Dear ....
Thank you very much for your email and I am sorry for the delay in
replying but there are many very important bills before Parliament at
the moment and the correspondence is abnormally high.
I very much understand the concerns that you have about ensuring that
conditions on the road are improved to make cycling safer.
I believe that drivers should be reminded of how to deal safely with
cyclists and how much space they should realistically leave. I must
however point out that I am continually frustrated by cyclists who are
riding two abreast thereby making it completely dangerous to take over
take because it would effectively mean I had to go over the white line
into the path of on-coming traffic. Relationships between cyclists and
drivers should be a two way flow.
I also believe there should be a large increase in the availability of
cycling proficiency classes.
I have noted that the Road Safety Bill is yet to complete its passage
through the House of Commons, but I shall bear your comments in mind
ahead of future parliamentary debate.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Yours sincerely
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I was not very pleased with this as it is the second correspondence from
this office which has been either incorrect or in this case total clap trap.
I have replied:
Sir,
I can hardly believe what you have written, are you suggesting that if a
cyclist were riding along the road way you consider it normal practice
to attempt to squeeze past between the cyclist and the white line? In
doing so you would not be leaving a sufficient gap as described in the
highway code.
I am constantly surprised by the lack of knowledge exhibited by members
of parliament on what should be fairly obvious questions but to blame
the cyclist for the inability of the motorist to acknowledge their
responsibility to drive correctly is somewhat of a disappointment.
The trend toward separation, attempts to introduce mandatory helmet laws
etc etc have led many to think there is an active campaign by the
wishful thinking, it's common sense brigade to reduce the roads to the
preserve of the powered vehicle.
It is my view that a few more prosecutions of drivers for careless or
dangerous driving along with better publicity for sentencing and
disqualification would do more than any other measure so far taken; and
yes I am a motorist as well as a cyclist.
Whilst cycling proficiency classes are useful in the first stages of
cycling they will have little effect on the overall structure of our
road scene as they fail to address the major cause of conflict, the
driver. It is the motorist who has over the last two or three decades
come to regard the roadway as their exclusive property that is the seat
of the problem on our roads.
Yours etc etc
What does the pannel think? Is the inability of parliament to legislate
or motorists to drive safely due to cyclist riding two abreast?
Sniper8052