Freedom at last...

A question about : Freedom at last...

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.

Best answers:

• Don't worry, it's just Darwinism , improving the gene pool.
• 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!!
• 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.
• 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.
• 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?
• 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.
• If I drove in my car with no lights on after sunset and chose when I wanted to obey road traffic rules in my car. I wouldn't be surprised if other road users gave me some stick ,even thought I was a hazard that shouldn't be on the road.
  Yet so many cyclists seem shocked when the same reaction is the consequence of the way they behave.
  An LED light can be bought from poundland ..There really is no excuse and yet I see it every morning and evening.
• I have to agree that it is the compliant driver whose momentary lapse of concentration causes the majority of accidents that cyclists are involved in, and not the cyclist that causes the problem.
  I speak from experience as 6 months ago I was cycling home from work, when a car that was obviously not paying any attention just pulled out of a give way junction, knocking me off. I broke my arm and leg (had to have surgery on my leg). And the police took no action against the driver.....his insurers however took full responsibility.