8th September 2011, 10:31am, as I walked into town. I had seen this van from quite distance away. It had taken more than ten minutes to approach it at normal walking speed.
Click on images to enlarge (to see number plate more clearly).
8th September 2011, 10:31am
8th September 2011, 10:31am. This photograph taken from the space between the offending van and a taxi parked off road.
8th September 2011, 10:32am. The taxi seems to have had no difficulty parking without blocking the cycle lane.
Trucks and vans routinely park on the cycle lane on London Road, Brighton at this spot. There is absolutely no need for them to do so, as the taxi demonstrates. In fact there is space for several vehicles to park on the pavement here, without blocking pedestrian access along the cycle lane. There is also parking opposite in Preston Park.
Although these photographs were all taken within a two minute period, this van was parked in this spot for at least 30 minutes. It was there from pretty much as far away as I could see it as I walked into town along the London Road, both towards it and away from it.
It’s plainly dangerous. This is a fast road and busy road. Motorists do not anticipate cyclists having to abandon their lane. There’s no reason for this van to be here for so long. None whatsoever. I’ve informed Sussex Police about this dodgy parking via Operation Crackdown. I’m encouraging all cyclists in Brighton & Hove to start to report this kind of anti-social behaviour. For far too long we’ve taken these slaps on the cheek.
A bit over a week ago, I reported some anti-social driving through Operation Crackdown. The website was very user friendly. It positively encouraged me to report more anti-social behaviour. Quite right too. The following morning, at 8:45am, I received (within a minute of each other) an email and a telephone call from the police. Unfortunately, it seems that I had not recorded the vehicle’s registration number properly. That is hard to do when you have been shaken up. In future, I’ll be photographing everything I can.
Some people have asked me if I am worried about reprisals for this reportage. Obviously the small minority of drivers who are aggressive and anti-social may well pose a higher risk to my good self. However, I think most of them have self-preservation at the top of their agenda. If anything happens to me, the obvious list of suspects will be those whose anti-social behaviour I have reported here. It is a limited list. They should be easy to track down. As for the few nutters who don’t care what they do or the consequences, well, they tend to pick on people less well able to handle themselves than myself. Other Green Party activists in Brighton & Hove are joining me in reporting more anti-social driving and parking. Fairly soon, it won’t just be me taking this stance. If you want your pics of anti-social driving/parking behaviour in Brighton & Hove, please use the Operation Crackdown website. If you’ve done that, feel free to email me your pictures to post here. Contact me first using the form on this website. I’ll reply with an email address to send the pictures to.
Since writing this post a few days in advance of today, I’ve received no communications about the complaint to Sussex Police. Perhaps they are on holiday? Or perhaps they don’t care about cyclists? The graphical map they ask you to use does involve two cars. It is time that us cyclists were taken more seriously. It is time for a fairer world.