I'm not always a friend to mr. cyclist but...

[adams901]

Driving in the city in general is is pretty bad, specially with the black cabs and busses trying to kill you at every chance they get.

Cyclists however dont seem to give a shit that if they get hit they can die, the amount of times I have had to take avoiding action cor some tosser who decides that the red light at the junction isnt for him, and then looks at me as if I shouldnt be there.

Dont think I have seen 1 cyclist stop at a red light at all this year, and I am driving around london 5 days out of every week for 8 hours.

as for the rickshaw fuckers...

I now have one of those in car cameras, at least if some fuck tard on a bike runs the red light and gets hit, or a cab decides he wants to be on the exact same bit of road I am on there will be hard evidence as to whos fault it is.

 

[Ch3tan]

Disagree strongly with anyone saying cyclists are in the right here (I'm looking at you teedles). There are good cyclists, but in recent years there has been a swell of new cyclists who shouldn't be on the road. Motorists have to take tests, cyclists don't and it shows. I've nearly killed 4 cyclists in the past year because of their stupidity, if I hadn't been paying attention they would be worse off.

I want to see the police do something useful and heavily fine cyclists without lights, helmets and who break the rules of the road.

 

[Lamp]

Don't get me started on those rick shaw motherfuckers. They should either be banned outright, or if not, be licenced, insured, taxed & regulated. A cab driver mate of mine heard one charging tourists £120 to go from the Lanesborough Hotel to Harrods (a very short distance - about £5 tops in a black cab)

 

[Lamp]

There was a naked cycle ride thru London this afternoon. The Mrs was laughing her head off. For some reason all I could think about was the bloody roadworks in St James

World Naked Bike Ride Coming To London | Londonist

 

[Tom]

I want to see the police do something useful and heavily fine cyclists without lights, helmets and who break the rules of the road.

wtf? Helmets are a load of shite.

 

[GimmlyThe3rd]

Push bikes chafe me like a mother fucker, let alone naked, ouch.

 

[Raven]

When I was a lad we did cycling proficiency lessons at school. Do they bother these days?

 

[Lamp]

You should see some of the middle-age suits riding Boris bikes in London. They look they've had a very long liquid lunch or haven't riden a bike in 30 years. Or both. Either way, shouldn't be riding down Euston Rd

 

[Dudley52]

About a year ago I had an incident with a cyclist. I was turning right into an industrial estate. There was traffic and both cars (two lanes) stopped to let me through, I turned and didn't see the cyclist speeding down the inside that was skipping all the traffic, there was no way I could see him behind all the vehicles. He rode straight into my side door, luckily he wasn't hurt though, foreign accent, he checked I was ok and seemed to be in a rush to ride off again. Shame about the nasty dent he put in the door which is rusting :/

 

[Scouse]

Not read the whole thread, but having recently re-taken up biking (I last owned a bike when I was 15) I've developed a whole lot more sympathy for bikers.

It's nasty for 'em out there. Well done this chap. Especially running into the fucking busybody rozzer cuntboy at the end

 

[Scouse]

heavily fine cyclists without helmets

WTF has this to do with cycling safely?

I hate the fucking things, they're no use in an accident, they're uncomfortable and if I was forced to wear one I wouldn't bother tbfh.

BTW - I was clicking on the quote button as the bird said - wtf have helmets got to do with anything?


Edit: Ah:

wtf? Helmets are a load of shite.

Should read the thread. But once again, on motoring topics Tom = teh right.

 

[georgie]

So cycling helmets have no effect on the number/severity of head traumas in an accident?

 

[Rubber Bullets]

It's a huge area for debate Georgie, I use a couple of cycling forums and arguments about it can go on for pages on almost a weekly basis. The argument against, other than they look stupid, is that they are only meant to be efficient up to 12mph, and that they increase the risk of torsional injuries i.e. by catching on something and twisting the head, and injuring the spine. There is also a suggestion that drivers drive more carefully near cyclists that are not wearing one, as they appear more vulnerable, or the converse that cyclists take more risks when they are wearing them. I'm not sure how true either of these arguments are.

Personally I have worked for many years in an x-ray department that has x-rayed quite a few cyclists and on the whole I feel they do more good than harm. I have been involved with a couple of fatalities that would have possibly been alive now if they had been wearing one, so I choose to have one. I also prefer my daughter to wear one, and it is difficult for me to argue this if I didn't wear one myself.

In the case of lesser accidents a helmet will certainly help to reduce the severity of scalp injuries etc. so fewer stitches and shaven patches.

I do agree with Scouse to the extent that it should not become law to wear one. The country needs to be encouraging more people onto bikes, and improving the cycling infrastructure, rather than creating more nanny legislation that will only put people off.

RB

 

[ECA]

You do see a lot of low speed cycling injuries though, ie cars not quite stopping or turning across a cyclist at low speed. I'd much prefer to be wearing one in a crash than not.

 

[Tom]

I rarely wear a helmet these days, but I can guarantee if any law came in that forced me to, I'd never wear one on the road.

I was in Amsterdam last weekend, of the thousands of cyclists I saw there only two were wearing helmets, and they were cycling at speed alongside a trunk road. Helmets are shit and unnecessary.

As for the "I work in a hospital and see head injuries" arguments, I bet you also see head injuries from motoring accidents, and yet oddly enough, nobody suggests forcing motorists to wear motorcycle helmets in cars.

 

[Scouse]

So cycling helmets have no effect on the number/severity of head traumas in an accident?

I daresay that they possibly do as RB said.

But make me wear one? Fuck off!

It's one of those obviously-should-be-personal-choice thangs...

 

[Rubber Bullets]

As for the "I work in a hospital and see head injuries" arguments, I bet you also see head injuries from motoring accidents, and yet oddly enough, nobody suggests forcing motorists to wear motorcycle helmets in cars.

Absolutely true, Tom, except in so far as I wasn't putting that forward as an argument. It is simply my reason for wearing one. It is not a clinical trial, at best it is anecdotal, I would never tell anyone else what to do.

We see far fewer head injuries than we used to, since air bags, and there was also a massive drop in serious injuries when seatbelts became compulsory. Actually by far the most common injury is whiplash, so perhaps we would be better off making F1 style neck braces compulsory rather than helmets

RB