A morning in Victoria coach station

[The Spin Doctor]

Yesterday morning, I took my Science Of Being Seen presentation out on the road again, to a rather special audience.

SOBS at Met BikeSafe.jpg (154.64 KiB) Viewed 151 times

It's the Met Police's BikeSafe team. I met them at their base in the offices adjacent to the coach station in Victoria in the centre of London and and had a fantastic morning engaging with them. (I'm third from the right in case you're wondering).

I was expecting the Met's team but word apparently got out about the talk so among the attendees was the national lead for BikeSafe (top brass, eh?) and a representative from Nottinghamshire too.

I ran a slightly modified talk that included some added background research which underpins some of the areas that I talk about on the standard 'to club' presentation. That mean the slideshow lasted around 20 minutes longer than normal so we had a mid-talk break where I was able to sample the doughnuts provided! The break also ensured the voice held out - I've been suffering strep throat and losing it!

Engagement and feedback was excellent and they were very happy to pose for photos in the garage afterwards. This is the one posted on Instagram after the event.

PHOTO OFF

One thing I was disappointed to discover was that TfL have withdrawn funding from BikeSafe which is a pity. But, given the huge financial pressure that TfL are under, being forced to make cuts in order to qualify for the government's COVID bail-outs, it's not entirely surprising.

But for now, the BikeSafe team remain in action, running courses at several venues across the city. If you haven't done one, they really are a worthwhile investment of a day of your time, and not very much of your cash!

Thanks for to Colin for the invite and it was terrific to work with you all and contribute just a little towards helping riders in the capital.

[Horse]

Excellent recognition for your work.

After your years with Biker Down, it must be great to know that your research will be supporting, and included in, Bikesafe sessions.

[The Spin Doctor]

Excellent recognition for your work.

After your years with Biker Down, it must be great to know that your research will be supporting, and included in, Bikesafe sessions.

Well, they already were using some of it... I particularly liked their reference to pink hi-vis when I took a refresher back in 2017, I think it was... I did wonder where they might have got that from. We had a team from the Met come down to Kent to sit in on a BikeSafe back in 2012

[ZRX61]

We had a bike cop here who made a habit of riding in drivers blind spots to try to nab then for using their phone or not wearing a seat belt. I lost count of how many times I saw him doing it & had seen numerous near collisions. That habit cost him his life a while back.