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Road design needs alot of improvement for sure. Also drivers need to learn to drive better = safer. Hurting or killing others will affect their lives too as well as their families. So best to drive better if you have to drive

I used to live in Oxford which was a joy to ride around. I’ve been knocked off my bike twice in Birmingham by car drivers not looking right when they pull out of a junction. I’m not risking a third time so I’ve stopped cycling on the road. If the people in charge changed the road layouts to enable safe cycling, this country would be safer, fitter and less strain on the NHS.

it wasnt designed for pedestrians , and pedestrians should be wise enough not to cross at junctions (i do ride a bike to work have done for 34 yrs ) are you sure youre not a canadian or a socialist ? as you do complain a lot

a bit overcritical of cars and anecdotal about speed limits and the law

5:02 i wonder😏 if the bordello is still there 🤔

mud guards are useful

The junction at Sir Harrys Rd and the Bristol Rd is also a deathtrap, which is ironic.

I find it mind-blowing that there isn't a traffic light system for these junctions, madness! That road split is something I would expect to see on a dual carriageway/ motorway...NUTS.

Well said John, I cycle commute in Birmingham but to the north of the city, can be quite terrifying at times. RIP Stuart.

Try your hand at writing scripts for drama plays/films. There was no fast moving traffic in that vid or anyone endeavoring to go as fast as they could. Just you making a mountain out of a molehill you silly man. Neither is there anything in the slightest dangerous about that perfectly logical well laid out junction. Nothing will improve till self righteous arrogant cyclists stop trying to prove reincarnation reliving their past life as a kamikaze pilots. Ive watched one two many cyclists inflict damage on vehicles and pedestrians as they cycle full tilt through red lights, across pedestrian crossings, head on into one way streets etc - (yes I personally witnessed all of those scenarios actually happen) with absolutely no regard for any other road user, pedestrians or even the basic highway code - something you personally seem to not be fully up to speed with in this silly vid. Suggestion: Cyclists, perhaps you could club together and buy a car, park it on some waste land and have the time of you life impacting into it on your cycles all day long and leave us other road users to be about our daily business out on the roads. When you are out on the public road could you please just have a little regard for other road users as you carelessly cycle around with total disregard or care for anyone else. ...... jeez, and to think I was once a keen cyclist!

I asked the council to install a speed bump or a camera on the road....and was told that 'there were other safety measures in place'. Cyclists on the pavement. Cars drive up on the roadside verge. Speeding by cars (well over 30mph...more like 50) and no care from the elected officials. Stay safe. Birmingham is unfortunately too dangerous to visit, never mind live there.

This place is not built for cyclists but for cars. I dont even know why you are even trying to cycle there :D

Great that you stopped to make that video. What's really terrible from a cyclists point of view, shown by the guy on the bike in the video, he ended up cycling on the right hand side of the road, which is really the wrong side of the road even though it's a one way system. It's all so counter intuitive, car drivers expect cyclists to be in the left, so should he be in the middle of the road in that case?. Super confusing.

Don’t ride a bike in Birmingham, it’s just not worth it. Idiot drivers, dangerous drivers, uninsured drivers, boy racers (mostly young Asian men with beards), terrible taxi drivers (mostly old Asian men with beards) who speed, who don’t look, who don’t indicate, and most of all, don’t care. Boy racers in their hot hatches are the absolute worst, always racing and speeding all over Brum. It’s a disgrace. That junction is a joke, I used to cross it twice a week but never on a bike!!

Yuck. You need to bike out of the ivory tower more often. That title is a load of pretentious faff.

I used to cycle on the roads in Birmingham and had a number of near misses. Particularly around the roundabouts on Aston Webb Boulevard and Harborne Lane, which require you to get in to the correct lane for a right turn. Personally, I used to cycle pretty fast and generally always kept left allowing drivers plenty of space to pass, so as not to hold anyone up. However, you can't keep left before a right hand turn or you'll get hit by the cars behind you when you try to make the turn. So, you have to hold your space in the lane before you make the turn, or before entering a roundabout. Unfortunately, some drivers can't accept cyclists doing this, and when you do, they try to force you off the road by dangerously tailgating, beeping their horns, and screaming obsenities and abuse, and all because they can't handle being behind a cyclist who holds their lane for a roundabout or a turning.

too many people on one little island... if you don't have 4 British grandparents. Time to leave.

thanks for posting. I know this junction well, and the one coming up from botanical. They're not ideal for bikes and absolutely horrendous for pedestrians it seems (never walked it myself).

I’m very sorry to hear about this cyclist. I live not to far from this junction and usually pass through as a motorist. The junction itself is within a conservation area, which 200 years ago, would most probably been a series of cattle tracks. That have subsequently developed into roads. I hear from your accent you might be American? There are very different attitudes to crossing the road in USA and England. In England we are much happier to be comfortable with a jaywalk. So although that junction has never been designed, it’s developed purely organically. Very few people would be motivated to try and cross the road right on the junction itself. Given the complexity of the junction, especially the blindsided nature of that main approach. You would just move slightly down the road to improve the odds of getting across safely and quickly. I agree with you that it is a dangerous junction and believe me pulling straight across from the ‘Give Way’ you do have to take a leap of faith that your fellow motorists are not speeding towards the blind bend. Will anything change to improve the junction? No!

I think you'll find that the reason the mayor and both Labour and Conservatives sided with motorists is because Birmingham Council is absolutely bankrupt and keeping the dangerous status quo is cheaper than saving lives. It has nothing to do with principles because that would imply they have principles.

Sad Day ❤️❤️

And there are so many car drivers who do not even signal to turn. Where are the police, tik toking, hate crimes and supporting a left wing government.

Having lived in the area since 1988 locals have complained about those junctions for 30 plus years - sadly it took the death of a cyclist to make our USELESS City Council do something about them ❤❤❤

You’re lucky they didn’t get out of their van and attack you for having the temerity of being in their way and tapping on their van (they’d blame you for touching their property.)

The fix for this is really simple, tho - that seems the most ridiculous part, to me

It is the behaviour of the drivers TBH. The government should ammend the rules before issueing a license to drive. Because now adays even abnormal, self priveledge, maniac, drug addicts, psychopath, all kinds of people are driving. So it will makes you think....are the roads still safe? Blood is on the policy makers. Shame on them.

And no offence but thats an easy cross ive seen far worse in my own city .

ride the path..slow down when you get to people /blind corners. idgaf about fines i ride paths probably 50% my travels , 25yrs ago you'd get complaints by people walking but nobody cares now .

Was a committed roadie since my teens. Rode everywhere I lived, even in and out of London. There was the occasional k.nob but I let it go. Then about 15 years ago something changed. It was actually other cyclists, younger cyclists that made me aware. I had been busy with my two infants and then my wife bought me a new bike. I went out and within a few miles I met a couple of young cyclists, I was 50. I waved hi and rode on. A few minutes later they rode past me with smirks on their faces sitting bolt upright and made a comment about having faster wheels. I sat up and looked at them. Basically wtf! I just eased up totally and let them go. Not long after I realised that car drivers were getting really really arsey at me, lots of fingers etc. Suddenly it wasn’t fun anymore, I felt like I had a target and found myself being pushed into the hedge a lot. I was gutted. I kept going for a few years but after one particular incident where a big guy half my age intending serious harm in front a cyclist cafe tried to get me while the others all looked the other way I knew I was done. Interestingly about five years ago I had the opportunity to ride in France. Completely different. I just felt safe straight away. I was given plenty of room, lots of waves and pleasantries. It was wonderful. The French love cycling and cyclists. The UK want to murder them. And they do. And they get away with it too.

If the University hadn’t backed mass immigration, then the city wouldn’t be so crowded with uninsured drivers that shouldn’t be on the road, with no understanding of the rules! You are not British and if you hadn’t hadn’t been here then the roads would have been empty as it was in my youth! It’s outsiders that have spoiled this city and your numbers has made the roads unsafe! Also two children wouldn’t have been murdered by a illegal, who was protected by the so called educated middle classes, so he could stay here and stab them to death! Their blood is on your hands!

My brother is a civil engineer, involved in road safety for a local government where there are more bikes. The problem he has is that even when small changes would improve safety the cost is prohibitive. But as that road is one-way it would be relatively easy to make it bike and pedestrian friendly. It wasn't as bad 20 years ago, but they have decided to worsen it. But as it is I'd need a pint or two in the White Swan before attempting it.

Here's a link that explains what is happening at Charing Cross (last part of your video). www.glasgow.gov.uk/connectingwoodside

Ok so what's the overall picture there from your perspective as an American? That is for riding and safety. There are always going to be trouble spots in a place for cycling. One becomes aware of them and what the dangers are, then he takes steps to protect himself from them. In any case good focus here. I'd be concerned also if that were on my route.

Inspiring video, thanks! Feel like my hometown of Edinburgh could take a leaf put of Glasgow's book. Hopeful for the future 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

It's always interesting to hear your perspective on Glasgow. The new Govan-Partick bridge will be transformational, re-linking south and north at this section of the river. With so much going on, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in our impatience to see the cycle network develop.

Great video - looks fantastic, especially in the rain! -well done everyone!

So sad to hear that Stuart lost his life cycling there. Incidents like this is why I promote the idea of tiaking time to consider your commute route to take in quieter side streets where practicable to do so. I also promote safer cycling attitudes, as I see some very dangerous cycling practices. Not sure how you can blame the infrastructure, as it is only as safe as the people using it. Yes it would be great to have lots of lovely cycle routes, but then that money could be used to save peoples lives in other areas. This goes back to thinking about route choice and ones own cycling attitude. Of course none of us knows what happened to apportion blame, it is just very sad.

That really is a death race track. I am now a cyclist, after selling my car. Have been using my bike now for six weeks. no accidents yet, but I'm in Cambridge, so plenty of cycling infrastructure here.

I live 2 miles from my place of work and would love to walk and cycle to and from work but it is not salf to do either. They want people to walk and cycle but the facilities to do so are not there. Too much of a car central society. I personally hate the car and choose not to own one but it seems I am under pressure to own a car. The UK is not a walkable country in terms of its cities compared to other European countries.

Well done for posting this, and huge respect for risking your own safety to bring this report to everyone's attention. R.l.P. Stewart. I didn't know him, but all Cyclists are family, and when something bad happens to one of us, we all feel it.

Thank you for doing this interesting video but, as an ex-Ladywood resident (okay, going back to the early 70s when I lived with my parents in Cavell House on St Vincent St West), I must say that I disagree with you when you say that the high-density housing is a good idea for the area. Currently, the WMCC, has plans to totally redevelop Ladywood, raising the current est 7000 residential units up to 28 000, but only using the estates' current footprint, which would mean just building high, as seen on Dudley Road. Where you ended up, on Springhill, just opposite the church, although the two tower blocks will be safe as the council does not want to need to rehome all of the people in them, all of the lower level flats you could see will be knocked down and developed. This will be the final phase of the redevelopment work, work that is estimated to need 25 years to complete. IMHO, building these new blocks, just to cram more people into the area, will be detrimental to the area, and will just ghettoize the estate.

Thank you John for recording this to raise awareness and the need for safety. It’s heartbreaking that this man was killed and by someone driving dangerously. I wouldn’t feel safe to cycle in this area - in fact even driving there is very dangerous! 🇵🇸

Saw folk there earlier yesterday filming a segment

Stuart was a friend of ours. A life senselessly lost and a beautiful family left devastated. I can't even express how sad, heartbroken and angry we are. Thank you for bringing it to the point in this video, John.

That is a ridiculously dangerous junction. Think I've mostly only been on a bus when I'm in that area and hadn't noticed.

The police think the lorry driver was impaired through drink or drugs. I wonder if there will be a spike of accidents on Monday morning following the match. Why aren’t The Authorities highlighting this now?

Just sickening. Cyclists/Pedestrians have no chance in Birmingham.

Great video John. Very sad these events are happening way too often

This makes me feel so angry and upset. Thank you so much for highlighting, I don't understand how people continue to accept such horrible infrastructure. Apart from the obvious danger it's such an ugly and noisy place!

I wanted to know if we can ride E-bikes on campus.