I saw a poll on the
Daily Echo website today:
Quote:
are some roads unsuitable for cyclists?
At the time of voting, 69.5% of voters said "yes", and 30.5% said "no".
That suggests that there are many people out there who think it would be perfectly acceptable to cycle on roads like the M25, if it weren't for the fact that cyclists are banned from motorways.
No wonder there are road accidents, when some people can't see that it is not sensible to cycle on certain roads. Some cyclists out there are arrogant sh*tes who think they own the road and that motorists are scum. I'll ruffle feathers with that comment, but it's true. I'm a cyclist, and I don't want to become tarnished with the same reputation that other cyclists might inflict on me with their lack of road safety awareness, whether cycle helmets, lights, visibility of clothing, running red lights or cycling where inappropriate. I also realise that some cycle routes and lanes out there are crap, but equally, there are good ones too, and I believe more are good than bad, and use them whenever possible.
In Southampton a few months ago a cyclist was knocked down and killed cycling along a road in Southampton. It was not any ordinary road either. It is the busiest and most important road in the city, the only one not covered by lorry restrictions, one that handles high volumes of HGVs going to the container terminals, city centre and Isle of Wight, and is a three lane dual carriageway with a 50mph speed limit, although where the accident happened it was just into where a 40mph limit started. The accident happened in the morning rush hour too. All in all, the cyclist couldn't have chosen a worse time and location in the city, really. But if that's not upsetting enough, this whole road has a parallel off-road cycleway, partially formed of a wide shared use footway/cycleway, and part formed of a quiet parallel road. The cyclist chose not to use the cycle route provided for him, and instead chose to ride along a very busy road at the busiest time of day, and was tragically killed.
It is very sad that some cyclists can't identify where they shouldn't be cycling. It is even more sad that some think it is wrong to ban cyclists from riding in such places. I think a campaign is needed to educate cyclists about the dangers of cycling on certain routes, and that there should be cycle bans on these certain routes, provided an off-road cycle route has been provided, as with this road into Southampton.
Going off topic a bit, it is so bloody typical of Southampton City Council saying that cycle bans should be the last resort; they don't have a clue how to manage anything effectively. I should know, I see the negligence and inefficiency every day. It's all very well encouraging people to use dedicated cycle routes, but equally, you need a certain amount of discouragement from cycling where it's not safe. In geography, the two are called push and pull factors. Think of it like supermarket shopping bags: it's good for the environment to reuse carrier bags or get a 'bag for life', but there isn't anything stopping people from continuing to use disposable plastic carrier bags every time they visit the shops, and as a result, many people continue to be less environmentally and choose the latter option. Although, we're comparing the environment with safety here.
I really do hope more cycle bans are imposed on roads where you shouldn't really cycle, because it's obvious that many people can't be trusted with their judgement of what they think is safe and perfectly reasonable.
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It posed a bit of a dilemma as the officers felt he belonged there 
)
yep 
.. the very same yoof .. who came out with the imortal 
line of "why don't he F..... 
and other choice words go arrest a real criminal..." 
I'd be able to retire with a 
- and others from my travels to visit the riff/raff and hols