Even more cyclists now breaking the law

[DistingusedSocialCommentator]

Most drivers and pedestrians will be aware of this as many have seen or been victims of a cycle rider.

Watching Talktv this morning there was a lady who had lost her mother due to an e-scooter rider on the pavement. The show had a lawyer on talking about what I agree with, IE cyclists are very hard to identify if they get away from an accident.

E-scooters we all know are against the law unless provided for by your local council in central London. Several times over the years, me and the family have had close calls with them on pavements and parks as they zoom down, you cant hear them and they often dress in all black clothing.

Push bike riders are travelling faster and faster as many more have those battery packs on them

With the introduction of 20mph zones in vast areas of London, even more, push bike riders are now breaking the law, EG travelling well over 20mph in a 20mph and passing slower cars travelling at 20mph We are all aware how some push bike riders have ignored the rules for years, EG jump red lights, ignore pedestrians on crossings, cause accidents and walk of or rise off and now, much more able to break the speed limits off 20mph with almost 100% impunity and some that at red lights get o the pavement and cross a red light that way or some just ride on pavements

For the record, note, Its some cyclists not all but we have all seen them more so as going to work, or dropping off children at schools the speed of some of these riders

The Talktv debate also talked about those who kill people while riding a push bike/scooter, I think they said the maximum prison sentence was two years (I may be wrong) but the laws needed vast improvements.

This had been talked about a lot before but nothing happened.

AIBU proposes that all cyclists have number plates/easily identifiable markings, all have insurance, all have a bell and lights, and all wear a helmet and hi-vis jacket (This would in my judgment make many more riders more responsible for their actions and our roads/pavements safer for all)

The police need to be more proactive on e-scooter riders. However, as cyclists are almost impossible to identify, my proposal as above will aid the police and hopefully, modify the dangerous behaviours of those cyclists that are now regularly breaking the law, EG, travelling at more than the speed allowed, jumping red lights, putting pedestrians at risk on crossings and pavements.

WTF are you talking about I drive a Toyota which I trade in every couple of years for a new one (cash), because there reliable and one of the best made cars on the road unlike BMW/Audi. I could easily afford one of these German cars if I wanted,but they are dam right unrelaible and driven mainly by wankers from years of experience.

Another car-killer walks free:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13104185/Swearing-Imam-72-ran-killed-49-year-old-man-lying-road-spared-jail.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton

And another:
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/speeding-driver-walks-free-after-26756903

Oh look, a car driver running a red light and nearly killing someone (causing severe injuries instead):
https://www.wiltshirelive.co.uk/news/wiltshire-news/fiat-punto-driver-walks-free-8942328

Driving on the pavement as well (near a school and everything), lucky that the five victims were only injured, not killed:
https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/23750907.cornwall-accident-car-mounts-pavement-five-people-injured/

It's quite clear that if you want to commit murder and get away with it, you need to make it look like a Road Traffic "Accident" (they're seldom accidents, someone is usually culpable).

This is a thread about cyclists.

I don’t think anyone doubts that cars are more dangerous than bicycles.

And “accident” is an absence of intention, not an absence of fault.

Those drivers are disgusting. And, unfortunately, they're not the only ones. I've long held the belief that penalties for dangerous and careless driving and driving under the influence are far too lenient. The same applies to drivers who cause death by dangerous driving. They should be given a minimum 20 year sentence and banned from driving for life. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

Without doubt one of the greatest posts I've ever read on MN. Hear, hear! 👏

For those who think that all cycle lanes are safe and should be used, here is an example of a cycle lane in Morden. As you can see, the paint is really going to help you if the bus pulls out and hasn't seen you. It's also really narrow so that you will hit every sewer drain cover and all the rubbish that ends up at the side of the road. To cap it off, it suddenly disappears without warning just after the bus stop (and before the traffic lights) leaving you without a safe way off the road and at the mercy of all the heavy traffic. It's also close to the local college. I would hate to be one of the kids who has to cycle to college each day not knowing if they will be mown down or not.

This is the thread where the OP (fresh from moaning that her Bentley has to wait for the peasantry to cross a street before she turns in to it) is extremely concerned that if a car hits a bike it might upset the poor driver. Firstly accidents are usually caused by drivers, not cyclists so if we really want to reduce the number of deaths then let's target the bigger killer. Secondly many drivers clearly lack any empathy anyway, hence the close passes and horn use.

How narrow is that? The design standards London uses stipulate at least 2m (and never less than 1.5m) for bike lanes. If there's not the room to fit a safe one in then they shouldn't mark it at all.

E scooters are very different from bicycles and around me they are ridden by very different groups. I am, for example, a regular and law abiding cyclist, and I would never use an e scooter.

Neither should be used on the pavement. The problem is with enforcement, which is non existent. I'd also really like the police to tackle the e scooter riders who go two to a scooter, which is against the law and really unsafe.

It's probably been stated already, but there's one large issue with your original post. Speed limits don't apply to cyclists, only motor vehicles.

Buses are apparently roughly 2.5 meters wide. I would very surprised if it was even 1.5 wide when looking at the photo. Unfortunately that does appear to be the standard width of on road bike lanes that I've seen in London. I don't cycle as I wouldn't feel safe doing so there.

I think the thread is about bad cyclists. (I agree it’s an oddly contrived OP, but in general there’s a place for moaning about cyclists, just as much as about MILs, dogs and inconsiderate friends.)

Cyclists are not above all criticism.

Being concerned about not being in collisions with cyclists is not exactly wrong, is it? I doubt any drivers would be shrugging and whistling if a cyclist ends up brain damaged or paralysed or dead in an accident the cyclist caused. Whatever the relative incidence of driver and cyclist fault, there are reckless cyclists.

The title says that it's about cyclists, but that's not really what the OP is about. Most of the OP doesn't even mention pedal cycles. It goes on about escooters and electric bikes (the ones that are technically an unlicenced moped as they exceed 15.5mph).

More cyclists is the answer to it all. Reduce traffic, improve health, slow down scooter and illegal ebike traffic a bit. I've often seen responsible cyclists having a go at cyclists who jump red lights etc. cyclists also benefit local economies way more than car drivers, it's just easier to stop.

Right now, teens make up a disproportionate percentage of cyclists, which makes people think it's an inherently risky thing. If the irresponsible teen cyclists thought their auntie Pat/old teacher/neighbour two doors down was cycling behind them, they might be a bit less dickish.

We just need more bikes, not number plates that put people off.

I campaign for compulsory bike lanes on all roads, like in the Netherlands. Pavements for pedestrians, red roads for bikes and e scooters. Grey roads for cars.
That will sort it out.

But it’s the bike that’s to be registered not the person or the item of clothing.

We still come back to the need to improve infrastructure for cyclists. Get more people out of cars and onto bikes and only then will the culture of cyclist hating reduce.

How much money would this save the NHS?
Reduced obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for starters. These are all reversible with increased exercise and healthier lifestyle.
That could pay for better cyclist-only cycle routes and it would also mean no cyclists on pavements.

I was rewatching the Ronnie Pickering video and this came up in the suggestions. Men like this are the reason that if I were dictator I'd happily introduce severe restrictions on motor vehicles (Locomotives Act of 1865 anyone?). People with tempers like that shouldn't be let anywhere near dangerous machinery.

"But I saw a cyclist who wasn't wearing a helmet" is a distraction from the real menace plaguing our streets.

Well, given they've not managed to sort out the dangerous mess where drivers kill thousands of people every year despite having license plates, lights, horns and having to pass a test before they are allowed to drive alone...

1. perhaps it's not that simple, hmm?

2. if the government did decide to invest more resources into road safety, I hope they would be looking at preventing the thousands of deaths first. When we get to the glorious day that road deaths from motor vehicles are so low that cyclists killing more people than drivers, then by all means focus on getting those deaths down too.

What I don’t understand is why cyclists are so dead set against number plates and registration.

What’s the problem, if they follow the rules?
A reg plate is only a problem if someone can get caught in something.

For the same reason I'm dead set against a law requiring me to tie pink ribbons to my handlebars - it's pointless, it won't make anyone safer and it distracts from the real issue which is that drivers (who BTW do have numberplates and registration), not cyclists, are the people who are killing thousands of people every year.

Why is it pointless? You cycle on the pavement, you get a fine. You don’t stop at red, you get a fine.

Result.

That fall at the end was poetic. 😂

If every country in the world bar North Korea has decided that it's a non-starter (Singapore had it under colonial rule but abolished it in 1982) then don't you think that they might be on to something?

I'd much rather those resources went on tracking the drivers (who BTW do have numberplates and registration) who drive while using their phones, carry on when the lights have changed to red, speed in residential areas, overtake without looking, left hook cyclists and all the other every day dangers that collectively kill thousands of people every year thank you.