General Chat

Dermot, I,m not against all Cyclists, just the Idiotic ones who think the do not have to obey the Laws of the Road.When you consider the Billions of pounds paid by Motorists for the use of the roads,( But not spent on them ) you can understand when they get a little peed off with people who pay nothing yet expect everything, then complain if they don,t get it,or others critisize them.**M**.

Just had a thought (now my brain hurts).

If you have house insurance does some of it not include "public liability insurance" would that not cover insurance for cyclists and others would be interesting to find out.

Paul

well said Merlin

I repeat..
I think cyclists should be actively encouraged, its healthy, and does not damage enviroment..
However..as a motorcyclist, I believe any person who uses the high-way should be trained, whether thats cyclists. horse-riders, mobilty scooters, anyone..
the reason i ask about the mobilty scooters is, I have seen them drive on the road.... I believe they go to fast.....If they are meant to be for people who cannot walk. then they should only go as fast as one can walk.....and not 8 miles an hour, as some do!!! also, If some of these people who have them, have never drove a veihcle of any sort...then suddenly when they get to the age most people think of giving up, they start to drive one of those, with no road sense training.... its a bit daft to me....I have heard that several people have been killed in them..this year alone....
just my opinion.
cmd

Thanks for your opinions.

Will check again later as am away out to watch Leeds Rhinos Kick some Castleford Tiger Butt.

See y'all later
Pablo

Oh yes I a riding to stadium about 5 miles away. Will probably get a taxi back later as will have imbibed some of the amber neactar......so dont want to get collar felt by West Yorkshires Finest.

Sorry Paul - didn't mean to get you all uptight.

I can only talk about the situation in Devon generally & in the lovely city of Exeter in particular.

1. Cycle paths have been placed near schools so that children can learn to ride safely & have safer routes to school.

2. Adults learning to cycle find standards of some motorists so bad that they are intimidated off the road. Remember, many of these 'late' learners are motorists too.

3. It is inadvisable & usually impossible to ride faster than say 12 to 15 miles per hour on a cycle path taking into account the dangers to pedestrians, dogs, mobility scooters who also use or stray onto the path.

4. As a motorist, I have never been held up more than a few moments by any cyclist.

5. At the moment, cyclists have the right to be on most roads (except motorways). Of course, the law may change in the future.

6. Insurance - if it were compulsory as with motorcars - then there would be no choice; pay up or get off the road.

Well I am back as stated been to the rugby
Leeds Rhinos 18 Castleford Tigers 12
Gave them a ten point start and still beat them.

Men against boys

Cas Men V Leeds Boys youngsters win (Again)

DERMOT,
You did not get me uptight
Thank you for your comments
Paul

Insurance = yes
Lights = yes
Cycling Proficiency course + Test = absobloodylutely!

Some of them are flipping dangerous.

I am fed up to the back teeth of people complaining about cyclist.

OK I agree there are a minority who think that the highway code does not apply to cyclists...and jump red lights, ride across pedestrians on pelican crossings etc, but the majority use the road properly, inasmuch as car drivers allow them to.

They do not damage the environment, they are not chucking dangerous exhaust fumes at child level, and do not damage the roads through just using them.

That said, I do believe they should be licensed, in the same way drivers and motorcyclists are. That includes lessons and theory tests too.

I would like to see more cycle paths here in Norwich, then I would be able to cycle safely to work instead of having to rely on buses. I'm not happy about tackling the busy roundabouts an dual carriageways that are in and around the city at the moment.

fair bit of input here then - for and against - but for me the most pressing thing is lights, lights, lights!! cyclists at night wearing dark clothing, as they usually do, with no lights back or front, can frighten the living daylights out of a motorist and cause serious accidents and of course the cyclist would 99 times out of a hundred would come off worst, but the motorist would also probably be traumatised too!!!

Ann - couldn't agree more. Colleagues sometimes refer to me as the moving Christmas tree, I'm so well lit up. But, I don't care.

good for you Dermot

I drive (a motorbike) in London and am fed up with cyclist who feel that they can completely disregard every rule of the road.
It is unusual to see one stop at a traffic light and they frequently go the wrong way down one way streets,
Cycle lanes have been provided on some roads near the Post Office Tower, cutting the road for motorised traffic down to one lane.
It must have cost tens of thousands of pounds to put those in but hardly any cyclists use those roads whilst it causes congestion and pollution from vehicles which have to wait for two or more changes of the traffic lights to get through.

Dermot I live about 40 miles away from you and we have no cycle lanes and most of the cyclists cycle in the middle of the road. I admit I drive due to haveing 3 young children but I used to cycle. My problem here is that the cyclists here do not give 2 hoots for other road users as I stated in my first post on pg1. Some of them are darn dangerous in fact. How do we here in a small town in Cornwall get cycle paths? My children have nearly been knocked over by a cyclist using the paths on more than 1 occasion. I dont mean to sound like I am having a go at all cyclists because i am not i respect those who are carefull and conciderate. Lynette xx

I know this is a bit late but did you see in the news a couple of days ago.
A cyclist crashed into a young girl and knocked her over causing damage to her head which resulted in her death.

What was his sentence a fine of £2500. This discusted me when I heard it. The man should have been locked up at least.

If it had have been a motorist who killed the girl the I guarantee that he/she would be serving time in one oher majesty's holiday camps.

The law is an ass I've heard that somewhere before

Cyclists, mobility scooter riders....make them take basic tests, pay tax and at have at least third party insurance...most of them are a nightmare and need dealing with far more robustly than they are at present

n

they should be like the radio licence system......you have to give accomodation(which are covered by a tv licence) details when you buy a radio/telly/dvd/ video player.......why not a similar system for bikers?

I for one am all for cylists paying road tax etc, but as for insurance, how would it be enforced?
Over here the cyclists dont give two hoots for the traffic, they frequently go the wrong way round roundabouts, looking left for traffic, about to enter roundabout and find a cyclist coming from the right, happened a few times to me. As for lights, I have never seen one here with lights!

PS we drive on right here incase you are thinking look left?

Cars holding up a cyclist lol in this part of the world most of the cyclists are on the footpaths.

Ann- yes My OH was sent headfirst into the fruit and veg and I was run over by a very abusive man in a mobility scooter who was determined to get through the shoppers and go out of the 'in door' at our local supermarket...shame he hadnt got a number plate that I could have reported

As far as cyclist insurance being enforced really quite simple...when you buy a TV you have to give a current address to the shop so that the TV licence folk know you have a TV and can pursue a licence fee...same could apply with a cycle...