Cyclists Should Be Banned From Our Roads Immediately!

13Jul14

I got a shake of the head this morning. I saw it in my rear view mirror, it was a cyclist.

I always give cyclists a wide berth because they’re the most vulnerable vehicles on the road and anyone who rides a bike on a main road is a bit mad anyway. There’s an uphill section just before Knebworth where the road goes down to one lane on my side because of a completely pointless bollard in the middle of the road. As I got closer, I realised I was going to pass this bloke in the narrow section. He must have heard me coming, I was doing at least 50mph (the speed limit is 60) but he didn’t pull closer to the curb so it would be safer for both of us, he stayed at least two yards from the curb the whole time as if he was the only vehicle on the road. I couldn’t give him anywhere near as much room as I would have liked to without hitting the bollard head-on.

Instead of apologising for being such a dangerous idiot, the cyclist had the cheek to shake his head at me! What was I supposed to do, commit suicide by bollard?

The truth is cyclists shouldn’t be on the road. Really, it would be much safer if they rode on the pavement.

The minute you suggest cyclists on the pavement, you get people up in arms, terrified of being knocked over. You also get reminded that it’s against the law. I checked and yes, cycling on the footway (pavement) is an offence in Britain under Section 72 of the Highways Act of 1835.

Yes 1835, back then, there were virtually no cars on our roads. It was 51 years later, 1886 that is regarded as the year of the birth of the modern automobile with the arrival of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, by Karl Benz. The Benz had a top speed of 10mph but that wasn’t till 1886 when the speed limit in Britain was 4mph. So yes, in 1835, it would have been safe for a cyclist to ride on the road but not now.

Today, bicycles are even allowed on dual carriageways in Britain where the speed limit is 70mph! A motor vehicle hitting a bicycle at 70 means almost certain death for the cyclist, a pushbike hitting a pedestrian on the footpath at let’s say 15 or 20mph would cause minor injuries at most. We’ve ended up with a law that is now around the wrong way. It should be against the law to ride a pushbike on the road.

If you are still worried about a cyclist brushing past you while you’re walking on the pavement and it does happen, when he turns his head to look back, you can aways shake your head at him.

That’s because you’ll both still have heads.

Craic on!

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