take a test??

[Arch]

Forsooth woman, you be hallucinating again, as any fule noe its only cyclists wot jump red lights. Got to be true, the Daily Wail sez so!

To be fair (to the daily mail? Why?), anyway, I don't suppose they've ever said "only cyclists jump red lights". And trying to argue on the grounds that 'they' (drivers) do it too does no good for people's perceptions of cyclists, because 2 wrongs don't make a right etc... So I try to avoid that line of reasoning....

 

[summerdays]

Also good. Not just cycling tuition - I'd like to see all roadcraft taught in schools, as theory. Drum it into kids enough when young, some of it will stick. I remember two things from my childhood that have shaped my behaviour. ....... And the other was seeing an older girl who'd been knocked down outside a school, lying in the road before the ambulance arrived.

Get them young!

The vision in my head is that each school should re-enact a road traffic accident with a child lying in the road. But I'm sure that wasn't what you were meaning. Though you are right - I do remember seeing a child cyclist go flying over the handlebars when I was about 14, when he didn't stop at a give way line. It did make a big impression.

And todays bad driving that I witnessed: a child at a give way line waiting to turn right. Impatient car driver, realising that there wasn't enough room to turn into that side road, instead when in to the child's left, mounting the kerb to get by.

 

[wafflycat]

To be fair (to the daily mail? Why?), anyway, I don't suppose they've ever said "only cyclists jump red lights". And trying to argue on the grounds that 'they' (drivers) do it too does no good for people's perceptions of cyclists, because 2 wrongs don't make a right etc... So I try to avoid that line of reasoning....

Fair to the Daily Wail? Arch, you're a better woman than I

It's just me having a, hopefully, light-hearted ranting at the mentality of the tabloids & petrolheads towards cyclists in general: that less than sympathetic view that can sometimes be seen

 

[donnymac]

ok guys,
i started this so heres what i think..
road tax for bikes.. wot??
peds are road users.. wot??
roadcraft in schools... yes

most road users,bikes,motorcycles,cars,buses etc
dont know when they are in the wrong hence the need
for a test..
yes , they are a number of users who know they are doing wrong
but when they are told about the dangers or how dangerous
there actions were they think twice next time..
ok, another question...
is it legal to filter through traffic at traffic lights,
and if so what speed do you think would be allowed..
ride safe..

 

[jiggerypokery]

Donny you darling troll you, do you actually own/ride a bike on the road and do you do so with any frequency? What is your experience of riding in traffic, what qualifies you to surmise that a test is needed for all road users? Are you predominantely a car driver who has had poor experiences with cyclists or are you a cyclist that has in his sights a level playing field for all road users and their education?

Come on fess up...enlighten us, qualify your original post with some observations, experiences etc.

 

[tdr1nka]

With every respect, am I wrong in finding that last line slightly ominus?

I don't tend to filter 'thru' traffic as a rule, but I will filter down the outside of a line of static traffic if I am going to be making a right hand turn.

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid being in amongst traffic, pulling into a primary position in moving traffic to let a bus undertake and then hitting a red light for example can leave you in a position to need to filter to the front as safely as possible.

 

[donnymac]

hi, i see both sides of the coin,,
yes i do ride a bike, both on and off road, every day..
i am a motorcycle instructor and ive seen some things in my 20 odd years of being a road user..

 

[donnymac]

is it legal or not to filter through traffic??.
how many times can you go round a roundabout before its classed as dangerous driving???

 

[donnymac]

is everyone looking for a highway code book....

 

[donnymac]

my point has been made.
people think they know the rules of the road but they dont know
some of the basics.. hence the need for a test..

 

[tdr1nka]

I used to ride motorbikes so all my road sense is derived from that particular school, even down to having my front lights on in the day. Old habits.

 

[BentMikey]

I think donnymac is in fact Ellisfield from my left hook video, after that filtering in traffic comment he just made.

View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sNihkLI6qlc


Note tdr1nka's comment on filtering on the outside, Ellisfield.


Let's see, here are a list of Ellisfield's assertions:

jumped the first lights. Err, no, it's obvious from the video I waited for the green before leaving the ASL.
Drove over the cross hatched area. Wrong, that's quite legal, the cross hatching has a broken line.
Got in the wrong lane - there's only one lane, so I'm not sure how I can be in the "wrong" one.
Queue Jumped in the right turn lane and then cut back. No, there's no right turn lane approaching the junction, and there's nothing illegal about cutting back in, especially not in front of a stationary vehicle that has a gap in front of it. The video doesn't show the gap, admittedly, but it does show that the car remains stationary whilst I pass it.
Are confused as to what is "overtaking" and what is "queue jumping". Overtaking/filtering might be described as queue jumping by a jealous motorist, but it's perfectly legal for two wheelers to do so.
You dangerously cut ahead of the Audi causing all the queue behind including the Honda 4x4 that cut you up to also react to the problem you caused. How can anyone dangerously cut in front of a stationary vehicle?

He now swaps to insisting I should use the cycle lane to filter, and not overtake on the right. Problem is, the cycle lane is only a short ASL feeder lane, and I wouldn't use it anyway even if it was longer because it's less safe on the left in general, particularly at this situation.

It's quite funny really, this debate has been going on for a while now, but it hasn't been hard to shoot down all his points. Apparently he rides 1000 miles a year and has NEVER been cut up. Ahahahahaha!

 

[donnymac]

who the f... are you talking about??
i asked if it was legal to filter..
well.

 

[BentMikey]

who the f... are you talking about??
i asked if it was legal to filter..
well.

It's perfectly legal to filter, it's specifically mentioned in the highway code. OTOH there is some onus of care on the two wheeler who is filtering.

 

[BentMikey]

On second thoughts, I doubt he's Ellisfield given the difference in writing styles.