What so important for not slowing down and giving a wide gap, that you have to risk killing an innocent, green loving, healthy cyclist😊?

 

Fair enough but in my immediate area, cycle paths are constructed using red tarmac with white bikes painted on them at regular intervals, likewise the black tarmac has pedestrians painted on. Quite a few walkers can't seem to get the message and stick to their designated area.

Nik

 

i dont have a problem with overtaking cyclists , its the old dears that are too scared to overtake anything than usually sit behind , holding up everyone else at a bicycle pace on a ROAD. I bet any cyclist , that if they were in a car being held up by anything , they would be pissed off. If it was me , using ANY vehicle and holding people up , i would move over a few times . I definitely wouldnt have the attitude that "i have every right to be here" no mater what vehicle i was using.

 

Everybody has the right to use the road network, but not use it as "death race" film!

 

I thought that's what Subaru drivers were invented for

 

I cycle regularly though not in London it is a busy rush hour. I also drive the same route regularly depending my work activities.

I do try to obey the rules of the road using both methods. When cycling I am kitted out, hat, lights, bell, bright clothing (though no lycra :-) ). I see other cyclists where I am, also acting properly/kitted out.

I've not caused any problem holding people up (though I do occasionally have to go past slower cyclists, so 2 abreast!), but for this I will have looked over my shoulder and made sure there was a gap. And do not RLJ and or ride in an antisocial manner. I try to use eye contact, to make sure they know I am around and signal etc.

As far as I know I've not put myself into any dodgy situation, yet I still get to work in a good time (many days cycling is faster than car over the last few miles). So I'm not doddering.

However I have been pulled out on several times and had to swerve. There was nothing I could have done to predict this or avoid it. I don't quite understand why. 99% of the time people trying right out of a T junction will stop and wait for me. But the other 1% I know see me, but still pull out. So I remain wary of every T junction now.

So my view is that if you stick to the rules of the road (whatever mode of transport) then you'll be OK. If you don't then the cyclist will come off worst. So it's up to the cyclist to be aware of that and adjust as we're not going to get some people to change their driving "skills".

 

Extremely good post which illustrates if you cycle sensibly 99.9% of the the you will be fine and the other 0.01% is just the way life is... some people are dumb and sadly they seem able to acquire a driving licence!

 

I saw 3 cyclists on my way home on Friday . 2 riding on the pavement and 1 with a bag full of shopping in his left hand in no control of his push iron what so ever

 

Only three cyclists...or you only noticed three...or you only noticed three being bad?

 

Bizarre isn't it, even after making eye contact with them they still attempt to drive into you...one of the reasons I try to beat the light cycle if the road is clear

 

No I saw 3 altogether on my way home I was on the lookout as I had been reading this thread . Forgot to mention all 3 had hi viz clothing but no helmets , speaking of helmets they were all male . In case you want to put any statistics together

 

nah, not enough data there to draw any meaningful conclusions...just wondered what the point of post was?

 

Thread topic 6 cyclists dead , if the above is how they act then 6 isn't really that high

 

So riding on the pavement and cycling with a shopping bag(s), are fatal mistakes, are you being deliberately obtuse or are you really that dumb...?

Or perhaps it’s me missing the point and this is an attempt at humour...sorry I don’t find six people suffering a horrible death whilst cycling to work in the least bit amusing.

 

I have got into the habit of if I see someone at a T junction or roundabout that I think may pull out on me, point at them and shout "No!" or "Stay!", they invariably do I think its because they are shocked or think I'm some sort of nut-job...

I commute about 25 miles a day in London all told but will never go up the inside of a lorry unless it is totally stationary in traffic & even then warily. I also tend to go the outside, not the inside, of slow moving traffic, much the same as if I were riding a bike. I find it much safer.

There are nobber drivers/riders/cyclists/pedestrians everywhere, you just have to be aware for them and look after yourself. I do it assertively and if someone toots because they can't undertake the car in the outside lane doing the same speed as me because I refuse to ride in the gutter on a 2-lane road, then I DGAF

I do despair at RLJ'ers though as they are asking for trouble. Had some numptie on a Boris bike this morning severely jump the lights going across 3 lanes of traffic that had just started pulling away - he missed me by a foot Invariably the RLJ'ers are slow and get overtaken further up the road as well, so what is the point of risking your life in that manner?

May have been said before but less cyclists been killed in London this year than pedestrians, by far

 

No not amusing , but if cyclists can't be arsed to put a helmet on to protect themselves and don't consider their own safety and others safety around them then im not surprised they are getting killed.

 

xxIan/Trails - lets desist the petty insults please...

 

Fair enough , but if you are going to edit posts then maybe you should edit the post that actually started with the insults

 

People dying is not a good thing, no matter what form of transportation they happen to be using, but the cycling safety thing is used as an excuse for people like you to have a moan because you don't like them...as Puff says there have been more pedestrian deaths in the City than cyclists, take a look at last year’s stats.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...ondon-2012.pdf

 

We don't make pedestrians wear helmets or wear high visibility jackets though do we?!

 

That is my point...despite how bad any loss of life is given the number of successfull jounrneies completed by bike this is not a significant issue. It's just a chance for those who don't ride\understand to have a bitch...

 

Yeah it's mostly an excuse for entrenched sides to have a go at each other.

 

Guilty as charged...

 

Quite interesting reading that, It would be interesting to see how many of those incidents had one or more smart phones involved

 

It's been the law for cyclists to wear helmets in Oz for a while now. I cannot understand why you wouldn't, same as putting seat belt on whilst driving.
I don't think i have heard of anyone being put off driving due to increased risk perception after wearing a seat belt became mandatory.

 

Big difference between a tonne+ of steel\glass\plastic that can do 100mph+ and a push bike though

 

Evidence suggests that making it a law to wear a helmet, INCREASES the risk of dying on a bike, though there's no concensus.

It gives a disproportionate illusion of safety versus the protection it gives.

 

I have no illusions that the light weight cycle helmet will give little protection in a major accident

 

James Cracknell might disagree.

From what I've read the city fatalities have involved lorries and as such a helmet won't be of much use when the rest of the body is being crushed.

Nik.

 

I fully agree, although I believe that the arguments against are essentially the same.
I'm not for or against it, I just don't have a choice!


Did the study not suggest an increase in perceived risk of dying on a bike, not actually a direct link to increased cycling fatalities because of wearing a helmet?

Don't get me wrong, i'm under no illusions. A helmet is only going to help if you happen to sustain a blow to the head in an accident.
As has been mentioned, it won't do a bloody thing when you're crushed under a truck!

I am coming from a road cycling perspective, I don't commute by bike nor ever really ride in the city. I guess cycling out in the country over here is a fair bit quieter than the roads in England