Cyclists above the law
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From: Peter Grange on 28 Nov 2009 05:51 On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:07:05 +0000, %steve%@malloc.co.uk (Steve Firth) wrote: >Judith M Smith <judithmsmith(a)live.co.uk> wrote: > >> On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:04:03 +0000, Peter Grange >> <peter(a)plgrange.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> >> <snip> >> >> >> >>Here's something you could try to test the theory. Stop the next >> >>pavement cyclist that you see and ask them to ride where they belong. >> > >> >Try telling the next motorist parked on the pavement to get his >> >hulking great car off the pavement and on the street where it belongs. >> > >> >> >> Ah yes - what has become known as "the cyclist's riposte". > >Umm actually no. Long before you appeared on the scene it was known as >"tu quoque", the cyclists' fallacy. > >I realise that since you appeared you expect everyone to dumb down to >your level. There was an element of exaggeration in Steve's post I think, 25 mph? I have actually spoken to an erk cycling on the pavement and got predictably told to f*ck off. But then again I got the same response when I responded to a text I received at 2 am, pointing out I wasn't his babe, so maybe it's a youth thing rather than a cyclist thing. I also got the same response telling a driver that using his mobile with one hand and taking notes with the other wasn't exactly legal, so maybe it's a follically-challenged thing, I'm not a psychiatrist. I think what I'm saying is that drivers, cyclists and texters are people. It's people who can be rude and arrogant, not necessarily because of what they are doing at the time. Constant assertions that cyclists are somehow different from drivers leads to jolly sport on here & not much else. -- Pete
From: Peter Grange on 28 Nov 2009 06:14 On 28 Nov 2009 10:58:07 GMT, Huge <Huge(a)nowhere.much.invalid> wrote: >On 2009-11-27, Peter Grange <peter(a)plgrange.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:56:05 +0000, %steve%@malloc.co.uk (Steve Firth) > >>>No, it's just that the majority of cyclists are selfish, stupid >>>bastards. You seem typical of the breed. >> >> There goes the unsubstantiated "majority" word again. > >I used to walk through the City of London every day to work. In that >place and time I'd say "majority of" is indeed incorrect. I'd substitute >"all". If I've told you once I've told you a million times not to exaggerate.
From: Peter Grange on 28 Nov 2009 06:18 On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:43:05 -0000, "mileburner" <mileburner(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > >"Peter Grange" <peter(a)plgrange.demon.co.uk> wrote in message >news:fcm0h5hlc6qqbsp4gnv8jhpn61uqqs20ho(a)4ax.com... >> >> Sorry, but I have to disagree. No-one would get anywhere if we all >> drove around so we could stop safely in a foot. Society generally >> accepts there is a risk to moving around at a speed greater than >> walking, and we have compromises like speed limits to help mitigate >> that risk. The often-quoted problems of getting convictions for >> killing or maiming wirh a car are a tacit acceptance by society that >> people are going to get hurt or worse in a motorised society. >> >This thread kinda suggests that it is OK to kill and maim by using the road, >so long as you are not breaking any rules when you do so. > Unfortunately society seems to have decided just that. >I don't buy into it. > >Road users ought to take a bit more care and a bit more responsibility for >their actions. > A bit more care is a long way from driving around at a speed where you can stop in a foot. -- Pete
From: Judith M Smith on 28 Nov 2009 06:43 On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:49:55 +0000, Keitht <KeithT> wrote: >Steve Firth wrote: >> johnwright <""john\"@no spam here.com"> wrote: >> >>>> There are also "Give Way" markings for cyclists which are use whenever >>>> the cycle lane crosses the pavement. Would you like to guess how many >>>> cyclists obey those markings? >>> None? >> >> Give the man a cee-gar. >> >> They don't even give way to the trucks that are turning into the >> industrial estate. Despite there being several large signs telling >> cyclists to stop and look for traffic before crossing the entrance. >> >> Note, it says "Stop", not "Give Way". They don't stop. >> >> Apparently if a cyclist were to stop in London for a red light or a stop >> sign their testicles would drop off. > >That would be the same reason a set of lights was installed at a minor >crossroads near me -- drivers never seemed to understand 'give way' and >managed to run in to each other constantly. >Now they just run the red lights as if they didn't exist and still smash >in to each other. Yes of course they do. Do really think that any one actually believes your outright lies and exaggerations with such statements. (PS I've had a few people contact me - re your Registration ideas. Any suggestions as to how to get things moving?) -- Many cyclists are proving the need for registration by their contempt for the Highway Code and laws. The answer: All cyclists over 16 to take compulsory test, have compulsory insurance, and be registered. Registration number to be clearly vizible on the back of mandatory hi-viz vest. Habitual law breakers' cycles confiscated and crushed. (With thanks to KeithT for the idea)
From: Peter Grange on 28 Nov 2009 06:55
On 28 Nov 2009 11:31:39 GMT, Huge <Huge(a)nowhere.much.invalid> wrote: >On 2009-11-28, Peter Grange <peter(a)plgrange.demon.co.uk> wrote: >> On 28 Nov 2009 10:58:07 GMT, Huge <Huge(a)nowhere.much.invalid> wrote: >> >>>On 2009-11-27, Peter Grange <peter(a)plgrange.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>>> On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:56:05 +0000, %steve%@malloc.co.uk (Steve Firth) >>> >>>>>No, it's just that the majority of cyclists are selfish, stupid >>>>>bastards. You seem typical of the breed. >>>> >>>> There goes the unsubstantiated "majority" word again. >>> >>>I used to walk through the City of London every day to work. In that >>>place and time I'd say "majority of" is indeed incorrect. I'd substitute >>>"all". >> >> If I've told you once I've told you a million times not to exaggerate. > >Damn. Found out. :o) > >But seriously, cyclists in the CoL do seem to be a breed apart. Apart >from the law, that is. I had a spell commuting by bike between Waterloo and Bishopsgate which finished about 2 years ago. There were a number of eejuts as there are in all walks of life. The red-light behaviour at the north side of London Bridge was quite good, as most were going right-ish towards Bishopsgate. Other places it wasn't so good. I did see, and reported on here, a couple of plod stopping cyclists coming south on Bishopsgate who had gone through a red light at the junction of Threadneedle Street. They were there for 2 or 3 days IIRC. So sometimes something is done, but not often enough to discourage the behaviour of those who give the rest of us a bad name. -- Pete |