{"id":14313,"date":"2013-11-21T23:52:29","date_gmt":"2013-11-21T23:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=14313"},"modified":"2013-11-21T23:52:29","modified_gmt":"2013-11-21T23:52:29","slug":"sixth-cyclist-killed-in-london-in-two-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=14313","title":{"rendered":"Sixth Cyclist Killed In London In Two Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started writing this a few days ago, when the headlines were trumpeting that a FIFTH cyclist in a week had been killed after being involved in a collision with a bus in Whitechapel<\/a>. I\u2019ve had to edit it now, as another story (from Camberwell) now informs us that the tally<\/a> has risen to SIX in two weeks.<\/strong> And I\u2019ve had to edit it again now that Boris Johnson is beginning to see sense and realise that \u2013 shock, horror \u2013 the problem might not actually lie quite so completely with the motorist at all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After the fifth fatality, Nick Clegg – aka Minnie Mouse in our Mickey Mouse government – called for cyclists\u2019 \u201csuperhighways\u201d to physically separate cyclists from traffic. Yes, Minnie \u2013 sorry, Nick – they\u2019re known as \u201ccycle paths\u201d here on Planet Earth, and many cyclists \u2013 particularly those belonging to the Militant Spandex Morons Wing \u2013 refuse to use them (usually in order to show other road users that they can\u2019t be told where they can and can\u2019t ride). This is the mentality of the people involved, unfortunately (and as I\u2019ve said before, I\u2019ve ridden with them, and I see them daily, and I know<\/strong> that this is true for many of them).<\/p>\n

When are people going to get it into their thick skulls that cyclists and motor vehicles don\u2019t mix, and nothing anyone can realistically do will prevent such injuries if we continue to encourage the unholy alliance that has been borne out of the Olympics and two Tour de Frances?<\/p>\n

In spite of what the Militants would have everyone believe \u2013 on pain of prosecution for disagreeing with them, of course\u00a0– roads are for motor vehicles.<\/strong> They are not<\/strong> for prats in Spandex who think they are Bradley Wiggins, and who appear to inject testosterone every morning in order to develop just the right amount of anger and attitude needed to \u201cdo a 10k\u201d to work. Earlier today, I was parked up reading some texts when one went by muttering angrily to himself about something (possibly it was directed at me, since it\u2019s quite common to hear this as they push themselves along inappropriate roads at speed (as an aside, you may remember Emma Way<\/a> \u2013 the girl who tweeted that she\u2019d knocked a cyclist over. She has been found not guilty of careless driving<\/a>)).<\/p>\n

What makes the first London story especially irritating is that Boris Johnson is quoted:<\/p>\n

There’s no question of blame or finger-pointing. That doesn’t work in these circumstances.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No, Boris. That\u2019s because in this particular case the Finger of Blame isn\u2019t pointing at the trucker. If there was even the slightest indication that the hapless driver was at fault, the Finger of Blame would be already turning the key in the remand cell door lock! And in that same story, there is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog as some dipstick is already banging on about banning HGVs in London \u201cduring rush hour\u201d. He hasn\u2019t considered that \u201crush hour\u201d in London is a nebulous thing that can last anywhere from 6am until after midnight depending on what has happened on the M25 and other major roads in and around the City.\"Cyclist<\/p>\n

Many lorries have carried warning signs like the one above for a long time now. And yet cyclists continue to ignore them. The Militants can argue all they like, but in yet another example I experienced tonight, I was at the Nottingham Knight roundabout during busy rush hour. The busy A52 crosses this, and the road I was on has one straight ahead lane (on the right), and two left turn lanes. You have to look for gaps and take your chances confidently \u2013 which I did, only to discover that some complete wanker in Spandex had pulled up into one of the left turn lanes and actually tried to cut me up!<\/p>\n

Let’s get this in perspective: he was in the wrong lane, and he tried to cut ME up \u2013 during rush hour\u2026 on a 60\/70mph road junction!<\/p>\n

There was absolutely no reason for me to suspect he would be there, and he damned nearly got knocked off. I had to move into the inside lane nearest the roundabout prior to exit\u00a0and then cut back over. And I nearly crapped myself when I noticed him as I initially\u00a0accelerated away. A large proportion of cyclists are total prats like this guy, and I\u2019d confidently bet that this particular one was a fully paid up Militant. God knows why anyone would be so stupid as to try and ride across the Nottingham Knight roundabout on a bicycle in the first place, unless it was just to show that they can.<\/p>\n

The latest two London deaths both involved cyclists colliding with lorries. For the record, the other four cases can be summarised:<\/p>\n

5 November \u2013 Mile End Road<\/a> \u2013 cyclist in collision with a tipper truck<\/p>\n

11 November \u2013 Central London<\/a> \u2013 cyclist in collision with a coach<\/p>\n

12 November \u2013 Croydon<\/a> \u2013 cyclist in collision with a bus<\/p>\n

13 November \u2013 Bow Roundabout<\/a> \u2013 cyclist in collision with a lorry<\/p>\n

A total of 14 cyclists have been killed in London so far this year, and nine of those involved lorries<\/strong> (at least two of the others involved buses or coaches, which are basically lorries with a posh top, but which don’t figure in the media stats because they’re protected by virtue of their “greenness”). The Bow story also mentions a separate incident around the same time where a cyclist was injured<\/strong> after colliding with a truck. Likewise, the Camberwell story also mentions a separate non-fatal incident at around the same time involving a cyclist colliding with a lorry.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure many people will be aware of the parable of The Emperor\u2019s New Clothes. Well, politicians like Peter John (leader of Southwark Council) clearly aren\u2019t when they call for HGVs to be banned during rush hour. The latest accident in Camberwell happened at lunch time (as did the one in Croydon) \u2013 nowhere near the official \u201crush hour\u201d. Lorries and rush hour are NOT<\/strong> the common denominators here. Cyclists are.<\/p>\n

The Bow story contains a telling few words. I\u2019ve quoted them here:<\/p>\n

The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) held a protest at the roundabout on Wednesday evening\u2026 the gathered cyclists also circled the roundabout slowly on their bikes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can see that many of these people simply aren\u2019t normal. Apart from riding around aggressively with cameras strapped to their heads in order to stir things up as they see fit (and you just have to look on a few of their websites to see that that\u2019s exactly what they wear these cameras for), they happily engage in militant traffic-disruption of this nature. For normal people, if someone is killed in a road accident they may go and lay some flowers at the roadside, carefully parking up somewhere so they can walk the last short distance. But for cyclists it\u2019s different. They<\/strong> have to block the road on purpose and turn the whole thing into a quasi-politico-religious event. If it wasn\u2019t for the 21st Century skyline, you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking you were watching a bunch of Neolithic cave people celebrating the solstice.<\/p>\n

Cyclists are their own worst enemies. The vast majority have no road sense whatsoever (like the \u201cexpert\u201d I had to avoid tonight, and you can read between the lines for yourself in the Emma Way case<\/a>), and of those that do they have such a piss-poor attitude that it overrides anything else. A perfect illustration of this was on the BBC Breakfast News in the wake of the fifth London fatality. They had a militant cyclist up in the Glasgow studio giving his opinion, and they showed a video that he had apparently taken on the Bat-Cam in his helmet\u00a0where he was nearly wiped out by a lorry as he negotiated a roundabout.<\/p>\n

What they didn\u2019t discuss was how fast he had entered the roundabout in the first place, with no sign of slowing down, and quite possibly with no intention of \u201cgiving way\u201d to anything. They didn\u2019t discuss how difficult it is for lorries to stop \u2013 especially when they are fully laden, and especially if they\u2019re confronted with a fast-moving idiot on a bicycle. And they didn\u2019t discuss whether he\u2019d actually seen the lorry in the first place. I mean, let\u2019s be honest here. If you are a pasty white meat-bag held together with Spandex, and riding a bike that weighs only a few kilogrammes, you need your bloody head examining if you deliberately race on\u00a0 to a roundabout with a lorry coming at you \u2013 and that applies whether you\u2019re wearing your Bat Cape and stupid helmet with integral camera or not. Because if anything goes wrong \u2013 like it nearly did in the case of the guy on Breakfast News, and like it could have done with me tonight \u2013 you\u2019re going to get splattered. Not the lorry or car. But YOU. It doesn\u2019t matter who\u2019s right and who\u2019s wrong if you end up in the morgue.<\/p>\n

The Highway Code says:<\/p>\n

\n
61<\/h6>\n

Cycle Routes and Other Facilities.<\/strong> Use cycle routes, advanced stop lines, cycle boxes and toucan crossings unless at the time it is unsafe to do so. Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
69<\/h6>\n

You MUST<\/strong> obey all traffic signs and traffic light signals.
\n<\/span>Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD reg 10(1)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
71<\/h6>\n

You MUST NOT<\/strong> cross the stop line when the traffic lights are red.<\/span> Some junctions have an advanced stop line to enable you to wait and position yourself ahead of other traffic (see Rule 178<\/a>).
\nLaws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 36(1)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
72<\/h6>\n

On the left.<\/strong> When approaching a junction on the left, watch out for vehicles turning in front of you, out of or into the side road. Just before you turn, check for undertaking cyclists or motorcyclists. Do not ride on the inside of vehicles signalling or slowing down to turn left.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
73<\/h6>\n

Pay particular attention to long vehicles which need a lot of room to manoeuvre at corners. Be aware that drivers may not see you.<\/span> They may have to move over to the right before turning left. Wait until they have completed the manoeuvre because the rear wheels come very close to the kerb while turning. Do not be tempted to ride in the space between them and the kerb.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
76<\/h6>\n

Full details about the correct procedure at roundabouts are contained in (see Rules 184 to 190<\/a>). Roundabouts can be hazardous and should be approached with care.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
77<\/h6>\n

You may feel safer walking your cycle round on the pavement or verge. If you decide to ride round keeping to the left-hand lane you should<\/p>\n