Cyclists who kill

[nunumumi]

Never heard of anyone being killed by a cyclist (LMAO) but I've seen plenty of collisions ending up in injuries. But honestly in 90% of cases it's the pedestrians fault for being completely devoid of peripheral vision and/or sound. I commute along the riverside for a few kms and you'd be surprised how many pedestrians are drunk af, suddenly stumbling on the bike lane... I think that's where most accident occur.

 

[Carge]

the gammon faced 'they don't pay road tax' brigade.

That me me chortle - "gammon faced" For some reason Clarkson came to mind.

Mountain and molehill methinks. Banging a drum that doesn't really exist.

Peds who have no idea of their surroundings are another matter. Ringing your bell (yes I had one on my commuter bike), shouting "Heads up" get no response from the ear bud brigade. Then they jump like they've been shot when you ride past. You have to wonder how little they value their personal security when they block off their ability to hear anything coming up behind them - could be much worse than an old bod on a bike.

 

[al-onestare]

Never heard of anyone being killed by a cyclist (LMAO)

What is so laugh my arse off funny about that?

 

[Tsundere]

I agree, bad cyclists exist and they drag the reputations of all cyclists through the gutter. A lot of people despise cyclists because some cyclists are despicable. I don't care if you're on a bike, a mobility scooter, one of those absurd e-scooters or in a 36 wheel articulated truck, if you kill or injure someone because of your own recklessness or incompetence you should go to jail.

 

[grantoury]

Puzzled by this thread. Even in NL a cyclist is vulnerable in traffic, much like pedestrians. In the UK it seems cyclists are outlaw in traffic ánd in the news. Why is that? I don't really understand. Also I never heard of a cyclist killing someone in traffic overhere. Roadies can be aggressive but kill? Don't take this in any way as a negative. I am sympathetic. We don't pay road tax here and no one has ever held it against me. Seems malicious and stupid..

 

[legrandefromage]

It feels like an algorithm generated news report to act as click bait

 

[M_Chavez]

@grantoury
UK situation is complicated, imho. Dire lack of cycling infrastructure combined with a culture of gel-popping lycra-clad wannabe racers on multi-£k machines who think that they own the roads and don't have to follow the highway code.

The [mostly mamil] wannabe racers generate a lot of aggro, from drivers, pedestrians and sensible cyclists. Unfortunately, they are also the ones generating big revenues for bike shops, so a lot of the marketing hype is targeted at reinforcing this road warrior image, which leads them to act even more stupid and arrogant. If you compare one of these with the behaviour of a typical commuter or a cyclotourist, you'd think the "racer boys" grew up on a different planet.

NL was very different when I was there. Good infrastructure, polite, careful & considerate cyclists. Different world.

 

[Tsundere]

Puzzled by this thread. Even in NL a cyclist is vulnerable in traffic, much like pedestrians. In the UK it seems cyclists are outlaw in traffic ánd in the news. Why is that? I don't really understand. Also I never heard of a cyclist killing someone in traffic overhere. Roadies can be aggressive but kill? Don't take this in any way as a negative. I am sympathetic. We don't pay road tax here and no one has ever held it against me. Seems malicious and stupid..

It's not cyclists in traffic, it's cyclists tearing down footpaths and over crossings, the truth is some cyclists are dick heads, I remember a story about some idiot smashing into a small child of 5 or 6 years old, the kid suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital. The cyclist was racing down the pavement where kids and parents were coming out of a school.

Thankfullythat type of thing is rare, regardless, if you hurt or kill someone and it was clearly your fault, even if you're on foot, it's obvious that you need to pay the price.

 

[grantoury]

It seems to me cyclists are not seen as full road users in the UK. Road abuse by cyclists may be a reaction to this situation. Mad roadies are everywhere, not just in the UK. But I can imagine being outlawed in traffic is incredibly frustrating. Maybe if the situation where better, there would be less problems. The news casting of madmen on brakeless or worse, carbon bikes may seem to hurt the cyclists interest, but I think those interests are badly guarded to begin with.

Ok, that's my view on a situation I am really not familiar with..

In the Netherlands there was a cyclists alliance since the early 20th century. It has been invaluable for cyclists interests from early on. Cycle lanes, traffic signs, the general view of cyclists as road users, all benefits. There may be other factors that made the difference, that cars where less useful, more expensive than bicycles and the obvious ease of riding a bike in a flat country, with generally shorter distances to travel. But still the UK situation seems incongruous.

 

[kingoffootball]

It's not cyclists in traffic, it's cyclists tearing down footpaths and over crossings, the truth is some cyclists are dick heads, I remember a story about some idiot smashing into a small child of 5 or 6 years old, the kid suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital. The cyclist was racing down the pavement where kids and parents were coming out of a school.

Thankfullythat type of thing is rare, regardless, if you hurt or kill someone and it was clearly your fault, even if you're on foot, it's obvious that you need to pay the price.

That makes the point lot of people have mentioned though. You remember that news story, but how many news stories do you remember about car drivers killing people in similar circumstances?