Selfish cyclists!!!

[Holdsworth]

I picked up yesterday's issue of the Sentinel as I was at my sister's flat in Alsager for the day. I happened upon the reader's letter section and one letter about cyclists caught my eye.

It is the one below, found it online and posted a comment in response to straighten a few of his comments out. Hopefully he or someone with a similar mindset will read it and take in what I've said. I was going to send in a letter of my own to get more potential readers but I've lost the address to email it to.

http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.u...cacheBust=Digl6H6PrNbE&success=true#community

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I know people who drive like Ade (@17:12) punctuates

 

[400bhp]

Just added a comment (albeit awaiting verification).

 

[JonnyBlade]

What an absolute arse!Obviously never heard of the Highway Code and it's kind of worrying to think these kind of people are tearing around in 1 tonne vehicles!

 

[snorri]

I wonder if M Davies of Blythe Bridge is really a Sentinel staff man who knows full well an anti-cyclist article will soon produce a column full of responses from cyclists keen to set the record straight.

Anger in the Readers Letters column is good for sales.

 

[som3blok3]

Just added a comment (albeit awaiting verification).

Good comments people. The guy must be a right plank!!

 

[XmisterIS]

I have one word for Mr Davies:

 

[661-Pete]

Also, when they go on to duel carriageways, they do the same on those but they may be three abreast. This is not only dangerous to the cyclist but a danger to the car driver.

Ah! That must be Duel as in Steven Spielberg. "M DAVIES, Blythe Bridge" is evidently the unseen man in the truck. Not to worry folks, we all know how he'll end up,

Spoiler

going over the cliff

...

 

[Camgreen]

Personally wouldn't give the Sentinel OP's comment the time of day tbh. Blinkered attitude you'll never get them to change.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Another bit of inflammatory twaddle to fill the page on a slow news day. The editor of the paper must like using flamewars to create circulation.

Not sure I'd want to pay 10xVED just for my registration number to sit in a database though. I thought VED was another excuse to make lots of money out of environmental policy (where a government does nothing, but fills their pockets on the back of the issues and fears - why isn't VED given to the Forestry Commission, or to Low emission fuel research?).


I'm sorry, but what sort of newspaper still thinks this sort of inflammatory tripe is worth publishing?
Will next week's star letter be a derogatory comment on the menace of milk floats?


When I'm on my mountain bike will the roadies scoff at me?
When I'm on my road bike will the car drivers swear at me?
When I drive my BMW will the cyclists abuse me?

I drive and I cycle, and I expect to be given the same respect and courtesy by both means. If I have to live in fear of my life by either then I think this country should seriously reconsider it's "right to drive" attitude, and introduce stringent aptitude testing. There's too many people believe in their invincibility from reproach and their "rights" above others.

 

[Alien8]

Surely a wind-up?

 

[downfader]

Surely a wind-up?

As I said on the Guardian site we need a "standard" answer. Just cnp it in. It'll save a massive amount of time and wind up the morons no doubt.

 

[Clandy]

Sounds par for the course for a local paper's website. You should see our local paper's site, when anything even remotely linked to cycling is mentioned the motons go off on some extraordinary rants. (and ALWAYS they include 'road tax', 'ALL cyclists jump red lights', 'ALL cyclists ride on pavements slaughtering grannies…') etc.

 

[downfader]

Sounds par for the course for a local paper's website. You should see our local paper's site, when anything even remotely linked to cycling is mentioned the motons go off on some extraordinary rants. (and ALWAYS they include 'road tax', 'ALL cyclists jump red lights', 'ALL cyclists ride on pavements slaughtering grannies…') etc.

Ours used to be the same but is now pretty pro-cyclist. All it takes is for the readership who do participate to use the right counter-argument in a civil way and it proves a point. The tools are there on the web, places like IPayRoadTax and the CTC's own site already have the counters written down. Cyclists also then have to keep writing those letters, leaving the right comments on the webpage, and even at times reporting the uncivil and abusive online nonsense.

Look at the Daily Mail website. Some 2 years back every pro-cyclist comment was rated down, shouted down and so on. Look at it now and pretty much the right answers are being used that we are a solution, benefit and counters to the tax strawman. They even get rated up and the ranters rated down.

Keep plugging away.

 

[Clandy]

Ours used to be the same but is now pretty pro-cyclist. All it takes is for the readership who do participate to use the right counter-argument in a civil way and it proves a point. The tools are there on the web, places like IPayRoadTax and the CTC's own site already have the counters written down. Cyclists also then have to keep writing those letters, leaving the right comments on the webpage, and even at times reporting the uncivil and abusive online nonsense.

Look at the Daily Mail website. Some 2 years back every pro-cyclist comment was rated down, shouted down and so on. Look at it now and pretty much the right answers are being used that we are a solution, benefit and counters to the tax strawman. They even get rated up and the ranters rated down.

Keep plugging away.

Oh I do. I'm always there with the links to Ipayroadtax, TfL road stats (a recent one was superb, TfL did a survey of cyclists jumping red lights, but ended up counting cars jumping red lights insttead as there were more of them). It slowly gets through.

Ps. I tend not to look at the Mail or its website. The best that can be said of the Mail (paraphrasing Blackadder) is that it is soft, strong, and thoroughly absorbent.