To be sick of cyclists making pedestrians feel unsafe

[OptimismvsRealism]

Life is so much worse than it was ten years ago in cities precisely because of this

And loads of them also drive cars anyway.

Just because someone likes to cycle on a Sunday doesn’t mean they don’t get in their car to commute every other day of the week.

A lot of them drive to beauty spots to cycle too.

Possibly. But currently I'm a lot more angry at all the drivers that have me so scared of the roads that biking isn't an option for me

I wonder how you'd find them as a cyclist?

Those are not the cyclists riding on pavements.

Who? The ones that also drive? Or the ones that specifically drive to places that are nice to cycle?

How do you know? Have you done a questionnaire? Did you draw a tally chart?!

Not sure if this has been covered, but my main gripe is cyclists who ride on the road with no helmet on.

Unbelievably selfish and stupid
If they were to be struck by a car in an accident it could well be life changing injuries or brain damage at best, death at worst for that cyclist. Imagine having that on your conscience as the driver for the rest of your life. Even if it wasn't your fault, you'd never get over that.

I have to talk myself out of pulling over and telling then how selfish and stupid they are.

In that sort of an accident, a helmet will be of fuck all use

A helmets maybe useful if I try and do a trick and fail or hit a pot hole, but they are useless if a vehicle hits me.

I've had a lot of cyclists weave out in front of me pulling off from traffic lights, not travelling at speed. If one had clipped my car causing them to come off the bike, hitting their head on the curb without a helmet they'd be done for. With a helmet there is some protection.

So, you think cyclists need to wear helmets not because they may protect them in some circumstances, but in case you hit them so you feel less guilty?

How incredibly thoughtful of you.

So sick of cyclists in the pavement especially parents accompanying their kids also on the pavement.

Cyclists should wear helmets for the same reasons people travelling in a car should wear seat belts.

Is a seatbelt going to help much in 70mph motorway crash? Not really. But most crashes are rather more mundane so it’s actually quite useful to wear them.

Similarly, wearing a helmet as a cyclist will at least somewhat help prevent your brains being spread across tarmac in standard city cycling scenarios.

I agree. I cycle sometimes myself, never on the pavement because cyclists have no right to. If I ever started to believe the roads were too dangerous, I’d stop cycling. Pedestrians have nowhere else to go in safety.

Totally agree! They never stick to their designated cycle paths either and then have a go at you if you don't move out of their way... get on the right path then!

This is exactly what I mean, thank you. Of course I would feel guilty if I was at fault!
But I have had many, many cyclists weave in front of me in slow moving traffic not wearing a helmet. If there was a genuine accident and I couldn't avoid them then yes I would feel awful if they suffered life changing injuries due to lack of a helmet, even if it was an accident.
Not wearing a helmet riding on the road is stupid. No matter how you look at it.

What cycle paths? Show me one in the uk that's a) usable and b) actually goes somewhere useful.

And please don't start with the "there's a perfectly good one near me that's never used". If you give me the google maps address, I can explain why it's either a death trap or doubles commute time.

I think this should be legal. We shouldn't be forcing kids into traffic, and we should be enabling patents to supervise kids.

I used to live in Australia (Queensland and Western Australia) and in both of those states cycling on the pavement is legal. People just get used to it.

I get stressed here in the UK seeing parents and their wobbily children on bikes on roads with traffic. It should happen of course, but there are so many dangerous drivers out there!

I think the law needs to reconsidered/updated on cycling and personal electric vehicles.

The problem is at the moment there is very little way of holding cyclists accountable for their actions.

A cycle is at least as dangerous as a moped (speeds, size and mass) which requires a licence, reg number and insurance.

That's incorrect.

E bikes are a fraction of the weight of a moped (usually about a third) and are speed limited to a fraction of the speed of a moped.

I was hit by a cyclist two days ago in Cabot Sq, Canary Wharf. For those who don't know, Cabot Sq is one way - he was going the wrong way and hit me as I crossed the pedestrian crossing on a green light (and yes, maybe I should have looked the other way but my light was green and traffic had stopped). He came off his bike, swore at me and rode on. Leaving passers by to call an ambulance to take me to the Royal London where they patched up my broken ankle. I'm now unable to walk the dog or lead any kind of normal life for several weeks and there is absolutely no come back on him.

Also, given that it seem that drivers aren't held accountable for injuring or killing pedestrians or cyclists, I don't think stricter measures will actually help

Not on a pavement they won't. I've almost been run over on pathways and pavements by cyclists because I'm hearing impaired. Is it unreasonable to expect cyclists to slow the fuck down when passing a pedestrian on a shared path? Rhetorical question. FYI.

That doesn’t mean cyclists get to use the pavement instead. If you are unhappy with the infrastructure then campaign to improve it, don’t put pedestrians in danger.

It is legal for kids. Otherwise a lot of kids wouldn't be able to cycle anywhere, as it is not safe for young kids to cycle in traffic.