My article about cyclists

[Sam Kennedy]

I have written the following article about cyclists for a magazine that will go out to 6th form students at my school, what do you think? Should I add anything/take anything away?

Cyclists​

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Cyclists seem to be the most hated group of people amongst drivers... but why?

In this article I'm going to explain why cyclists enjoy cycling, dispel some myths about cyclists, and explain why you should respect more vulnerable road users.

Why Cycle?

What is so fun about spending hours on bike? Why do people choose the bike over the car?

There is no single answer, some people enjoy the scenery (if you have ever driven through the Northumberland countryside, you will understand), some people enjoy the challenge of trying to cycle further and faster, and others cycle to lose weight and increase their fitness level.

Myth #1 – Cyclists hold motorists up on purpose

Some drivers complain about cyclists holding them up, jumping red lights and not paying road tax. Motorists need to learn to be more patient, cyclists rarely hold drivers up for more than 30 to 60 seconds, but for some reason drivers seem get to extremelly annoyed, and sometimes start shouting abuse, throwing stuff and beeping their horn.

There are a lot of other things which will slow drivers down: roundabouts, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, road works, buses, unloading lorries, pinch points, speed bumps and railway crossings, however the cyclists get all the abuse!

Remember cyclists are vulnerable, driving aggressively around them is extremely dangerous, and they could get injured or worse… just so someone could get home 30 seconds earlier.

Myth #2 – All cyclists jump red lights

Now my next point: Red Light Jumping cyclists.

For some reason, some cyclists think that red lights do not count for them, this is an ignorant and dangerous way of thinking!

All the rules of the road apply to cyclists as well as motorists, everyone should stop at red lights, however, you still get motorists jumping red lights as well, so don’t just single out cyclists as red light jumpers.

(For the record, I stop at all red lights, and follow all the rules of the road)

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Myth #3 – Cyclists don’t pay road tax

Another myth I often hear is that cyclists don’t pay road tax, the funny thing is, road tax doesn’t exist! The roads get paid for out of general taxation, so if you buy a mars bar from the shops, you are helping pay for the roads!

What drivers pay is called VED, which is proportional to how much pollution the car emits, that is why cars with low emissions do not have to pay VED, and neither do cyclists.

Myth #4 – Cyclists should use the cycle lane

The last myth I will talk about is cycle lanes. Motorists often shout at cyclists to use the cycle lane, but there are lots of reasons not to use cycle lanes.

1) They get filled with road debris – causing a lot of punctures
2) They are too close to the side of the road, this encourages close overtakes, which are extremelly dangerous
3) If you are travelling faster than 18mph, you should not be using the cycle lane
4) They are generally kept in bad condition, last for a couple of hundred feet, lead no where, and are completely useless

Contrary to popular belief, cycle lanes actually make your journey more dangerous, and it is safer to cycle further out into the road.

What should students who drive, or are learning to drive take away from this article?

If you only remember one thing from reading this article, remember this section.

When you next approach a cyclist:

1) Count to 60, you will rarely be held up for more than 1 minute, there is no need to be abusive
2) If the cyclist is in the middle of the lane, it means it is unsafe to overtake, wait until they move over
3) Do not overtake cyclists at roundabouts, junctions, traffic lights or pinch points
4) When overtaking, leave at least 3ft of space, close overtakes are extremely dangerous, and it is very scary from the point of view of a cyclist.

I hope you learned something new from this article, and remember to be a safe and responsible driver!

Enjoy the Christmas Holidays!

-Sam Kennedy

 

[summerdays]

I'm not the best person at writing but I feel you haven't painted a rosy picture of why I would want to be cycling (I know that is not the aim of the piece but at the end of reading it I almost feel sorry for cyclists).

 

[2Loose]

Indeed, it does almost read as though cyclists are masochists!

My thoughts;

I would mention that cars being delayed by lorries unloading, buses stopping etc. is more likely than being held up by a bike, so why are they tolerated than the bike.

Also, even touching a cyclist in a car is likely to end in an injury, so close passes or buzzing them is potentially lethal and not a sensible thing to do on purpose.

Also, many of those cyclists commute purely to stay fit, rather than for financial reasons and also own cars\houses\motorcycles (which they choose not to use at that time) so the 6th formers shouldn't feel superior because 'they have a car'.

 

[cisamcgu]

I'm not really sure what to make of it, it seems rather like "I'm apologising for cycling, so please be nice to me" . What is it supposed to be saying ?

 

[Ravenbait]

Hi Sam,

I've done the odd bit of writing about cycling and cyclists myself, and my first questions is: what do you want the reader to take away from reading your article? Do you want the reader to pity cyclists, and behave more courteously towards them because they feel sorry for them? That would appear to be the thrust of your piece, and if that's the case then I don't think you are doing yourself or other cyclists any favours. What that will do is put other people off cycling and it might even encourage people to treat them less well, because they will consider cyclists as victims and victims are easy targets. It's much easier to bully someone who is already having a rubbish time.

I suggest that you consider re-writing the piece so that you don't make cycling sound so awful but make it look like it's a good and enjoyable thing to do. You might want to think about addressing the issues of poor driver behaviour by asking people to think about how they would like it if the situation were reversed. For instance, when it comes to passing too closely, you could ask people to remember the last time they were passed by a lorry when in a car, and to think about how it made the car move and wobble. That can be a bit worrying when there's a steel box around you: now imagine what it's like without that steel box.

You probably won't get very far by being so blatantly insulting, either. That's the sort of thing that can raise a smile in an audience of cyclists, but if you intend for drivers to read it and behave better as a result, then you need to be more diplomatic.

When writing an article you need to decide what you want to say, how you hope the reader will react, and then structure the piece to get your message across in the most effective way possible. If you're really keen, you could find a friend who is the sort of reader you most want to take something from it and get him to read it and tell you what he thinks about it, then if you need to make changes you can.

Hope that helps.

Sam

 

[Globalti]

It's too long, I lost interest.

 

[Shaun]

Do I take it it is being revised?

 

[Sam Kennedy]

Yeah it's nearly finished, will be up in about 20 minutes