Another cyclist killed in London today

There is definitely two sides to this problem - firstly, road design is utterly appalling in most cases (as I mentioned on another thread); over the years, we have created cluttered, illogical roads often with very poor surfaces; pavements have been widened, more signs than you can shake a stick at have appeared, whilst cycle lanes have been added that for the most part are less than useless.

I make no secret of the fact that I am no fan of cyclists, but in absolute fairness to them, they are being let down badly by poorly designed/crumbling infrastructure. I am also of the belief that we have created an environment that fools people into thinking they have a certain level of safety, to the point where they stop looking and thinking for themselves. We have 'Super Cycle Highways' which amount to little more than blue paint laid on the roads. Cyclists using them thing they are safe, but also that they have the god given right to be in them and never shall anything ever encroach into their space - - - I mean, its not as if vehicles ever have to move over a bit to pass something coming the other direction, is it?

And motorists too have stopped looking to a degree - one because they assume that the people using the cycle lanes/highways are going to behave in a certain manner (they don't!), and the fact that they are continually bombarded with cyclists posting videos on social media showing how bad those nasty drivers are, whilst sitting there watching cyclists blasting through red lights, or swarming past vehicles on the inside as well as the outside.

There needs to be a sea change, and not a little one either. Roads need to be simplified - nice, smooth surfaces, as wide as possible without making pavements stupidly narrow, well lit, get shot of road humps and speed tables, move street light columns to the back of the pavements so they are not on the pavement edge and get rid of half the signs that just are not needed.

Motorists need to take their heads out of their rear ends, and stop driving without consideration for others - NO MATTER the mode of transport that those others are using; inconsiderate driving should become an endorsable offence. They need to also learn to anticipate, read the road ahead, and accept that other people are human and are going to make mistakes/do things that they don't expect them to do.

Cyclists need to take their heads out their rear ends, lose the militant streak, abide by the rules of the road and they too need to learn to anticipate, read the road ahead, and accept that other people are human and are going to make mistakes/do things that they don't expect them to do. ALL cyclists, bar none, should be made to wear helmets and hi-vis clothing AT ALL TIMES - failure to do so should be an endorsable offence.

BOTH cyclists and motorists should stop picking holes in each other, and instead join together to get the councils/governments to sort the roads out so that they are fit for all of us to use - we pay enough in the way of taxation for them, after all!

 

Couldn't agree more - lay-by bus stops should always be the preference wherever they fit - however, that too would require a change of attitude (especially in London) to get motorists to let the buses back out into traffic.