Viewpoint: Why are drivers blind to cyclists on the road?
One angry and concerned Grimsby cyclist has his letter published in today’s Grimsby Telegraph viewpoint, after a number of incidents involving motorists. Here is a section of the letter, you can read it in full in today’s Telegraph...and please let us know what you think by adding your comments on the end of this – are the drivers or the cyclists at fault?
“Had it been a young school kid or an elderly person in those situations, they would either have been in hospital now or on a slab in the morgue, with grieving relatives trying to come to terms with how they had lost their loved one.
I know there is a case for not all cyclists being angels, and if anyone cycles in the dark wearing dark clothing with no lights on their bike, I have no sympathy for them if they get hit. But we’re not all like that and there are no excuses for drivers labelling us as second-class citizens on the road, especially when we abide by the rules.
For God’s sake, if you’re driving any vehicle, slow down, pay attention to what is around you on the roads and give other road users the respect they deserve – before it’s too late!
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Valid until: Saturday, July 13 2013
Concerned cyclist
Grimsby
4 Comments
by bikecarguy
Friday, February 22 2013, 2:32PM
“I notice reading these letters how we as cyclists are tarred with the same brush, as ever it is the minority who spoil it for the rest of us & it appears that it must be human nature to remember the bad side & not the good.
I ride a bike. I commute on it & I ride it for pleasure & have great joy out of doing so. I stop at lights, I indicate where i`m going & I have lights on & most importantly wear a helmet, though for the most part I may aswell be invisible even though I feel like I`m lit up like a christmas tree. Believe me I`m fully aware of the cars around me though most ignore that fact that I`m even there.
I know that if I`m involved in an accident with a motorist then I`m going to come off worse. However as a driver & one who drives for a living too, I see alot of idiot cyclists who disobey the highway laws going through red lights, cycling on paths, riding without lights & some doing all this while on their mobiles too. I can understand the frustration & annoyance of drivers, believe me as a motorist I`m annoyed too. Its these idiots that give me & the rest of the responsible cyclists a bad name.
Phrases like "I hate cyclists" is hardly going to help the situation either is it.”
by The_motorist
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 7:10PM
“Concerned Cyclist, as a cyclist and a driver I agree that what you say can be true. I appreciate that you are probably one of the minority who makes an effort to make themselves clearly seen.
Some drivers have no idea how to cope with cyclists. However, I invite you to come along with me on my drive to work. I pass several cyclists, most without any lights, and the ones that have lights are simply not good enough. Only one of the regulars have any kind of reflective hi viz clothing, this one however, has no lights! Even now as the mornings are beginning to be a little lighter, lights and Hi viz is critical..... A cyclist can become lost into the grey of the road and the sky in the dawn light, not to mention the same in the evening. Just because it is light enough to see things does it mean that you can be seen riding a bike on the road! The worst crime, and it should be an offence is the idiots who see fit to ride down the A46 on the carriageway, when there is a perfectly good and wide cycle lane provided. The lane is sufficient to accommodate cyclists traveling in both directions. There simply is no excuse not to use the lane.
It is about time that the Police started to make a stand and collar a few of these people and set a precedent.
There also seems to be an unwritten law that the cyclists who cycle for pleasure, usually in large groups, are exempt from using the cycle lanes that where put there especially for them. They see fit to ride four or five abreast and can be often seen blatantly making passing them difficult.... They need to read the highway code. It applies to them too!!”
by Grimsby_Town
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 4:15PM
“Make cyclists attend a course, a test before being allowed on the roads and introduce a £15 taxation scheme to use public land ;)
I hate cyclists- pain in the backside in my opinion!”
by animal_owner
Wednesday, February 06 2013, 12:47PM
“I have been in a car as a passenger and cyclists have just rode off the pavement without looking into the path of the car I have been in causing the driver to brake sharply to avoid hitting them, have seen cyclists ride in the middle of the road and straight through traffic lights when they have been red, turned right without looking straight in front of a car. They have also at night rode bikes without lights, in dark clothing and done all the above behaviour as well in the same conditions, this is adults and children alike there are no exceptions to those that do it.
The person whose car I have been in on numerous occassions when this has happened will slow down and give room for a cyclist and horse rider and is the reason that the cyclists that have rode off paths in front of them or turn right without signalling or looking are still alive today and lucky not to have been knocked off their bicycles and ended up in hospital.
Cyclists need to be more aware of traffic that is around them and yes I am a cyclist most of the time and still remember my cycling proficiency learnt in primary school, as I am older I do not ride my bike as much as I did as do agree there are some inconciderate car drivers around and feel every time I ride my bike I am now taking my life into my hands by doing so, but with witnessing as a passenger in a car what some cyclists get upto can partly understand that some drivers may be tarnishing all cyclists with the same brush as what some do”