GMTV Poll

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alecstilleyedye

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
Location
the post-brexit wasteland
so people are switching to bikes to cut costs? from what? if it's the car, they're just bringing the lack of road skills that they had as drivers, so why criticise them just because they're on a bike, and not mention the menace that bad driving causes?

oh, and the picture of the cyclist on the site was poorly captioned, what with their reflectives, lights, helmet and sensible road positioning…
 
silverbow

silverbow

New Member
Location
Suffolk
Below is what I sent to GMTV. Had I had a bit more time I could have crafted a something a little better and been somewhat more objective, but I hopefully I get my point across. They won't publish of course, but my I feel sooooo much better. :smile:



As a cyclist and motor vehicle driver your article “Careless cyclists?” has made me reflect on cyclists and the UK highways. I agree with Carole from Oldham and also have come to the conclusion that the roads are too dangerous for cyclists but possibly for different reasons.

Is the inference that the supposed 3,000,000 (1 in 20 of the population) new cyclists should revert to travelling by car? Would this make the road a safer place? In my experience safety is an extremely high priority for cyclists and not something they trust to the manufacturer of their vehicle or others. It is worth remembering in an accident a cyclist is not simply delayed or left to contemplate a scratched bumper; the consequences are much more serious, often ending up in A&E of worse the morgue. And so I can draw no other conclusion from the statement that “150,000 cyclists saying they have been involved in a road accident in the last six months” other than other road users are demonstrating a low level of road craft and consideration.

Cycling on the pavement where not permitted is unlawful and wrong, as is cycling without lights when required. These infringements of the law should be addressed as should motorists who operate vehicles with broken or dysfunctional lights and drive whilst using a mobile phone, but there seems to be little evidence to suggest they are.

Your section titled “Common Errors” starts with the “(24 per cent) unable to identify a cyclists prohibited sign”, this statistic would appear to place cyclists ahead of motorists as a survey in June 2007 revealed that “Some 67% of the 2,500 people [motorists] polled did not recognise ‘no through road’ signs, and one-third could not identify the sign for ‘no motor vehicles’. Fewer than 33% knew [greater than 67% didn’t know] what a ‘no cycling’ sign looked like and one-third were confused by height restriction signs.” Should we applaud the apparent superiority of road sign awareness that cyclists demonstrate?

Also within the “Common Errors” umbrella, I find the 41% cycle on pavements statistic somewhat unbelievable. If surveyed on my commute the figure would be more likely to be 0% as there are hardly any pavements!

Finally you state that 64% “would like to see adult cycling proficiency tests become compulsory”. Cycling specific insurance and road tax may also be added to that. All these measures would surely aid cyclists: Insurance would aid in the process for cyclists to be sued where responsible, and afford the cyclist the resources to sue road users where the accident was not there liability. As for road tax, cycles fall under the zero emissions category and therefore would enjoy a 100% rebate.

I am glad that you have taken the time to highlight cyclists use of the roads and allowed me to dwell on the difficulties they face when using them. In my option a concerted effort should be made to improve road conditions for the 3 million new cyclists.
 
Bollo

Bollo

Failed Tech Bro
Location
Winch
Its a nice letter silverbow (apart from talking about a tax that was abolished around 1935!) but I'm afraid its effort wasted. GMTV are just after some cheap, here-today gone-tomorrow hits on their website to show their advertisers. Topics like this one usually do the job of stirring enough dribbled-brained half-wits to mash some wrong-minded nonsense into their keyboards and then goad a response from cyclists.
 
silverbow

silverbow

New Member
Location
Suffolk
Bollo said:
Its a nice letter silverbow (apart from talking about a tax that was abolished around 1935!) but I'm afraid its effort wasted. GMTV are just after some cheap, here-today gone-tomorrow hits on their website to show their advertisers. Topics like this one usually do the job of stirring enough dribbled-brained half-wits to mash some wrong-minded nonsense into their keyboards and then goad a response from cyclists.
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Thanks. I know, i couldn't cycle to work today so I have to come 2nd class (van):smile: which put me in a bad mood!:smile:

Although I did forget my punch line at the end. "Carless Cyclists.... quite possibly!" Oh the day just gets worse!
 
S

shunter

Senior Member
Location
N Ireland
alecstilleyedye said:
so people are switching to bikes to cut costs? from what? if it's the car, they're just bringing the lack of road skills that they had as drivers, so why criticise them just because they're on a bike, and not mention the menace that bad driving causes?
Click to expand...

Excellent point. It doesn't matter what type of vehicle etc you put them in - even rollerskates - they do have the ability to safely interact with other people. The majority of females in Tesco's cannot even push a trolley without taking out half the customers and as for those pushing prams on the pavement ....................:smile:
 
B

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
silverbow said:
As a cyclist and motor vehicle driver your article “Careless cyclists?” has made me reflect on cyclists and the UK highways. I agree with Carole from Oldham and also have come to the conclusion that the roads are too dangerous for cyclists but possibly for different reasons.
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Good letter, except for this bolded bit, which is patently untrue. Cycling is as safe as many of our regular daily activities and the roads are far from too dangerous for us.
 
silverbow

silverbow

New Member
Location
Suffolk
BentMikey said:
Good letter, except for this bolded bit, which is patently untrue. Cycling is as safe as many of our regular daily activities and the roads are far from too dangerous for us.
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Yeah, your right BM, it was merely a retaliation to the article which attempted to make cyclists look like crazed idiots who where too dangerous for the roads. My point is if the road is too dangerous for anyone then it’s most likely to cyclists and I allowed myself a small amount of tabloid journalism!

What really annoys me on this type of article is not the subject manner in principle it’s the taking of facts and figures and deliberately misrepresenting them.

Now marketing execs know how to do a statistic just – “8 out of 10 cats prefer…..” :blush:
 
summerdays

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
alecstilleyedye said:
oh, and the picture of the cyclist on the site was poorly captioned, what with their reflectives, lights, helmet and sensible road positioning…
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Wouldn't you rather they display that photo than one portraying the bad side of the cycling community:smile:.

CotterPin said:
My tuppence worth (which hasn't appeared yet) is that cycle training should be included in the driving test!
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Agreed
 
B

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
One CTC councillor is reputed to have said last year "We've already won, we just don't know it yet." This regarding cycling in London, and the hugely increased numbers. I'm hoping we've hit a tipping point now, and it'll just get bigger and bigger. That'll mean less motor vehicle traffic, less pollution, and more safety for all of us.

So many of my friends and students now cycle, it's becoming the norm, not the exception when it was only the brave few such as Hackers carrying the flame.
 
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