Idiots at work

[sazzaa]

Took the car in this morning and on my (short) commute into town noticed two cyclists with cycling gear on but no lights... Can't think of a reason for this other than them thinking that luminous jackets are maybe ok to use instead of lights?

 

[raleighnut]

Its F***wits like these that give us all a bad name. I find that bellowing "LIGHTS" as you are just behind them effective but I wouldn't do it if there were pedestrians about as it quite startles the idiots " SHOCK & AWE"

 

[sazzaa]

I find that bellowing "LIGHTS" as you are just behind them effective

How is that effective if they don't have any? Do you track them down the next day to see if they bought lights?

 

[asterix]

You mean like Leona Helmsley ?

It's no Good, you Win! If I name an example of someone who got away with it, they'll bankrupt me*! Anyway it ain't that kinda Thred.

*libel

 

[Linford]

Yes, it was the collective shame about casual speeding, amongst other crimes, that finally made me give up driving.

Are you sure it wasn't because you were knocking on the door of a ban and decided to remove the temptation to get caught using a mode which could result in that entitlement being removed by force ?

I think you ought to learn some self restraint instead....

 

[cd365]

Driving home late last night, I came up behind a cyclist just as I hit the City, he had an OK rear light on but his cycling trousers were amazing, they had so much reflective trim on the back of them it really stood out. I was so tempted to stop and ask him where he got them from.

 

[raleighnut]

No I don't check up on them I just like to rattle them a bit, like I said they give us all a bad name and most of em seem to be on Halfords £ 69-99 specials with dry chains, no brakes and wearing black hoodies. They frighten grannies and mothers with pushchairs/young children and if I had my way would be put into stocks and sprayed with WD40 along with bus drivers who overtake and then stop, taxi drivers and various other numpties.
Please don't put these comments down to me being some sort of Nazi as I am a Grauniad reading apolitical cyclist who regularly takes part in Leicesters monthly Critical Mass bikerides ( last Friday in every month outside the Curve theatre 6 pm if anyone else is interested) they just wind me up

 

[Markymark]

Cyclists' lights are to be seen by other people.

The fact that those that don't use them often use the reason that car drivers should only drive as fast as they can see completely misses the point that other road users include other cyclists, pedestrians. horseriders etc. It shows how self-serving their attitudes are as they're only concerned about their own safety.

To cycle without lights is incredibly selfish and dangerous as a pedestrian crossing the road may not see them, especially the old or young.

 

[Linford]

Yes, it was the collective shame about casual speeding, amongst other crimes, that finally made me give up driving.

Did you decide to jump rather than be pushed when deciding to ditch the car ?

 

[raleighnut]

Yeah childish I know but it gets it out of my system, mind you it does help being a biggish bloke with a loud voice who was taught how to "project" at school, imagine Brian Blessed shouting "OI" behind you.
" When I were a lad" the lovely men in blue ".did summat abaat it" now lifetime cyclists like me get tarred with the same brush as these feckers. I come across a lot of prejudice against cyclists every day and if I can startle one of these idiots I feel much better. I know I'm starting to rant now but pavements are for pedestrians and how are we supposed to be taken seriously as a viable method of transport with all the bad press that these idiots provoke?

 

[Markymark]

They can see the pedestrian though.

Yes, but a pedestrian could cross the road just in front of a cyclist they couldn't see (cyclist had no lights), cyclist would not have enough time to react of the pedestrian crossed without warning. This would be the fault of the cyclist?

Cyclist have a duty to have lights not just for them, but everyone lese they could potential injure.

 

[Linford]

I don't know but I do find it odd how cyclists voluntarily take on a collective guilt for the actions of a minority when other road user groupings don't do anything similar.

I look at the cycling vids posted up here from time to time, and the riders shout out the reg number of the driver who just gave them a punishment pass specifically identifying them as evidence....EG: Green Volvo...FB58 DFY

Imagine the pedestrian wearing a headcam shouting out an identifier of an unlit cyclist who nearly ran them over on the pavement....Errr, riding a mountain bike looks dark, maybe a Marin, wearing a hoodie, trackies and trainers.....

Do you see the problem and why every cyclist good and bad gets tarred with the actions of the few ?

 

[glenn forger]

Imagine the pedestrian wearing a headcam shouting out an identifier of an unlit cyclist who nearly ran them over on the pavement.

If this was a serious problem peds would star t wearing cameras for exactly that purpose. Pedestrians do not seem to be inclined to wear cameras because such events are astonishingly rare, peds aren't wearing cameras even though they are over 200 times more likely to be killed by a car on the pavement than a cyclist.

 

[jarlrmai]

Got totally soaked by a van doing 30+ down a narrow 20 limit road walking to the doctors early in January, wished I had my camera on.

 

[Linford]

If this was a serious problem peds would star t wearing cameras for exactly that purpose. Pedestrians do not seem to be inclined to wear cameras because such events are astonishingly rare, peds aren't wearing cameras even though they are over 200 times more likely to be killed by a car on the pavement than a cyclist.

That makes it OK then