And you thought Nigel Havers was such a jolly nice fellow. Well, if you ride a bike he hates you (try not to take it personally though). He sounds just like bloody Sam Newman and he triggered a minor flame war at the online edition of The Independent by complaining about
"Cyclists who jump red lights and ride on pavements because they're all bastards."
OK, fair comment about red lights - but we're all bastards, are we? And apparently he really meant it:
> Yesterday, Mr Havers was in no mood to signal a thaw in relations. Speaking from his car on a mobile phone, he said: "I absolutely hate cyclists. If they use the roads for free and they don't have to pay any tax, they must obey the rules.
[emphasis added]
Blah, blah, blah. It's a dead argument: cyclists do not use the roads for free - we pay taxes just like everyone else.
(And let's not mention the law on using a mobile phone while in control of a motor vehicle.)
Nige continues…
> "The rules are that you stop at a red traffic light. I'm at one now and four cyclists just went through. They go up a one-way street the wrong way. And they're aggressive if you get in their way. One just smacked the side of my car with his hand. It's unbelievable behaviour."
He was probably pulled up in the bike lane.
It's all the more puzzling when, according to another correspondent, Havers is a cyclist himself. Maybe he's given it away because it's too dangerous on the roads?
### The velorution begins {#the-velorution-begins}
In happier news, the same issue of The Independent carries a leading article that proclaims Revolution! Britain embraces the bicycle:
> After a decade of stagnation in the number of bicycle journeys, new figures show there has been a dramatic leap in commuters and leisure cyclists focused on Britain's cities and the burgeoning network of cycle routes. In London, trips by bike have increased by 50 per cent in five years to 450,000 per day while figures obtained by The Independent show use of the National Cycle Network, covering 10,000 miles of urban and rural pathways, rose last year by 15 per cent to 232 million journeys.
Great news, but if you begin from a low postion, just about any improvement is significant:
> Despite the phenomenal growth, Britain remains near the bottom of the European league of cycle use with just 2 per cent of all journeys made by bike - beating only Spain, Greece and Portugal. The Netherlands tops the league with 27 per cent.
But I don't intend to criticise — that sounds remarkably similar to the percentage of journeys in Australian cities…
Comments
I do like the comment by the CTC spokesman regarding the lack of cycling culture in Britain. He should come and live in Aus for a while to experience a lack of cycling culture, the UK has a very strong cycling culture in comparison with most other places outside Europe
CC
I know I have said this before, but let me say it again, the worst offenders for disobeying red stop lights are pedestrians. Hordes of pedestrians cross streets when the little red "don't walk" man is lit. In Sydney, they seem to listen for cars/trucks/buses before crossing rather than looking for them before they cross, leading to quite a number of near misses with cyclsits or indeed turning cars.
I'd really like someone to do a serious study of this problem, because I suspect that there are probably just as many cars as bicycles going through red lights. The study would need to look at the reasons for the behaviour in order to suggest the remedy.
At large intersections there simply isn't enough time on the amber light to accomodate safe passage through the intersection.
Sometimes traffic lights are hidden behind other street signage (even trees) so that motorists and cyclists are not aware of them (unless you are very familiar with the area). I know this is illegal, but the recommendations are based on average car heights and area of vision, and do not take into account the different viewing angles by cyclists. Even legally parked trucks and buses can obscure a cyclists view of the road and signage ahead.
Ofcourse, there will always be those motorists and cyclists who are just impatient and the full force of the law should be brought to be bear on these people.
I'm guessing that NIgel Havers' career is in decline and he simply felt the need to say something in order to lift his media presence.
It's puzzling: why do drivers get upset abouts cyclist jumping red lights and not pedestrians? Is it because drivers can see themselves doing the latter (and therefore forgive/ignore it) but just can't see themselves on a bike?
Unless it's really a matter of personal safety, I don't see any reason for anyone to jump red lights.
I have no idea really, but during dinner last night with a few friends, we discussed this issue.
One of the suggestions raised is that when bicycles jump red lights it tends to be when cars are stoped at red lights, so the misbehaving cyclist is very visible to the motorists, ie, they are all stopped and looking forward at the time the cyclist does his/her thing.
When a pedestrian jumps a red light, the motorists' attention is actually more occupied with driving the car and avoiding accidents rather than focussing on the offending pedestrian.