Convicted of Dangerous Cycling...

Was he cycling in the cycle lane or normal footpath. It's the sort of thing DM would omit to make the cyclist look a baddie :-/


Rode on a cycle path today for about 20 yards (36 mile return journey rest on the roads) straight away felt glass crunching under the tyres...back on the road I go. What a waste of money
 
Obviously the cyclist is a plank.. I don't think anyone questions that,
but reading the report, it's about as clear as mud..

It does seem like he was approaching a group of kids on the road, he shouted, went for the 'gap' and unfortunately the girl didn't see him and moved into the same gap he was aiming for..

It would 'annoy' me if I came accross a load of kids buimbling about on the road, when they have the pavement, but I'd never dream of sything my way through at pace!!

I'd say the girl and her mates have some responsibility in this, but clearly the worse culprit is the cyclist..

I can't make my mind up completely with the sketchy facts given out so far..
 
Sounds like your typical arrogant ***** bike rider that you see around the west-end of London to me (no offence to anybody that does cycle around London and isn't like it). A few times I've been out and someone, maybe a dippy blond or a tourist looking the wrong way steps into the road to cross and either gets hit or dives out the way followed by the cyclist shouting abuse and not even trying to stop. I honestly don't know why they can't just be more cautious in places like that where that sort of thing should be expected. Even if it was a group of hooded idiots walking in the road I would still go round them in my car.

NS
 
but I'd never dream of sything my way through at pace!!
Click to expand...

17 mph isn't that fast. Although I'd need to know exact specifics of the incident, width of the road, whether riding on road, path or cycle lane, how many kids there were, amount of space? I've had a couple of times idiot kids do suicide jumps in front of me, trying to be cool. If I'm doing 35mph that 15' distance isn't enough to slow down without me losing control
 
so is the article not true as it states the cyclist was on the pavement, not on the road, if he was on the road then yes the girl is partly to blame a small amount, but he was on the pavement at the time so all his fault in my eyes, what a waste of life.
 
Agree entirely. Also the 400M distance has been thrown about, rubbish as you wouldn't see each other, unless on a roman road or dual carriageway. And you certainly wouldn't hear someone shouting from that distance.

If a drunk girl was walking on the road and got swiped from a transit van door mirror (quite nasty as they stick out) who would you blame?
 
badbob said:
If a drunk girl was walking on the road and got swiped from a transit van door mirror (quite nasty as they stick out) who would you blame?
Click to expand...

Depends on a lot of things, particularly whether she was obviously drink or moving erratically, how soon he saw her, traffic volume, etc.

Pedestrians on the footpath are a risk that should be assessed and action taken accordingly. I slow down if there are kids running on the pavement, even if they have an adult with them, for instance because they may do something dumb. It's part of my responsibility not to try and predict their action but to mitigate any risks.

However, I'll be the first to admit that I may be concentrating on other hazards and so the actions of a pedestrian on a footpath takes a lower priority.
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
So, somene steps into the road and its the cyclists fault?? I can understand the arguments/confusion in the case in the OP, but how can someone walking into the road infront of a cyclist be his/her fault?
Click to expand...

I was more talking of the attitude of the person on the bike choosing not to slow down and instead just shout abuse and expect people to move, as said, do that in a car and try and get away with it! Not saying hitting a pedestrian is 100% the bikers fault and definately not trying to tar all bikers with the same brush at all. I've just seen plenty of people in London with the "move 'cos I'm not slowing down" attitude even in cases where its just a mistake, and not someone being clever by standing in their way.

NS
 
badbob said:
If a drunk girl was walking on the road and got swiped from a transit van door mirror (quite nasty as they stick out) who would you blame?
Click to expand...

If said transit driver shouted 'move, I'm not going to stop' then made no attempt to avoid her, then of course I'd blame the driver.

I agree that people shouldn't be walking in the road, but just because somebody is in the road it doesn't give drivers/cyclists the right to use them as human skittles.
 
bam0 said:
She walked infront of him at the last second after he'd shouted in advance that he was coming? Yeah it's stupid of him not to just brake or try and avoid them completely, but she's more than a little responsible.
Click to expand...

Hmm, perhaps you are happy then that her supposed little bit of irresponsibilty has cost her life, as opposed to the cyclist swerving to miss her??

TBH, what would have happened if she had been deaf?
Would that have changed your attitude:confused:
 
Bear said:
On GMTV this morning they said that the cyclist rode into them on purpose and that he had about 300 yards to stop but yelled "Get out of my way Im not going to stop"

The bloke is a scumbag and deserved to do time.
Click to expand...

Oh i thought you would be okay with this, not only is the eco minded cyclist cutting pollution but hes also wiping out peoples children to save the planet?

When i first heard this I thought it may have been on the path, however it seems it could be the road which I initially thought the girl shouldn't have been there. However for him to access the situation and have time to give a warning then proceed without doing a thing to avert collision is disgusting. A fine is not enough punishment.
 
I dunno about this one,it's very unclear. If she was on the road and he's approaching there is a very high chance she saw him and tried to keep walking. He would be trying to keep pace,we don't have an engine to get us going again. If i was said cyclist i would have slowed and looked behind me so i could swerve to the right but he made the wrong decision. I really doubt he was going 17mph on a £4.5k bike,a road bike i assume. I can't see him being on the pavement on a roady either.

You get people crossing the raod and stopping on the middle line,do you stop your car completely in the off chance they might step out or do you take the fact they looked your way that they will stay there?
 
I really doubt he was going 17mph on a £4.5k bike,a road bike i assume.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by that? That he's going faster or slower? I ride a road bike, not that cost has anything to do with that, as even on a fast tourer you can reach road bike speeds (maybe couple of mph slower) But on either bike 17mph is cruising speed with very little exertion.

Yeah if it's £4K road bike you're not going to ride on the pavement at that speed, also with such an expensive bike you certainly wouldn't halt near a group of drunken yobbos. Pretty common for riders to be stopped by peds, pushed over then bike is nicked. Especially if they spot it's quite expensive, a £4K will stick out as a high class bike.

Maybe that's why cyclists in cities don't stop at lights and pedastrian crossings, as it's good place to hijack bikes. Not that I condone riding through stop signs of course.
 
Last edited:
badbob said:
What do you mean by that? That he's going faster or slower? I ride a road bike, not that cost has anything to do with that, as even on a fast tourer you can reach road bike speeds (maybe couple of mph slower) But on either bike 17mph is cruising speed with very little exertion.

Yeah if it's £4K road bike you're not going to ride on the pavement at that speed, also with such an expensive bike you certainly wouldn't halt near a group of drunken yobbos. Pretty common for riders to be stopped by peds, pushed over then bike is nicked. Especially if they spot it's quite expensive, a £4K will stick out as a high class bike.
Click to expand...

Well I've had a play with a 5k road bike in my local independant roadie place(guy was right into it,does like 6 laps of glentress as training) and that thing was exceptional. Full carbon frame,forks,integrated carbon post,carbon brakes and spokes. The full lot. It takes very little effort to hit any sort of speeds! Hell i probably average about 17mph even on the bighit(until a hill appears).

I obey the road rules and i'm generally quite nice to cars but i have been known to stoppy to traffic lights........
 
Last edited:
The BBC story has been updated to show a CCTV image of him on the bike. The court was told that conditions would have allowed him to move into the road to avoid her.
 
As a mountain biker, motorbike rider, bicycle commuter and driver, I am disgusted by this guy's behaviour.

It is hellioshly annoying when people walk into the middle of the road wielding a "mobile phone of invinscibility", but it is exactly the same feeling as you have to brake sharply to another (old, female, male, young... whatever your prejudice is) driver when driving a car or motorbike.

Each road user has their annoyances and each road user should have the road sense to cover brakes and try and avoid collisions.

This guy saw the party and still road THROUGH them at 17mph. That is absolutely insane. It was an act of pure umbrage (sp?), impatience and selfishness. The guy deserves a ban from riding a bike, he deserves prison time to think about his character/personality and to reflect on the damage he has done and how he might try to make any kind of amends.


I would also like to add that at a time when cyclists are asking for sympathy in gaining some kind of system that doesnt seem them cut up by cars, lorries and every other road user (my pet hate is overtaking a cyclist then turning left), this guy is ruining any kind of support and allowing biggoted idiots like Hugh Bladen, from the Association of British Drivers to quote;

"They are a rule unto themselves, to put it bluntly," he said.

"You can't tar the whole lot with the same brush, but the number of people who cycle on the pavement, ride up one-way streets the wrong way or dodge red lights is quite extraordinary.

This guy completely ignores the endemic exposure cyclists face while participating as road users and does not recognise any kind of need to try and provide ways of facilitating cycling.

Motorbikers *might* get to use bus lanes in London, something that I will be infinitely grateful for, but cycle routes remain 2nd class affairs, which offer no priority system, often asking cyclists to stop for driveways, adjoining routes and other roads.
 
Last edited:
Well I've had a play with a 5k road bike in my local independant roadie place(guy was right into it,does like 6 laps of glentress as training) and that thing was exceptional. Full carbon frame,forks,integrated carbon post,carbon brakes and spokes. The full lot
Click to expand...

A lighter bike aids with acceleration and hill climbs but for straight roads should be equal. Carry 5 kg in a backpack on your cheaper bike and it'll be the same on flat roads. :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom