{"id":17723,"date":"2015-06-05T02:24:39","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T01:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=17723"},"modified":"2022-11-02T22:10:43","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T21:10:43","slug":"is-the-backlash-against-cyclists-finally-starting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=17723","title":{"rendered":"Is The Backlash Against Cyclists Finally Starting?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Regular readers will know how I feel about cyclists. This year looks like it is going to be the worst yet – there\u2019s already a plague of the damned things which is rivalling even the most alarmist newspaper predictions about other plagues we can expect this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There was an incident this week where a cyclist was hit by a bus<\/a>, and the video of passers by lifting the 12-tonne vehicle off him went viral. Whilst news reports concentrate on the \u201camazing\u201d actions of the public, much less (almost nothing, actually) is being made of the fact that the \u201ccyclist\u201d was riding a unicycle<\/a>, that he:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…looked like he was wobbling a bit…<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Or that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…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.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>. Year on year, deaths and injuries are on the rise<\/a> – 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no wonder more people are dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> so that people in suits and poorly fitting crash hats (they\u2019re always crooked, aren\u2019t they?) can get a piece of the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anyway, I noticed in todays Sun<\/a> that columnist Rod Liddle was having a right go at them. Mind you, he\u2019s been having a go in different places<\/a> for a couple of years – it\u2019s just that his column in The Sun is mainstream, and maybe represents some sort of sea change. I certainly hope so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He starts by referring to a current viral video, where a motorist is seen threatening to punch a cyclist\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n