Regular readers will know how I feel about cyclists. This year looks like it is going to be the worst yet – there’s already a plague of the damned things which is rivalling even the most alarmist newspaper predictions about other plagues we can expect this summer.
There was an incident this week where a cyclist was hit by a bus, and the video of passers by lifting the 12-tonne vehicle off him went viral. Whilst news reports concentrate on the “amazing” actions of the public, much less (almost nothing, actually) is being made of the fact that the “cyclist” was riding a unicycle, that he:
…looked like he was wobbling a bit…
Or that:
…a dreadlocked man on a unicycle – circus performer Anthony Shields – crossing from the semi-pedestrianised street to his left. “Then he went behind the bus and came round so he was on the right of it, on the inside behind the driver’s window.”
It would appear that in London alone, five cyclists died up until 9 April this year – all of them involving collisions with HGVs. Even half way through January, the country-wide tally stood at 13 fatalities. Year on year, deaths and injuries are on the rise – but the problem no one seems to want to identify, other than by giving it a brief mention now and then, is that the numbers of people cycling on the roads are also increasing at an alarming rate – a rise of 240% over the last five years.
It’s no wonder more people are dying.
Politicians seem blind to the risks and continue to push cycling as some sort of panacea, encouraging more and more people to take it up. Local councils are opening more and more rental hubs so that people in suits and poorly fitting crash hats (they’re always crooked, aren’t they?) can get a piece of the action.
Anyway, I noticed in todays Sun that columnist Rod Liddle was having a right go at them. Mind you, he’s been having a go in different places for a couple of years – it’s just that his column in The Sun is mainstream, and maybe represents some sort of sea change. I certainly hope so.
He starts by referring to a current viral video, where a motorist is seen threatening to punch a cyclist’s teeth down his throat. The cyclist in question had been riding in the road causing a hold up when there was apparently a cycle path right alongside. He finishes by listing five rules he believes should be introduced/ enforced:
- If there’s a cycle lane available, cyclists should be compelled to use it. Otherwise they get fined. Simples
- Cyclists who ignore red traffic lights should be dealt with in exactly the same way as car drivers who ignore red traffic lights
- The police should enforce the law about cycling on pavements. It’s illegal and carries a £500 fine. I wonder how many cyclists have actually been charged?
- Cycling two abreast on a two-lane [single carriageway] road should be made illegal
- Single cyclists on narrow roads should pull in to let cars overtake.
Of course, Mr Liddle probably now has a warrant out for his arrest as you are not allowed to say anything bad about cyclists. Nonetheless, his five rules make absolute sense. And one day they will have to be introduced.