take a test??

[Cab]

Cab, correct me if I'm wrong but do cycles out number cars in Cambridge?

In the middle of town, yes. Less further out you get. I would say that here in the North of the city we're easily outnumbered by cars, but by the time I've cycled into the city centre proper there are probly more than twice as many bikes or more, mostly 'cos you can't drive anyhere very easily in the city centre.

Thats why some more unusual occurrences happen more often here, such as the example of having a stream of slow but assertive cyclists. I think its also why motorists here seem so much angrier than in much of the rest of the UK

 

[tdr1nka]

In the middle of town, yes. Less further out you get. I would say that here in the North of the city we're easily outnumbered by cars, but by the time I've cycled into the city centre proper there are probly more than twice as many bikes or more, mostly 'cos you can't drive anyhere very easily in the city centre.

Thats why some more unusual occurrences happen more often here, such as the example of having a stream of slow but assertive cyclists. I think its also why motorists here seem so much angrier than in much of the rest of the UK

Cambridge sounds to me like a cycling parallel universe or paradox.
As a London cyclist I'm interested to come up and see how this all 'works' for myself.

 

[dondare]

hi guys.
i think everyone who uses the public roads should take a test
on the highway code every five years.
whats your thoughts??
don

The Highway Code is not the Law, and the Law is what is important. I don't like the HC much, it's written by a committee, and a committee of non-cyclists at that.

 

[Cab]

Cambridge sounds to me like a cycling parallel universe or paradox.
As a London cyclist I'm interested to come up and see how this all 'works' for myself.

Heres what its like some days:

View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XA_Crc67SAM


Of course, most of those ones there will be students and I'm afraid they do tend to be a muppets (gutter huggers, undertakers and red light jumpers mostly )

But if you ride about here for a while you can start to play with ideas as to how changing the way our roads are managed would work out, there are enough bikes here such that you see little pockets of different sorts of behaviour once in a while.

 

[davidtq]

Heres what its like some days:

View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XA_Crc67SAM


Of course, most of those ones there will be students and I'm afraid they do tend to be a muppets (gutter huggers, undertakers and red light jumpers mostly )

But if you ride about here for a while you can start to play with ideas as to how changing the way our roads are managed would work out, there are enough bikes here such that you see little pockets of different sorts of behaviour once in a while.

wow thats nothing short of impressive. Motorists are complaining about the cyclists? Imagine if each of these cyclists was in their car one to a car, imagine the tail backs then....

 

[tdr1nka]

I love that clip Cab! For all the obvious faults you can understand that to a London cyclist Cambridge is a kind of Eutpoia!!

 

[biking_fox]

Cor there really are some muppets on bikes at times. Almost surprised you didn't manage to record and incident!

How long was that recorded over?

Yes if they were all in cars it would be bad to drive. But if they were all in Primary it would also be pretty bad.

It is good to see that many people on bikes though!

 

[Cab]

wow thats nothing short of impressive. Motorists are complaining about the cyclists? Imagine if each of these cyclists was in their car one to a car, imagine the tail backs then....

Or even imagine what it would be like if they all said "hang on a minute, look at all this traffic, I think I'll stay in primary position, erring towards filtering past on the right". Motorists wouldn't have a chance

 

[Cab]

Cor there really are some muppets on bikes at times. Almost surprised you didn't manage to record and incident!

How long was that recorded over?

Yes if they were all in cars it would be bad to drive. But if they were all in Primary it would also be pretty bad.

It is good to see that many people on bikes though!

I'm afraid it ain't one of my videos, although I do pass that spot very often.

 

[Cab]

I love that clip Cab! For all the obvious faults you can understand that to a London cyclist Cambridge is a kind of Eutpoia!!

Cambridge is a different place to ride. Imagine sitting on your bike in primary an advance stop box, holding your arm out to turn left, and five seconds later some idiot cycles face first straight into your outstretched hand as he goes straight through the red light you're at. Sounds unlikely? Happened at least three times to me now. Or imagine you're on your way home, you get to a junction and wait at a red light, and you don't just see one RLJ scoot out past the line, you see eleven of them do so, and wait at a point where if anyone from the main road decides to turn left they'll have to dismount or otherwise scarper. Imagine a city where if you leave a bike and a halfs length between you and the car in front of you, there will be a bike in it, and when you look closely he hasn't got brakes but is instead using his foot to slow the back tyre... Then imagine the annual arrival of the overseas language students. Every summer, they come en masse, hire bikes (they've not ridden in years and never on the left), and procede to swarm around the city on the wrong side of the road (or, occasionally, 25 at a time on both sides), they can't fathom roundabouts so you see them terrified and clinging to the inner kerb going the wrong way around, and as for one way streets

As I say, Cambridge is different.

 

[wafflycat]

Last time I cycled in Cambridge was towards the end of last year. Cycled into town from the outskirts, then cycled back up to Norfolk. Cycling *in* Cambridge wasn't a problem. I think perhaps the sheer number of cyclists means motorists expect to see you. Plenty of errant motorists seen and plenty of fools on bikes - many did indeed seem to be studenty-types. No problems experienced with either though. Mind you, as soon as my cyclking buddy & I got out of the city and crossed the A14, it was a different matter entirely as regards motorists. It was as if once out of the city, where the traffic was relatively slow moving, the drivers had decided 'great, I can get a move on now' and behaved like maniacs with a *noticeable* number overtaking too fast and too close. Not many by all means, but *enough* to notice the difference between in town & out of town. Then once out on to the fens, it quietened down again in terms of driver aggression.

 

[Cab]

The level of aggression you see on the outskirts (and you don't always have to cross the A14 to find it!) spreads into the city sometimes. Its difficult to say why, but there always seem to be 'angry weeks', often linked to how bad the traffic is around the outskirts of the city I think.

 

[HJ]

i rest my case.. you are all looking at the hwc..
the 3mph is in the book...
all road users should take a test ..
what does everyone want less cars on the road??
why?

So as a pedestrian (which who is according to the Highway Code a road user) I can't walk passed a line cars at 4mph (my normal walking pace)? There is nothing the Highway Code about the legal speed for filtering. I studied the Highway code thoroughly before taking my ADI part 1 (which I passed with 98%, but as you had to score 80% to pass that was pretty much expected), I was a full qualified DoT approved ADI for several years before giving it for financial reasons.

How would you enforce this strange rule that all road uses should take a test, lock them in there houses and not let them out until they had passed?

Everyone is a road user at sometime. It is just that some think that because they are using motorised transport that they have some sort of greater privileged right of access. We have the right to use the road, we all also have a responsibility to not endanger others by our actions.

 

[HJ]

I'm saying that were all cyclists to ride assertively and predominantly in primary position as they are encouraged to do, then they would cause gridlock in most of cities.

Cab I often ride in the primary position on the way in to work (mostly down hill), but when I cycle home, mostly in secondary there is still just as much gridlock. It is not the cyclist that are causing the congestion, it is the fact that there more cars on the road then there is road capacity. Hence even though I can't ride at 25 to 30 mph up hill and keep up with the speed of cars the way I do on the way to work. I still get home faster, because I can just filter past them once they have reached a bottle neck, which due to the limited capacity of our roads there are plenty.

 

[HJ]

The Highway Code is not the Law, and the Law is what is important. I don't like the HC much, it's written by a committee, and a committee of non-cyclists at that.

The introduction to the HC clearly states that:

Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’. In addition, the rule includes an abbreviated reference to the legislation which creates the offence. An explanation of the abbreviations can be found in 'The road user and the law'.

Although failure to comply with the other rules of the Code will not, in itself, cause a person to be prosecuted, The Highway Code may be used in evidence in any court proceedings under the Traffic Acts (see 'The road user and the law') to establish liability. This includes rules which use advisory wording such as ‘should/should not’ or ‘do/do not’.

Unfortunately the committee responsible for the writing of the HC is parliament, and we all know what a bunch of *$£^$£" they are. Sadly most of them don't cycle, but of those that do, none of them would ever RLJ would they...