Sir John Armitt has said that cyclists are the biggest danger to themselves.
Maybe it’s time a few more people aired their honest views instead of the normal political sound byte.
He also happens to be the chairman of National Express coaches, one of which squished a cyclist in the capital today.
The coach industry in general has (understandably) got a severe bee in its bonnet over cyclists thanks to TfL’s decision to remove a load of coach parking on the Embankment to accommodate the so-called Cycle Superhighway.
I had the wonderful fortune to sit in a meeting which included representatives of coach operators’ associations and TfL not long before Christmas. Make no mistake, cyclists and accommodating more of them is TfL’s utmost priority where roads is concered and everyone else has to fight over what’s left.
So can we expect his removal from the tfl board for being off message?
Can you really tar all cyclists with the same brush? As you would with all truck drivers…
Some cyclists are considerate, ride defensively and realise that the big chunk of metal coming toward them, is going to end badly for them! While other think they own the road, are made out of titanium and invincible… The latter can normally be recognised by the fact they are wearing lycra, and riding a bike that costs more than your average car. But again, there are exceptions to this rule… But what really makes me mad, is when they ride 2 abreast, or ride down the road while there is a cycle path running alongside the road. But your average “roady” cyclist (as they are called) don’t want to ride there 4K+ bicycles on these cycle paths, as they may have to slow down for pedestrians, or risk damaging their carbon fibre rims going up and down kerbs. Instead they choose to ride along the roads and dual carriage ways, going over flyovers with trucks and cars whizzing past them at high speed. But I’m sure they will be OK with their high tech, impact resistant lycra, and aerodynamic helmet made out of polystyrene… (They obviously know best!)
Olog Hai:
Make no mistake, cyclists and accommodating more of them is TfL’s utmost priority where roads is concered and everyone else has to fight over what’s left.
It seems logical that doing things the Chinese way would be consistent with a Communist run enclave. 
the cyclist I hate are the ones that wear no protective clothing or have light on there bikes or selves no hi viz so at night you cant see them
There are some cyclist that are very aware of cars lorry’s coaches etc wear correct protective clothing lights front & back
Part of the problem is a lot of them ride around with ear plugs in listening to music so they cant hear anything going on around them so they are oblivious to anything
As a cyclist in a former life, I feel totally justified in saying the majority of cyclists are knobheads nowadays; and when did hand signals cease to be necessary for giving the rest of us a f’n clue?
Bottom line is cyclists and vehicles are not compatible. They should be segregated. Boris has it right with his cycle lanes. Lot of problems are caused by the cyclists who use the commute as part of their training, and see it as a time trial. I never overlook an opportunity to give them a toot of the horn if they cause me any grief. Moreso, because I am an o/driver of 44t vehicle and do some competitive cycling in triathlons too, but would not be so stupid to try and train during the rush hour traffic. Only time you will see me on public roads on a bike is very early on light weekend mornings before everybody is up.
Janos:
They should be segregated. Boris has it right with his cycle lanes. Lot of problems are caused by the cyclists who use the commute as part of their training, and see it as a time trial.
The problem is that these wannabe olympians wont use segregated cycle lanes. These are the ones with the mentality that often leads them to conflict with other road users. Therefore, segregated lanes wont actually benefit either road user.