Ed Saper

UK Indie Beauty pro, started with T-Shirts in Topshop and sold Pai to Clarins in 2020 (exited 2022). Working on something fun TBC…

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah You are referring to Item 10 I believe - work lamps. Item 11 is “any other lamp” which is the catch all. Actually, that may still not cover helmet lights as they’re not attached to a vehicle. More likely covered by Careless or Inconsiderate Cycling and not the lighting regs.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah You need Reg 27 of The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, Item 11 “Any other lamp used so as to cause undue dazzle or discomfort to other persons using the road.”
If a helmet light causes disorientation to a driver due to e.g. brightness, that’s covered. But no blanket ban.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah Under UK law, if something is not prohibited it’s usually allowed.
1. Vehicle loads are defined as goods carried by vehicles. The regs treat passengers differently.
2. The wording & intent were to prohibit moveable lamps fitted to vehicles.
3. I agree, it doesn’t matter.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah The exemptions relate to lamps attached to vehicles. They don’t relate to drivers & passengers.
Other rules prohibit torches & lights attached to helmets, clothing etc - if they dazzle other drivers or distract the driver. You may not like helmet lights, but they’re not illegal.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah A cyclist’s helmet is not a vehicle’s load. If you don’t want cyclists to wear helmets with lights for any reason, you can make that argument and if it is persuasive, the government can change the law to prohibit them.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@ilEnigma46 @NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah I have a loud Hornit horn to annoy purist cyclists and drivers.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah Yes, the lamp needs to be fitted to the vehicle, its equipment or load to be covered by this rule. A cyclist’s helmet isn’t the vehicle’s equipment.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah They are compliant because they are on the helmet and not fixed to the bike. But it is academic, as you note, because even if they were technically non-compliant, no one would enforce as they make cyclists more visible to drivers.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@IslingtonResid3 @CHAIRRDRF From 2014 London cycling increased 85% while the KSI rate dropped 23%. Bicycles didn’t get safer (unlike cars), so new segregated bike lanes (2016 onwards) combined with lower speed limits, fewer cars & a safety in numbers effect probably contributed to reducing the KSI rate.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

I have miles cycled for London from DFT data - they increased 138% to 0.76bn in London since 2004. John is right the 2025 KSI rate has increased since 2024, but it’s lower than 2004 (-16%), 2022 (-7%), 2019 (-5%) and 2012 (-41%).

[Duncan Stott 🏗️🔰🇺🇦 @DuncanStott]

@JohnJohnStewart How many more journeys were there due to the cycle lane? We can't tell how the accident rate changed without that information.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@NealOKelly @ClarkeMicah No they're not.
They're not compliant as a replacement for fixed front and back bike lights, and perhaps that's what you meant - but nobody's going to enforce that and they're actually more visible and better anyway.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@OpenChiswickW4 @PaulOBrienArch Best walking and cycling bridge in Europe!

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@CHAIRRDRF The TFL figures for journeys aren't as reliable - particularly pre-2015 (according to TFL).

However, the pattern is the same - KSI per million journeys in London down by 50% since 2000.

https://t.co/XFL7HutaUp

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@daveg @rorysutherland @irishrichy @ClarkeMicah “Self driving, point-to-point pods” are taxis. They’ll piss off cabbies but work well with trains for last mile journeys. Customers will love them if they’re cheaper, safer and don’t go on about small boats and Brexit.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@ollieboote @vulpine2020 @DanNeidle I wouldn’t toll motorways - it would drivert traffic off them. We already charge per mile driven - 3p pm for EVs & 1.5p for hybrids. Fuel duty is 6p pm equivalent. Replace with a mileage tax (& annual free allowance) to fund the road maintenance backlog, railways etc.

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@vulpine2020 @DanNeidle Noted - you’d prefer to just cut spending, but people need to vote for that! France spends less on healthcare than the UK and contributes £43bn less (balance made up by user charges & private). That’s 6p off basic rate or 5% off VAT. Just suggesting there might be a “third way”!

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@vulpine2020 @DanNeidle NHS England’s budget is £200bn per year, so raising, say, 10% of that via charges (which could be covered by insurance) is equivalent to 3p on the basic rate of income tax. What will piss people off the least? Tax rises or NHS charges?

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@DanNeidle @vulpine2020 Could introducing more charging for services help? The big one being NHS - not just in raising revenue but moderating demand? Pay to drive, not just to raise revenue, but reduce demand and push more paying customers to trains and buses?

[Ed Saper @EdSaper]

@ClarkeMicah @ShaytanTruth £8bn raised from smokers but they cost the NHS £2bn per year. So that’s a £6bn rip off. Do smokers regard vapers in the same way as drivers regard cyclists? They get all the benefits of smoking but hardly pay any tax and don’t die as fast. Hardly fair.