Crackdown on Beach Speeders

Veering off slightly....

I spent a few months doing field servicing of security systems, spending alot of time driving. I ended up shunting someone at a roundabout in a rush to get home. No-one hurt but the police were called and I had to go on a Driver Awareness Course in lieu of points. I will still say hand on heart that I considered myself an ok driver before; I am cetainly a better driver now.

I went into that 2 day course with the right arse, like everyone else on it. To my surprise it was a real education, once the instructor could see his group had good basic driving skills he went onto the stuff you don't cover while learning to drive. The bulk of it focussed on anticipation, road awareness and positioning. It has also improved my cycling.

This, for me, is where it's at. Send people on training if they commit relatively minor driving offences. Make them pay for it (like I did) and remind them that driving is a task that requires attention and focus.

Personally when I cycle in shared space with peds, I cycle at barely above walking pace. I have seen others who definitely don't and I have seen children and adults shite themselves when some twat is jinking round them like they are slalom gates. These are the cunts that cause these seemingly arbitrary laws to be introduced.
This law will have been brought in on the back of complaints, why do we need to see fucking body counts to justify it? I agree wholeheartedly that these laws will impinge on more considerate cyclists and that is unfortunate but I can't get too wound up about it.

Perhaps all too simplistic for some but I am a simple person.

Excellent post. Driver Awareness Training is often very successful in changing driver attitudes. Exemplary shared use policy here, too. The aim is, of course, to enable all cyclists to acquire the social skills necessary to successfully share our public spaces rather than tolerate inconsiderate riders to be used as the foil for the imposition of social restrictions. It isn't always possible to achieve this aim, but it is possible more and more often.