Re: Cyclist hit and runs - what is the answer?

On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 20:20:54 +0000 (UTC), "p.k."
<spam.trap100.remove@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> said in
<dos7n6$gho$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>It is cyclists doing it, therefore to some in this group, it - by
>definition - cannot be wrong.

Is the wrong answer. But - and this is the bit we're trying to get
across - the fact that the cyclist is wrong does not mean they should
be killed for it.

>I've posted here criticising stealth cyclists and pavement cyclists and on
>each topic have found myself being criticised - the classic was an occasion
>when I "popped out to the shops in the car" and encountered a two up black
>dressed pair of black faced guys with no lights and a dark bike". One of the
>responses dismissing my post was "What sort of person pops out to the shops
>in the car (instead of on the bike)?" Others criticised my lack of
>observation (despite the fact I did see and avoid and said so in my post).
>Others resorted to the same deflection [card drivers do bad things] you
>bridle at above.

In the end a cyclist dressed from head to foot in black and riding an
unlit cycle is functionally identical to a black horse or a black tree
on the road - and if a driver hits either of those it is the driver's
fault, because the HC says you should always be able to stop *well*
within the distance you can see to be clear. CTC speculated when
compulsory rear lights for cyclists were mooted that the result would
be that drivers would begin to blame the cyclists if they (the
drivers) failed to see them. Which is exactly what has happened (cf.
Pete Longbottom, whose light would now be legal, to cite but one case
of many).

Most of us *strongly* recommend lights, even while acknowledging that
there is no actual evidence they improve safety. Ditto reflective
clothing. And most of us *strongly and repeatedly* advise against
pavement cycling not only where it is illegal, but also where the man
with the paint pot has made it legal (the difference between the two
is not recorded in the Government figures quoted, as far as I can
tell). We recommend this because, unlike lights and bright clothing,
there is solid evidence to show it is more dangerous to ride on the
pavement. And many of us don't just *say* this, we lead by example,
even to the cost of being subjected to traffic tantrums for failing to
ride on the pavement where it is legal.

At the same time we, like the government, recognise that the main
reason that people ride on the pavement is from fear of motor traffic.
So the widespread tendency to recommend various treatments for a
symptom, without addressing the cause, is unlikely to be effective.

To say nothing of the fact that there is precious little evidence that
the symptom is much of a problem anyway; I suspect that the risk to
the cyclist is probably greater than that to the pedestrians.

I seem to recall most of these points being put to you before, but I
could be wrong.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken
.

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