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.

You drive on the pavement, you get away with it. You drive through a red light, you get away with it. You run down and kill a pedestrian, you get a suspended sentence.

Sort out the offending of the people who are actually killing and maiming thousands of people every year before trying to do something about an almost nonexistent problem.

As a pedestrian I want to see some controls over cyclists, the same way cyclists want to see control over drivers.

Why is it so difficult for cyclists to realise they endanger pedestrians when the cycle with no consideration?

That’s the issue.

Pedestrian safety is a non existent problem for you.

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

Because it’s a pointless layer of un- needed bureaucracy, hugely expensive and difficult to implement and we don’t have the resources. Plus the people who push this kind of nonsense tend to be impatient, selfish and self absorbed drivers. Or Tories desperate for another culture war to fight to distract the electorate…

My electric box bike weighs about 35kg and my kids weigh about 45kg between them. That's 80kg total before you factor in the kids clothes, shoes and bags. And the weight of me and my stuff...

I'd like to see those of you claiming "electric bikes are cheating" get my kids to school on time using my cargo bike WITHOUT electric assist!

Grrr.

I've got no problem with being identifiable, AI facial recognition will soon render such concerns irrelevant anyway.

What I do think most people have an issue with is the waste of money it would be, for little to no benefit.

Sure, but however cyclists make you feel, and FWIW I cycle like a bloody angel and don't like cyclists on the pavement either, the reality is thousands of people, including pedestrians and cyclists, and indeed drivers, are not being killed by cyclists and are being killed by drivers.

You could have every single thing you want, pile cyclists with all the restrictions in the world, hell ban bikes altogether and the number of pedestrian lives you'd save is single figures. Meanwhile, drivers continue to kill thousands of people a year.

So why are you so much more bothered about adding new controls on the cyclists , who kill at most single or low double figures, than enforcing the controls we are already supposed to have on drivers who kill thousands of people a year?

I don't cycle. I don't drive. And for every bad/dangerous incident I've had from a cyclist, I'd estimate I have over a hundred from a driver. I notice when cyclists don't stop at lights or pass me too close because it's unusual. It's a daily occurrence from motorists. I think the single best way of improving pedestrian safety would be increasing levels of cycling, not discouraging it.

TBF though, they wouldn’t work at night very well unless they were also illuminated. And one of the big problems is cyclists going about with no lights.

I think a pp was right when she said we need more police out and about. Then they can catch both bad cyclists and bad drivers. And everyone’s happy(ier).

Can't you read? I'm clearly very concerned about pedestrian safety, that's why I want motor vehicle use properly regulated.

On average three pedestrians per year are killed in collisions with bicycles. At the same time nearly 300 are killed by cars, 13 by motorbikes, 24 by buses or coaches, 33 by vans, 55 by HGVs and 100 or so in collisions involving multiple vehicles. A total of more than 500 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles but you've got a bee in your bonnet about three killed in collisions involving bicycles?

No, I can’t read. I have a flunkey who is reading out loud for me, a second one who is typing my replies and a third who is feeding me peeled grapes.

You refer to pedestrians vs car safety.

Thus thread is about pedestrians vs cyclists safety, which you are happy to ignore.

On average three pedestrians per year are killed in collisions with bicycles.

I didn’t realise it was that many! If you’d asked me to guess I would have said maybe one or two a decade. Presumably if loads of people start cycling that number will be in the hundreds.

Its about time Cyclists took some responsibility for their own actions. Threads like this make me laugh they flock on these posts and start blaming car drivers.

Here are some intresting facts taken directly from ROSPA.

Around 75% of fatal or serious cyclist accidents occur in urban areas
80% occur in daylight
80% of cyclist casualties are male

In collisions involving a bicycle and another vehicle, the most common key contributory factor recorded by the police is ‘failed to look properly’ by either the driver or rider, especially at junctions. ‘Failed to look properly’ was attributed to the car driver in 57% of serious collisions and to the cyclist in 43% of serious collisions at junctions. (not much in this to be honest)

The second most common contributory factor attributed to cyclists was ‘cyclist entering the road from the pavement’ (including when a cyclist crosses the road at a pedestrian crossing), which was recorded in about 20% serious collisions (and over one third of serious collisions involving child cyclists). (Oh look cyclisits again thinking they own the pavment and the road)

Given that being hit by a bicycle won't kill as frequently as being hit by a car, you'd need to have cyclist numbers far above today's number of drivers to see anything like the equivalent death rate.

The OP of this thread was banging on about the danger posed by several illegal motor vehicles, actually. Only the headline referred to cyclists (maybe the OP writes for the Express, they like sensational headlines which have little to do with the story).

Again, I'll continue to be more concerned about the more than 500 pedestrians killed by motor vehicles each year than the three killed by bikes.

The more people who give up their cars and get on their bikes, the safer pedestrians are. Why do you think that the pedestrian fatality rate in the Netherlands is half that of the UK? Coming up with registration schemes that only a repressive communist dictatorship have implemented will just discourage cycling which will be a backwards step for public health.

In the same period of time an average of 110 cyclists were killed by motor vehicles per year.

Coming up with registration schemes that only a repressive communist dictatorship have implemented will just discourage cycling which will be a backwards step for public health.

Why?

Why will a registration scheme going to discourage cycling? Because suddenly cyclists will have to stick to the rules?

Didddums.

I think a pp was right when she said we need more police out and about. Then they can catch both bad cyclists and bad drivers. And everyone’s happy(ier).

Definitely agree with this!

I also think insurance companies should start offering discounts to drivers with cameras. Those who are responsible for crashes should be the ones held liable, be they car drivers or other road user. A dash cam often shows who was to blame.

No, because it's a faff and an expense that keeps no one safer and would be being done simply to pander to the prejudices of the car-blind.

Who is going to pay for it? Who fits the number to the bike? Who registers the bike to the owner?

If someone borrows your bike will you have to swap your reg for theirs? What happens if you sell it? If you reuse a frame does it keep the same registration?

You really want to fund a CVLA to keep track of millions of bikes, half of which are ridden about 3 times a year?

I assume you think cyclists should pay for it... how much were you thinking? How much does that add to the cost of a bike? A kid's bike? A second hand bike?

Meanwhile, drivers are killing thousands of people a year...

Because it costs money and acts as an obstacle to people taking up riding. ALL RESEARCH indicates that there's a negative impact on health ALL RESEARCH indicates that it would be pointlessly expensive and impractical, even most of the Tories think it's a fucking awful idea and they're so desperate for votes now that they'll scrape any barrel

That is genuinely enlightening.

It reinforces my views that (a) motorists should always be extremely careful, since they’re driving the more lethal vehicle, and (b) cyclists should consider more seriously the misery they cause with their own negligence and recklessness.

The overwhelming number of male cyclists in serious accidents needs unpacking.

You were told before that it was because of the bureaucracy. It will cost a lot for no gain.

Also cracks down on the "crash for cash" frauds. Not all of them are as amateurish as this one though:

Cameras are very useful, at work we wear bodycams and it really helps the police investigate when we face abuse. Usually results in a guilty plea when it gets to court because there's nothing subjective about footage of (for example) someone threatening me with a weapon.

I wrote a long post going right into the government statistics but lost it (suffice it to say that car drivers are almost 50% more likely to have contributed to the accident).

If you want to find out why men are far more likely to be killed while cycling than women are, I suggest that you look at the National Travel Survey where you will find that it mostly correlates with the fact that 70% of cyclists are male. The reasons why women are less likely to cycle have been discussed often, they mostly revolve around a feeling of vulnerability from the lunatic drivers on our inadequate infrastructure.

Thank you. I suspect that the moderately disproportionate number of male cyclists in ROSPA’s stats of serious accidents (and no doubt also among the drivers) is attributable to young men being more reckless generally.