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(from CTC)
"MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee have just published a short report on pedestrian and cyclist safety, in which they have rightly called for more 20mph speed limits, traffic calming and cameras, particularly in the most deprived areas where children are at greatest risk. Yet the Daily Mail has latched onto a paragraph in which the MPs urge the Government to tackle the “strongly held perception that, through the irresponsible behaviour of some cyclists, they are a hazard to themselves and other road users”.
This was based on the tirade from Committee member David Curry MP during the evidence-session earlier this summer (scroll down to “MPs scrutinise cycle safety report”), where he talked about cyclists “going like bat[s] out of hell… dressed like Darth Vadar, as they all do!”
The CTC response continues:"So instead of perceptions, can we deal with reality? On average there are about 2 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles on our roads every day, compared with about 2 a year killed by bicycles. Even on pavements and verges, motor vehicles kill around 40 pedestrians every year, i.e. almost one a week, whereas there have been just 3 pedestrians killed by pavement cyclists in the whole of this decade. For more comparisons of the involvement of motor vehicles and cycles in injuring pedestrians, see this CTC briefing."
"CTC in no way condones law-breaking cycling and we are strongly in favour of more and better traffic policing – indeed this is one of the key aims of our new Stop SMIDSY campaign. But let’s get this in perspective – cyclists are far more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of irresponsible behaviour on our roads. And cycles are far less of a threat to pedestrians, or any other road user for that matter."
The CTC concludes by saying:
"By the way, 2 days ago David Curry MP was voted on to chair the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee. So we can now rest assured that sleaze among MPs will be fiercely tackled thanks to his outstanding skills in Parliamentary scrutiny!" -
Every road user should be insured and have a valid driving / cycling licence. Any fool can buy a cycle and, with no knowledge of the road law or Highway Code, venture out to cause mayhem. I have a car driving licence and tax & insurance and I would be happy for the same on my bikes. Not the tax bit though. Would solve a lot of the issues here.
Anyone caught being illegal should be deported or at least told to walk for the next 500 metres holding a sign saying 'I've been naughty'.
Perhaps a disc on the bike saying it is in good working order and road worthy. A rusty chain will be removed and you'll have to walk home.
Anyone cycling at night wearing black with no lights gets shot where they stand. It's safer in the long run to remove these people before they win the Darwin award injuring someone else.
Old people get re-tested as per current driving licensing.
Helmets should be compulsory. A fall at 30+ mph is going to mess you up.
Summary executions for arsehole / most taxi drivers.
No bendy busses - bad drivers to be stabbed up a bit.
HGV's should have cameras in blind spots and not be allowed in towns during daylight.If all road users are treated the same, there can be no cause for the other groups to attach a general blame to all cyclists for the actions of a few nobs.
A load of this is actually true. Especially the bit about the taxi drivers...
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Come to think of it, I've an aunt in Skipton:
To: MP David Curry
Dear sir
As a constituent of yours I feel your remarks about cyclists all being law breakers was prejudicial and irresponsible.
I am currently dressed as Darth Vader and under a dog's nose, but we shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush.
Yours etc
spindrift
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I'm not sure I agree with some of the 'pavement riding = cunt' rhetoric. For the record, I don't do it. However, there are situations where I have absolutely no problem with it.
Before I moved to London I lived near Warwick -** there are roads that cyclists have to share with cars hitting 60mph (narrow single carriage ways).** It's ridiculous to say that someone has to ride on that if they feel, justifiably, unsafe doing so (it's essentially tantamount to banning them from cycling at all on certain routes). I daresay there are horrible junctions in London which are similar to a number of people.
As has been said, anyone causing hurt to a ped, hit them with Assault / GBH. We all go on about how drivers try to have a go at us with their 'lethal weapons' (cars / buses) - same thing with peds / cyclists.
It's already illegal to do it - what more do they want. Allow the police some discretion for parts of the road where a cyclist feels in danger from other users surely.
Practically every road I ride on is like this, only we have no maximum speed limit. It is not uncommon for cars and motorbikes to whizz past at close to double that.
Training is your friend.
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We have no bus lanes. In fact all our roads are lanes.
YouTube - MAD SUNDAY GSXR1000K5 Part.1
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especially on bus lane now, I always hated going down Kennington Park Road with motorcycles zooming past me at 40mph.
Practically every road I ride on is like this, only we have no maximum speed limit. It is not uncommon for cars and motorbikes to whizz past at close to double that.
Training is your friend.
I absolutely agree about the training, you get used to it after a while and it ceases to be a huge problem. However, there's loads of people for whom it would be a big problem - they'd have one go on a busy road or bus lane on it and then never ride again. Others would never feel comfortable riding on it, no matter how much they tried.
This forum is by it's nature full of confident and experienced riders - not everyone is like that.
I'd use Old Street as an example in London (of the top of my head, I'm sure there are far better ones...). I don't mind riding around it, but I'm some people would - I have no problem with people riding considerately around there, the pavements are mostly wide and it could be done stress free (and they'd have to giveway to the peds of course). Oxford street on the other hand could be a nightmare for an inexperienced rider, but I wouldn't want them riding the pavements there as it's just too busy.
Personally, I think they that people who feel unsafe on sections of road and who aren't bothering anyone else should be afforded some discretion (obviously not a total waiver - if they feel unsafe riding on a road at all, then they should question using a bike).
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Yep- I never said I was basing my opinion on anything legal, merely that as Soul said previously in this thread that if you cycle on the pavement you are a cunt and/or peado.
So basically you're saying someone is a cunt even if they're not doing anything wrong?Interesting.
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Everyone should be racing cars/mopeds, not other bikes.
I agree, there are lots of people on my commute who think they're Stirling Moss or something. I always overtake them eventually anyway, but it's that classic behaviour of them pulling in front of me at the lights or whatever because they assume I'm slower, then as soon as the lights change I have to overtake them. It's annoying. As is hopping on to pavements, just fucking wait!
And yes, Tory twattage. It's not select committees have any power anyway.
I sometimes potter, I sometime spin a bit. That's my choice. But racing is not for your commute. If you want to race, go and race other cyclists who are there to race you. I'm just trying to say that there seems to be a lot of competitive petty behaviour on the roads by cyclists who seem to have brought their car-dependent mentality along with them to riding their bike. I'm trying to say that people could maybe just try to take it a bit less seriously, and it'd be a lot more pleasurable out there. I think people hop onto pavements (say at lights where they can't filter) out of some stupid idea they have to be somewhere faster than everyone else.
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You'd think these people would have something better to do.
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That's no way to talk about your fellow forumengers buddha...
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I'm just trying to say that there seems to be a lot of competitive petty behaviour on the roads by cyclists who seem to have brought their car-dependent mentality along with them to riding their bike.
Aye. I got knocked off the other week by some guy who had been trying his heart out to overtake me for ages, on his massive heavy bike, and who ended up losing control by dint of his own rubbishness. I hate being co-opted against my will into someone else's self-esteem problem. I mean, how small do penises get, anyway?
its not a 'truism' people , its the facts verified by acres of research.
Truisms do tend to be true, you know. That's kind of their 'thing'.
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Aye. I got knocked off the other week by some guy who had been trying his heart out to overtake me for ages, on his massive heavy bike, and who ended up losing control by dint of his own rubbishness. I hate being co-opted against my will into someone else's self-esteem problem. I mean, how small do penises get, anyway?
Truisms do tend to be true, you know. That's kind of their 'thing'.
Ask Balki.
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Ask Balki.
It was really a rhetorical question.
/backs away at some speed
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:d
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Happy christmas
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Target pavement cyclists, say MPs
Posted by
@mongrel
Christ that's so typical of a select committee - how many of those bikes are on the road? It's like listening in at a church coffee morning in Godalming.