To suggest cyclists need to be licensed

[savethebeesandthecees]

And also pay Road Tax and risk having their licence revoked for misuse.

I'm saying this as a pedestrian. Nearly hit again by a cyclist going through a red light. Others routinely mount the pavement to swerve red lights. I'm sick of it. If I film them as evidence, so what? What are the consequences?

Something needs to change.

I tend to agree cyclists should be allowed to jump red lights. Subject to certain caveats, of course.

I wonder how many accidents between cyclists and pedestrians occur when cyclists are reckless versus pedestrians stepping out into the road without looking? Obviously as a cyclist it's my responsibility to avoid them but the random ambling into cycle lanes is both alarming and dangerous. The only time I nearly hit a pedestrian on my bike was when a woman stepped into a cycle lane to take a photo of her friend on Westminster Bridge. No warning, just stepped backwards.

I don't do it, as I'm a law abiding type. But often think how much safer I would be if I could cycle slowly across an empty junction rather than wait to be mown down by cars behind me. Can you imagine the fury if that was allowed though?

The cost of instgating and maintaining a cyclist licensing system would outweigh the benefits by so many times it's not even worth thinking about.

Only one country registers cyclists with number plates in the world at the moment - North Korea.

That being said I'd be happy to implement a number plate system, if only so drivers can feel less threatened and insecure about cyclists in general. The disadvantage of this system is it would be a barrier to people cycling. Also would you require children to register too?

Road tax is not a thing anymore, perhaps you meant emissions tax?

Now it'd be great if all drivers could observe the Highway Code and give adequate space when overtaking cyclists, not drive/park in cycle lanes, check their wing mirrors when turning left, not cross advanced stop lines and sit in cycle boxes when traffic lights are red. Etc etc

As a pedestrian it is frustrating.

Cyclists expect to be treated the same as other vehicles when on the road, i.e. given enough space.

However I have almost been run over by bikes on a pedestrian crossing (where vehicles should stop), because the cyclists doesn't want to lose their momentum.

Perhaps the focus should be on drivers and their actions?

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11180887/Reckless-motorist-82-jailed-six-months-killing-cyclist-70-car-ploughed-him.html?ito=social-facebook&fbclid=IwAR3I5xuQ1QIMaiQvACXa0HXjXYGhAQQFyT_GHk9hUi_aVYOhod9LHjJ2Ik4

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55361818

road.cc/content/news/drivers-whose-road-rage-row-led-cyclists-death-jailed-293279

Could post a 100 links, it quite shocking how many other road users and pedestrians are killed by car drivers, often hit n runs.

Josephine Gilbert was particularly harrowing, as my DD knew her as they did some races together and she rode for a local team a few years ago.

But lets focus on cyclists as that means 'drivers don't have to address the damage they cause.

www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2068852/shocking-video-nine-drivers-jump-red-light-falkirk/

Apologies for the scum link but yeah numberplates

Imagine if Britain went out on a limb and did the complete opposite to what other countries do to reduce unnecessary car journeys and encourage lower emissions and healthy exercise by making cycling more difficult and expensive?

We would be even more of an international laughing stock than we are at present. The second most obese nation in the world (after America), determined to get to that top spot by making exercise more difficult. Just so car drivers can be less offended by cyclists. And just because we barely have any civilised modern urban infrastructure such as cycle lanes to keep pedestrians and cyclists apart.

Wow. What an acolade to aspire to.

What I've found interesting is that there's another thread in AIBU about drivers re-taking a test every 25 years. About 75% of drivers are against the idea and giving all sorts of reasons why it wouldn't work. Namely that people would just behave to pass the test and then revert to their normal driving style.

But yet come over to this thread and it's a great idea for cyclists to take a test 😂

@Lunar270 a great observation. Gotta love the logic of drivers

@Whiskeypowers What do you mean when you say "Many of the bikes are powerful and high performance"? Do you mean the people riding them? Bicycles are human-powered and their performance is very much linked to the fitness/ pedalling power of their rider!

Assuming the poster hasn't confused them with motorbikes, a lot of people who don't do sport are a little bit afraid of seeing people, or even the thought of people, moving at speed under their own propulsion. Moving slowly becomes a virtue and moving at speed because almost delinquent behaviour (Except in a car), because they simply aren't used to it and can't conceive it.

Citation? That is not true. The Highway Code does not say that both hands should be on the handlebars at all times. Cyclists are supposed to raise their arm up in the air to signal their intention to turn/ move right or left!
National Standards cycle training (nb: strictly speaking, only branded as 'Bikeability' when carried out for young people in school settings) teaches cyclists to position their hands over their brakes , so they can stop quickly in emergencies, not just holding the handlebars.
Riding a bicycle on a road "recklessly, or at a speed or in a manner which is dangerous to the public", or "without due care and attention" or "reasonable consideration" for other road users are all offences, and the police would tend to use one of these to deal with riders who have both hands in the air at the same time, as there's no way that person could do an emergency stop.

It's not intrinsically dangerous!
If motorists are capable of conducting a conversation with their passenger while steering a metal box weighing a ton or more along the public highway, without crashing into anything, then it stands to reason that a cyclist can do the same.

Motorists being "impatient"? Perhaps they need to be more patient, and remember that most traffic jams are caused by other motorists, so most of the delays they suffer on their journeys are the fault of other drivers.

There is a risk that every time someone abuses/ mistreats (passes too close/ fast, for example) an adult on a bike, that person might decide to give up cycling and use a car to get around instead - leading to more traffic jams and slower journeys/ less parking space for everyone else - if all these impatient drivers used their brains and thought logically, they would be happy to see so many cyclists as it leaves more space for them to speed along in their cars!

As I've said to others on this thread, you might find cycle training useful as it'll teach you not just how to cycle lawfully but also how to keep yourself as safe as possible, often by taking up more space in the road

Crossed at the regular lights today when red and cyclists whizzing through.

I know it's not all cyclists but it's a sizeable minority. It is dangerous and unnecessary and I don't see how it changes without some sort of deterrent.

I'm not saying cars aren't at fault but right now it's the cyclists near me.

Just follow the Highway Code, please.

I think pedestrians should have to have a licence as well, in that case.

I've fallen off my bike 5 times, and had countless near misses. Once it was because a passenger / pedestrian opened a car door on me (I was in a cycle lane). Once was because I misjudged a wind shear on a bridge (entirely my own fault). Three times it was because pedestrians stepped out in front of me. No damage to them, of course, because I am a careful cyclist and managed to stop. Hey ho, though, if my hands, knees and clothes were shredded, and my bike damaged, because cyclists are dangerous scum, and who cares. One of them was so oblivious he carried on walking, face down in his phone, earphones in. He only realised he had caused an accident when another cyclist, who had just managed to swerve round me, caught him up and pointed at me rolling around on the floor. I got a surly, grudging apology, and only then because the other cyclist was built like a brick outhouse and furious.

Pedestrians may generally be less lethal, but they are absolutely as much of a menace as cars to cyclists.

Pedestrians may generally be less lethal, but they are absolutely as much of a menace as cars to cyclists.

to say a pedestrian is less lethal than a driver, pedestrians aren’t killing 5 people a day - there really isn’t and shouldn’t be a comparison and say they are less lethal. I think that’s a big problem with perception and until that is resolved people will not realise how safe walking and cycling are, if you take away drivers, deaths would almost cease in compare to now. I’m not suggesting to ban drivers, regulations may increase good drivers though. A 3 points and an automatic ban for a fortnight might make drivers appreciate their licence and improve their driving skills. 6 points and an automatic 1minth ban might encourage drivers to put their phone in the boot.

I guess it depends whether we want to improve road safety or create bureaucracy

I hate all the traffic jams on the M25 cyclists cause. 😡