Raising awareness of perils cyclists face

“Let's remind ourselves of the priority on the pavements shall we? First there's the pedestrians, then prams, wheelchairs, dogs, cats, rats, badgers, birds and slugs (lot of them this year, have you noticed?) then all those with toys; (skateboards, rollerskates, scooters, tricycles and bicycles) but only on pavements where these toys are allowed.”

“kooldud
Sometimes there's a reason for that.
The one running through Plympton past the fire station is more dangerous than the road.
It crosses side roads right on the junction (like the highway code says not to), you have to stop in moving traffic to get onto it and then it suddenly ends and you have to get back into moving traffic. All this while dodging pedestrians who can't work out what the drawing of a bike on the ground means.
Other ones, such as the one on the Embankment, are clearly safer than the road except for pedestrians again.
The pedestrian issue is a serious one because they can't grasp shared paths or they walk in the bit thats meant for bikes.”

“Pilly40, further to your comment, just what is the point of providing MORE cycle lane when "safety conscious" cyclists do not use the ones that we as tax/rate payers have already provided? For those cyclists who ignore these ignore their own safety and put others at risk.”

“I dont really care if cyclists bother or not.Everyone else has to abide by the laws of the roads and are quite rightly prosecuted if found wanting. The cost of running a car is very expensive but there are more cars on the road than ever before. If they have insurance and number plates, they are responsible and identifiable for any injuries, damage or traffic law infringements they are involved in. Mandatory PPE and lights will obviously save lives and money. Anyone with half a brain would protect themselves wouldnt they?”

“We need more cycle lanes, and I for one would pay a bit towards it through some sort of cycle tax, trouble its like everything else, it would start out as cycle tax, then just turn into another money spinner for the government, just like road tax, what was the latest figure something like 60 billion year raised on road tax and 10 spent on roads its a joke.”

“@JMonners - why do you think people cycle? because its cheap, if you bring all that in they wont bother.

@Vinnie - ???”

“cyclists should have insurance, number plates, lights and mandatory safety equipment. When they stop abusing pavements and red lights then you can start moaning about other road users”

“maxine711
"vinnie you are right"
Are you tapping me up?”

“It is great so many of you have given your thoughts on this!
The idea behind this was to provide a joined-up approach. I teach Cyclists to behave appropriately on the road and that includes taking responsibility for their own safety, and also abiding by the rules of the road. I also feel (as a motorist myself too) that drivers do need to have greater awareness of cyclists on the road and give them that additional space. By all road users being respectful of each other and taking responsibility for their own and others safety, this can only be a positive thing for the city and nationwide.

Hopefully over time there will become a more positive relationship between drivers and cyclists, and maybe one day we will all stop seeing each other as nuisance.

I also hope that I am able to reassure motorists that Bikeability instructors such as myself are educating cyclists properly and giving them the knowledge and the skills to be safer out there on the roads - and that includes stopping for traffic lights, giving vehicles space, wearing high visibility clothing and more...”

“vinnie you are right (ha for a change) but yes there are people out there who are just so arrogant, who think they own the road and can drive, ride etc however they like - i will always give cyclists plenty of room when i overtake them, when queuing in traffic i try to leave room if possible for them to ride on through, but some cyclists need to make their mind up as to whether they are on the road or the pavement, they seem to chop and change to suit so as to aovid red lights etc etc - there just seem much less courtesy on the roads these days (in general life too i guess) example - when 2 lanes filter into 1, why cant it filter in turn, but nooo it has to be a battle of who can stay in front, its so sad, does one car length really mean that much?”