A friend recently got caught by a speed camera. His fault maybe? The crime was driving about ~3 m.p.h. over the speed limit on a deserted urban dual carriageway where the limit had been reduced from 40 to 30 by extending the 30 m.p.h. zone outwards. However he could have committed far more serious offences such as ignoring traffic lights, ignoring pedestrian crossings, etc. How? By riding a bicycle!
A growing number of cyclists (the majority in fact) now ignore the Highway Code, and endanger themselves and others. Why nothing is done is beyond me. This behaviour could soon be eradicated if those with driving licences received penalty points and those without were made to sit their Cycling Proficiency Test. Those who refuse to give their details could have their bicycles confiscated and crushed.
Do you agree or?
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yep absolutely
horse riders too who seem to think they have the absolute right to ride side by side with no training/insurance etc
and of course drunk pedestrians who get killed at an alarming rate, but always the media blames the driver for the drunk idiot staggering out in front of him
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A recent study in London showed that cyclists who obeyed the law, especially at traffic lights, were more likely to be killed than their anarchist brethren. When I was a regular urban cyclist I always stopped ahead of the line at junctions (it means drivers can see you better), sometimes ran red lights (when I judged the vehicle behind was likely to put me in a difficult position while pulling away, or run into the back of me), and occasionally used pedestrian crossings to turn right since it was often safer for everyone. In a decade and about 20,000 miles of riding in cities I had two accidents, one in which a car pulled out in front of me and I hit it amidships and one where a pedestrian stepped into the gutter at the wrong moment and I hit him. In that time I was cut up, abused, had bottles thrown at me for a laugh, and was generally treated as scum by "motorists," many of whom thought that parking and driving on cycle lanes and pavements was just fine. Forgive me if I felt a little threatened and took steps to protect myself.
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A recent study in London showed that cyclists who obeyed the law especially at traffic lights were more likely to be killed than their anarchist brethren. When I was a regular urban cyclist I always stopped ahead of the line at junctions (it means drivers can see you better) sometimes ran red lights (when I judged the vehicle behind was
I would rather see cyclists like that, that you know they are actually aware of their surroundings and planning ahead than the wobbly type that think indicating with their arm means holding it just off their hip or pointing to the sky and don't lok over their shoulder before moving out because they've already supposedly indicated.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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This behaviour could soon be eradicated if those with driving licences received penalty points and those without were made to sit their Cycling Proficiency Test. Those who refuse to give their details could have their bicycles confiscated and crushed.
Why not make everyone sit their cycling proficiency before getting on a bike?
You could do it in stages, have an equivalent of the CBT, then Part 2 and then maybe restrict them to 5 gears until they are say, age 10, then they would be allowed to use a bike with more than 5 gears.
It would create jobs and you could get another stream of revenue for HM from fines and points on their cycle licence.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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in my day if you wanted to take your bike to school you had to pass the cycling proficiency test ( which wasnt easy on a penny farthing especially the emergency stop) !!!
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anarchist urban cyclists of the type found in london who openly scratch car paintwork, cycle through pedestrian only zones, travel round in groups of several hundred swearing at drivers, etc - should frankly be shot
cycles in my view should have reg plates, need insurance, and riders who have passed a test
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I dont live or travel in cities (very often anyway) but my hate is horses. The countryside equivalent of bikes?
Why they are allowed on roads without being taxed and insured is beyond me and then they expect priority on the road too!
Shoot them too ! Food for the table maybe at same time?
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Can I correct a few misconceptions? A car has to be licensed to use a road; bikes and horses are *entitled* to be there. Consequently, they get priority. Secondly, issuing every bike a number plate and enforcing that would be impossible. I wouldn't fit one to my bike on principle (I only ride on the road when it's necessary anyway), although I do agree that horses taken on the road should carry third party liability insurance.
Having been squashed in a cycle lane by a driver who simply wasn't looking where he was going I can assure you that I have no qualms about riding in a defensive position on the road where I deem it necessary, and I have no qualms about holding up traffic (at 15mph in an urban area it's not really held up anyway). However, should you sound your horn behind me, I'm more than happy to stop in the middle of the road and argue with you for several minutes in the hope that a police car passes - at which point, you'd find yourself a lot more delayed than you planned. ;-)
I don't consider myself militant - I've never run a red light or deliberately damaged a car, and I'm more than happy to give way to cars and allow them to get on with their journeys. I do object to being simply tolerated on the road when I'm just as entitled to be there, occupying the entire lane if I wish, as you.
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Re anarchy: this morning two cars jumped the red lights, and a Mitsubishi Warrior parked part on the pavement and the chevrons to a crossing. The majority of drivers commit offences: some of their cars are even taxed and insured:)
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cycles in my view should have reg plates need insurance and riders who have passed a test
Right, I'll get my 5 year old tested straight away. What about the 3 year old - is there a different test for those with stabilisers?
Or perhaps we should do more to encourage this cheap, environmentally friendly, congestion-busting means of transport instead?
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A friend recently got caught by a speed camera. His fault maybe? >>
Of course it's his fault. To be honest the rest is just a childish rant and could just as easily be about parking on yellow lines / the state of the weather / how whatshisname gets paid more than me....
If he got caught at 35mph on a dual carriageway then surely his observation was appalling?
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RaineMan - next time you're out driving, count the number of cars you see jumping red lights. Anti-cycling drivers seem to have selective vision when it comes to red light jumping - they can spot cyclists galore but are blind to all the cars nipping through on amber or just after it's gone red.
(for what it's worth, there seems to be more and more police stopping RLJing cyclists and fining them, particularly in London and Oxford)
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Firstly life is unfair. Its tough but thats it.
Secondly your mat ewas not done for 33mph in a 30mph limit. He was in all reality doing 35mph minimum, and his pseedo probably saud nearer 40.
Thirdly bike are not *entitled* to be anywhere. They have no more *entitlement* than anyone else to use the roads, they just dont need to be *licensed*, that does not however absolve the rider from any road traffic act unless specificaly excluded.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>I don't mind in the least if cyclists ride the pavements, at a similar pace to peds when near.
There's the key: at a similar pace. My house is on a moderate hill and when I walk my 6yo to or from school, there are frequently teenagers from the local secondary schools hurtling down the pavement with no regard for anyone in their path. I remonstrate with them occasionally - two such this morning - but I suspect they're the ones who end up feeling aggrieved. I might sympathize - a little - if they'd be putting themselves at any risk by riding in the road, but what traffic there is is too slow to bother anyone.
My point is that I'm a cyclist too, and antisocial behaviour like that gives us all a bad name. If I can cycle considerately and within the rules, so can they. Whether my approach or theirs is likely to persuade the council to improve on its half-arsed cycling policy of painting red strips onto the edges of main roads, I have no idea.
None of this makes the OP's speeding whinge any more justified, incidentally. Gosh - are TVM and I back in agreement? }:---)
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Cyclists, ey?
What I don't understand with a lot of them is that they can't seem to realise that my 1.5 ton car beats their 17kg bicycle on the old inertia stakes every time.
And it doesn't matter - morally- who is in the right, and who is in the wrong if you end up in hospital/wheelchair/coffin.
There is an illogic pervading society - "I am within my rights!" and "You are infringing my civil liberties" and "We demand..." seems to be the rallying calls of folk who do stupid stupid things,a and put themselves in potentially dangerous situations.
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I always carry a gun in the pannier on my cycle in order to shoot any car driver who uses his car as a weapon...............
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I dont really care what cyclists do, as long as i dont knock them off they can do what they like.
The only thing i dont like is when you get a pack of them in their silly outfits on their racer bikes taking up nearly the whole width of the road thinking its tour de france!!
But as i said, they are going to ride so you have to do your best to respect that and avoid them. I've seen a racer cyclist get knocked off his bike by a car initially traveling at between 50 and 60mph before heavily braking. I was 6 cars behind it happen and he was given CPR on the road by his friend. This happened on the road between ashbourne and buxton if anyone knows it, quite a twisty, fast but rather substantial road.
Not nice
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Oh and i would be terrified riding a bike in london. Anyone who does is either fearless or worries on a daily basis. Riding a bike on the road anywhere is dangerous at the best of times.
It maybe an unfair world but there are a lot more unfair things happening elsewhere than 3 points and a £60 fine. It probably wont even effect his/her insurance. But i know how you feel, my mrs was caught twice doing the same thing, a few mph over in 30 limits. Getting caught out like that is just plain unlucky.
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Your mate got booked for doing something close to an indicated 40 in a 30. He needs to get over it.
I cycle daily in Central London. No time at all for pavement riders, it's not necessary and if I can walk in their way and slow them down I will. Red light jumping is the cyclists moral equivalent of speeding; some stops eg for kerbside turns and in the all red pedestrian phase are inconvenient and arguably more dangerous than creeping through. Having said that I've seen both the MEt and city police bookig RLJ offenders like flies Again there's an analogy with speed cameras, if you cannot see a copper in a flo jacket and the queue of victims being processed there's something seriuosly amiss with your observation.
The worst jumpers in London are motor vehicles accelerate for amber and nip through on red anyway. Common count is two after the light has gone red.
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Ere we go again, cyclists vs motorists......
There are idiots using all sorts of modes of travel, but in a vehicle you have a deadly weapon if you prat about in one.
I'm a law abiding road cyclist and keep to the highway code as I've no need to RLJ or ride pavements - I'm fast enough thanks - something motorists often forget - ahh a bike pull out - didn't realise it was approaching at 25 - 30 mph ?
Whilst out training on the bike, I've had motorists drive down the wrong side of a 4 lane road (2 lanes each way) just to get passed some traffic, with me coming the other way, been hurled abuse at just 'cos some idiot thinks it's funny, had some chav try to lean out of a moving car and push me off, and another idiot who, upon passing me, kept swerving into the gutter to throw up debris at me. I see it every time I go out cycling - there are idiots in every sort of transport. Don't get me started on cyclists who don't use lights - If I can't see them on my bike, then god help 'em.
17kg for a bike eh - blooming heavy one at that !
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