Give us a break, don't try and break us... (14.10.07)
It is a fact that it is perfectly legal for a cyclist to ride anywhere - pavements, motorways, the wrong way down a one way street, through a red light - provided s/he is showing two flashing lights at the front and one to the rear at all times. OK, so that might not be true, but it's based in about as much fact as the tellings off I get DAILY on my bike, travelling to and from work.I cycle 10 miles each way. I do it for a number of reasons - the top three being because I hate, hate *hate* the tube at rush-hour, because it's quicker by bike, and because I'd like there to be less of me (although, I hasten to point out, in a 'burn it off' kind of way, not in a 'lower limbs ripped off by white van' kind of way). And, although I say so myself - ignoring the fact that I fell off my bike yesterday in a park when there was no one else around - I'm a fairly good cyclist. I'm no Chris Boardman, but I'm not achingly slow either. I am conscious of where other vehicles are on the road. I don't dart between lanes of traffic unless it's *obviously* wide enough for me to do so, and the lanes are going to be still long enough that I won't a) get in anyone's way or b) put myself in danger. I never overtake large vehicles on the inside. I never stop somewhere where I'm not visible to the driver of the vehicle nearest to me (either directly, or by being in line with their mirrors). I always wear a helmet and bright colours and I never ride without lights. I don't ride on pavements (unless unavoidable) and I never jump red lights (unless they're on a pedestrian crossing and there's no one crossing).
And yet - AND YET - on my way to and from work I am subjected to an almost continuous stream of abuse from drivers and pedestrians alike, and more often than not have a close call or two where a driver just hasn't seen me. I was insulted on my way in to work yesterday for 'riding in the middle of the road'. Firstly, I have every right to ride in the middle of the road - I have just as much right to be there as any car; and secondly, to my right was a series of enormous, front-wheel-swallowing pot-holes. This from a man who then proceeded to drive straight through a red light and a no entry in one fell swoop. On my way home yesterday, I was snarled and gestured at for riding along the river-side pavement of the Embankment between Cheyne Walk and Battersea Bridge. I had to stop myself grabbing these obnoxious, ignorant idiots (often joggers) by the hair and dragging them to the side of the path where they would have seen one of the signs shown above. What this means officially is A shared use path is one which can be used by cyclists as well as pedestrians. On such paths, cyclists must give way to pedestrians. And I do. Always. But I still get abused.
And that's just a couple of examples from one day's riding. This happens every day. More than once. The general prejudice against cyclists is so high that the natural assumption for any driver or pedestrian is that if there is an altercation, the cyclist is in the wrong. Cyclist-bashing is more prevalent in the media now, it would seem, than traffic-warden-bashing. And yet, nine times out of ten, when a cyclist (like me) is shouted at or honked at, it's because the pedestrian or driver has either not been paying enough attention to their environs and has had a shock to see a cyclist there (despite cycle-path signs, flashing lights and bright yellow jackets) or because they don't know the rules of the road adequately.
Please, drivers, stop assuming that you own the road just because you have paid a ridiculous amount of money to clog up the streets and the atmosphere with your ludicrous 'status symbols' (someday soon we should have a little chat about what kind of status driving a BMW gives you anyway). And pedestrians, wake up before you leave the house and LOOK (preferably in the direction from which the traffic is coming, not in which it is going) before you step blindly in to the road. And joggers - look out for the little blue signs and white bikes on pavements near you, keep one ear of your iPod out and pay attention to what's going on around you. Check before you weave across a path. And, if in doubt, just stick to the left. Everywhere except escalators it makes much more sense.
I'm well aware that there's a minority of cyclists who jump the lights and dart on and off the pavements and generally put themselves and others in danger. But it is the bad few who spoil it for the rest of us. Next time you're out and about, just bear in mind that most cyclists, like me, are just trying to get to work, like you. Like you, they don't want to take the tube. Like you, they have warm houses and lovely husbands or wives to get home to. And, like you, they don't want to spend any more time than is necessary on the commute in drizzly London streets.
Cyclists don't have a right to ride wherever and whenever they want. By law, they have to obey the rules of the road. Like you. But if they do, they have as much right to use the roads as anyone else.
posted by Tegwen at 16:42
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