Terrible news, another cyclist killed on the road.

[Neil]

Just listening to the radio and heard the terrible news that yet another cyclist has been killed on the road in London, thats 4 in 8 days - link here BBC News - Cyclist dies in Bow Roundabout lorry collision

I drive a lot, about 20,000 miles a year and I see so many cyclists on the road being unsafe and risking their lives everyday.
I can't help thinking as I drive around that our roads are not safe for bikes. Motorists have to pass tests, have insurance and vehicle safety tests but anyone can jump on a bike and get on the road.
With the state of our roads with crumbling surfaces and crazy traffic calming schemes its sometimes not very safe in a car.
Mixing bikes and cars/trucks can not be safe and something needs to be done.

Lancashire Police are doing a cycling operation at the moment, I read a webchat on facebook the other day that proved that road users in general are unaware of the law and many dangers on the road.

[DaveinGermany]

Over here & especially in Holland there's a phenomenal amount of cycle-paths, signage & lights purely for the use of push bikes. Only problem is, you still get the idiots who think they should mong it all over the road & as for the gangs of Lycra-loons!

There's even cases where a community will purchase farm land & the like to build & ensure a safe foot/cycle path in certain under developed areas. A lot of the graft is done by the locals who only call in specialists as appropriate. Say what you will about the Hermans, but they don't just yap on about things, they actually get hands on.

[accyman]

no lights , no hand signals and some idea in tehir head they are stronger than a car or truck..

cant really blame anyone but tehir own stupidity if they get mowed down

used a bike for many years and spent a lot of time on the roads so despite now been a car driver i think my opinion that most folk who get killed on a pushbike usually end up that way through tehir own negligence isnt biased lol

wether or not this chap was to blame for his own actions i dont know because i wasnt there but from what iv seen myself from adults,children and cycling groups with tehir behaviour and attitude towards motorists im suprised more arnt dead.

I think the only hing keeping some of them alive is the fear of next years insurance premium if you hit one

[Barrie Yates]

Just spent 4 days in London - the large number of cyclists riding at night wearing dark clothes, no lights, or lights that were dimmer than a Toc-H lamp, glare from vehicle lights, cyclists weaving in and out of stationary and slow moving traffic - no wonder there are accidents and fatalities

[accyman]

Originally Posted by Barrie Yates

Just spent 4 days in London - the large number of cyclists riding at night wearing dark clothes, no lights, or lights that were dimmer than a Toc-H lamp, glare from vehicle lights, cyclists weaving in and out of stationary and slow moving traffic - no wonder there are accidents and fatalities

spot on

people have got so used to the "motorist is always wrong " attitude this country has people seem to think they have no responsability for their own well being on the road.

the UK must be the only country where someone can run out infront of a car and be called a victim and get a handsome payout instead of been called a moron

[cmonstanley]

by the evidence ive seen , motorists on london dont know what indicators are for. but thr cyclists are loonies tailgating boris buses .

[Less]

As sad as it is whenever anyone dies, Lycra is not much of a defence against a lump of metal.

When I was an 8 year old child I wasn't allowed on the road without the bike being well maintained and by law I had to have some audible way of informing others that I was approaching, simply, a bell.
If I was without lights on my machine once it got dusk it was a case of dismount and walk home.
Even at that age if I dared to ride on the pavement, I could expect to be in trouble.
The high way code for cyclists had to be adhered to without exception.
Why? Because back then the Police applied the law and weren't forced to ignore 'minor' offences just because of paper work.

Anyone using a bike should follow the rules, they should also have to pass a test these days AND should not be allowed on the road without insurance.

A cyclist these days is more dangerous to predict than anyone on a horse or guiding an animal.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Less

Anyone using a bike should follow the rules, they should also have to pass a test these days AND should not be allowed on the road without insurance.

A cyclist these days is more dangerous to predict than anyone on a horse or guiding an animal.

You need to pass a teat to ride/drive a motor vehicle on the road but not a push bike or horse - it is stupid.

Don't agree about push bikes being more dangerous than horses though, passed one a few weeks ago on a long straight country road wide and slow, clutch pressed so I was as quiet as possible. Looking in my mirror and it reared up onto its back legs and was on the wrong side of the road. The only way a rider can make a horse do what he/she wants is if the horse decides it wants to do it.

No horses on the road in my opinion without special licence ie. shows, parades etc.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Neil

No horses on the road in my opinion without special licence ie. shows, parades etc.

You may consider it strange, but I think a horse has more right on the road than a potentially permanent brain dead bicycle rider, after all, you started a thread about yet another cyclist dying, how many horses and there still are many, died in London traffic accidents over the same period?

[DtheP47]

Not only cyclists without grey matter Less.

BBC News - #Bloodycyclists Twitter post driver Emma Way guilty

And what happened to the Cycing Proficiency Tests ??

[Less]

Originally Posted by DtheP47

Not only cyclists without grey matter Less.

BBC News - #Bloodycyclists Twitter post driver Emma Way guilty

And what happened to the Cycing Proficiency Tests ??

Stupid cow deserves to be banned, I wonder if she tweeted that whilst driving away from the accident?

The lass has ambition though:-

"It is the biggest regret of my life so far."

[DAV007]

every new driver should sit a CBT as part of the test.
It gives you a whole new appreciation of life on a motorbike and a push bike.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by DAV007

every new driver should sit a CBT as part of the test.
It gives you a whole new appreciation of life on a motorbike and a push bike.

I would ban both from the roads.

[Less]

Originally Posted by DAV007

every new driver should sit a CBT as part of the test.
It gives you a whole new appreciation of life on a motorbike and a push bike.

CBT?

Cognitive behavioral therapy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Why should every driver, Motorcyclist and cyclist have to sit such a thing when some idiot Cyclist ignores the Highway code, ignores traffic lights, weaves in and out of traffic, causes caos?

Surely, we should have a Police force that at the same time as applying the law to anyone using an engine, equally applies the law to idiots that ignore the highway code?

Perhaps then, we will have less cyclists dying on the road?

Oh, and by the way, if cyclists really need to use the pavements, could they fit a bell to warn pedestrians that someone on a bicycle is encrouching on their territory?

Rather than sneak up quietly and demand we F,off out of their way?

[Neil]

I thought a bell was a requirement on a bike.
Gets on my wick when bikes mount the footpath and cross at traffic lights instead of waiting. Or pass on the inside at red traffic lights or worse on the outside and swerve in front of the stopped cars at lights. Or pass on the inside in heavy traffic where you don't expect them to be