All of that was before the Daily Mail ran a front-page story earlier this month that claimed the government wanted to introduce numberplates for cyclists, and crack down on two-wheeled speeding. “There is a growing belief among ministers that riders should abide by the same speed restrictions and other road rules as motorists amid a cycling boom.” The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, was quoted saying he wanted “a review of insurance and how you actually track cyclists who do break the laws”.

It was a quiet news day and suddenly every radio phone-in had a topic sure to light up their hotlines. Never mind that neither idea stands up to more than a moment’s scrutiny. Only last year the Department for Transport ruled out any sort of bicycle registration system on the basis that the costs would outweigh the benefits, and that it would deter many people from cycling, particularly if riders (including children) had to cover the costs. Then there are the practical difficulties: registration plates would need to be large enough to be seen by cameras and other road users, and there is not generally enough space on bikes to allow for this. There is a reason only North Korea has persisted with licence plates.

As for stopping cyclists speeding: you can only do that if you insist all bikes are fitted with accurate speedometers. Would it really be worth it when most people can’t cycle fast enough to break even a 20mph speed limit? There are already laws to punish cyclists who cause an accident through their reckless riding. Remember Charlie Alliston, who went to jail after killing a woman in London when riding a bike with no front brakes?

At British Cycling, which looks after the interests of 150,000 ordinary cyclists as well as training Britain’s Olympians, a decision was taken not to engage in what bosses saw as “a needless culture war which only serves to increase the already sky-high hostility and aggression we face on the roads”. But as the day went on, Nick Chamberlin, British Cycling’s policy manager, started to get calls from members feeling the heat.

“Six different British Cycling members in different parts of the country told us they had a copy of that Daily Mail held out of a window at them that day, as they were abused,” says Chamberlin. “They were sworn at and in one case a lady was spat at, and there was various incomprehensible abuse of the ‘we’re going to get you’ type, and they had that paper waved at them.” He says members have reported an increase in “punishment passes”, where drivers deliberately pass them closely to give them a scare.

Talk to anyone who rides bikes in Britain regularly and they will probably have at least one story of deliberate driver aggression. The unlucky ones will have the scars to prove it. The really unfortunate ones are no longer with us. But are things really getting worse? Why do some people hate cyclists so much?

In 2020, only 1.8% of traffic mileage in Britain was from cyclists. But in the Netherlands, 27% of all journeys are by bike

The weird thing is that, compared with most other European countries, hardly anyone here cycles, so all the noise about cycling is wildly disproportionate to the number of people doing it. From 2015 to 2019, cycling accounted for just 0.9% of all traffic mileage in Britain. That doubled in 2020 when the pandemic hit, to 1.8%. Recent figures from the Department for Transport suggested a further increase this year as fuel prices rose, with cycling levels in England rising by 47% on weekdays and 27% on weekends in the five months to the end of July. That’s still chickenfeed compared with the Netherlands, where 27% of all journeys are by bike.

Given how few of us saddle up in Britain, it can be difficult to understand why we inspire such vitriol. Why do drivers not thank us for not adding another metal box to their traffic jams, instead of getting irritated when we skip to the front of the queue? Why are they not grateful that we are keeping our hearts healthy, saving the NHS a fortune?

Some may say we are just too damn smug. Others cannot stand the sight of our bottoms in Lycra as we wait in front of them at the lights. Sarah Mitchell, chief executive of Cycling UK, another membership organisation, thinks that special cycle clothing helps drivers to “other” cyclists, leading Australian researchers to report a few years back that a third of people see cyclists as “less than fully human”.

“People can behave aggressively towards cyclists because they see them as dehumanised,” Mitchell agrees. “One of the things I feel I have a responsibility to do as a leader of Cycling UK, and as a woman, is to cycle around in ordinary clothes.”

Some believe the wearing of hi-vis and helmets encourages drivers to behave badly. One memorable study from Dr Ian Walker of Bath University found that cars passed closer to cyclists who were wearing helmets. They also gave riders a wider berth if they thought they were women (he wore a long blond wig for that part of the experiment).

When he became Greater Manchester’s walking and cycling commissioner in 2017, former Olympic champion Chris Boardman decided he was not going to allow himself to be photographed in Lycra any more. Nor would he wear a helmet if just pootling around town, even when filming segments on his bike for ITV4’s Tour de France coverage.

“A lot of people in this country – not other countries – see cyclists as middle-aged men in Lycra. I want it to be my daughter going to the park, and just moving around without having to drive. That’s an image that I think we need to prioritise,” says Boardman, recently appointed by Boris Johnson to be England’s active travel commissioner.

He also decided to stop using the word cyclist, preferring “person on a bike” because it is a reminder there is a human in the saddle. “Cycling is just lazy walking,” says Boardman. “That’s how we need to see it. That’s what it is in the Netherlands, where 60% of kids ride to school every day. They don’t do it because they’re cyclists. They don’t think of themselves as disciples. They just go to school and cycling is the easiest way to do it..”

Boardman will not be drawn on whether he thinks the culture war on cyclists is leading to more aggression on the road, saying he deals in statistics, not anecdotes, and that there is “statistically proven 70% support for active travel, even if it takes some space away from driving”.

In London, where there are protected cycle lanes across the city and cycling has boomed, particularly among women and people of colour, many people report feeling safer on two wheels. Isabel Hardman, a journalist and broadcaster, says: “It feels pleasant enough to take a child on a cycle commute now. Drivers are more aware of cyclists and I’d say the rise in women on bikes makes cycling culture more enjoyable, too. I’m no longer the only woman at traffic lights, and it feels less like a crazed Strava contest.”

People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’”

Jane Bedford, a lawyer in Manchester, grew up in a household without a car and has cycled all her life. She thinks she receives more abuse now when out on her bike, citing two scary experiences from the past six months alone. In one, she was followed to her flat by an angry man who drove at her in his Mini. Her crime? To exclaim “Dude!” after he blocked her path when he was leaving the McDonald’s drive-through. He had a child in the front seat but that didn’t stop him driving his car at her, then shouting at her to “Shut up, you fat woman.”

Chamberlin points out that cyclists have an unfair reputation for being aggressive simply because they often shout back when they are threatened by drivers. Cars pose an existential threat to cyclists in a way that doesn’t apply the other way around, he says: “The cyclist experiences something much more unpleasant, much more threatening and terrifying than an occupant of a vehicle. That’s why when you threaten a cyclist, they may have a massive rush of adrenaline and swear back at you. That’s why the interaction sticks in the brains of both sides in a way that other road rage doesn’t.”

The fact that space is slowly being taken away from cars to make way for protected bike lanes may be making drivers resentful, says Bedford. Last month, she burst into tears when a man in an Audi shouted at her for not using a new segregated lane when she left it to turn right.

“I’ve been cycling in Manchester for the last 15 years and I’d say that in the last two years, I’ve noticed a definite decline not just in driving standards, but also an increase in aggression. Close passes. And not really giving a lot of consideration to cyclists,” she says.

Bedford handles cyclist claims for Leigh Day solicitors and says she has noticed an increase in inquiries from cyclists in the last six months “centred around aggression”. The day we speak she has been reviewing a claim from someone who had been involved in a verbal altercation with a driver who then rammed into the back of them and drove off.

Any cyclist who claims they never see others pedalling merrily through red lights or on the pavement is probably not telling the truth. But as the lead for fatal road accidents for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Det Ch Supt Andy Cox, says, the anti-cycling hysteria is out of all proportion to the danger cyclists pose to society. According to the DfT, cars are the vehicle type most often involved in fatal collisions when members of other parties are killed, followed by lorries and vans. Very few other road users – four pedestrians in 2020 – are killed in collisions with cyclists.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

Good job I skipped to the end first and found this was a Guardian article,
meaning it wasn’t worth reading.

> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/30/why-do-some-people-hate-cyclists-so-much?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox61835932

The question the article should have asked was “Why do cyclists make
themselves so objectionable?”.

--
Spike

On 30/08/2022 03:57 pm, Spike wrote:

> swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Good job I skipped to the end first and found this was a Guardian article,
> meaning it wasn’t worth reading.

>> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/30/why-do-some-people-hate-cyclists-so-much?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox61835932

> The question the article should have asked was “Why do cyclists make
> themselves so objectionable?”.

That is the *most* obvious question to ask, but fairy-cyclists always
evade it (because they know what the answer is).

Every bit of their egregious and scofflaw chav behaviour is simply
glossed over as "necessary".

QUOTE: Given how few of us saddle up in Britain, it can be difficult to understand why we inspire such vitriol. Why do drivers not thank us for not adding another metal box to their traffic jams, instead of getting irritated when we skip to the front of the queue? Why are they not grateful that we are keeping our hearts healthy, saving the NHS a fortune? ENDS

Envy at fit people not spewing money down a pipe and the fact that they are stuck in the rat race viewing happy and healthy people - it drives them mad, literally.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: Given how few of us saddle up in Britain, it can be difficult to
> understand why we inspire such vitriol. Why do drivers not thank us for
> not adding another metal box to their traffic jams, instead of getting
> irritated when we skip to the front of the queue? Why are they not
> grateful that we are keeping our hearts healthy, saving the NHS a fortune? ENDS

> Envy at fit people not spewing money down a pipe and the fact that they
> are stuck in the rat race viewing happy and healthy people - it drives them mad, literally.

We know that cycling kills, but they can’t point to one single cyclist that
has been saved.

--
Spike

JNugent <jennings&co@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> On 30/08/2022 03:57 pm, Spike wrote:

>> swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

>> Good job I skipped to the end first and found this was a Guardian article,
>> meaning it wasn’t worth reading.

>>> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/30/why-do-some-people-hate-cyclists-so-much?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox61835932

>> The question the article should have asked was “Why do cyclists make
>> themselves so objectionable?”.

> That is the *most* obvious question to ask, but fairy-cyclists always
> evade it (because they know what the answer is).

> Every bit of their egregious and scofflaw chav behaviour is simply
> glossed over as "necessary".

That’s what they said in the Soviet Union as they shot another 5000
peasants.

It doesn’t have a good history.

--
Spike

QUOTE: As for stopping cyclists speeding: you can only do that if you insist all bikes are fitted with accurate speedometers. Would it really be worth it when most people can’t cycle fast enough to break even a 20mph speed limit? ENDS

Obviously not as Mr Arsehole found out with his failed petition.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: As for stopping cyclists speeding: you can only do that if you
> insist all bikes are fitted with accurate speedometers. Would it really
> be worth it when most people can’t cycle fast enough to break even a
> 20mph speed limit? ENDS

> Obviously not as Mr Arsehole found out with his failed petition.
“If it saves the life of one child, it will have been worth it”

--
Spike

QUOTE: People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’ ENDS

As I always say "it's a car problem".

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You
> get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a
> kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends
> on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’ ENDS

> As I always say "it's a car problem".
Mandy Rice-Davis…

--
Spike

On Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 5:32:36 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> QUOTE: People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’ ENDS
>
> As I always say "it's a car problem".

One reason that I have never worn a plastic hat on a bike.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 5:32:36 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>> QUOTE: People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You
>> get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a
>> kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends
>> on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’ ENDS

>> As I always say "it's a car problem".

> One reason that I have never worn a plastic hat on a bike.

🙄

--
Spike

On Tuesday, 30 August 2022 at 17:38:28 UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 5:32:36 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> > QUOTE: People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’ ENDS
> >
> > As I always say "it's a car problem".
> One reason that I have never worn a plastic hat on a bike.

Apart from at work for BP.

On 30/08/2022 05:45 pm, Simon Mason wrote:

> On Tuesday, 30 August 2022 at 17:38:28 UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 5:32:36 PM UTC+1, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

>>> QUOTE: People still question her decision to saddle up, she says: “You get a lot of ‘Is that safe?’ comments from people if you cycle with a kid, whether in a seat or cargo bike. My response is: ‘Well, it depends on how safely you drive, doesn’t it?’ ENDS
>>>
>>> As I always say "it's a car problem".
>> One reason that I have never worn a plastic hat on a bike.
>
> Apart from at work for BP.

Not even when you jumped off that bridge?

Why do you keep talking to yourself?

QUOTE: Then there are the practical difficulties: registration plates would need to be large enough to be seen by cameras and other road users, and there is not generally enough space on bikes to allow for this. ENDS

Especially on bikes for toddlers.
TOTAL NON STARTER.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: Then there are the practical difficulties: registration plates
> would need to be large enough to be seen by cameras and other road users,
> and there is not generally enough space on bikes to allow for this. ENDS

> Especially on bikes for toddlers.
> TOTAL NON STARTER.

Cyclists could have their NI number stencilled on the sides of their
compulsory helmets, or the backs of their compulsory hi-vis vests. Or both.
And it would be an offence punishable by a FINE not to do so. Repeat
offences dealt with by adding points to their licence.

--
Spike

QUOTE: Only last year the Department for Transport ruled out any sort of bicycle registration system on the basis that the costs would outweigh the benefits. ENDS

Same as issuing £0 VED "payments" by cycle owners - revenue negative.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: Only last year the Department for Transport ruled out any sort of
> bicycle registration system on the basis that the costs would outweigh the benefits. ENDS

> Same as issuing £0 VED "payments" by cycle owners - revenue negative.

Are you suggesting that the Military, the NHS, Education etc should turn a
profit?

How would that work?

Cycling in the UK is revenue negative but I don’t hear you complaining
about it.

--
Spike

QUOTE: “Six different British Cycling members in different parts of the country told us they had a copy of that Daily Mail held out of a window at them that day, as they were abused,” says Chamberlin. ENDS

Thicko Brextards believe anything that rag says.

On 31/08/2022 07:52 am, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
> QUOTE: Then there are the practical difficulties: registration plates would need to be large enough to be seen by cameras and other road users, and there is not generally enough space on bikes to allow for this. ENDS
>
> Especially on bikes for toddlers.

Fairy-cycles?

> TOTAL NON STARTER.
>

On 31/08/2022 09:47 am, Spike wrote:

> swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> QUOTE: Then there are the practical difficulties: registration plates
>> would need to be large enough to be seen by cameras and other road users,
>> and there is not generally enough space on bikes to allow for this. ENDS
>
>> Especially on bikes for toddlers.
>> TOTAL NON STARTER.
>
> Cyclists could have their NI number stencilled on the sides of their
> compulsory helmets, or the backs of their compulsory hi-vis vests. Or both.
> And it would be an offence punishable by a FINE not to do so. Repeat
> offences dealt with by adding points to their licence.

The best place to put the registration mark of a fairy-cycle is in the
same place as the name of the supplier used to be on butcher's bot
delivery fairy-bike. Both sides, of course.

For example:
<https://images.antiquesatlas.com/dealer-stock-images/erasofstyle/Antique_Trade__Butchers_Delive_as126a3527b.jpg>

There's enough room for the name and address of the owner of the
fairy-cycle, a telephone number and an email address.

So let's hear no more of this "impractical" complaint. It would be dead
easy.

JNugent <jennings&co@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> On 31/08/2022 09:47 am, Spike wrote:
>
>> swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> QUOTE: Then there are the practical difficulties: registration plates
>>> would need to be large enough to be seen by cameras and other road users,
>>> and there is not generally enough space on bikes to allow for this. ENDS
>>
>>> Especially on bikes for toddlers.
>>> TOTAL NON STARTER.
>>
>> Cyclists could have their NI number stencilled on the sides of their
>> compulsory helmets, or the backs of their compulsory hi-vis vests. Or both.
>> And it would be an offence punishable by a FINE not to do so. Repeat
>> offences dealt with by adding points to their licence.

> The best place to put the registration mark of a fairy-cycle is in the
> same place as the name of the supplier used to be on butcher's bot
> delivery fairy-bike. Both sides, of course.

> For example:
> <https://images.antiquesatlas.com/dealer-stock-images/erasofstyle/Antique_Trade__Butchers_Delive_as126a3527b.jpg>

> There's enough room for the name and address of the owner of the
> fairy-cycle, a telephone number and an email address.

> So let's hear no more of this "impractical" complaint. It would be dead
> easy.

Quite so. Lot of fuss about nothing.

--
Spike

QUOTE: Some believe the wearing of hi-vis and helmets encourages drivers to behave badly. One memorable study from Dr Ian Walker of Bath University found that cars passed closer to cyclists who were wearing helmets. They also gave riders a wider berth if they thought they were women (he wore a long blond wig for that part of the experiment). ENDS

Remember it well - a good study.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> QUOTE: Some believe the wearing of hi-vis and helmets encourages drivers
> to behave badly. One memorable study from Dr Ian Walker of Bath
> University found that cars passed closer to cyclists who were wearing
> helmets. They also gave riders a wider berth if they thought they were
> women (he wore a long blond wig for that part of the experiment). ENDS

> Remember it well - a good study.

Amazing! You’ve read the original paper, searched the literature for
relevant works, deconstructed the methodology, analysed the statistics,
found no sleights of hand, and confirmed the conclusion.

That Nobel Prize is a step closer🤞

--
Spike

QUOTE: Some may say we are just too damn smug. Others cannot stand the sight of our bottoms in Lycra as we wait in front of them at the lights. ENDS

All together now "you fat bastard you fat bastard.