Cycling UK Forum

My blood is boiling. !!!!!

In the last 12 hours in my town, I've seen.

3 cyclists on a busy main road in darkness without lights

2 cyclists run red lights with no regard for anyone else around.

I tackled one of the latter, pointing out that they were giving the rest of us cyclists a bad name, but I just got a mouthful of abuse for my trouble.

We now have taxi drivers filming cyclist doing this. You can guess who the media will side with.

WHEN ARE THESE IDIOTS GOING TO STOP GIVING AMMUNITION TO THE ENEMY ?

The next time some bimbo decides its fun to force a (probably) law-abiding cyclist off the and have a laugh texting her mates about it, this is all the excuse they'll think they need.

These idiots are destroying our hobby/means of transport and putting our lives at risk. Isn't it about time we serious cyclists started to think serious;y about how we are going to tackle this.

I'm with you on this!

+2

Nowt you can do. Its life.

Just know that your a good rider and obey the laws.

Harold Shipman worked for the NHS, he also wore black lace up shoes

I wear black lace up shoes and work for the NHS, yet I am not a mass murderer

That is my opinion.... I will cycle and do so safely and with courtesy

I do not have any moral or any other responsibility for other cyclists

Over the last three weeks driving on the A381 during the evening rush hour (pitch dark, winding, narrow, lots of blind corners, steep banks on some blind corners so no escape to the sides) I have encountered a cyclist in dark clothes with no lights at all, a cyclist pushing a bike uphill on the road with no lights and several cyclists with dim lights that were only visible when very close. I only avoided the first of these because he had pedal reflectors which I saw at the last minute and the second had a highVis jacket. This road feels unsafe to ride in broad daylight and I won't ride it after dark even with high-power lights and night vision clothing. These are accidents waiting to happen and get the rest of us a bad reputation.

I'm so cwoss! I could scweem and sceem and scweem!

When I drive my car I don't feel any collective guilt when I see a fellow-motorist texting while driving; I just think 'moron'.

But I know what you mean about fellow-cyclists RLJ'ing and riding without lights.

I think it is changing. I have witnessed cyclists shouting after others who have jumped the lights. Peer pressure might just get us there.

Then all we'll have to do is instigate a national bike registration plate system, pay a token VED, and all the anti-cyclists' red herrings will be dealt with!

I think it is changing. I have witnessed cyclists shouting after others who have jumped the lights. Peer pressure might just get us there.

Then all we'll have to do is instigate a national bike registration plate system, pay a token VED, and all the anti-cyclists' red herrings will be dealt with!

Perhaps we could start with a few show trials. That should sort them out.

Much like the perception of a large chunk of society in this country that any cycling is dangerous, the statistics don't back it up. In research done for through DfT, no lights & dark clothing were each a contributory factor in low single figures percentage-wise of accidents. Similarly for RLJs. It may not be a good idea, be illegal (in the case of lights) & annoy folk but the danger seems to actually be quite small.

I am not responsible for other drivers who RLJ when I'm in the car (& I doubt other drivers would want to take responsibility for the misdemeanors of their fellows either) any more than I'm responsible for other cyclists.

Observations that have been done suggest similar numbers of car drivers RLJ compared to cyclists. Cyclists came out a bit higher but it is easier to nip round a car or cyclist that in front where in a car you have less choice if the vehicle in front stops. one of the 2 time I have been hit by a car (in over 36 years cycling) was when I stopped at lights & the car behind didn't, at least not before he'd wrecked my back wheel, so I have some sympathy with those who make a decision to RLJ for safety reasons.

Rick.

The RLJers annoy me, but not half as much as the ****s who insist on cycling on the pavement. We need as many cyclists on the road as we can get, so that we are noticed more.

ChrisPAmbulance wrote: Isn't it about time we serious cyclists started to think serious;y about how we are going to tackle this.

We already do. Sadly, just as with the Common Cold, there's no quick cure.

Cunobelin wrote:Harold Shipman worked for the NHS, he also wore black lace up shoes

I wear black lace up shoes and work for the NHS, yet I am not a mass murderer

That is my opinion.... I will cycle and do so safely and with courtesy

I do not have any moral or any other responsibility for other cyclists

Spot on!

BTW I drive a car and see...........

irc wrote:

I think it is changing. I have witnessed cyclists shouting after others who have jumped the lights. Peer pressure might just get us there.

Then all we'll have to do is instigate a national bike registration plate system, pay a token VED, and all the anti-cyclists' red herrings will be dealt with!

Perhaps we could start with a few show trials. That should sort them out.

And some public floggings

ian s wrote:The RLJers annoy me, but not half as much as the ****s who insist on cycling on the pavement. We need as many cyclists on the road as we can get, so that we are noticed more.

So called cyclists on pavements are our worst enemy (except for young children). How will motorists appreciate us as proper road users unless we assume our rights as normal traffic? I don't know about London, as I've never cycled there, but in normal situations we should be able to ride on the roads just like other users. We all pay for the roads through our taxes, and we are therefore entitled to use them in the same way as anyone else