Is it time to start calling out bad cyclists?

This thread is great because I can see it happening on imaginary forums for every kind of person who lives in London (or other major metropolis). The same as when you drive you get cut up, when you use the tube you get people pushing through you to get on before you get off, the same as when people walk three abreast down a pavement and force you into a gutter.

Living in a big city fucks with peoples heads to the point where they become entirely obsessed with self preservation at all costs. It's mental.

My highlight last night was the pedestrian crossing outside of Waterloo St. on Waterloo Road. As the flashing amber goes there was still a middle-aged woman struggling across on a crutch, which is a pretty visible sign that she might be less mobile than normal and so a bit slow. Did it stop the ten or so bike riders streaming within maybe a foot of left and right of her causing her? Did it fuck. She had to stop in the middle of the road to let the fuckers go past.

In what kind of society is that even remotely normal behviour towards one another?

Reminds me of a time when for one moment I felt like I brought some humanity to a hoard of commuters... A few years ago, days after I'd just fucked my knee (acl) playing football. I was the walking wounded, limping around rush hour slowly. Tying to avoid those (us) self preservation obsessed people bumping into me and knocking me off balance making things worse...

I reached a ped crossing on new bridge street, green man is on but might be about to go out... To my right, a line of traffic: cars, vans bikes. All poised waiting for my crossing to go green for them to head south over blakfriars bridge. I looked to my left and saw that they were actually about to head about 12 yards further than my crossing to stop in another line of traffic at the final set of lights before the bridge. Being slow and hobbling, I was running late for work so I decided to just go for it - they can wait.

Immediately as I stepped into the road I saw the green man flashing me, meaning of course flashing amber for the waiting vehicles and bikes which usually translates in london as green light = go go go....

I guess generally speaking I was a pretty healthy looking guy, twenty something, suited and booted but clearly in a bit of pain and suffering some kind of leg injury. But to a woman every one of them in that front line just sat and waited for me to get all the way across both lanes before they set off. Despite the fact it was already 'proper' green for them long before I got all the way over and the inside lane could of safely set off behind me.

I probably thought about it more because I was feeling like the whole world was against me at the time, especially after commuting by tube and bus in that state at rush hour - Even walking with a crutch idiots still think nothing of nudging you out of the way to save a few valuable seconds. Those people waiting and watching me made me feel a little better and it was like one of those strange human group experiences where people stopped and thought for a second. No one wanted to be the first one to go steaming off into another red light.

The whole ped crossing amber flash green man etiquette just doesn't generally exist in london. I think you're spot on with your self preservation anger thing. It's quite amazing how primitive we really are without realising it most of the time.