No, not a ploy to attract the BDSM crowd (we had enough of them when we posted about civil liberties and pornography), but a cheap trick to highlight the fact that May is motorcycle awareness month. Bikers are singularly vulnerable on the roads, and the attrition rate recently seems to be higher than ever.
If you are a car driver, be kind to bikers by pulling slightly over to the left hand side of the carriageway if you see a biker behind you. It makes it easier for us to overtake, but crucially indicates that you have seen us and are therefore unlikely to suddenly turn right or pull out.
If you are a biker, respect your right to ride by not acting like a lunatic and putting the life of yourself and others in danger.
Oh, and here’s why you should wear leather.
That phrase...
Er, but don’t pull over to the left if there are cyclists around as we like to whizz up the inside of stationary or slow moving traffic and need a bit of room to do so.
Uh, yeah, obviously look in your mirror before moving over, but I was rather thinking of traffic moving sufficiently quickly where even the best cyclist wouldnt have a hope of keeping up. But I’m not sure that undertaking, even by cyclists is an approved Highway Code manoever. Surely you should be going up the outside of stationary traffic?
Ruthie, I quite agree! Although I suspect Freemovement’s comment might have been sarcastic. I was quite surprised by a recent discussion on Radio 4’s PM, which seemed to suggest that cyclists need not adhere to the Highway Code:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/saturdaylive/2007/04/cycling.html
Never mind leather, a helmet would be a start for a number of foolhardy cyclists in London…
Interesting to note that women die because they obey the law while men survive because they disregard the rules. Puts a new complexion on all those motorists whining how cyclists jump junctions and go past the lights.
I do think cyclists in London are manic, however as a means of transport its infinitely more sensible in London than a car, so I find it hard to condemn people who are getting fit and saving the planet whilst I sit in my gas guzzler.
I do think driving in central London requires the adoption of a very different driving style to cope with the concentration of cyclists/pedestrians/traffic lights/bikers and that car drivers have the greater duty to take care to avoid more vulnerable road users.
Slightly tongue in cheek. I’m very careful but I do cycle down the inside of traffic. You have to in London, basically. Cars turning into side streets are a bit of a hazard, as very few drivers check their inside mirrors.
Anyway, enough chit chat, back to the legal stuff…
Within the first few months of moving to London I saw four cyclists knocked off their bikes, and none of them had been wearing helmets. They’d only need to sit right at the front on the top deck of a bus to see just how much of a risk they’re taking - I find myself doing that incredibly irritating nervous passenger thing complete with grimacing and little gasps at every near miss.
Another thing which has evidently changed since I took my driving test is the meaning of light signals controlling traffic. I always thought the Highway Code stated that when stopped at traffic lights, amber meant stay right where you are and green meant you could go *only* if the way was clear. Obviously in London, pedestrians don’t count
Having lived and driven in London and elsewhere, I can honestly say that the traffic culture in London is completely different from the rest of the country. I suppose when there is there is so much moving in such a confined space its necessary to have a different set of rules to cope. One example I have observed is that everywhere else in the country you idicate then wait for someone to let you out. In London you indicate then pull out into the first slight gap. London drivers expect you to do this, and if you wait for them to let you out you confuse them. Equally in London you assume that cyclists will ride down every available gap in traffic, and you therefore drive accordingly.