On my way home today by bicycle, I was nearly killed by a pedestrian. She ran across the road and when she saw me she stopped dead, by which time I had begun to brake and swerve, right over the spot where she stood. Any cyclist will know that in this situation wherever you try to go, other than stopping dead of course, the chance are that you will collide. A few choice words shouted by me, along the lines of "go, for **** sake" convinced the young lady to run on and I continued with my swerve so disaster was fortunately avoided. Just a few nerves frayed.
Shortly after this experience I was nearly killed by a car. The junction of Prince of Wales Road and Kentish Town Road is a scary spot. Cars queue impatiently to turn right to turn into Kentish Town Road and after a bus had passed a driver decided to dive across; after all the next car was visible 50 metres back from the crossing. He did not see me just behind the bus of course but as I have been through the junction many times I was half expecting something of the sort. This time I braked and would have stopped, until it was clear that the driver had belatedly seen me.
A typical ride home for any London cycle commuter, you would say and I would agree.
I have been knocked off my bicycle by cars making illegal turns and by pedestrians stepping into the road. I have also been scared by cyclists turning without warnings of any kind. The number of cyclists in London, and across the country, goes up rapidly and the number of deaths rises too while total deaths on British roads, apart from a blip in 2011, routinely goes down. The government also encourages people to take to the bicycle both to reduce traffic and to make them fitter. But dead is not fitter. We urgently need to interest politicians and TFL in radical change including segregated cycle lanes (not white-lined ghettos that disappear the moment a hazard is encountered), cycle only traffic lights and other "Dutch" offerings. And what about banning all cars in Central London on Sunday, apparently a strategy adopted in over 100 cities in the world.
I have also fallen off my bike with no interference or encouragement from anyone at all. That was just incompetence but at least I did not endanger anyone else. Far too many cyclists though put their own lives at risk and those of others by jumping lights, maneuvering without signalling or just cycling irresponsibly. I like to think that they are not drivers, and have not been taught the highway code but it is probably another symptom of the self-centred public behaviour that unfortunately plagues our daily lives. Is it not time for the Police to take a less lenient line with "dangerous cycling" and perhaps we should be required to wear "L" plates until we have passed a cycling proficiency test (sorry I find it hard to use the re-branded name "bikeability").
Sorry for the rant. But being alive is great and I would like to keep it that way.
Have a nice day friends
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