Blister":o0jtn15p said:
As we had a recent post about Cyclist abuse , just out of interest I thought it was time for a POLL :mrgreen:
My personal view on Cyclist is not very positive
I drive a HGV lorry for a living and have to endure Cyclist
Why do they assume the law does not apply to them ?
They have NO road tax
They have NO insurance
They have NO MOT
and very little in the way of maintenance costs
But in my opinion they think they OWN the roads
Come to red Traffic light and what happens , they ride straight through , not just the odd one but loads
I am amazes at the lack of law abiding Cyclist
If I am in my HGV and signaling a left turn they STILL ride up the inside of the truck , UNBELIEVABLE :evil:
But the the government GIVE them a lane all to there selves , be it shared with a bus / taxi or even a dedicated Cyclist route :shock: all for FREE
They swerve all over the road and in and out of the traffic as they do not want to queue like anyone else in vehicles and get away with murder :shock:
And whats with the uniform most ware ? looks like they are entering a bike race with full Lycra kit and they are on the way home from the office :roll:
I have a cycle myself but must be from a different planet as I stop at lights and crossing for other road users :mrgreen:
Cyclist rant over
And if you are a law abiding Cyclist well done and thanks
now to the poll
In the 60s, I had to cycle to work.
One afternoon, on my way to do my shift, I was stationary at traffic-lights, no other traffic near me, and near the curb on a cross roads. I was intending to go straight on. With the lights still on red, a heavy goods vehicle pulled up alongside me. The lights changed to green; the driver immediately pulled away. With no signal he turned left, straight across my path, forcing me to turn left too. In fact, to avoid being killed, I had to bump my bike up onto the pavement.
The driver I assumed was totally blind, because he had plenty of time to see me, as he had approached the lights. Unless he did see me and then had a memory lapse.
I survived without a scratch, but I saw to it that the driver lost his licence, and presumably his job.
I was extremely lucky on that day, but it goes to show, there be good and bad everywhere.
I have attended more than one fatal collision between cyclists and HGVs. Usually it was because the cyclist didn't realise he/she was in the driver's blind-spot, but in one case, the driver had been witnessed, overtaking the cyclist and turning left, right across the cyclist's path. I won't describe any further.
During the interview, the driver was in floods of tears. Doesn't help though does it? One moment's carelessness and you can take a life, and ruin your own, because nothing brings back the dead.
As I said there are good and bad everywhere., A pedal cycle is a vehicle, and cyclists should be and are accountable under the Road Traffic Act. The problem is there are no Police Officers about these days who can enforce, so because cyclists can get away with it, they 'run' red lights. Not if I saw them they didn't. :twisted:
As for the No Tax, No Insurance question, real cyclists take out third party insurance for themselves and their bikes; voluntarily.
No Tax? Well that's one of the perks.
The cyclists you need to watch out for are the idiots, the erratic, the unskilled, and kids. Yes, I have seen some of the latter bleeding their lives away on the tarmac too. Enough to last me a lifetime thanks.
A Motor Vehicle, especially an HGV is a potential killing machine. That's why you were trained, tried and tested before they allowed you to drive one on the roads.
Yes the same should apply to cyclists, but in effect it doesn't... So, until it does, look out for them and expect them to be idiotic or inexperienced and make allowances for it.
Retired Officer's rant over!
John
