Yes, one of the worst things is the generalised, stereotypical 'hatred' that people often profess for other participants in traffic. In other aspects of life, they wouldn't do that but instead wait to get to know others individually before being so judgmental. One of the reasons is because people who drive cars are relatively invisible, and it's that anonymity that people instinctively hate when they comment on driving in general. We do want to interact with people, but in traffic this is impossible (a) because there are just too many people for us to have time and energy to interact with and (b) because, partly as a result of that, we rely on things like traffic signals and indicator lights or traffic signs to govern our interaction with them, not normal social clues. A naïve reaction to this will normally be inappropriately emotional, e.g. bordering in hatred.
The simple fact is that a lot of people use cars some of the time, and this is what we have to reduce--starting with London, where very few people can cite genuine transportational utility in owning a car. Small steps can always be taken, leading to slow, sustainable growth of cycling and walking, and perhaps also shifting some unnecessary car journeys to public transport.
What people then find when they start cycling is that all of a sudden they are asked to interact more socially with others again and that cycling is fundamentally a social skill. When people criticise cyclists, it is usually that evident lack of social skill to which they refer. It just comes out more clearly when you're visible on a bike.
Yes, one of the worst things is the generalised, stereotypical 'hatred' that people often profess for other participants in traffic. In other aspects of life, they wouldn't do that but instead wait to get to know others individually before being so judgmental. One of the reasons is because people who drive cars are relatively invisible, and it's that anonymity that people instinctively hate when they comment on driving in general. We do want to interact with people, but in traffic this is impossible (a) because there are just too many people for us to have time and energy to interact with and (b) because, partly as a result of that, we rely on things like traffic signals and indicator lights or traffic signs to govern our interaction with them, not normal social clues. A naïve reaction to this will normally be inappropriately emotional, e.g. bordering in hatred.
The simple fact is that a lot of people use cars some of the time, and this is what we have to reduce--starting with London, where very few people can cite genuine transportational utility in owning a car. Small steps can always be taken, leading to slow, sustainable growth of cycling and walking, and perhaps also shifting some unnecessary car journeys to public transport.
What people then find when they start cycling is that all of a sudden they are asked to interact more socially with others again and that cycling is fundamentally a social skill. When people criticise cyclists, it is usually that evident lack of social skill to which they refer. It just comes out more clearly when you're visible on a bike.