Carryfast:
‘… hopefully you’ll be able to educate some of those cyclists who don’t seem to have a clue when it comes to the rules of the road … They often seem to have the same attitude to traffic control signals too…’
Matey, let me know which bit is the hard bit…
It isn’t my job to ‘…educate some of those cyclists…’ - it’s the role of our hopeless Europe loving Governors to run the country from Parliament: It is the role that I (allied with other fools that bothered) voted for them to do - although my democratic vote was outnumbered by those that wanted Bliars lot.
However - on the strength of their pro-Europe manifesto’s, the Big Three all busily waste their time and our money on that and the World’s stage paid for by taxes - leaving the much needed ‘management’ of British streets that are clearly in frustrated anarchy in the mess that you and many others are unhappy about.
I expect an ear-bending off the government when I foul-up and also for others when they foul-up, ie, those on bikes with whom many have a problem - all of which the Government is conveniently blanking.
It is the government who is paid - and was once expected - to oil the wheels of the nation & engage us in their law - and not the job of individuals on a crusade.
So by my reckoning it is over to the nation and whoever they tick at vote time, not me.
mikeyb:
‘…cyclists should have to take a theory and practical test like EVERY other road user…’
A whole new tier of beaurocratic governance?
mikeyb:
The amount of times I have been held up by some moron on his pushbike in the middle of the road…’
Why didn’t plod see him - with or without his Big Brother camera systems, he is already in place! Or is plod off the ball because his government directed ‘targets’ don’t include cycle/road management any more? Even the PCSO’s round my way appear pathetic on their unroad worthy machines (eg, they have some without rear reflectors - which I have told them about. There’s a change, eh).
mikeyb:
‘…rather than using the “cycle path” 2 yards on his left, which has been put there to stop cyclists getting in our way and presumably to stop them coming to greif under my wheels…’
‘…“Cycle paths”…’ (as you reasonably invert in commas) - are rarely more than ‘shared-use paths’, ie shared with disabled, visually impaired, kids, ruts, 3 inch kerbstone drops & cars parked ‘two-wheels-up’, etc, etc. Their presence is often to satisfy a requirement ’ to do something’ albeit rarely do they contribute any positive effect. There is no law to enforce their use & our conjoined presumption that maybe ‘someone, somewhere’ is in control is frustrating almost every citizen in this land: It is evident that no one is in control.
I am grateful not to be compelled to use those ghastly & road furniture strewn alleys of hate called ‘cycle paths’ because they’re a plaster to fix a broken leg. What little use they are is frequently negated by them being permanently covered with road junk, nails & all the clart that councils can’t afford to sweep up.
A picture might begin to emerge how muggish we are when we remember that UK sends £40m per day to fund (well bicycle managed? - Yes!) continental Europe.
Cheers,
Keith (employed as agency C+E - but am a local Cycling Campaign Group member too)
I put cycle paths in commas because there are so many different sorts, from the ones marked on the road, to the multi user footpaths etc, to be fair most of them round my way are pretty tidy. It just gets up me jumper when you see a group of cyclists using the path, quite happily, then the “special” person
sat in the road (usually in skin tight lycra with an aerodynamic helmet and going no faster than mum and kids in the path next to them).
I love cycling, but would not things be safer if people had to do some form of mandatory training? Even Bikewise is optional these days. Maybe suggesting a full theory and test was a step too far into the beaurocratic mire
mikeyb:
‘…would not things be safer if people had to do some form of mandatory training? …’
I reckon not …look at the mandatory training/test that a motorist gets & the muppets on the road…
Whole swathes of cyclists cant be arsed to lubricate their chains or put lights on at night - what hope of anything engaging them between their ears from an anorak training session? Besides, motorists would be tempted to treat all cyclists as competent, which many would instantly disprove leading those of us that care nowhere.
Nah, I imagine that what’s needed is a competent (pro-British & non-facist) House of Commons, some decent Highway Law and adequate plod - with proper training, direction & resource to manage all classes of miscreant road user whether they’re on two wheels or twenty.
Happy Keith:
Nah, I imagine that what’s needed is a competent (pro-British & non-facist) House of Commons, some decent Highway Law and adequate plod - with proper training, direction & resource to manage all classes of miscreant road user whether they’re on two wheels or twenty.
It looks like the EU is copying the Turkish justice system. In Turkey if any foreigner is involved in an accident. It is always the foreigners fault. Their argument is if the foreigner wasn’t in the country, the accident wouldn’t have happened. So over there, if your in a line of traffic going through a set of green traffic lights and some numnut drives through the other set on red, it’s your fault if the numnut crashes into you. Regardless of the fact that if you weren’t there, someone else would have been in the space you had occupied.
MRC:
I think this should be implimented over here. Then if these idiots of Asian origin decide to slam the brakes on for a ‘crash-for-cash’ claims will have to take full resposibilty for the damage they have caused to your vehicle. infact it wouldnt exist if that was the case.
There was an article from the Metropolitan police on that very subject yesterday morning in one of the national papers. I tried to find it to post on one of the threads on here but it had gone. I suspect government muppets had it taken off on grounds it would incite racial hatred. I wonder what news we will be allowed to learn about after the general election.
