willcove wrote:
Personally, I have nothing against people who want to put themselves in danger for whatever reason. However, I do object to people who put me in danger and/or damage my property in the process. For example, the time triallers I cited up-thread who were banging on the roofs and sides of cars to "persuade" drivers to pull into the path of oncoming traffic to let the cyclists pass.
If competitors could be trusted to not give their competitive spirit priority over road safety, I'd have no objection to their activities. Unfortunately, that isn't what's happening. They let the heat of the moment and their competitive instinct overrule safety - and that's the problem.
I hear what you're saying but even then, I'm not entirely sure I agree wholeheartedly. Every time I get into a car I understand that there is a small chance of me coming to harm - or even dying as a result of someone else's actions. It could be the latent safety defect in the car I'm driving (or one of its components), it could be the guy who last fixed it (yes, I've driven out of a garage and noticed the spongy brake pedal only to get home, take the wheel off myself and spot the loose calliper bolts)! It could be the inconsiderate lout who leaves the broken bottle at the side of the road. It could be the muppet who lost the diesel cap off his truck tank and sloshed a load round the roundabout, it could be the sleep-deprived new parent who just nods off as I'm coming the other way...
or it could, indeed, be crazed cyclist intent on taking the racing line to shave another 1/10000th of a second off. It could, for that matter, be the motorist on a harmless "treasure hunt" looking for clues or, as is often the case up here in Cumbria, the sightseer taking in the extraordinary natural beauty of the fells (without actually stopping his car - never mind getting out)!
All these people will be doing wrong and, in most cases, there are laws to punish them for it (if caught), but that don't actually stop it happening in the first place.
On balance, though, I don't think more laws will change most (or indeed, any) of this behaviour.