I didn't cycle to work today. Now that it's brightened up a lot, I sort of wish that I had, but it was really tipping it down, James had misplaced his cycle helmet somewhere in the house and, in the back of my mind, I was slightly spooked by the death of yet another cyclist on our roads yesterday (as mentioned in a comment on yesterday's post). Please don't think I'm going to let that tragic incident stop me from cycling - I just didn't fancy it in the wet this morning. It has, however, given me pause for thought about what needs to happen in order for cyclists (and pedestrians and motorists) to be safer on the streets.
In my relatively short time as a cyclist, I have learnt a lot. I have learnt that there are good cyclists and bad, good motorists and bad, and good pedestrians and bad. It also seems that nearly all motorists think that there are only bad cyclists, that nearly all cyclists think that there are only bad motorists and that most people (including pedestrians themselves) think that all pedestrians are oblivious, especially when on the phone or listening to music, or both.
The reality, of course, is that for every good cyclist, there is at least one good motorist and for every bad cyclist, there is at least one bad motorist. Good cyclists and good motorists are those you don't really notice. You can see them (especially good cyclists - they're usually fluorescent), you know they are there, but they aren't doing anything to make you sit up and say "Hey! Look, there's a cyclist/motorist!" This means that the cyclists and motorists that you do notice are the not so good ones. If you're a motorist, this can aid the formation of the mindset which is not tolerant of cyclists, even good ones. In fact, there are many motorists who are not tolerant on a startling scale.
The reaction of a good motorist to a bad cyclist (the one who jumps lights, rides on and off pavements and doesn't bother with lights at night) is caution. Looking twice, especially in low light, and giving cyclists plenty of space. He or she might also curse a little under his or her breath at the stupidity of the bad cyclist. On the contrary, a bad motorist's reaction to a bad cyclist is to give him or her as little room as possible and then to swear loudly (usually accompanied by hand gestures) out of the car window at them, while taking their eyes off the road. Given that said bad motorist thinks that there are only bad cyclists, he or she has the same reaction to good cyclists. They give good cyclists so little space that they seem to be trying to run them off the road, they cut in front of them, they don't use their indicators - the list goes on.
Unsurprisingly, the reaction of a good cyclist to a bad motorist is caution. Letting them set off first at lights, making sure to make eye contact, not sneaking up the inside or weaving through traffic. The reaction of a bad cyclist to a bad motorist is to do bad cycling things more often - a lot will tell you that the reason they jump lights is to avoid being intimidated (or worse) by motorists when the lights change to green, many will say they cycle on the pavement because the road is too dangerous (never mind that there are probably more obstacles on the pavement than the road). One of the less pretty side effects of all this is that good cyclists, myself included, tend to feel that they need to defend themselves when an incident, however minor occurs on the road - many a time I have pointed out, or heard others point out, to a bad cyclist that the lights are red, or screamed (or heard someone else scream) at a bad motorist that they really should allow more than two inches of clearance between bike and car - while it may make the good cyclist feel better and leave anyone nearby with a clear opinion of what happened (in favour of the bike), it also gives us cyclists a reputation as shouters - not a good look.
The reactions reported in the media to yesterday's tragic accident (in which a cyclist got caught under the wheels of a dumper truck while both were turning left on a green light) were largely along the lines of "dumper truck hits cyclist, dumper trucks are dangerous". The London Cycling Campaign's reaction was to highlight the poor visibility that the driver of a dumper truck has of a cyclist (or anything else) from the lofty position he or she occupies in the cab of the truck. This is almost certainly true, and I have no doubt that the rapidly expanding Safer Lorries Campaign will do much to combat this and similar issues. However, upon hearing the terrible news, my reaction, as a cyclist, was "where was the cyclist in relation to the truck and why did she choose that position?" I don't mean to suggest that it was her fault - that will undoubtedly be investigated in an appropriate forum at an appropriate time - but rather to say that I have already learnt something from the situation. I will now be more careful around large trucks, not just when they are alongside me, but also when they are behind me at lights - it comes back to the eye contact thing; if I can't see the driver, it's pretty unlikely that he can see me, and if I haven't made eye contact with him, I can't be absolutely certain that he has seen me.
So, how can we keep everyone happy? What needs to happen to bring peace to the war zone that is the rush hour? There are all sorts of things that the government could do at a local and national level, most of which involve signposts and/or cycle lanes, but I think the most significant change that needs to be made is one of attitude. The sooner that motorists realise that not all cyclists are evil, stupid or both, the better. Equally, the sooner cyclists realise that they need to abide by the rules of the road and, above all, be aware of other road users (including taking account of the possible consequences of their own actions, road position, etc.), the better.
The set of road users who annoy me the most is the bad cyclists. We all make mistakes and my cycling is by no means perfect, especially after so little time on the road, but to my mind, the key catalytic change that needs to happen is for the bad cyclists to become good - then the bad motorists will have nothing to swear about.
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