Oi Duffas: Off Your Bike on the Pavement You Selfish Moron!
In earlier posts on Bent Society under the "maximum tolerance" heading, and on the Daily Telegraph blog site I have called for pavement cyclists to be completely outlawed, because pedestrians are not safe from cyclists. In those posts I wrote that without any doubt more pedestrians will be seriously injured and more will be killed unless something is done.
Given the fact that cyclists are not safe on the roads from traffic those earlier Bent Society posts on this very subject questioned whether the bicycle is in fact an outmoded form of transport in modern Britain.
Should the bicycle be moved socially and legally to a similar position in the UK as the horse - onto bridleways and generally off the streets?
Today there has been a sea of anger in the press and in the bloggersphere over the fact that in April 2007, 35 year old cyclist Jason Howard mowed down 17 year old pedestrian Rhiannon Bennett - knocking her into a coma from which she died 6 days later. Howard was today found guilty of cycling dangerously and fined £2,200 - with no prison sentence.
He had yelled out to the teenager and her friends: "Move - because I'm not stopping" before mounting the pavement at 23mph+ and hitting her without so much as slowing down or swerving.
Years ago adults did not ride on the pavement. If they did they would have been severely reprimanded by a police officer. Now our young people see what the self-indulgent pavement cycling adults do and the fact that our police do nothing about it and - keen as they are to test boundaries that little bit further - ride theirs through indoor shopping centres. See here this picture I took of one in Nottingham last year.
How many more innocent pedestrians have to be injured and even killed by selfish self-absorbed cyclists before something is done?
Only yesterday in Nottingham, on the Mansfield Road, some selfish and unbelievably stupidly reckless middle-aged duffas hurtled past me on the pavement. He came at me from from behind, doing about 30 mph - judging by the fact he was keeping level with traffic and came so close as to lightly brush shoulders with me as he hurtled downhill towards the city centre. If I had moved to my left unpredictably - perhaps to avoid some vomit or dogs mess - I too would no doubt have been struck and seriously injured. This happens on a daily basis.
The fact that this issue is no longer policed means that selfish cyclists are recklessly endangering the lives of others. More will die before something sensible is done.
Robin
8 comments:
I wonder, does Sharia law have anything to say on this matter? I'm being serious by the way.
What's more, stupid irresponsible motorists also kill a lot of (often equally stupid and irresponsible) pedestrians! And given rising costs of fuel and the impact of climate change, isn't the car becoming an outmoded form of transport in modern Britain?
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7496381.stm)
We should all stay indoors. Even if we all walked everywhere, we'd probably only end up getting knifed.
Moreover, you should sign up the 30mph pavement cyclist to the Olympic team, not chastise them: that's a really difficult speed to achieve and maintain on a decent asphalt road on a race bike, let alone on a machine that can be ridden on pavements.
The details of the tragic case you mention are sketchy - as to speed (17mph? 23mph? who knows...), whether the cyclist was actually on the road or whether the pedestrian and her group were straddling the road as well as the pavement. Nonetheless, if he shouted a warning and ploughed into them, he must take responsibility for that. I can't see why somebody travelling *quickly* on a bike would do that though, as coming off at speed really hurts. I would hazard a guess that rather than intention to plough into the group, something went wrong, somebody moved unexpectedly. But it is the cyclist's duty to expect unexpected movements (I've been told this by police twice after being knocked off by cars unexpectedly changing direction).
A lot of people who ride on the pavement, especially those who do it quickly, are being selfish, yes. A lot are doing it out of self-preservation, in which case they should get off and walk with the bike. I guess police can't be bothered to nick people for doing it, and people know they can get away with it.
My worry is cases like this do tar all cyclists with the same brush - I obey the rules of the road as much as - if not more than - your average motorist, but I'm now lumped in with the media portrayal of 'deadly cyclists'
Edward - its a decent downhill stretch on the Mansfield Road in Nottingham and many cyclists who ride the road are going faster than the cars on it....hell I've even seen some of those odd lanky 20 year old skateboarders in the middle of road doing a fair clip in front of traffic. The skateboarders are taking a risk (point taken about "risk society" staying indoors etc) but the only person they really scare or endanger is themselves.
Furious pedalling pavement cyclists however often ride headlong at pedestrians - caring to intimidate whoever they can to meke them move aside.
Most cyclists who ride on the pavement probably do so slowly and with consideration. The problem is that they act as camouflage for the behaviour of a significant minority who are a menace.
I walk about 5-6 miles a day most days so perhaps I see and experience more of this than most people.
The car might be an outmoded form of transport - but so far drivers have not taken to the pavements en-masse.
The question is - do bikes belong in one place, namely on the road? I'd say that because we cannot restrict their speed then they do.
I have a nice mountain bike myself but won’t ride it on roads as I know the car drivers and the lorry drivers are too much of a danger to cyclists. And I simply cannot bring myself to selfishly ride it on the pavements which should be preserved for pedestrians – who should not be intimidated by me on a bike.
While i was training in London earlier this year i walked to my place of training and found that cyclists had a total disregard for everyone else. Most mornings i would end up shouting at some lycra clad muppet who nearly mowed me down, usualy by ignored a pedestrian crossing while i was trying to cross.
Not being particularly shy, i went so far as to try and stuff my rucsack into the rear wheels of a few who got too close to me on the crossings. Unfortunately i missed, but it did get their attention.
It's an interesting debate, for sure, and one that will only become more relevant/intense as more and more people take up cyclign to avoid fuel costs, commuting costs etc.
I do have a few opinions, I'm in no way 'cyclists are always in the right', but I do think cycling should be encouraged and to do this it requires a fundamental change in attitude on the part of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians. Obviously, these are arbitrary divisions - I'm a cyclist and a pedestrian, and many people are all three.
As to the skateboarder only endangering him/herself: what if someone stepped out in front of them? There is a (small) chance that person would also hit their head, go into a coma and die. The trouble is, as long as humans use modes of transport that take them beyond walking pace, there will be increased levels of (usually preventable) danger.
Your point as to where cyclists should cycle is also good - I have never been a fan of shared pavement/cycle paths - pedestrians tend to amble into the cycle segment, and vice versa, while they are also broken up by the need to stop, dismount and cross the road on numerous occasions. I usually ride on the road in these situations, drawing the ire of motorists. But I'd rather be cycling 20mph+ on a wide road than on a narrow bit of pavement shared with kids etc. Also, cycle paths seem to attract an inordinate amount of broken glass.
The 'green lanes' as parts of the road for cyclists are potentially the way forward, but of course some motorists completely ignore them, and the unwary can easily become trapped inside a lorry/bus turning left. Moreover, the green lane offers little protection if someone flashes somebody across at a junction (this is how I was knocked off my bike the second time - I was wrong to entirely blame the driver, I should have been more careful regardless of it being my right of way, and the other motorist should not have flashed him across in the first place!)
The only time I have collided with a pedestrian was cycling to the right of stationary traffic and a girl walked out from between two vans on her mobile phone. Who was to blame there?
It's a shame you feel too intimated to ride your bike - 95% of the time, I find it the most relaxing part of my day (though much of this is training out in the countryside - by no means safe, but a lot less stressful). I cycled in London for many years, and, after getting over my initial 'me or them' aggression, I now feel confident enough to deal with most road-based situations. I can see why some people wouldn't want to serve that 'apprenticeship' though.
Angrydave once again tars cyclists with the same brush, but I guess if it was a daily happening for him, it's not surprising. I bet he saw (but did not register) many more cyclists though who didn't annoy him. Can't deny a lot of cyclists I've met are pretty self-righteous though, but they don't hold a monopoly on that.
All good points Edward.
From what I can make out then, you as a very experienced cyclist agree that cyclists should not ride their bikes on the pavement.
I think that our politicians and senior police officers are silent on this matter - simply because it's a complex issue.
That's no excuse - we pay them to deal with complex issues. Alistair (= dimwit-quackery-led_ Darling should keep out of it though - or else eat more omega3 fish oil for his brain before policymaking on transport issues.
I think more senior politicians should ride bikes in London though, may be a good way of culling a few.
edward,
You are quite right, i only noticed the ones that caused me problems. The others i did not even register, probably because they were not a problem and just doing their own thing.
You are also right about the self-rightous bit aswell. I have met many motorcyclists who behave in the same way towards all car drivers.
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