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My eye! Sweet Jesus, Ouch!


Sledge

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See, to me it seems that the only reason pedal-pedestrians are put in the road with fast-moving multi-tonne motor-propelled vehicles with a substantial risk of death and serious injury including forcing traffic on to the other side of the road to pass them... ... ... Is just to avoid bumping in to someone's knee causing superficial damage at worst.

 

It is my opinion that bicycles are a great method of transportation and should be encouraged. But they should have their own 'roads' separate to motor vehicle roads. Not dissimilar to the kerbed cycle paths you find in some parts of London, but better protection. I am very much behind the cool idea of the elevated 'cycle super highway'. Also I don't think bicycles should pay road tax; that's just ridiculous.

 

And that concludes me arguing about cyclists on an airsoft forum LOL

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All cyclists should be made to have insurance . And treated exactly the same as other road users in an accident . At present you have to take them to a small claims court for any damage that they cause to other vehicles . They have no registration number and are not easily traceable after accidents .

I am not anti cycle , I use many forms of transport to get around including cycles , motorcycles , cars , vans and lorries. .

Every other road user has to have third party insurance for any damage / injury they cause to persons or other road users / pedestrians .

I personally think that if cyclists had insurance as a legal requirement it would make them more responsible road users ..

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I have insurance for my bike, it is super-cheap and I get a discount at bike shops because of it.

 

Most clubs require you to be insured to race with them so the majority of "serious" cyclists are insured.

 

As a driver it is only usually the guys in work boots and a high vis vest with a fag on the go whilst riding a 20 year old mountain bike that I worry about.

That or unsupervised kids.

 

I saw one on the A2 on a scooter today.

 

Chatham.

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Accidents happen on the road , everyone who uses the roads should be covered by insurance for when such incidents arise .

I had to take a cyclist to court a couple of years ago for damage to my cars mirror . 220 quids worth . Was a long drawn out affair but justice was served eventually .would have been much easier if the cyclist had insurance , the only reAson the cyclist identified himself was because police attended the scene after he refused to give me any id

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Make them more responsible road users? What, like what we have now, with no/zero road accidents due to all drivers being careful, and respecting the law, due to having to pay insurance. . .

The big difference is that if they make mistakes or cause accidents they will be punished for it , be it legally or financially . If they continue to offend they lose their licence to drive , or cannot afford insurance any more . Wheras a cyclist does not . If they continue with a bad riding / driving attitude they will

A . Incur the wraith of an angry road user possibly involving violence

B end up dead or crippled .

.

I learned to ride a bike many years ago under the green cross code / bike sure scheme at my school . You were not allowed to bring your bike to school till you had gained your certificate / so in theory/ reality it was a Cbt test ..

I was taught to obey road signs / lights and respect other road users .

Courtesy for other people road users / pedestrians , seems to be one thing that cyclists are seriously lacking nowadays . !!!

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Can say the same for drivers :)

The majority of car van , motorcycle riders are courteous to each other and obey traffic / highway laws .

The same cannot be said of pushbike riders. .

I watch endless cyclists everyday jumping lights , riding on pavements , jumping zebra crossings ( with pedestrians on at the time ) and being abusive to anyone that tells them they are doing wrong !!

The other problem I encounter a lot in london is cyclists chaining their bikes to fire escape railings ,I have had to remove over 20 this year alone . The warning notices are stuck to bikes. ? But still they think it is ok to obstruct a buildings fire exits !!

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The problem with bikes is that there's no easy way to identify them or their riders to report them for their misdeeds

 

"Hello, police? I was just hit by a guy on a bike after he ran a red light, jumped the pavement and went the wrong way up a one way street. What? No, he didn't stop and give me his name and address. No, I don't know who he was or where he lives. What do you mean, 'what do I want you to do about it?'"

 

Until you have a way of identifying cyclists, they will continue to get away with flouting the rules as they please. Even if a police officer happens to see one do it, mostly they just ignore it.

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Exactly where the problem lies . Untill this is resolved there will always be a problem between bikes and other road users . . Cyclists can't have it all ways . If you refuse to obey the Highway Code how can you expect any sympathy from the public / other road users when you get knocked off or killed . A lot have never even read the code . Even boris johnson admited this when I talked to him on an Lbc phone in .

Its a fact that the two groups with the most road fatalities ( pedestrians and cyclists ) are the ones that have never read the Highway Code !!

It should be part of a schools curriculum maybe then attitudes will be changed ...

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Erm, are you joking?

 

It's a bit like saying 'most people on benefits are scum robbing the system'. Often it is only one or two drivers in the average journey that are ignorant to the road and other users but they are a loud minority.

 

I am sure if you counted every single car that passed you and did so without issue or being an *albatross* about it then it would show that it probably is one in a hundred that is an issue. At least that is what I find on the morning run to work.

 

As for push bikes, I feel the same way about them as I do all transport. If you act like a *rickroll* then I have no sympathy if you crash, it is just unfortunate they often take some poor sod with them. However I don't think insurance would change much as one if everyone had to have it then the costs would shoot through the roof and two it would be just as abused and ignored as regular car insurance. Plus where would it cover you, roads only, given that bikes are not restricted to roads?

 

As for my 'irritation' of the day it is a small one, oversleeping and missing out on airsoft. Ah well next week I can get my third game at a site and sort my 'pointless retailer system'. Thankfully if buying in person and given how quickly my name spreads around (along with that fact I have about three-four years worth of proof I airsoft) I can buy in store with no issue. Typically though the local store isn't likely to stock the pistols and things I want :P.

 

'FireKnife'

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Maybe it's just being on a motorbike, but it seems like 90% of road users are hostile.

 

Perhaps that is because many road users always seem to have a horror story involving a motorbike?

 

They do end up being one of those 'culprit categories' like executive Audis, white vans, inner city buses, taxis and hybrid car owners. They are again often a loud minority and it just takes one out of a hundred to make an issue.

 

I must admit I have seen motorbike riders do stupid things (mostly going too fast and spending far too much time on the wrong side of the road) but I have also seen taxis doing the same thing, even typical road users. It will never mean all motorbikes are like that but many people take it as 'one represents all'. These people are usually thick, racist and still think the Sun is a Labour voters paper, sadly a lot of them exist.

 

'FireKnife'

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When I see people do stupid *suitcase* on the roads, 7 times out of 10 it's someone on a motorbike. For instance, I was cruising in the middle lane on a semi busy motorway doing the speed limit more or less when a guy on a bike zips past me doing at least 120. He goes to undertake the person in overtaking lane just as he pulls over left to join the middle lane. Cute biker slamming on brakes and wobbling all over the place. Very nearly bought it that day. Could have been very messy.

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I tried to word it make it obvious I was in the correct lane.  The left lane was going slower than the speed limit as coming up for a junction, hence me being in the correct middle lane.

 

Believe me, I hate it when people don't use lanes properly.  I'll be driving on the inside lane, come across some pratt in the middle lane with no one around.  Quickly overtake them and get the message across.

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But there is no "slow" or "fast" lane on a motorway. The speed limit applies to all lanes. Overtaking is not an excuse to exceed the speed limit surely?

 

It SHOULD be (in my opinion) on a three lane road that the left hand lane is for HGVs and coaches. But again overtaking shouldn't be done exceeding the limits.

 

Then, I don't drive anyway.

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It should be a ascending system with the outside lane being the most occupied.

 

What it is, mostly, is a cluster-*fruitcage* of ignorance and arrogance. The few that do follows the rules get caught out by those that don't, often these are the ones that see 70mph limits as an achievement and not a limit.

 

However my rant: Independence Vote.

 

And this time it is for both sides as we enter what I call 'The Last Minute Lunacy' stage where all the stupid, ignorant fools for both sides start going on and on about totally incorrect facts. So far the only hard and fast facts I know is that Scotland can't sustain an army / defence force on it's own, 4000 people marching on the BBC is a stupid idea, the No campaign is being backed by a man that wants it to fail so he can secure a Conservative vote next year and the average Scotsman that hasn't left Scotland doesn't realise that after the South of England, Scotland is more supported by Westminster than all of the North and the Midlands, so how do you think the English outside of London feel?

 

It is hysterrical with both sides basically handing out reasons not to vote now. Some Yes voters are blaming Trident as the cause of all evil in the UK (ignore the fact it brings in millions in budget and thousands of jobs for Glasgow) and some No voters are threatening to push them back to 'Hadrian's Wall', ignoring the fact that Hadrian's Wall is some 50 miles into England and not the borders of Scotland.

 

By the look of it, it will be a No vote but only by a 60/40 margian at best and all it has done is sour relations between the two nations, prove that far too many people are too stupid to live on both sides and all that time and effort could have been better spent on improving the country and working towards 'trivial' things like the Forth Road Crossing and improving unemployment rates (neither of which will be helped now by either vote).

 

I would say I will be glad when it is over but the sad thing is, it will never be over and until people realise that they are not as hard done by as they think they are we might all be able to get along. Both sides have really cocked this one up for the whole of the UK and it saddens me given how great a nation we could be, no matter which side of a poxy border we live on.

 

'FireKnife'

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I've said this before.

 

People are stupid.

Even average people are pretty stupid.

That means that more than half of people are stupid.

 

Now I don't know the distribution works, there might be more stupid people in the "Yes" camp but we don't know.

You can be pretty sure though that there will be plenty of stupid people on both sides.

 

Stupid, noisy people shouting nonsense on television.

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