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modsandmockers
Posts: 752 Forumite
Hi - I'm new on here, and I recently quit truck-driving, sold my car, and began cycling and riding the buses (it's called retirement).
But I haven't yet worked out why so many cyclists are so willing to place themselves in mortal danger, and then blame anybody except themselves when they get hit.
I regularly wait at a bus stop which is very close to a mini-roundabout, and driver behaviour is awful, and the speed at which some cyclists approach is truly horrifying - there is probably no doubt that their pinprick of white light satisfies the law, but some cyclists seem to lack a basic sense of self-preservation.
But I haven't yet worked out why so many cyclists are so willing to place themselves in mortal danger, and then blame anybody except themselves when they get hit.
I regularly wait at a bus stop which is very close to a mini-roundabout, and driver behaviour is awful, and the speed at which some cyclists approach is truly horrifying - there is probably no doubt that their pinprick of white light satisfies the law, but some cyclists seem to lack a basic sense of self-preservation.
mad mocs - the pavement worrier
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Comments
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Don't worry, it's just Darwinism , improving the gene pool.The questions that get the best answers are the questions that give most detail....0
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A classic "I hate cyclists, but i'm allowed to say that because i've ridden a bike a few times".
Sorry mate I didn't see you.
GET IN THE F**KING CYCLE LANE, I DON'T CARE IF ITS FULL OF NAILS, GLASS AND FALLEN LEAVES!!!!!
GET SOME F**KING ROAD TAX!
So? I didn't hit you did I?
I'm right because I also ride a bike!!“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
The difference is that motorists use vehicles which are appropriate to the conditions in which they will be operating. I rarely ride my bike on the road - it's too dangerous.Strider590 wrote: »A classic "I hate cyclists, but i'm allowed to say that because i've ridden a bike a few times".
Sorry mate I didn't see you.
GET IN THE F**KING CYCLE LANE, I DON'T CARE IF ITS FULL OF NAILS, GLASS AND FALLEN LEAVES!!!!!
GET SOME F**KING ROAD TAX!
So? I didn't hit you did I?
I'm right because I also ride a bike!!mad mocs - the pavement worrier0 -
You know what? It has absolutely nothing to do with you or me. I cycle pretty much all the time and my responsibility is to look after myself and answer for myself, not all the rest of the cyclists on the road.
I'm baffled by why so many people feel the urge to chastise cyclists though. There is a big difference between danger and perceived danger. By some measures cycling is safer than being a pedestrian. If you tell someone that you usually walk to work they don't say:-
Is that safe?
Do you wear a helmet?
A pedestrian nearly knocked me down yesterday, do you do that?
Do you cross the road on the red man?
Yet if you tell someone you cycle to work you often get all that and more.0 -
Yet if you tell someone you cycle to work you often get all that and more.
Well yes, because when you get on a bike, your perceived by many as a lower class queue jumper.
Social class is everything in this country, cars are a sign of social class, if you use any other form of transport you are seen as a non-conformist, an unprotected minority and as such can be persecuted without fear of reprisal.
So when a cyclist gets in the way of a driver, the driver feels that because everyone else hates cyclists, he/she is fully justified in trying to kill them.
It's actually almost identical to every form of racial hatred that has ever existed, until it becomes socially unacceptable to abuse cyclists, nothing will ever change.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
Then don't. No one is forcing you to ride on the road. Typically, you're criticising a group you neither know or understand.modsandmockers wrote: »The difference is that motorists use vehicles which are appropriate to the conditions in which they will be operating. I rarely ride my bike on the road - it's too dangerous.
But keep cycling. It's life enhancing, it staves off alzheimers, and keeps you alive , fit, and in better physical and mental condition for 10 years longer than average.Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.0 -
The problem I have is that I have two grandchildren who have reached an age where I was looking forward to taking them out on the road with me. Twenty-odd years ago, I was an enthusiastic parent-helper with the school’s cycle training programme. Do these programmes still take place? If so, how do the schools rationalise their decision to teach today’s children that cycling on today’s roads is in any way a wise decision? It is cyclists themselves who complain about the danger levels which they face, and yet they continue to expose themselves to the risks, whilst simultaneously promoting cycling as a good way to go.
Earlier this year, I complained to my local council about the number of cyclists who routinely move onto the pavement at a particularly complicated set of roundabouts and pedestrian crossings. In reply, I was quoted a government document from around 2001 (I think) which stated that there are some situations in which it is reasonable for cyclists to ride on the pavement.
I think that cycling on today's roads is a bit like smoking tobacco - if somebody invented it today, it would be banned.mad mocs - the pavement worrier0 -
You need to go back and see what I wrote about the difference between risk and perceived risk.
What you think is just plain wrong. Cycling is considerably safer now than it was in the 1970s. That doesn't mean we don't want it to be safer still. Some of that will mean restrictions on motorised vehicles, reductions in speed limits, provision of more cycling infrastructure and that will also bring increased numbers of cyclists.
You were always going to have a tough time coming on a cycling forum to complain about cyclists, however you dressed it up. You also seem very confused about what you do want. You complain about cycling on the road being unsafe but yet you complained to the council about people cycling on the pavement?0 -
Strider590 wrote: »Well yes, because when you get on a bike, your perceived by many as a lower class queue jumper.
Social class is everything in this country, cars are a sign of social class, if you use any other form of transport you are seen as a non-conformist, an unprotected minority and as such can be persecuted without fear of reprisal.
So when a cyclist gets in the way of a driver, the driver feels that because everyone else hates cyclists, he/she is fully justified in trying to kill them.
It's actually almost identical to every form of racial hatred that has ever existed, until it becomes socially unacceptable to abuse cyclists, nothing will ever change.
No, you don't become a persecuted minority or 'out group' just because you jump on a bike, nice try though.:rotfl:0 -
Cycling advocates do seem to have a problem with cycling safety or rather perceived cycling safety. On one hand they stress how relatively safe cycling is because they want more people to take up their hobby and don't want them to be put off. But in the next breath they are campaigning for segregated cycle lanes, seeking more draconian restrictions on motor vehicles to 'keep cyclists safe' and shroud waving over every cycling fatality, regardless of circumstances. it must be a difficult path for them to tread.0
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