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Cyclists

Discussion in 'Swansea City' started by 55282, Oct 6, 2016.

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  1. Matthew Bound Still Lurks

    Matthew Bound Still Lurks Well-Known Member

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    Just watch you're not being filmed because odds are you are <whistle>
     
    #21
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  2. swanseaandproud

    swanseaandproud Well-Known Member

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    More and more Cyclists taking to the roads and that is a good thing...It is far better for the environment which is good imo.....I cycle more now than use the car and i abide to the Highway code but i can recall many many instances of cars lorries and buses coming so close to me on the roads that you would think i was invisible and have come very close to being pushed off my bike a number of times and most do it on purpose too......I now wear a head camera and whenever anyone comes close to me i point at my camera and they soon move over........There are some bad cyclists but there are more bad drivers.....
     
    #22
  3. swan_and_only

    swan_and_only Moderator
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    I'm a cyclist and motorist (when needed) and in reality it's down to the individual rather than a generalisation of a specific group. Unfortunately there seems to be a worrying number of idiots on the road. All it takes is a little consideration and patience from both sides.
     
    #23
  4. Matthew Bound Still Lurks

    Matthew Bound Still Lurks Well-Known Member

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    Exactly , we're all going somewhere and all have equal rights regardless which way we get there .
     
    #24
  5. Nosugarman1

    Nosugarman1 Well-Known Member

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    I am not concerned about cyclists on the road although if they do silly things they have the legal right to be there it's the antisocial selfish criminals that are illegally riding their vehicles off road that really anger me. Note I said vehicles because I don't think a lot of them realise what they are riding is classed as a vehicle and should not overtake other vehicles on the inside when stationary at traffic lights.
     
    #25
  6. Mono

    Mono Well-Known Member

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    If I'm being honest, everyone else on the road gets in my way. I wish everyone would just pull over when I decide I want to go somewhere.
     
    #26
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  7. Stumpy

    Stumpy Well-Known Member

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    I've been a cyclist most of my life and I've ridden a motor Bike since my teens and through no fault of my own I've been hit off my push bike three times and my bike once by twats in cars with no understanding or respect for any road users regardless of vehicle. As long as they can run the amber, speed in towns past schools, double park, cut you up, see you coming but pull our in front of you just because your on a bike and cant hurt them, talk on their mobiles, text their mates, drive in bus lanes, straddle bike lanes, as long as their all right Jack its **** every one else on the road. Cyclists don't kill people morons in cars do.
     
    #27
  8. Bap666

    Bap666 Well-Known Member

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    <laugh><laugh><laugh> Brilliant.
     
    #28
  9. trundles left foot

    trundles left foot Well-Known Member

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    Totally agree, but when you put Licra on it means you are a pro and don't have to use cycle tracks. They are a pain in the arse and their holier than thou attitude pisses me right off. I am also a firm believer that if they are using the roads then they should have identification on their bikes along with insurance. When I was in the police the amount of car owners who came in and pedestrians, that had been hit by cyclists and they had ridden of or were unable to cover damage caused to peoples property was ridiculous. If they use the road they should have insurance.
     
    #29
  10. Matthew Bound Still Lurks

    Matthew Bound Still Lurks Well-Known Member

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    It's lycra and no it doesn't mean you're a pro just someone who wears the appropriate clothing for riding 100 miles or what ever distance you choose .The trouble to me it seems that a lot are ignorant of the law including ex coppers who should know better than to class everyone the same or is that why you're an ex copper , because there's a cycle track doesn't mean you have to use it that's a a bit like saying there's a motorway get on it even though it's not actually going any where near to where you want to go <doh> .
    Most serious cyclists spend a lot of money on their bikes , mine for example cost £1700 and you think it's not insured both for theft and public liability then think again .I wonder how many motorists are currently driving with no insurance , mot or tax .Some people can't or would accept there's good and bad with all road users so I suggest we leave it there .
     
    #30
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  11. trundles left foot

    trundles left foot Well-Known Member

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    Of course there are car owners without insurance, but they are breaking the law as they have to have it. There is no obligation for cyclists to have insurance and there should be, the speeds they do on public roads they can do some serious damage to other vehicles and serious injury to people yet there is no need for them to be covered. Everyone has the right to use the road, but if they are then they should have at least third party insurance as per other vehicles using the road.
     
    #31
  12. swan_and_only

    swan_and_only Moderator
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    Governments want and need to promote cycling to reduce the amount of motorists on the roads not create barriers that will prevent the uptake.
     
    #32
  13. Bap666

    Bap666 Well-Known Member

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    Cycling and cyclists are good for society; good for everyone, in fact. You might not like our funny, Lycra-wearing ways, but it's an undeniable truth. If 50% of a hypothetical city's car drivers abandoned their vehicles overnight for bikes it would slash pollution and congestion (for the remaining drivers, too), also bringing less wear to the roads and better health for the new cyclists. It would additionally, at a stroke, dramatically cut the numbers of people killed or badly hurt on the roads, saving millions of pounds and – more importantly – reducing the number of lives lost or devastated through grief or grave injury.

    Everyone's a winner. And what would be the best way of discouraging people from cycling? Making them leap through a host of bureaucratic hoops first.

    Cycling's appeal is that it is gloriously simple and impulsive, a habit usually acquired in childhood. It's been shown time and again that even compulsory helmet wearing reduces cyclist numbers. Imagine what would happen if you introduced a registry of bikes and riders, which you'd need to make any licence and insurance scheme viable. Only the truly committed would trek to the test centre, fill in the forms for number plates and screw them onto the frame.

    And would you make it obligatory for adults only? If not, teenagers would need to carry proof of ID with them every time they rode to the shops.
    Bike use would plummet, and suddenly you have a deadlier, less healthy, more congested city.

    But surely our pedestrians would be safe? Sadly not.

    Recklessly ridden bikes can be an irritant, I'll agree with that. But they're not – and I really can't stress this enough – a notable hazard. Figures crunched by the CTC, the national cycling organisation, show that in the five years to 2009, two pedestrians were killed by cyclists on pavements. Sixty-five were killed – this is on pavements, remember – by cars, lorries vans and buses.

    There's a reason why third party insurance costs hundreds of pounds if you drive a car while for cyclists it can be tacked on to the modest membership charge for a cycling organisation, or added to your home insurance as a freebie. We cyclists very, very rarely kill people. There are some very real problems on the UK's roads – six people dying a day on average, 60-plus more badly hurt – but we're really not it.

    Ask us to take a test when we end or wreck lives roughly every 20 minutes. 'Til then, back off. A fairly comprehensive argument methinks :angel:
    A little clip from Peter Walker, The Guardian in reply to the last person that wanted to regulate cyclists.
     
    #33
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2016
  14. swan_and_only

    swan_and_only Moderator
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    not to mention the 40,000 premature deaths a year caused by air pollution with motor vehicle emissions being one of the biggest contributor.
     
    #34
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  15. trundles left foot

    trundles left foot Well-Known Member

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    Just because people wont do it (Insurance and registry) doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. As someone said many cars aren't insured and no registration documents filled in. So perhaps we should abolish the need for them for cars. Anything using the public highway should have at least third party insurance and it is not about killing people it is about damaging other peoples vehicles and have a responsibility to put it right and no amount of Holier than thou look how good we cyclist are for the world and you car drivers are not, will change my mind.
     
    #35
  16. seabreeze

    seabreeze Well-Known Member

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    Pretty good nutshell there swan ...
     
    #36
  17. LIBERTARIAN

    LIBERTARIAN Well-Known Member

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  18. LIBERTARIAN

    LIBERTARIAN Well-Known Member

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  19. Kifflom!

    Kifflom! Well-Known Member

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    As an occasional cyclist (my wife cycles about 20K a day in the Summer) I can tell you there is definitely good and bad onboth sides of this debate.

    We often cycle along the seafront and we frequently get pedestrians walking directly in front of us without even looking, knowing it's a cycle path on one side. Also, people walking 4 or even 5 or 6 abreast right across the track, not giving a ****. But then there are the MAMILs (middle aged men in lycra) who cycle way too fast for that track and scatter pedestrians out of the way. We saw one recently blowing a whistle loudly as he sped through a crowd.

    I avoid cycling on a road whenever I can. The roads aren't made for it and there are too many impatient drivers or those who are thinking of their next shag to pay attention - and cyclists tend not to get a second chance if hit by a car. But I agree, on the other hand I've seen idiots riding two abreast straight down Fabian Way, ignoring the cycle track next to them. As a driver that makes me ****ing crazy.

    Like I said, good and bad. This country is just too crowded to make roads wider or add cycle tracks in most places. If drivers and cyclists were a bit more considerate things would be a lot easier.
     
    #39
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  20. Matthew Bound Still Lurks

    Matthew Bound Still Lurks Well-Known Member

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    Obviously not <laugh>
     
    #40
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