On 06/10/2007, at 12:06 AM, Horn, John wrote: >> Charlie Bell wrote >> >> "Like everyone else"? A majority of people in motor vehicles speed. >> Cyclists who do flaunt road rules, flaunt different road >> rules to car drivers, but they're still a minority of cyclists. > > Hit a nerve, did I? Didn't mean to.
A bit of one. My sister has been forced off the road on a > couple of occassions while biking, at least once was clearly > intentional. Had a bottle of water thrown at my head. Had lit cigarettes lobbed at me on several occasions. Had a semi drive straight at me on a clear straight road. > >> Yes, cyclists who break the rules piss me off too, as they >> make it harder for the law-abiding ones, but don't make out >> that "everyone else" obeys the rules and only cyclists >> infringe. That's simply bollocks. A look at the Wheels of >> Justice website will soon show you that... > > That's certainly not what I meant or intended to say. Fair enough, understood. I've just had enough of people who mean precisely that. Including the wanker the other day who was shouting at the guy in front of me who swerved out of the bike lane to avoid a pedestrian that he'd run him off the road if he crossed the white line again... > My experience > here is that many cyclists appear not to realize they are subject > to the > same rules of the road as motorists. "Just like a car" was a mantra > drilled into me as a kid. I don't see that often enough. You see it in the cycling advocacy groups. Most of the time, riding as if you were a car works fine. There are a few things you can do as a bike that make no sense or are illegal in cars - the "hook-turn" is often the safest way to turn across oncoming traffic at lights on a push bike, and you'd rightly be cited for the same manoeuvre in a car outside of the few places these are used. Also, being able to pull up, hop off, and wheel a bike on the pavement straight to the bike park is nice. But mostly, acting like a car and taking one's space in the road works well. And to inform those who may not know me or remember my history - I'm *not* a car-hating pedal-freak. I love cycling and consider my bikes and trike my primary form of transport, but I'm still a petrolhead who loves to drive when I get the chance, and wish I could justify (or afford) another performance car like the WRX STi I used to own. Charlie _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
