Columnist argues Chris Hoy's success is bad for pedestrians

[unbalanced]

I can feel myself beginning to get very frustrated...Scottish Daily Record columnist Joan Burnie basically argued yesterday that Chris Hoy's success will cause pedestrians grief.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... ys-1243017

[meic]

I read her article and I cant actually find any lies in it.

It may be unwelcome and could be construed as tarring us all with the same brush (but I dont think that she actually does) but it is probably pretty correct.

Interesting that she wants to make cyclists wear helmets whilst complaining that they are riding in a manner which endangers her fellow pedestrians, she obviously hasnt thought that one through.

I am fairly sure that the thing she predicts will come to pass and be gone soon after.

[kwackers]

Can't say I disagree with her.

On pavements I've found cyclists are pretty good - probably because they shouldn't be there. But on shared paths the behaviour of some is a disgrace.
As she points out at the end cyclists and pedestrians have a common enemy which we should both be attacking, but to act in a united way means we need to be united and that won't happen if some cyclists simply think the right way to behave is to 'kick down'.

I've often wondered when I see a cyclist barrel down a shared path dodging peds if they're the same folk that think everyone should stay out of their way when they're in the car. The mentality seems to be the same, just a different choice of weapon.

[thirdcrank]

Who knows? Jessica Ennis was widely reported to have clinched her heptathlon success by working hard on her javelin throwing. (Now, where did I leave that spear? )

[Geriatrix]

There is a proverb that states that we are all born with the keys to heaven. The same keys opens the gates to hell. Cycling is a panacea or a life threat to all depending on your prejudice.
What mystifies me is why as a pedestrian I don't seem to have the same experience that appears to be such an imminent and persistent threat to the life and safety of so many others. Funny how the evidence published by the DfT corroborates my experience.

[snibgo]

A fairly typical rant, but with an interesting use of statistics.

But here’s a thing, mile for mile, it’s infinitely more dangerous to walk than it is to cycle. Five times as many pedestrians die on our streets as those who travel by bike – not, I’ll concede, all mown down by cyclists but by what should be our common enemy, the car.

"Five times" is true. However, pedestrians walk about five times as much as cyclists ride, so fatalities per mile are about the same. How the writer twists that into "mile for mile, it’s infinitely more dangerous to walk than it is to cycle", I don't know.

[meic]

Brakes, like apologies, are apparently for wimps.

No, pavements and dual use paths are for wimps.
If you want to make progress or go fast you stay on the road.

[kwackers]

What mystifies me is why as a pedestrian I don't seem to have the same experience that appears to be such an imminent and persistent threat to the life and safety of so many others. Funny how the evidence published by the DfT corroborates my experience.

I think the DfT evidence is misleading.
None of my bike accidents have ever been reported but probably more importantly the irritating behaviour that I experience from motorists that makes cycling unpleasant but rarely results in an accident (i.e. close overtakes, being cut up etc etc) isn't represented in the DfT's stats at all.
And for every accident that occurs I'd guess there are tens of thousands of such incidents.

Ditto as a pedestrian both with cars and bicycles. It's not that such incidents normally result in accidents (although I'd put money on bicycles being responsible for far more 'minor' bumps than we'd like to admit - as pedestrians two of my friends have been hit by bicycles in the last couple of weeks and one of those is a cyclist herself) but they do result in making being a pedestrian more unpleasant than it needs to be.
I estimate I do around 60 miles a week as a ped, most of the grief I get is from car drivers, but I do find myself increasingly narked by the behaviour of cyclists on shared paths, mainly I think because it makes me realise that for all the whining we do about motorist behaviour the truth is we're no better behaved and if it wasn't for the relatively low energies involved we'd probably be significant contributors to the KSI's on the roads/pavements.

[meic]

I suppose that if some one has the right to reply to her comment in a letter that the paper may print.

It would be worth pointing out how much safer the roads and pavements are when these boy (and middle age) racers are on their pushbikes, instead of driving a tonne of steel around like a nutter.

[unbalanced]

Must admit I get very miffed when I'm walking on narrow pavement and there's somebody on a bike on that pavement coming towards me expecting me to get out of the way. Could really have done without her assertion though that mile for mile being a pedestrian is more dangerous than being a cyclist.

[Geriatrix]

Ditto as a pedestrian both with cars and bicycles. It's not that such incidents normally result in accidents (although I'd put money on bicycles being responsible for far more 'minor' bumps than we'd like to admit - as pedestrians two of my friends have been hit by bicycles in the last couple of weeks and one of those is a cyclist herself) but they do result in making being a pedestrian more unpleasant than it needs to be.

Yes that's true but impression created by many articles like this columnist's still doesn't match my experience as a pedestrian. I also suspect that a 2nd dynamic is at play that skews the perception. I don't jump lights, don't cycle on pavements and I even avoid shared facilities so my close encounters with pedestrians comes when they step into my path when crossing the road (one using a mobile phone actually stepped into me). When this happens I'm as likely to get abuse as an an apology thrown in my wake and I wonder how many get included in blaming the cyclist.

[kwackers]

I suppose that if some one has the right to reply to her comment in a letter that the paper may print.

It would be worth pointing out how much safer the roads and pavements are when these boy (and middle age) racers are on their pushbikes, instead of driving a tonne of steel around like a nutter.

It's all about perception though init?

One of the oft quoted things on here about RLJ'ing isn't that it's dangerous, but that it gives cyclists a bad name in the eyes of J.P.

[kwackers]

When this happens I'm as likely to get abuse as an an apology thrown in my wake and I wonder how many get included in blaming the cyclist.

I've seen it happen, so you have my sympathies. I once saw a guy cycling through the town centre stop to let a girl walk by, the girl was on her phone and turned and walked straight into his bike! She didn't half give him a mouthful but the poor sap was stopped!
I even had a bloke fall over my bike once, he couldn't say anything since not only was I stopped but I was off it and just holding it with one hand.

But as I said I've seen some pretty loutish behaviour on shared paths and even though it is but nothing compared to what I witness from car drivers, people remember it. More importantly paths are seen by pedestrians as their last refuge so when they feel they've been 'violated' then understandably they're annoyed.

[thirdcrank]

It seems to me that most misuse of pavements is caused by people not wanting to mix with motor traffic on the carriageway. That applies both to some cyclists (who feel safer on the pavement) and some drivers (who feel that inconveniencing pedestrians is excusable when inconveniencing other drivers isn't.) Since many pedestrians are also drivers, they cannot see the obvious conclusion.

The main exception is people who think that pavements are intended as latrines for their mutts.

[Geriatrix]

One of the oft quoted things on here about RLJ'ing isn't that it's dangerous, but that it gives cyclists a bad name in the eyes of J.P.

Yes I had that view but a helmetcam changed that. When a cyclist jumps light he (it's mostly he) is watching out for the biggest threat to his safety which is motorised traffic & pedestrians fall of the radar.