I wouldn't blame the cyclist but I do think it's naïve to think you are and should be considered safe all times in every situation. He commuted to work on his bicycle and may have let his guard down and a criminal came along. He was doing everything right (allegedly) although I wouldn't want to ride a bicycle at midnight in the city regularly. Consider insurance companies assign a percentage of responsibility just for the fact that you were there. There's always inherent risks and ignorance possibilities. That's why we pay for liability insurance. Those that are really irresponsible don't even have insurance which really screws over the victim. We'll likely never know if the cyclist double checked to see if the intersection was clear or any other details. It's a huge intersection. It's unfortunate what happened and it will happen again. https://www.gofundme.com/josehernandezstp
The trouble is that many mayors like to play the hero and being an environmentalist is seen as hip and cool for election time with the young voters. We have the same issue in London, they think removing vehicles is the only answer so instead they try to remove as many cars as they can and replace lanes with cycle lanes, this causes traffic with less lanes, to be more at a standstill so actually adding to the pollution levels. in the simplest of terms they are trying to fit a pint into a half pint glass. There is a certain level of entitlement also amongst cyclists, strangely, more amongst the road riding than mountain bikers. I saw recently the governments suggestions are that all cyclists (I pressume for on road) that they must wear hi viz jackets and helmets. This caused uproar by some saying that wearing them will give a false sense of security so will see a rise in accidents not reductions. which of course is shit. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/26/cyclists-high-visibility-jackets-increase-odds-crash/
Sooooo, it is the cyclists fault right ?? They could stay at work longer, earn more and buy a car surely ??
A few years ago there was a local news item about a young girl who had jumped on her bicycle and sped off down the hill outside her house, as she often did. What she didn't know was that the council had installed a removable speed hump the day before. She hit it at speed, not expecting it to be there. She was was thrown from her bike, landing directly on the top of her head and was killed. The local BBC news reader intoned sanctimoniously that the incident was an object lesson on why cyclists should wear helmets. No mention of the idiocy of putting lethal obstacles in the road nor any contribution from medical experts and accident investigators who had said it was unlikely that a cycling helmet would have saved her.
What they never ever mention Gimbo, is a speed humps ability to damage people, equipment and even slow down ambulance/emergency vehicle access etc etc as long as they can stand by their bullshit views that speed is the real killer, morons will continue to build shit in roads that fuck people over !! A few years back round my way, the council put in this fucking ludicrous junction on a bend, I've nearly hit oncoming cars loads cause they can now just cut across a main road as they switched the right of way to make turning off the main road the correct way without indicating or fuck all. I went to see the fuck knuckle council bloke who did this, and he said "It wasn't meant to be there, was supposed to be much further along, but now it's there, we'll leave it as at least it's slowing traffic" What a prize cunt the council employs whereby they put a wrong facing junction on a bend but refuse to do a U-turn on their decision and to save face, cause they have some fucking prick who has initials after his name.....Massive bunch of cunts !!
Massive bunch of superannuated unsackable "key-worker" cvnts with gold-plated pensions delivering "front-line"(?) services.
If you go to Scandinavian countries they have sorted the whole bike/car/pedestrian thing. Lanes for each, and not just a 10 year old stripe in the gutter, with traffics lights, etc. Same old prejudiced view does get a bit boring really (cyclists have no sense, wear wrong stuff, jump lights, have dim lights, have too bright lights, etc ad nauseum). Yes, some cyclists display some of these traits or behaviours sometimes, in the same way some motorcyclists ride like pricks sometimes and give decent motorcyclists a bad name. Most cyclists will also have a car/van/motorbike and therefore pay ved and insurance (most will have a personal liability clause in their home insurance covering accidents for which they are at fault - I have successfully taken a cyclist to court and won on this basis). So let's not get all high, mighty and prejudiced, as we (motorcyclists) are very often tarred with a prejudiced option ourselves. Pete
If it's any comfort Pete, it makes no difference whatsoever to me whether a few bad eggs are tarnishing the reputation of a majority of exemplary cyclists. No difference at all. Every cyclist could be following the rules and riding sensibly - but they would still be a hazard to themselves and other road users. The reasons why it is not safe or prudent for pedestrians to walk in the road apply equally to cyclists, in my view. Until all motorised traffic is taken off the roads, or all of it is limited to 20MPH, it is not safe or sensible for cyclists to be on them. I don't expect a Christmas card from you now but I'd still like one : o )
I disagree that most cyclists are insured, most home policies cover the bike being stolen, but not 3rd party incidents on the bike, none of the lycra weirdos I work with have this on their home policy..... Also, I don't even think its a small percentage of bad apples, at this time of year, each time I go to work, I see 3 or 4 cyclists on a quiet country road riding along with what looks like a collapsed sun on the front of their bikes, without giving a flying fuck for the oncoming cars and real bikes getting blinded !! I see them constantly jumping lights cause rules don't apply to them. And don't even get me started on the feckers who ride in 2's parallel holding up cars and still won't move out the way cause they are self righteous tossers !! On my last set of shifts, I spent nearly 2.5 miles behind some 2 abreast toss pots that would not move, and they both actually gave hand gestures to car users honking horns in frustration as they went by........
fair point, well made. it could though be extended to include motorcyclists, i.e. they are a hazard to themselves and hence should be removed from the road until all vehicles over 500kg are limited to 20mph, etc I think the term "hazard to themselves" is not the right choice of words, as it is more often a case (certainly where I commute) that the hazards come from other road users (cutting across cycle lanes, smidsy, etc). and extending this to motorcyclists, there are significant hazards to motorcyclists caused by other road users that could cause significant outcomes to the motorcyclist, it is the same point, i.e. the larger less observant vehicles and drivers are the cause of the hazard and the 2 wheel user is the one who suffers the consequences. maybe if all road users were to take regular compulsory training, or if policing was actually enforced on bad behaviours (rather than the cheap and easy "speed kills" cash-cow) then we might see improvements in overall road use. the same could be said of the knee-jerk after the fixie cyclist got jailed - he was riding illegally and caused harm to somebody in a less protected position than himself. the laws need a total review from cyclists to motorcyclists to cars, vans, trucks etc. e.g. clarification on filtering, should lorries be allowed in the outside lane of a motorway when there are only 2 lanes, should car drivers be on restricted liences such as in N Ireland, should car drivers be forced to take multiple tests such as motorcyclists do, etc just my 2p worth, and no, you haven't been scratched off my Christmas card list ;-) people can have differing views, doesn't mean either is necessarily completely wrong, they are just often opinions (which are like arseholes, we all have one but think everbody else's stinks). Pete
on many sections of my commute, cars can't keep up with me - should they be banned because they are now causing me a hazard?
I recently started driving through the City of Durham on a regular basis which is why I started this thread. Unfortunately its not just the odd cyclist who can't be arsed to put lights on their bikes, but the vast majority, probably 80-90%. I'm quite happy to give them space and wait until it's safe to overtake, but it would help if I could see the dumb f*cks.
They probably cant keep up cause there is some 2 abreast toss pot at the front holding them all up !!
I find this forum so informative. I never knew Glow worms wore Lycra, I thought it was man made. In any event wouldn't they take it off to copulate? May be not if it was just a quickie.
Yeah - swearing happens in the workplace, and im a grown up. Worked with my mate for 16 years...so he might hate my guts by now....
I guess Durham is a very student orientated city (I recall visiting there last year when my eldest was checking out universities) and as such they will dominate the cycling fraternity. I do see too many younger riders (yoofs, north-face ninja, and students) riding ill-prepared, probably out of ignorance. if maybe they had driven around in a car in bad light conditions and seen how they appear to motorist they would sort it (although maybe not in the case of the wheelying north-face ninja types). my lights, front and rear, are pretty powerful so I am careful how I aim them before I set off so as not to fry the eyeballs of any copulaing glow worms. I also carry a spare set of lights just in case I forgot to fully charge the main set. I wear reflective kit, stop at traffic lights and overtake larger vans, buses etc on the right (and filter down the outside, much to the consternation of many drivers who get a bit of a shock when a pushiron flashes past and disturbs their whatapp chap group thingy they are deep into). Yes, some cyclists can be a bit alloying at times, but car users are at least as guilty of being a hazard due to their driving behaviours, mobile phone usage, etc. education and enforcement are the keys, but neither is going to happen any time soon under any current flavour of government. Pete
