News

Free hospital parking: How a good idea can be wrong

January 5, 2018

On the face of it there is a certain logic in making parking free and perhaps that's why trade unions, Jeremy Corbyn and now The Daily Mirror are all in favour. After all, it helps make sure that health is free at the point of use. Some consider parking charges to be a tax on the ill. In 2008, the then health secretary Nicola Sturgeon...

Cycling

Driverless car naysayers of the world unite

January 5, 2018

Discussion about driverless car technology is defined at present by objections to the British government’s enthusiasm for it. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling predicts the market for autonomous vehicles could be worth £28 billion to Britain by 2035 and for that reason wants a central part in it. Opposition to the government's view has...

Driving

Kitnetik: Exclusive discount code for ETA subscribers

January 5, 2018

Kitnetik is a nifty magnetic clothes hanger that allows cycling gear to be stored and dried on radiators. The two most common questions in Tim Hoyle’s house used to be “have you seen my (enter cycling-related item of your choice here)?" and “Can you please put away your (enter cycling-related item of your choice here)?" It’s the reason he...

Cycling

Roads, Finns and fines

December 22, 2017

They take speeding seriously in Finland. Since it’s an offence that often costs lives, the authorities hit drivers where it hurts. In the pocket. Fines for speeding in Finland are based on the driver’s salary. For example, when one of the county’s wealthiest entrepreneurs was clocked at 14 mph above the limit, he received a fine of 54,000...

Driving

Has your car had a winter check-up?

December 22, 2017

Making sure your car is in good working order in winter is as much about protecting other road users as it is about reducing your risk of breakdown. Car batteries Winter is the time of year you are most likely to break down in your car and the most common fault is a flat battery. Many parts of the engine face strain during a cold start on a...

Driving

Cycling on UK roads and radicalisation

December 21, 2017

When people talk about the roads, it's clear that many mistake equality for equity. For example, the placatory and often heard "we all just need to share the roads" might sound reasonable enough, but it overlooks the fact that on the roads - as in so many other areas of life - equity requires that some people get more. Unfortunately, at...

Cycling

The tilting electric trike with four wheels

December 13, 2017

Drivers are notoriously difficult to prise from behind the steering wheel. We blame the cup holders. Millions of us every day overlook the running costs, time wasted in traffic jams and even our responsibility for the air pollution that brings about the early deaths of 50,000 in Britain alone each year, simply because our cars provide such...

Cycling

Stunning cycling art up for grabs

December 13, 2017

Of all the prizes we’ve offered this year, this has to be our favourite. So hard did we find it trying to choose from the range of stunning posters Mark Fairhurst has to offer, that we are offering one lucky reader the chance to choose their own. If you would like to be in with a chance of winning an A2-sized poster from the range of...

Cycling

Vulnerable road user now a non-person

December 11, 2017

Earlier this week a young woman in Tulse Hill was killed on her way to work. While using a pedestrian crossing on her way to work, she was struck and killed by a lorry. The driver failed to stop. The young woman was struck by at least another lorry and two cars - none of which stopped - before somebody thought to alert the emergency...

Cycling

Have your say on human powered vehicles

December 8, 2017

The idea of travelling in an extremely small and lightweight vehicle that will not move without physical effort from its driver will seem outlandish to motorists who do little more than turn a key, but we are great fans of human powered vehicles (HPVs). These environmentally benign vehicles could have a transformative effect on the way we...

Cycling