Cycling UK Forum

Matt Seaton in last thursday's Guardian made a very interesting observation about Mr Parris and cyclists.

See the link below.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2238312,00.html

Yes, a good read. And true, I feel.

"Is it possible that what people hate is not cyclists, but hypocrites?"

As Mick says a good read and so very true.

Its bad enough being a minority.
Its worse, being a vocal minority.
But to have the infernal audacity to form pressure groups...
Well, its asking for it!!!

He's right to an extent: but do not motorists also jump red lights, drive on pavements and cycle lanes and become foully abuseive and indeed violent towards anyone who dares to rebuke them?

diapason wrote:He's right to an extent: but do not motorists also jump red lights, drive on pavements and cycle lanes and become foully abuseive and indeed violent towards anyone who dares to rebuke them?

Not to the extent that cyclists do.

I don't think that drivers have it in for cyclists specifically. I haven't ever come across one that does. In my experience a significant minority of drivers hate everybody outside of their car and blame everything - traffic jams, crashes, danger, noise, pollution - on everyone else. The monster truck driver in the recent 'Road Wars' programme is a typical example but I've come across plenty more with the same attitude.

This might seem like my own general predjudice but I could identify a specific list of people with this attitude. Riding in the car with any of them driving is unpleasant and often scary but they don't recognise any fault.

you seem to have lost a word - perhaps it fell off the screen?
luckily i have a spare, you can have it:D

Mythical wrote:Not to the extent that some cyclists do.

but that is also true of some motorists, who also kill thousands each year

hubgearfreak wrote:you seem to have lost a word - perhaps it fell off the screen?
luckily i have a spare, you can have it:D

Mythical wrote:Not to the extent that some cyclists do.

but that is also true of some motorists, who also kill thousands each year

I think I was right. What I meant was, proportionate to the number of drivers and the number of cyclists, the cyclists jump a hell of alot more red lights. (on personal experience, at least)

I see this week Matt Seaton questions the future of road racing after the tragic death of Jason MacIntyre while training on public roads.

Part of the problem is obviously too many motor vehicles or too many people, each of us convinced of our right to be where we are and often resenting that same right in others.

Building more roads only encourages more traffic, surely what we need is more fundamental than that. We need to change our attitude, to be more aware of others and their rights too, and we also need to be less rooted in materialism and our selfish pursuit of it to the detriment of other things.

Selfishness ultimately brings about it's own downfall, sadly en route it can destroy many other lives.

Mrs Tortoise wrote:I see this week Matt Seaton questions the future of road racing after the tragic death of Jason MacIntyre while training on public roads.

Part of the problem is obviously too many motor vehicles or too many people, each of us convinced of our right to be where we are and often resenting that same right in others.

Building more roads only encourages more traffic, surely what we need is more fundamental than that. We need to change our attitude, to be more aware of others and their rights too, and we also need to be less rooted in materialism and our selfish pursuit of it to the detriment of other things.

Selfishness ultimately brings about it's own downfall, sadly en route it can destroy many other lives.

How right you are MrsT.

It's true: cyclist are hated by other road users.

In a meeting last week an otherwise sane colleague went into a tirade of abuse about cyclists being the bane of her life. After a little subtle encouragement the problem seems to be that she has to slow down a little on occasion.

I think this is the root of the problem. Bicycles don't go as fast cars: we're hated because on occasion a driver may have to slow down a little until an opportune moment to overtake presents itself.

Stay cheerful,

Dave

diapason wrote:He's right to an extent: but do not motorists also jump red lights, drive on pavements and cycle lanes and become foully abuseive and indeed violent towards anyone who dares to rebuke them?

Yes, they bl***y well do - they also drive off railway bridges, wreck trains and kill 8 or 10 people including one of the train drivers all in one go - remember?

Tonight's national news on BBC 1 reported on the case of a motorist on it's mobile phone whilst driving, that killed a cyclist . Did you see it? I think it was Southampton.

They also drive on bald tyres, skid and kill three cyclists on a club run in Wales - all in one go.

One could continue.........

Just let them go on venting their spleen, and you'll find that they also hate each other.

JohnW.

JohnW wrote:

diapason wrote:He's right to an extent: but do not motorists also jump red lights, drive on pavements and cycle lanes and become foully abuseive and indeed violent towards anyone who dares to rebuke them?

Yes, they bl***y well do - they also drive off railway bridges, wreck trains and kill 8 or 10 people including one of the train drivers all in one go - remember?

Tonight's national news on BBC 1 reported on the case of a motorist on it's mobile phone whilst driving, that killed a cyclist . Did you see it? I think it was Southampton.

They also drive on bald tyres, skid and kill three cyclists on a club run in Wales - all in one go.

One could continue.........

Just let them go on venting their spleen, and you'll find that they also hate each other.

JohnW.

John
I think the problem is a social one that we have in the UK not just confined to motorists.
It doesn't seem happen on the continent,maybe because the population has a more mature outlook on life in general and accept that there are other people to consider, they don't seem to be as selfish a society as we have become.The whole seems to matter greater than the individual, something that we have lost.
We seem to have fostered a, get what you can,stand on anyone's head to get it,devil take the hind most,outlook.Social conscience seems to have gone out of the window IMO.

reohn2 wrote:

JohnW wrote:

diapason wrote:He's right to an extent: but do not motorists also jump red lights, drive on pavements and cycle lanes and become foully abuseive and indeed violent towards anyone who dares to rebuke them?

Yes, they bl***y well do - they also drive off railway bridges, wreck trains and kill 8 or 10 people including one of the train drivers all in one go - remember?

Tonight's national news on BBC 1 reported on the case of a motorist on it's mobile phone whilst driving, that killed a cyclist . Did you see it? I think it was Southampton.

They also drive on bald tyres, skid and kill three cyclists on a club run in Wales - all in one go.


One could continue.........

Just let them go on venting their spleen, and you'll find that they also hate each other.

JohnW.

John
I think the problem is a social one that we have in the UK not just confined to motorists.
It doesn't seem happen on the continent,maybe because the population has a more mature outlook on life in general and accept that there are other people to consider, they don't seem to be as selfish a society as we have become.The whole seems to matter greater than the individual, something that we have lost.
We seem to have fostered a, get what you can,stand on anyone's head to get it,devil take the hind most,outlook.Social conscience seems to have gone out of the window IMO.

reohn2 -

I find that I almost always agree with you, I can't actually remember when I didn't, and the above is no exception - a bad man behind a steering wheel is a bad man indeed.

A friend of mine was travelling with his son-in-law, in his car, and he was stopped behind a big artic in a traffic hold-up. Another artic roared up behind them, apparently doing about 60 - by police calculations - (on an ordinary class-A road) and smashed into the car, squashing it into a length of about 4ft 0ins, and killing Brian and his son-in-law immediately - leaving Brian's daughter with one fatherless child and a baby about to be born, and Brian's wife a widow. A witness said that earlier he had seen the trucker reading at the wheel - how authentic that was I don't really know, because it would be difficult to see that from a car driving seat, but certainly the trucker was not doing right, was he? I think this is just an example of what you refer to.

IMO you're right.

JohnW.