It's always a case of working with them. The people who demand 'crackdowns' on cyclists at these meetings are always a vocal minority who exaggerate individual incidents that they have witnessed into a full-blown civic menace.
There's no question that we have to improve the standard of riding, but that is only to be expected in a country which for a couple of decades essentially didn't cycle. It is that 'lost generation' of quite embittered people who missed out on their riding who tend to be antagonistic. It's also a displacement activity because many people don't dare challenge the 'big bullies', i.e., the real problems caused by excessive motor traffic--tens of thousands of casualties every year in this country alone, childen's loss of activity, pollution, etc.
The police, especially neighbourhood police, are basically given these objectives by the people who come to their meetings and in a way channel prevalent social attitudes--which in enforcing the law is arguably part of their job. But give them something positive to work with and you'll find that they'll be able to do that.
It's always a case of working with them. The people who demand 'crackdowns' on cyclists at these meetings are always a vocal minority who exaggerate individual incidents that they have witnessed into a full-blown civic menace.
There's no question that we have to improve the standard of riding, but that is only to be expected in a country which for a couple of decades essentially didn't cycle. It is that 'lost generation' of quite embittered people who missed out on their riding who tend to be antagonistic. It's also a displacement activity because many people don't dare challenge the 'big bullies', i.e., the real problems caused by excessive motor traffic--tens of thousands of casualties every year in this country alone, childen's loss of activity, pollution, etc.
The police, especially neighbourhood police, are basically given these objectives by the people who come to their meetings and in a way channel prevalent social attitudes--which in enforcing the law is arguably part of their job. But give them something positive to work with and you'll find that they'll be able to do that.