Turn ITV ON NOW !!!

[fossyant]

Oh, and in the first few minutes, the 'reporter' was stood outside/near EBC (Edinburgh Bike Co-op) on the edge of Rusholme on Oxford Road Manchester (near the MRI Hospital) - the road was empty.....must have been an early sunday morning in Summer when NO STUDENTS are there...... that place is heaving usually............ even out of term....

 

[skudupnorth]

Registered that...die of a heart attack then you old duffer......

Hope you meant the cabbie bloke Cabbie explains a lot about his thoughts on cyclists,the ones round Bolton love the cycle lanes more than we do !

 

[fossyant]

Hope you meant the cabbie bloke Cabbie explains a lot about his thoughts on cyclists,the ones round Bolton love the cycle lanes more than we do !

The bloke on the panel at the right - the baldy..........

 

[skudupnorth]

The bloke on the panel at the right - the baldy..........

He was called a few names from me during the programme !

 

[fossyant]

The programme was pretty rubbish TBH...

 

[Freewheeler]

It wasn't all bad, Quentin Wilson's advice to ride a bike as if you're driving a car was pretty much spot on, and he went from thinking that riding in town was going to be awful to thoroughly enjoying it, remarking on the sense of freedom and being surprised at how safe riding in traffic is when done sensibly.

 

[Neddy]

I've just set the digibox - the repeat is on at 03:30 on 16/11, ITV1.

 

[PBancroft]

I watched it thinking that it seemed to have been built to be biased against cyclists, whilst pretending to be fair... and failed. The segment about the guy killed felt very tagged on. Crash scenes were a bit poo too, but on the whole the cyclists came across rather well, and that one particular motorist we all know about seemed like a pompous twat.

Quentin Wilson was rather balanced and fair, surprisingly. Now I wonder if they were aiming for Clarkson-esque overreactions from him.

 

[theclaud]

.
Quentin Wilson was rather balanced and fair, surprisingly.

Really? I only saw him at the end, but he was arguing for compulsory registration for cyclists...

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I thought it was balanced against both being bad at certain points, I would not say it was against the cyclist or motorist, but thats just my opinion.

The cyclist that jumped the red light and hit the Taxi, should have been prosecuted and made to pay up for the Taxi, its people like that that do us harm.

I thought Quentin was good in that he gave it a go and found he liked it, thats what I think we need more motorists who understand cyclists. He was completely right that motorists should treat us as a small car, but then some cyclists need to act as a small car, small cars do not mount the pavement at junctions to press the button and then wander across the pedestrian crosing.....

Maybe a governemnt ad campaing on those lines would be a good idea?

I was also very glad to see Cambridgeshire Police doing something about all the naughty cyclists in Cambridge who are always going the wrong way down steets, cycling in pedestrian zones and cycling on pavements, gives me hope, because I cycle past where they were every day and I see them all the time, I think stricter policing for minor offences a bit like what happened with New Yorks zero tolerance is the way forward.

I was also in agreeemnt that maybe cyclists should be registered, not the bike but the cyclist so that in the case of an accident who ever the fault is then details could be exchanged so that there is a course for proper litigation in the event of a problem, like the RLJ hitting the Taxi at the start of the programme.

My main thought overall is how as a society in Britain were rubbish at being forward thinkers, what is wrong with us that we all can't get on together? Holland can sort the cycling out why can't this country? I felt slightly ashamed that as a nation were all fighting against each other, and I get cycle rage, I have made some errors but I have not done them again, but as a Society, I just think were have lost the spirit of being together and its all about I am alright sod the rest of you.

Finally, I watch these programmes, and just wish that petrol would be come even more expensive !

 

[ComedyPilot]

The reason I don't think it was balanced, is that there are quite a few cases of cyclists being killed in horrific circumstances, and the driver trying to cover it up - or cases of drivers using their cars as weapons against cyclists. All have been discussed on CC before now.

The program centred on cyclists doing bad things in Cambridge, but showed little if any footage of bad driving around cyclists.

Badly researched IMO.

Just have a look at our Magnatom's video footage for some horrendous driving.

That type of driving should have been shown, and then ask the smug git 'Nosferatu' to justify it.

 

[dodgy]

I like Damonfrombrookie.

He used to own a bike cafe called 'The Hub' in Berry Street Liverpool, there was a bike shop attached to it, too. Their salt and pepper pots were Hope hubs with holes drilled in them

Been a while since I was there, might have gone now, this was back in the early to mid 90s.

 

[dodgy]

Just checked, sadly it closed down some years back. I've just remembered a lot more, all the furniture was made out of recycled bike parts and I also remember going there at night time as they sold beer. They also had secure bike storage and showers, it's a real shame it's gone

 

[alecstilleyedye]

i was annoyed that they failed to mention that the highway code gives specific advice on all the simulated crashes, and on each occasion puts an onus on the motorist to take care.

a cyclist's right to wobble or change direction unexpectedly is enshrined in law. the driver is required to anticipate that a bike might move out to pass an obstacle such as a parked car. as a cyclist you should look over the shoulder, from a self-preservation point of view, but this doesn't infer any liability is taken from the motorist.

 

[Bollo]

I deliberately didn't watch this as such programmes usually have the same effect on me as appearances by the BNP and Christian Fundamentalists. It is not a good effect and gets very expensive on televisions.

Unfortunately short pop-current affairs programmes like this can only address an issue at the most superficial level. They're supported by researchers who will have little or no knowledge of the subject matter (today cyclists, tomorrow "what's in our bacon?"). The easiest thing to do is reach for the big book of cliches, in this case by choosing a programme title and format that emphasise the apparent conflict between road users.

The most dangerous aspect IMHO of these programmes is the illusory search for 'balance'. The blame, and certainly the consequences of incidents between cyclists and motorists are not in any way 'balanced'. We make a mistake or misbehave on the roads - we suffer. A driver makes a mistake or misbehaves on the road - we suffer. What's needed isn't balance, because it doesn't in any way reflect the imbalance in the figures or our experiences. We need a decent polemic made by someone who gives a sh1t.