http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/erinbaker/nov06/cyclistneverwrong.htm
Why the cyclist is never wrong
Posted by Erin Baker at 02 Nov 06 14:00
Tags: London, cycling, Motoring, road-rage, car, motorbike
I've been watching the antics of other bikers on London's roads this
week and getting steadily angrier.
A poor motorist gets a dose of bike rage
Take the Embankment, without doubt the most congested road in the
capital in terms of cyclists, scooterists and big bike riders.
Stop at traffic lights for more than a second in your car, and you are
surrounded.
Big bikes in front of me don't normally cause a problem: they have the
power to get away from the lights before me, and their riders just seem
more adept at roadcraft - they're aware of what's around them, they
have their eyes on the lights, waiting for them to change, and they
accelerate away smoothly and quickly.
People on scooters are more problematic. They'll happily draw up in
front of the first car at the lights, even if it's a supercar, because
they somehow think that purely by being on two wheels they have better
acceleration than all cars.
Nine out of 10 scooterists aren't wearing any protective clothing other
than a helmet; in fact, the worst offenders, I'm afraid to say, are
women, because most appear to ride scooters while wearing stilettoes -
not great if they fall off, and not even great for simply putting their
feet down at the lights.
And when the lights turn to green, half the time they aren't even
looking at them, so you are forced to wait for them to get their act
together, even though you got there before them and probably have way
more power than them.
I'm sure when I was doing my CBT, my instructor said that the Highway
Code stipulates that riders must not draw up beyond the first car in
the queue - they have to slot in between the first and second, although
maybe I've got that wrong, and for most big bikers, at the front is the
most sensible place to be.
The worst offenders though, by such a long way it's laughable, are
cyclists. They are, for the most part dangerous, irresponsible
road-users who nonetheless take the moral high ground at all times
because they're not polluting the atmosphere.
Time and time again, I see cyclists use cars to push off against when
squeezing through gaps in the traffic that aren't there.
Last night, I saw one push off a car with his foot, and when the
passenger leant out of the window to ask him not to do it, he stuck two
fingers up and said cars should get off the roads.
Every night, I see cyclists without reflective clothing speeding up the
inside of my lane and coming to rest in front of me at the lights. When
I pull away, I have to wait for them to set off, check my right wing
mirror, signal right and wait for a passing car to let me pull out and
round the cyclist before I can go back into my lane.
If I pulled up in front of a cyclist in my car at lights, even though
he/she was there before me, then stopped, thus forcing him or her to
pull out and go round me when the lights changed, the cyclist would
give me untold grief.
But because I'm in a polluting vehicle, I must be apologetic and do
everything I can to assist the cyclist. Forget it.
End.
What a silly, silly cow.
The comments seem to have rattled her cage too:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/erinbaker/nov06/worldwarthree.htm#comments
This blog is primarily concerned with motorcycling, so I'll keep my
response to the outraged comments on my anti-cyclist posting as short
as possible, and then we are MOVING ON.
A safe cyclist
First of all, I'm a motoring journalist, and have to collect test cars
from central London every week, which is why I drive through the city.
Believe me, I'd prefer to take public transport.
Second, I realise that the more people get out of their cars and onto
their bicycles, the greater the benefit to us all in terms of the
future of our planet, but I'm afraid I'm not going to take up your
suggestion of cycling in London on account of having already increased
my risk of significant injury through choosing to ride a motorbike, and
not wishing to double it.
The obvious answer to the stand-off twixt cyclist and motorist is that
councils need to make better provisions for cyclists - wider lanes,
more of them, etc. We all agree there.
In the meantime though, motorists are not going to go away, or be
intimidated, so there's no point in cyclists starting World War Three
and there's certainly no point in cyclists taking more and more risks
that endanger other road-users and pedestrians, such as ignoring red
lights or hopping on and off the pavement (yes, I've seen it happen -
why the hell does everyone think I'm just making things up? Because I'm
a mini Jeremy Clarkson and just love winding people up? Funnily enough,
no - it's not the best fun reading blindingly angry comments).
Of course there are thousands of rubbish drivers out there, who wind me
up as much as cyclists do, by never looking in their mirrors or
checking their blind spots, and who are aggressive, dangerous and
confrontational - I'm sure I'll come across plenty more when I take
possession of my motorbike. And yes, I've seen plenty of buses crush
innocent cyclists against the kerb.
I also know that there are safe cyclists out there who, as Lara
commented, "sees him/herself as part of the traffic and behaves
accordingly". But there are too many nutters intent on waging war with
any motorist who dares answer back for what they perceive to be a
dangerous manoeuvre on the cyclist's part.
To the gentleman who found my line "I see cyclists without reflective
clothing speeding up the inside of my lane" hilariously nonsensical:
yes, that's right, I see cyclists without reflective clothing just as
they come up to my car's offside door, and not from several feet away,
which would give me a much better chance of avoiding them.
Finally, the point of my blog is not to go on a fact-finding mission
before I file (and there are always facts to suit both sides of the
argument), but to share honestly my experiences with you, and my daily
experience of cyclists on the road is not a positive one.
How am I a misinformed, biased ogre for simply reporting my experience?
If it's not an experience shared by any of you, then that is most
strange, I agree, but I ain't making this stuff up, and I know there
are plenty of other motorists who are sick to the back teeth with some
cyclists' behaviour.
Enough of this whingeing; back onto happier subjects next time.
Posted by Erin Baker at 03 Nov 06 10:44