24 hours in London - now I know why cyclists are so hated!

[Rupie]

Going back to the original Post, I too am not suprised as to why cyclists are hated in london. I have commuted in london, on a bike and have been embarrised and ashamed by not just by the way the odd cyclist behaves, but the majority. Sorry to say that fabout ellow cyclists. And you cant say other modes of transport are just as bad, because two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[Kies]

Most definitely not hated. I'm going into London shortly for a 2am call and I'm sure I will see stupid people ....

Walking
Driving
Cycling
Riding (motorbikes)

 

[Feastie]

People do cycle very badly in London. But not everybody. I don't see why people are having arguments about this! I regularly see people jump red lights, go up onto the pavements and so on - anecdotally, I've not written a paper about it or done traffic surveys, just seen them. There are a lot of cyclists in London, some of them cycle badly and it's not like seeing them is an infrequent occurrence. This cannot be denied. I often get 'over-taken' at lights by somebody who goes straight through where I stopped. Winds me up and I'm sure it winds up everybody else out there - pedestrians, taxi drivers, bus drivers, whoever.

That there are people who are bad at cycling/walking/driving/whatever is factual and they don't detract from each other. Crappy motorists don't stop crappy cyclists being a problem and, where they exist in large numbers e.g. London, it's more noticeable than outside of London where you have fewer cyclists and in much less trafficky situations.

 

[Dan B]

. I often get 'over-taken' at lights by somebody who goes straight through where I stopped. Winds me up and I'm sure it winds up everybody else out there

I get overtaken by them too but really I'm pretty relaxed about it. Why does it wind you up?

 

[Feastie]

I get overtaken by them too but really I'm pretty relaxed about it. Why does it wind you up?

Because I feel that people who do that are just giving extra ammunition to those who moan about cyclists and behave badly towards them? There's already enough anti-cyclist stuff, if everybody just respected the rules, they'd have nothing to whinge about. I also do feel sorry for the pedestrians etc. who get cut up by cyclists doing this.

 

[Kies]

as predicted - saw a silly girl nearly get run over by a taxi as her boyfriend tried to keep her off the road.
saw two ninja cyclist - so 3am and raining in shoreditch and they still think drivers will see them???

 

[Dan B]

Because I feel that people who do that are just giving extra ammunition to those who moan about cyclists and behave badly towards them? There's already enough anti-cyclist stuff, if everybody just respected the rules, they'd have nothing to whinge about.

People who moan about cyclists are always going to find something to moan about: filtering, ASLs, road tax(sic), going too slow, going too fast, not paying for parking, not wearing helmets, not wearing hi vis, wearing hivis, wearing lycra, not wearing lycra, being ont he road, being on the shared use track, being on the pavement, being poor, being rich - it's just a general fear of "the other" . If you're going to get wound up because something is upsetting them, you'll stay wound up for ever.

Relax, ride your own ride.

 

[Dan B]

as predicted - saw a silly girl nearly get run over by a taxi as her boyfriend tried to keep her off the road.
saw two ninja cyclist - so 3am and raining in shoreditch and they still think drivers will see them???

Everyone in shoreditch leads charmed lives. Except for the people who actually live there, of course, who just find vomit in their doorway the following morning

(former Kingsland Road resident)

 

[Feastie]

People who moan about cyclists are always going to find something to moan about: filtering, ASLs, road tax(sic), going too slow, going too fast, not paying for parking, not wearing helmets, not wearing hi vis, wearing hivis, wearing lycra, not wearing lycra, being ont he road, being on the shared use track, being on the pavement, being poor, being rich - it's just a general fear of "the other" . If you're going to get wound up because something is upsetting them, you'll stay wound up for ever.

Relax, ride your own ride.

To be honest I don't care if people moan about those other things, that's them being ridiculous, but the road law is there for the safety of everybody, so I think it's a bit of a bigger deal and a legitimate gripe for other people. I don't think that red light jumping etc. is about 'fear of the other' or anything of the sort, it's a genuine problem for everybody else. I don't think you can really compare any of those things you listed (which are just people being awkward, to be honest - it's not like it's illegal or dangerous for cyclists not to pay road tax or to park for free or wear lycra) with something which is both illegal and dangerous. Yeah sure, not wearing a helmet is potentially dangerous if you fall off and hit your head - but it's only you that's got the responsibility for that and who is harmed as a result. If you hit somebody, somebody hits you or even just that you freak out all the pedestrians because you were in the wrong place and ignored the traffic system, then that's no longer about you, you're making a nuisance for other people too.

 

[y2blade]

I'm coming to the city on Saturday for the day..have to option of bringing my bike with me, erm I think I'll leave it at home.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm coming to the city on Saturday for the day..have to option of bringing my bike with me, erm I think I'll leave it at home.

Don't listen to the naysayers.
As I have said previous. London is fantastic for cycling.
You will be missing out if you don't.

 

[Tribanite]

I'm coming to the city on Saturday for the day..have to option of bringing my bike with me, erm I think I'll leave it at home.

Bring your bike!!! You will see so much more of London and the crazy light jumping,rude,ninja,camera wearing cycling commuters will be at home

 

[stowie]

To be honest I don't care if people moan about those other things, that's them being ridiculous, but the road law is there for the safety of everybody, so I think it's a bit of a bigger deal and a legitimate gripe for other people. I don't think that red light jumping etc. is about 'fear of the other' or anything of the sort, it's a genuine problem for everybody else. I don't think you can really compare any of those things you listed (which are just people being awkward, to be honest - it's not like it's illegal or dangerous for cyclists not to pay road tax or to park for free or wear lycra) with something which is both illegal and dangerous. Yeah sure, not wearing a helmet is potentially dangerous if you fall off and hit your head - but it's only you that's got the responsibility for that and who is harmed as a result. If you hit somebody, somebody hits you or even just that you freak out all the pedestrians because you were in the wrong place and ignored the traffic system, then that's no longer about you, you're making a nuisance for other people too.

I don't think drivers close pass / intimidate cyclists through a sense of indignation at having seen another cyclist break the rules. They do these things because they can (and we are perceived to hold them up etc.) and then try to justify it by citing the narrative about rule breaking. I suppose, if challenged, a driver endangering another humans life for no real reason seems rather psychotic so they try to deflect the action. Although using a tonne of metal to threaten someone because they had seen someone completely unrelated break the rules seems a touch mad as well.

Ultimately, I think the justification thing is a knee-jerk reaction to a driver being challenged on something they probably didn't even consider being particularly dangerous (because they have never been in the cyclist's position). I think any excuse would be used as Dan B says.

This isn't to excuse people running red lights. It can be dangerous, and is often deeply antisocial as the main group it affects are road users even more vulnerable than cyclists - pedestrians.

I watched the programme about TFL the other day which featured cyclists and car drivers breaking the law. It was interesting the slant given to both. With the car drivers there was justification from members of staff that it was human nature and must be frustrating in that amount of traffic. The cyclists were branded by some interviewees as maniacs for whom the rules didn't apply more than once. There was even a scene where a van driver (who had been accused of intimidating a cyclist) said that "the rules don't apply to cyclists" even though he was standing next to two traffic officers specifically there to catch and fine cyclists jumping the lights. Of course no-one interviewing him mentioned this and the narrative is allowed to stand unchallenged.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

(Some) People do cycle badly (everywhere)

London is an AMAZING place to cycle these days. Even more so at weekends or at night. Especially if, like me, you used to do it daily when it wasn't. Just bring a bike, or grab a boris, a +ve attitude and a cheery smile. And get used to getting lost; that's when you find the best bits.

 

[Dan B]

To be honest I don't care if people moan about those other things, that's them being ridiculous, but the road law is there for the safety of everybody, so I think it's a bit of a bigger deal and a legitimate gripe for other people.

Either way, you're still getting upset ("wound up") on behalf of other people. You can't control how they react, you need to learn to let it go