The more things change...

el_presidente

the more they stay the same. Check out this Lancet piece from 1896 "The Dangers of Cycling"

http://bikeqld.org.au/attachments/20090 ... YCLING.pdf

On SCR:

Another frequent cause of accident is the practice of " scorching." For the benefit of the uninitiated we may define the term as an impulse over-ruling the cyclist’s reason compelling him to overtake any and every moving object which may be in front of him. It is somewhat analogous to the schoolboy’s love of overtaking those walking before him, and it shows similar lack of mental control. Oblivious of everything but the one object of overtaking that which is immediately in front of him, he rushes madly on and, if fortunate enough to escape injury to himself, is only too likely to cause serious harm, if not death, to the pedestrian who may be unfortunate enough to be in his way. The ambition for record breaking and the desire for making a " century run "-i.e., the covering of a hundred miles in one day are greatly responsible for the practice of scorching" and they should be strongly denounced by any medical man who has an opportunity of advising in the matter.

On the incompetence of taxi drivers:

Cabmen, too, often delight in causing as much inconvenience and annoyance to cyclists as they possibly can do, and we have been witness of a cabman deliberately crossing to the wrong side of the road in front of a cyclist for no other purpose than the wanton one of causing the latter to dismount.

And most notably the specific dangers to women from traffic:

Quite a number of these accidents occur to women, many of whom are physically unfit to cope with the crowded traffic. Wedged in between a number of vehicles, and lacking the necessary nerve with which to extract themselves, they waver and either run into a horse and cause it to plunge or themselves fall beneath the wheels of a vehicle

thanks to bikesnob for this