Dangerous cycling?

[orange71]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13040607

 

[Easy_Rider]

I just read that.
I have a deep mistrust of cycle lanes painted onto pavements. Apart from the obvious dangers of road junctions. what are the rules if you hit a pedestrian? It's still a pavement after all and isn't there a defacto speed limit of 12mph for a pavement, any faster then it's classed as traffic.

Maybe someone can explain.

 

[cyfa2809]

its a tough one but i reckon id have to be against that being put in place
the stats have alot of gravity on that story for me

i could go onto a rant but it doesnt feel wholly necessary at the moment

however
'Can you imagine if every time we talked about cars people complained about drivers doing 80mph on the motorway?'

seems a lot of drivers are willing to take i.e breaking laws as above, minor issues ignored but not give leeway when they are penalised on the minoroty for such acts

its easy to turn it back on motorists but this is where the fear is for cyclists
AND pedestrians

 

[Drencrom]

Once it might have conjured up images like that of George Orwell's old maids "biking to Holy Communion through the mists of the autumn mornings".

Now, at least in built-up areas, one stereotype, rightly or wrongly, is of well-paid men in expensive leisuirewear with a sense of entitlement and a refusal to conform to the same rules as everyone else.

That is a major part of the issue, in the same way that the same group of well-paid men might jump on a motorbike or an Audi/BMW and act in a similar way. There are numpties in every walk of life.

 

[cyfa2809]

seems like its sort of coming to a head for us that 'the minority' are spoling it for the majority
as suggested - in all wlaks of life :?

but us cyclists have a distinct lesser minority

 

[red_riviera]

Don't panic, this is just a politician trying to raise their profile.

Such a law would be almost impossible to police. It is only enforceable after the fact and so will do NOTHING to cut down the already miniscule number of pedestrian deaths caused by cyclists.

 

[Russell]

So, cyclists account for less than one percent of all deaths/injuries on the roads, are found not to be at fault in nearly 70% of all collisions and are more likely to be killed than drivers if a collision occurs.

I'm not sure that its cyclists that 'Joe Public' needs protection from.

 

[saltyman]

cyclists dont do theselves many favors, maybe its because they are sometimes kids, people who have no car/road experience......whatever, but its the pedestrian who will always win in a crash when the blame gets dished out.

just today near me, i women was killed on her bike riding down a dual carriageway.......no idea why someone would want to do that.

 

[tintin40]

Sounds fine to me. About time the law cam down heavy on cyclists.

 

[JamesM]

There is little that divides UK public opinion more sharply than cyclists.

Really???