I was a bit surprised yesterday when this was put through my door. After discussing gun crime and burglary the local police briefing moves on to the third worse crime known to man. Cycling on the pavement. The briefing read:
Cycling on the pavement is a problem in a number of wards in Camden and although not so many people are cycling due to the very cold weather, the Team continue to issue Fixed Penalty Tickets where appropriate. During a very lively session on the subject at the last Public Meeting, several suggestions were put forward to help deal with this problem. For instance: – why don’t cyclists have to take proficiency tests like motorists do? Should cyclists have identifying plates on their cycles? Should there be a cycling code similar to the Highway Code, and why not make cyclists pay for a licence? So many people have been frightened or injured by pavement cyclists that all these measures could be considered, especially since the major (left in for inaccuracy), Boris Johnson hopes to extend a cycle-club scheme in London.
Is it just me or is that basically anti-cycling propaganda? The tone was set quite early on: “although not so many people are cycling due to the very cold weather” which sounds to me like “thank god not a lot of people are cycling”.
Of course as with most anti-cycling talk the availability of figures to back things up is lacking at best. “So many people have been frightened or injured”. How many exactly? How many people have been frightened by a bus nearly running them over? Or a car? I’m willing to bet its a fair bit higher. Also how many have been injured?
The suggestions are of course similarly ill informed and about as out of date as a BNP manifesto.
“Should cyclists have to take proficiency tests like motorists do?”
Cyclists are not in command of a 1.5 tone killing machine. Proficiency tests will put people off cycling. They are available to anyone who wants to take them if they feel unsafe on their bike. Motorists take proficiency tests and accidents still happen.
“Should there be a cycling code similar to the Highway Code, and why not make cyclists pay for a licence?”
A licence to ride a bike? Why not pay for a licence to walk through the park? This is the old “road tax” argument” and I feel it has been well addressed in the past.
Why not just ban cycling all together and make all cyclists drive and take a bus. That would really solve things.
Of course luckily this police briefing will probably get no further than the bin bags of various houses in Swiss Cottage. Whilst I appreciate police are busy and probably have better things to do than send out newsletters they could have at least been a bit more careful about taking sides on this issue. To think that people are having “heated debates” about cycling on the pavement when there are much more serious things like gun crime and burglary just seems a little silly to me. I’ll probably head down to the next meeting, on my bike, and see if this silly question is asked again.
Join 5,112 fellow cyclists who are subscribed to the London Cyclist newsletter
Sign up for our free newsletter to get...
- Advice on the best cycling gear
- A Friday roundup of all the latest London cycling news
- Exclusive content not available on the blog
Subscribe today, and get exclusive access forever! (It's free)
*No spam, ever!
As seen on The Guardian, BBC and The Independent.
You criticize with “The tone was set quite early on …”
then continue:
“Cyclists are not in command of a 1.5 tone killing machine …”
Pot? Kettle? Black?
You draw attention to the fact that they mis-spelled “mayor”, then mis-spell “ton” or “tonne”
Pot? Kettle? Black?
I am a cyclist, and do not own a car. But it is quite true that the selfish a***hole cyclists who jump red lights or ride on pavements deserve the hate they get from the public, while getting all of us a bad name.
I agree with the whole licensing thing. Maybe not so you have to pay for it, but cyclists should get points in the same way any other road user would get. And get fined, and disqualified respectively.
I am a committed cyclist, and a safe cyclist. And i completely agree with john, that there are individuals out there that are painting a bad image for the rest of us.
I also don’t see why cyclist have to be so opposing on these subjects. Surely as safe cyclists, we are never going to get points on a licence. And its only the unsafe cyclists who will be affected.
So, am i to believe that all the opposing views are just people breaking the law who are trying to make enough excuses to not get in trouble for it.
Remember, Shirley, two wrongs do not make a right. You assault someone and you could be deservedly arrested for it.
I consider myself a responsible road user, [sometimes] drive in the city, am a BarclayBike user AND use my Strida from time to time in London. I’m not British and I underline this fact only because I just cannot understand all the hoo-haa about ‘misbehaviour’ by cyclists. I hold bicycles should NOT be classified as ‘vehicles’ for purposes of the Road Traffic Act, or if they must so should pedestrians. I see no problem in cycling up one way streets, riding on pavements, jumping lights as long as I occasion no harm or distress to another street user. I could develop the arguments but if you don’t get my drift by now you should just re read and reread til you do
I am in agreement with walltowall here.Surely, it is time to address the real issues instead of mouthing the same old cliches??It is the case that the roads and pavements should be safer for all,but why not cycle on a pavement?If it is done safely with care and the pavement is of a certain width, then why not?
Many, if not most pavement cyclists are dangerous and inconsiderate often speeding up behind pedestrians who may change directions, buzzing past shop doorways and gates, narrowly missing people getting off buses etc. I accept cycling on the road is dangerous and there are too few dedicated cycle tracks, but bullying and anti social behavior on pavements is not the answer. It gives all cyclists a bad reputation. If you care about cycling don’t do it on the pavement and across the green man.
Cycling on the pavement is obviously very dangerous to pedestrians as Shirley will testify with her severely broken arm. The reason she was hit, is because like most people on the pavement, she wasn’t looking out for bikes. She is absolutely right about the elderly and disabled, or people walking along with young children being very vulnerable. Pavement cyclists do tend to be of limited emotional inteligence, as I have found when trying to communicate with them. I will hereon refer to them as ‘pavement cyclists’ for simplicity.
Pavement cyclists tend to have no lights or helmets, and neither do they have any regard for how others perceive them. I’m guessing that they use bikes for very short journeys of probably less than 1/2 mile, as I cannot imagine them walking more than a couple of hundred yards, anything over 1/2 mile would be bus, I don’t see them as drivers or car owners.
Somebody once said to me that he couldn’t ride on the road because there were cars on it, I hope that the day won’t come when he can’t walk on the pavement because there are bikes on it.
So, how does someone with no driving lessons, licence or experience, suddenly get on a bike and legally take to the road executing perfect right hand turns and taking the third exit off a roundabout? they probably don’t! My guess is that they ride on the pavement.
80% of cyclists drive, (I’m guessing that they’re the ones that cycle / commute on the road)? but only 10% of drivers cycle, with their families? for leisure? I don’t know the answer to that.
Introducing cycling lessons to driving lessons would give additional road sense to new drivers and could also serve as an interim form of transport whilst awaiting to pass their test. It would make new drivers more aware of cyclists and their needs on the road and vice versa.
This in turn would give a new generation of drivers the confidence to choose an alternative, cleaner and quicker more convenient form of transport, and reduce accident rates as awareness of cyclists and numbers of cyclists increase.
i love the pavment and walk over it with my beach