What hope is there for cyclists?

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Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
hackbike 666 said:
That reminds me...when I first started commuting @ 17 years of age the internet was not around and nor was cyclecraft.




Yeah and I bet there are a few on here who think they are better than they actually are.



Definetly...It's got worse with mobile phones....I hate those bloody things so much.

They also can't actually see what they are doing wrong because they like everyone else thinks they are so good at driving/multitasking.

Have you seen how poor their road positioning is when they use a mobile phone...plus the driving deteriorates.

Crankarm as you don't bang on about Cyclecraft every five seconds did you ever read it?
Just out of interest question and not meant as any sort of criticism...

I once read part of it all the way through. I took my full motorcycle test in preference. It troubles me somewhat that cyclists are relying on this publication when it is not a statement of road traffic law. A lot of it is common sense though.
 
Crankarm said:
I once read part of it all the way through. I took my full motorcycle test in preference. It troubles me somewhat that cyclists are relying on this publication when it is not a statement of road traffic law. A lot of it is common sense though.

I have read some of it and agree with what you say.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
hackbike 666 said:
Cyclecraft does not fix appaling driving.

No but it does tell you situations to watch out for and how to position yourself to prevent some problems happening.

I agree with Crankarm that the law should be changed so that it is closer to the Europeans, and think it would make a difference to how they drove. But most of the general public don't understand it and don't want that change. If one of the parties had it in their manifesto I would vote that for them.
 

skudupnorth

Cycling Skoda lover
To be honest I find driving the car more and more stressful than it used to be nowadays because the same clowns who cause cyclists problems do the same to other car drivers ! The other day I got left hooked on the bike but "luckily" it was in a place that I know this sort of action happens and was sort of expecting an incident.the nice shiny Peugeot now has a nice bar end scratch to remind them not to do it again !
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
NigC said:
I'm not, I thought, just maybe, there'd be some interest from somebody who IS willing to do something and I'd get behind them.

Um, someone said, some pages back, get campaigning. You can get behind the CTC, or your most local campaign, or Sustrans or whoever you happen to believe in most.

You're the one who started the 'doomed' bit.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Crankarm said:
I once read part of it all the way through. I took my full motorcycle test in preference. It troubles me somewhat that cyclists are relying on this publication when it is not a statement of road traffic law. A lot of it is common sense though.

I don't think cyclists 'rely' on it, any more than they rely on the Highway Code, or the Road traffic Act. They read it, and are able to make better informed choices about their cycling. They don't make it into a papier mache shell, or strap copies to their elbows - that's not how books work.

You once read 'part of it, all the way through'? And did you then think about it and let it shape your riding or did you scoff and assume it couldn't teach you anything?
 

PBancroft

Senior Member
Location
Winchester
Crankarm said:
I once read part of it all the way through. I took my full motorcycle test in preference. It troubles me somewhat that cyclists are relying on this publication when it is not a statement of road traffic law. A lot of it is common sense though.

I once read part of the Bible all the way through, then got bored and gave up. :biggrin:
 

Jaguar

New Member
Location
Norfolk/Suffolk
skudupnorth said:
To be honest I find driving the car more and more stressful than it used to be nowadays because the same clowns who cause cyclists problems do the same to other car drivers
Me too, after my crash last year I am more nervous in a car than on my bike

hackbike 666 said:
[drivers on the phone] can't actually see what they are doing wrong because they like everyone else thinks they are so good at driving/multitasking
My OH is a constant offender: speeding especially. He's had 2 tickets in 6 months, and even though I was hit by a car (driver "didn't see" me) last year, he doesn't change :sad:
He has an expensive hands-free jobby, and uses the phone constantly because he is bored. His attention is definitely elsewhere when he's on the phone: if he calls me and I know he's driving, I tend to hang up and say I'll talk later.


Crankarm said:
Motons believe cycling is dangerous - quite correctly, as they themselves know exactly how careless or dangerous their driving is.
I have to agree with you. OH is a case in point: he won't use his bike at all, because "it's too dangerous" - probably I don't help because daily I have tales of the twit who cut me up, or chased me, or forced through a gap when I had priority
 

Jaguar

New Member
Location
Norfolk/Suffolk
NigC said:
Hmmmmm, interesting stat. Where does that claim come from?

have a Google: I don't have time to check the sources, but one quote is "seven times as many pedestrians are killed each year as cyclists and ...pedestrians have more fatalities per mile of travel than cyclists" http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
Arch said:
I don't think cyclists 'rely' on it, any more than they rely on the Highway Code, or the Road traffic Act. They read it, and are able to make better informed choices about their cycling. They don't make it into a papier mache shell, or strap copies to their elbows - that's not how books work.

You once read 'part of it, all the way through'? And did you then think about it and let it shape your riding or did you scoff and assume it couldn't teach you anything?

The point is Cyclecraft is not a statement of the law. The RTA, Highway Code and other relevant legislation are.
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
Cyclecraft has a lot of good advice in it, and tells you a lot of best practice.

I've read it, and even after 50 years of cycling managed to find some new ideas on how to navigate and survive our roads.

Back to the OP, I'm like a number of the other posters on the thread, I've been cycling for deades, had a few near misses, and come off a few times, but I'm still here. I try to avoid trouble, usually successfully. The worst and most life threatening crashes I've had have been in a car, apart from nearly being run down by a drunk driver when waiting for a bus. Fortunately for me he killed all of a family who were stationary in their car instead.

Of course it looks bad on this and other cycling forums. Every cycling death gets reported - it's worse than the Daily Wail for that. That means that every one of the roughly 250 deaths appears here, two every three days. (Correct my figures if they're not quite right please - didn't re-check them). There were about 2500 road deaths last year, and more of them were pedestrians and drivers than were cyclists, but we generally don't highlight the others.
 
Kaipaith said:
I once read part of the Bible all the way through, then got bored and gave up. :sad:

Wash your mouth out.Cyclecraft is the bible.AMEN.:sad:

Arch said:
You once read 'part of it, all the way through'? And did you then think about it and let it shape your riding or did you scoff and assume it couldn't teach you anything?

Nope...no way...I just don't generally read books....just the way I am.
 
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