahead closed: sign blocking pavement obscured by cars anyway 4. Diversion: so pedestrians are diverted too

Managed to grab a little bit more Iris Nebula last night despite the moonlight and cloud...

I feel like the way of dealing with such behaviour is to look these people right in the eye and say, very gently, "You think your right to park matters more than homes these children?" Then when they reply just repeat it with slightly different emphasis.

Hundreds slam proposals to turn car park into children's home in Bromley

Plans to build a children’s home on a car park in Bromley have been slammed by nearby residents who call the current parking situation “a…

newsshopper.co.uk

The problem here isn't just the anti-cycling nonsense – it's the lack of pushback from other parties. Nobody wants to fix transport because they're too scared to address widely held prejudices and beliefs.

Walk Ride Rochdale@walkriderochdale.org.uk · 2w ago

Really disappointing to see things like this being said in the run up to the #MayoralElection - there is no “eight lane” scheme in #Rochdale or anywhere else for that matter. The current system only works for drivers, in a town where 1:3 households don’t have a car. We need #TransportChoice

It's funny how no-one ever asks where the money is coming from when you announce a cut in immigration.

In other news, the clear nights have continued and I've got nearly 12 hours on the Crescent Nebula. This is a star shedding its outer layers, with a fast-moving layer colliding with a slower-moving layer that was ejected earlier

Teenager injured WHILE SITTING ON BENCH in hit and run in 10mph Royal Victoria Park in Bath 😫 Do we need to shift our campaigning from safe streets to safe benches and parks?! www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/news/2026/07...

Witness appeal after fail to stop collision in Bath | Avon and Somerset Police

Witness appeal after fail to stop collision in Bath

avonandsomerset.police.uk