Why does the UK hate cyclists?

[Vonhelmet]

We do. You want your mail to keep moving, you want your deliveries to arrive, you want your food to be on shelves for lunchtime. Noise at night plus millions of people in retail working nights to unload? All so you can do gym activity on the road? Hmmm....

No one is doing “gym activity” on city centre roads. They’re riding to work. Don’t call it something it’s not just because that makes it easier to dismiss.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

See it's slower to cycle for me and if I go anywhere near a road far more stressful! Thankfully I can actually get from home to work completely off-road. Definitely a cost benefit though, that's true.

Slower than your 17 mile commute that gets delayed by 40 mins by cyclists every time?

 

[v0n]

No one is doing “gym activity” on city centre roads. They’re riding to work. Don’t call it something it’s not just because that makes it easier to dismiss.

The same way they could rollerskate to work, monocycle to work or push scooter to work, right? Getting them places is a convenient if slow, inefficient and physically challenging per mile side effect of that leisure activity, not its primary purpose. Whereas primary purpose of driving car, truck, motorbike is getting places as efficiently and quickly as possible? Or at least it was, once until we lost the understanding what the roads and vehicles on it were for. Hence the inherent incompatibility.

 

[Vonhelmet]

The same way they could rollerskate to work, monocycle to work or push scooter to work, right? Getting them places is a convenient if slow, inefficient and physically challenging per mile side effect of that leisure activity, not its primary purpose. Whereas primary purpose of driving car, truck, motorbike is getting places as efficiently as quickly as possible? Hence the inherent incompatibility.

Right, because car traffic in London is so efficient. Pull the other one. I remember reading that in London the average speed is like 10mph and a quarter of drivers are lost. Wooo cars.

 

[v0n]

Right, because car traffic in London is so efficient. Pull the other one. I remember reading that in London the average speed is like 10mph and a quarter of drivers are lost. Wooo cars.

Traffic in London is inefficient because London is inefficient to accommodate cars and demand for car journeys. Red Ken was very clear about having personal hate of cars when he became the first Mayor and done everything in his power to slow the traffic down. Then introduced road taxation which all Mayors after him maintained for income and profit. Even the fact that you can build mini cab empires like Addison Lee or Uber in London proves just how desperate majority of Londoners and London workers are to use cars on the roads. Even at 10mph. To slow them even more down for few cyclists, doesn't it seem like a crazy idea? But make no mistake about it. Nobody in stuck in London traffic for fun or pleasure. Other than cyclists.

 

[Dis86]

Slower than your 17 mile commute that gets delayed by 40 mins by cyclists every time?

Clearly you misread. I said 40 minutes per day. I, like the vast majority of people don't just travel one way! And yes, it takes me about 50 mins by bike via road. Longer via cycle paths and wagonways.

 

[Energize]

The cycle paths around here are mostly excellent. Care to explain to me why cyclists opt to ride down a stretch of NSL road which is over a mile long and populated heavily with HGV traffic when there's a flawless cycle path next to it?

Show me the road and I can possibly point out why.

Insurance should be there to cover the damage that they potentially cause to cars and/or other people through their own negligence which can easily run into the thousands to put right. Also, if a cyclist bounces off my car and bangs his head causing serious harm, it becomes my problem.

I don't agree at all, the county court exists for exactly such a purpose, and no it's not really your problem.

 

[Vonhelmet]

Traffic in London is inefficient because London is inefficient to accommodate cars and demand for car journeys. Red Ken was very clear about having personal hate of cars when he became the first Mayor and done everything in his power to slow the traffic down. Then introduced road taxation which all Mayors after him maintained for income and profit. Even the fact that you can build mini cab empires like Addison Lee or Uber in London proves just how desperate majority of Londoners and London workers are to use cars on the roads. Even at 10mph. To slow them even more down for few cyclists, doesn't it seem like a crazy idea? But make no mistake about it. Nobody in stuck in London traffic for fun or pleasure. Other than cyclists.

I very much doubt cyclists have a measurable impact on the speed of drivers in London. They probably help, given that things would be even worse if they were in cars.

 

[koolpc]

99% of UK cyclists are Muppets. Simplest! Lol

 

[grudas]

To everyone who claim that cyclists cause traffic... From my own archive

 

[v0n]

I bet you always used "a clear signal to indicate your intentions to other road users" with every change of direction, and as we can already see from the video you always gave "other road users at least as much space as you would a car" and *ahem* certainly never undertook.

 

[jubei]

When you're young you aren't cycling at speed and doing many many miles.

It's illegal to ride on the pavement. Also it's impossible to ride from one town to another on the pavement. Unless you want to pay billions into digging up the whole country and for every single A and B road, have cycle paths.

Also if I crash into someone at 25mph I'll kill them. And the pavements are not suitable for road bikes.

Are you that dense?

Not at all, I thought you could use some common sense though. I'm well aware it is illegal to ride on the pavement now, I just don't think it was a good change. As for 'going town to town', I would rather you drove/used public transport than cycled on the roads. This is only my personal opinion however, the question was asked and I gave an answer.

 

[hornetstinger]

Not at all, I thought you could use some common sense though. I'm well aware it is illegal to ride on the pavement now, I just don't think it was a good change. As for 'going town to town', I would rather you drove/used public transport than cycled on the roads. This is only my personal opinion however, the question was asked and I gave an answer.

I don't drive. If I use buses I'd be late, it'll cost too much, it'll take too long, or there are no buses at all.

You are more than welcome to buy me taxi rides if you don't want me to cycle on the road.

Oh yeah it keeps me fit I'm not a lazy slob whovsuts in there car accessories on drives rather than walks 100 yards to McDonalds

PM me and send me about £8000 a year on taxi fares thanks.

 

[Vonhelmet]

99% of UK cyclists are Muppets. Simplest! Lol

 

[Vonhelmet]

I bet you always used "a clear signal to indicate your intentions to other road users" with every change of direction, and as we can already see from the video you always gave "other road users at least as much space as you would a car" and *ahem* certainly never undertook.

Undertaking isn’t illegal... certainly not in stationery traffic like that

Not that I would otherwise endorse such balls out filtering as that... in any case the point clearly stands that cyclists are not causing the congestion in those videos.

 

[jonneymendoza]

When you're young you aren't cycling at speed and doing many many miles.

It's illegal to ride on the pavement. Also it's impossible to ride from one town to another on the pavement. Unless you want to pay billions into digging up the whole country and for every single A and B road, have cycle paths.

Also if I crash into someone at 25mph I'll kill them. And the pavements are not suitable for road bikes.

Are you that dense?

In germany they have cycle lanes embeded in the pedestrian path

 

[jonneymendoza]

In a nutshell we are spoiled. I just came back from a trip in philippines and when u compare manila to London its night and day.

You will die within a week of cycling in manila as not only is there no cycle lanes but there is barely a pedestrian path and if there is, cars drive on it with at least one of there side wheels.

Public transport there is none existing. only buses and one train line. NO underground services

 

[Spook187]

Funny enough I'm about a buy a bike this week, need to get out more in the country side, wtf at the comments about motorists have more rights because they pay road tax, clowns .

 

[grudas]

I bet you always used "a clear signal to indicate your intentions to other road users" with every change of direction, and as we can already see from the video you always gave "other road users at least as much space as you would a car" and *ahem* certainly never undertook.

Oh what a driver's world you live in the rule says vulnerable road users, the change of direction doesn't matter because traffic for 95% of the video is not moving. The fact is that the video proves my point, cyclists do not slow down traffic.

 

[Dis86]

Well...only one cyclist on the way to work this morning who held me and two cars in front up for about a minute. Much worse was the learner driver I then got stuck behind for the rest of my drive. We got undertaken by a different cyclist. I chuckled.

Weather is grim though so likely deterred the fair weather riders.