Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Dec 2005
- Posts
- 12,488
- Location
- Bath
Cyclists in London are even worse 
.
.Cyclists!!!
- Thread starter ZXSpectrum
- Start date
This. These threads really are tiresome.
Cyclists saying that all motorists try and kill them.
Motorists saying that all cyclists ignore road traffic laws and have a death wish.
Eventually someone level headed from either (or both) parties saying that it's a minority of both which cause the problems.
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
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- 12,030
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- Derby
The cyclist?.
Surely people aren't naive enough to believe that there are not other legal processes in place to afford motorists the ability to recover costs and damages to their vehicles?.
Really? You hit someone on a bike and what comeback do you have? You can ask them for thier details but they dont have to give you the correct ones? There is no identification or registration database on bikes so you cant take a numberplate and report them to the police if the details are not correct or they ride off. All that would have happened in that case if i had hit the idiot this morning would be that he had a bent bike and possibly a trip to the hosiptal and i would have had to foot the bill of possibly thousands of pounds to my car...
This data suggests about the same number cyclists are involved in reportable accidents as motorcyclists every year, currently around 16000-17000.
Something between a quarter and a half of those will be the fault the cyclist if the TRL stats are accurate, and that's just the accidents that have been recorded. There must be hundreds of non-injury incidents everyday within the UK that don't get reported e.g. bikes scraping down the sides of cars, clipping wing mirrors etc. especially in cities like London.
So yes, clearly it's an insignificant problem
Something between a quarter and a half of those will be the fault the cyclist if the TRL stats are accurate, and that's just the accidents that have been recorded. There must be hundreds of non-injury incidents everyday within the UK that don't get reported e.g. bikes scraping down the sides of cars, clipping wing mirrors etc. especially in cities like London.
So yes, clearly it's an insignificant problem
No you're not.
It's the same as you riding your bike with no reflectors, as you mentioned before. It's technically illegal, but most of the time, nobody cares. (Although you're much more likely to get stopped for riding on the pavement)
bikes scraping down the sides of cars, clipping wing mirrors etc. especially in cities like London.
So yes, clearly it's an insignificant problem
You're right, clipping wing mirrors and scraping the sides of cars are huge problems. Whenever this type of accident happens between car drivers they always go through their insurance to repair the damage.
We are talking about road users. My daughter is not old enough to safely ride on the road, she rides on the pavement with supervision, or on rural cycle routes. No parent with a shred of responsibility would allow young kids to ride on busy roads.
Irrespective, I would happily pay for cycle insurance for her if it became mandatory even if she doesn't ride on the road yet. If other posters are correct and the risk really is negligible (which I'm pretty sure it isn't) then the premiums would also be very low.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 11 Mar 2005
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- 32,247
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- Leafy Cheshire
100% agree, and the police don't seem to mind either.
No you're not. Read the highway code, it applies to cyclists too.
Thing that annoys me is that in North Wales our councils have spent millions on cycle paths, we have one of the best networks around, and in some places the cycle paths actually take a more direct route between towns than the roads do as they were built later. Yet you regularly see idiots cycling in the road just because its their right, when the cycle path with superior surface and no cars is on the other side of the damn kerb
The cyclist?.
Surely people aren't naive enough to believe that there are not other legal processes in place to afford motorists the ability to recover costs and damages to their vehicles?.
How exactly are you going to do that? They don't have to give you any info and can give false ones, or simply cycle or run away without being traced back.
No your not, and I hate these sort of cyclists, they have to respect for other users, the amount of times I've had idiot cyclists speeding along pavements and forcing me onto the road with oncoming traffic just to avoid them running me over, i especially loathe the ones that use pavements to get across one way streets.
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I'm not talking about just busy roads, if you mandate insurance for all road users then apply to all roads. I used to ride around on the minor roads near my house when I was a child. That wasn't my parents being irresponsible but if I'd to be insured before doing so first then I don't think I would've been able to!
I stick to this one too. If I'm riding in a bus / cycle lane and there's a bus coming up behind me, then I'll dive out the way at the first chance and let it back. Who am I to be holding up traffic? Keep it flowing!
I really despise the 'pro' cyclists who clearly aren't using the bike as their primary form of transport but actually get some sort of enjoyment out of cycling around on their expensive bike with motorists. Really takes you by surprise to go around a rural bend at a safe speed to find a guy in a sweat-drenched leotard wobbling about on the other side. Why don't these people go play in the woods or rural cycle path things rather than hold up people who actually have somewhere to be.
/rantpage
/rantpage
When I cycle in Hull I find a lot of cyclists get to a red light and then move to the pavement. This cheeses me off slightly, I avoid the pavement completely because it's not allowed and also because there are just too many people walking most of the time to make any progress.
Anyone cycling on the pavement, unless they are a child, should seriously man up.
Anyone cycling on the pavement, unless they are a child, should seriously man up.
I don't normally join in, but just plain
at this. Since when has riding into oncoming/opposing/crossflow traffic been safer than stopping? I only mentioned it, because I nearly wiped out a CYCLING PROFICIENCY GROUP from the local school, at this four way, light controlled crossroad when about 20 kids suddenly flew out of the concealed road on the right (comes from a quite a steep hill), completely against the lights. Was terrifying!
Wow that is quite awful.
Because you obviously have more right to be on the road than the 'pro' cyclist? Road bikes aren't designed to go off-road (as the name suggests!) so that's why they're on the road! Funnily enough, cycling is also very good for you, keeps you fit and is an enjoyable way of getting around.
I always think that every car driver should be made to ride a bike on the road at some point - it would probably make them think twice about when they "think" it's safe to overtake. Most drivers have no idea how scary it can be when they come steaming around a 'rural bend at a safe speed' in their 2 tonne metal box, almost clipping the cyclist as they come past.
These 'pro' cyclists as you call them are probably more likely to obey the rules of the road than your average Joe in his 2 tonne metal box. It's the non-'pro' cyclists that give everyone else a bad name.
/rant
(if you hadn't already already guessed, I'm one of those that you class as a 'pro' cyclist)