Your right to ride on the road is in jeopardy

cyclone · May 2007

This was sent to me by a friend:

Your right to ride on the road is in jeopardy.

The revised Highway Code says cyclists should "use cycle facilities where provided". If this Code is approved, cyclists will effectively lose the right to ride on the road where there are alternative routes or adjacent facilities.

The implications of this are too bad to contemplate. First we will suffer more abuse and intimidating driving, as recently suffered by a CTC member. Second, if a cyclist is involved in an accident and tries to claim damages, the insurance companies are likely to argue that the rider contributed to the accident by not using the cycle facility.

The Highway Code has been laid before parliament. It will automatically be aproved unless it is referred to a House of Commons Committee which cannot amend it and can only recommend the whole document be rejected.

It will take an unprecedented amount of adverse publicity to persuade the government to reject the Highway Code in its entirety.

The CTC HQ Campaign team is working hard to find some way of achieving this and will obviously require national support. Meanwhile HQ says it will do no harm to support the petition which is at;

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/roads4bikes/

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I used to be undecided but now I'm not so sure!?
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My Spesh

ukmaxx · May 2007

Signed

SC V10

JinjaNinja · May 2007

But how many roads have cycle facilitys near them, and if they do why aint you using them? Its not a great change to the code, so i've signed.

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Randal Graves: All right, look, there's only one "Return," okay, and it ain't "of the King," it's "of the Jedi." - Clerks II

Anonymous · May 2007

Its not as bad as you make out, its saying if a cycle path is provided then use that instead of the road, which is common sense really.

No where does it say you can not ride in the road at all, just if alternatives are provided, and I'd say 90% of people would use cycle paths if provided.

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whyamihere · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JinjaNinja
But how many roads have cycle facilitys near them, and if they do why aint you using them? Its not a great change to the code, so i've signed.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Because they're shit. They go on and off pavements erratically, are badly designed and always have cars parked over them. Signed.

Tartanyak · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JinjaNinja

But how many roads have cycle facilities near them, and if they do why ain't you using them? Its not a great change to the code, so I've signed.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Round me, here's why:

They're thin, full of the detritus from the road, they tend to be badly maintained, have huge dips for drains that run in the same direction as the road, wide enough to fit a bike tyre down/, have cars parked in them, wiggle erratically, stop and start suddenly, have idiot give way parts with no warning, have cars parked right next to them with drivers that think because there's a big gap between them and 'real' traffic that they can open their door without looking then leave it open...

<center>CakeSteed
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JinjaNinja · May 2007

I guess I havn't seen as many train spotters as you guys then! Most of my local paths are alright, Obviously not maintained V well, but then neither are the roads. The main bit I don't like about that is if I need to go into the road (I.E. Idiots wondering all over the cycle path like this morning.) it adds more complication about whether I should, how to safely.

<hr noshade size="1">
Randal Graves: All right, look, there's only one "Return," okay, and it ain't "of the King," it's "of the Jedi." - Clerks II

nicklouse · May 2007

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/li ... 746923.ece
and
http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardiantrave ... 00,00.html

JohnnyTheFox · May 2007

The limited cycle paths in my area aren't bad but you have to check all the time theres no buses about to flatten you and the inevitable parked car. So is there really any point to them?

The only useful one is on the A77 where a quiet dual carrage way was cut to one lane with a cycle route along the side. It's the one useful one I can think of.

I've signed it as I don't want yet more laws trying to remove any sort of common sense or judgement from people. It does come across very anti cyclist.

JinjaNinja · May 2007

Pictures say 1000 words I guess.
http://www.warringtoncyclecampaign.co.u ... the-month/

This is absolutly brilliat. Enjoy!

<hr noshade size="1">
Randal Graves: All right, look, there's only one "Return," okay, and it ain't "of the King," it's "of the Jedi." - Clerks II

rob cole · May 2007

They're thin, full of the detritus from the road,

every puncture i've had this year is from riding on cycles lanes in London and having a piece of wire / nail / glass take out my tires!

3 punctures alone last month...

...seen builders working on houses alongside the roads sweeping all their cr*p into the road, which ends up where we cycle

or people smashing beer bottles on the pavement edge [xx(]

check out my riding - www.robcole.co.uk Banshee Factory Team rider, Da Kine UK Team rider, www.freeborn.co.uk www.eshershore.com

El Capitano · May 2007

Signed.

I have to fight daily with muppets who insist on squeezing as close as possible to the pavement (taking up the scant 12 inches of cycle path) or parking in the cycle path, making overtaking manouvers necessary (which are a tad dangerous). So, I do hope the new legislation will be just as strict on these clowns as it appears to be to cyclists?

[:(!]

<hr noshade size="1"><center>Team Cake Official Rider
>Lama Cycles "Attitude with Spit" <
Official Forum Legend 2006 & 2007</center>

bobbobadobob · May 2007

signed - there aren't many near me but the ones i can think of are normally strange and pointless!

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coldomc05 · May 2007

Signed

I do use cycle lanes where they are provided but mostly they are bus, taxi, and cycle lanes which is ridiculous. Many of times i've had a bus overtake me then pull in immediately to pick up commuters. Bloody clowns I then have to pull out to overtake the damn bus. Parked cars is another one i hate and then there's the amount of debris and foreign objects littering the side of the road. I mean councils do have road sweepers they should be out sweeping and not ripping up some perfectly good road just to re-tar it again like they normally do in my area. The state of the roads is always an issue i find myself swerving dangerously out the way of many pot holes an a regular basis. Has anyone ever contacted RALF to see about sorting the pot holes they see? Just want to know if they do actually fix the holes in the road.

Cheers

Signatures are for p*****s

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1231823/

Drfabulous0 · May 2007

This won't make much difference around me, the few cycle facilities provided are used as additional car parking so it is not possible to use them. Does anyone know of a driver ever being punished for illegal use of cycle lanes?

Signed

<center>My Scott</center>

Mike Skinner · May 2007

and this is still ignoring the fact that cylists are entitled to the full laws of the road in the same way any other road vehicle is, so if you start segregating cyclists from motor vehicles, you will almost have to bring in a whole new highway code.

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Drfabulous0 · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Mike Skinner

and this is still ignoring the fact that cylists are entitled to the full laws of the road in the same way any other road vehicle is,
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No you're wrong, no motor vehicle has such an entitlement, they are only allowed on the road under license.

<center>My Scott</center>

miggillicuddy · May 2007

done[;)]

<hr noshade size="1"><center>~~StumpJumper~~</center>

JinjaNinja · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Drfabulous0

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Mike Skinner

and this is still ignoring the fact that cylists are entitled to the full laws of the road in the same way any other road vehicle is,
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

No you're wrong, no motor vehicle has such an entitlement, they are only allowed on the road under license.

<center>My Scott</center>
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Ok, so he needs to change it to "any other LICENCED motor vehical."

I think we ALL know what he ment.

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<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by NeillyB

I used some blueberry flavoured one we got from the free clinic once

NEVER AGAIN

My penis was blue for 3 days
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Stuff · May 2007

The whole thing seems a little redundant if you ask me

Big Red S is my intellectual superior

Drfabulous0 · May 2007

True, but the point is that we have had the right to cycle on roads since the bicycle was introduced to Britain in the 19th century. The attitude in this country seems to be that roads are purely there for car users and cyclists do not have the right to be there which is in fact the wrong way round. Also it is considered by many that a car is vital to everyday life and that there is no practical alternative available. I know people who will take the car on journeys which are quicker to walk. It doesn't matter to these people that cars are dirty, dangerous, expensive and slow because of the congestion they cause themselves. I have travelled to every continent except Antarctica and have never found this ridiculous attitude in any other country except the USA, which to be fair is a far bigger country to travel around making cars more practical. Licenses for these metal death machines are handed out to anyone after a very basic test and most do not use them responsibly, how many times have you been cut up by a motorist racing to get to the next set of traffic lights 2 seconds faster? Instead of trying to resolve this problem our goverment is more interested in pandering to the voting motorist by victimising the humble cyclist. Will this not stop until cycling becomes as antisocial as smoking?

<center>My Scott</center>

JinjaNinja · May 2007

Serioulsy dude, your way off skinners point though!

He wants to say, "bicycles have every right to use the road in the way that cars do"
EVERYONE on here knows the mentality of car drivers.

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<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by NeillyB

I used some blueberry flavoured one we got from the free clinic once

NEVER AGAIN

My penis was blue for 3 days
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

clarkson · May 2007

signed, the ones near me are crap, short and have tw*ats parked in em

I said hit the brakes not the tree!!

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/?op=list& ... rid=133375

Tartanyak · May 2007

Just looking through the cycle paths of the month and it reminded me of a new path made in Huddersfield...

Coming down what was a dual carraigeway that everyone just parked in the left hand lane. Fast, straight road... Now has (going from left to right) car parking lane, cycle path in the open door area then normal lane. Coming up to a two-lane roundabout the parking lane turns into a left-only lane, so going ahead you stay in the same lane...

Except cyclists. The cycle lane has a give way (with no warning) so you have to give way to cars cutting you up...

<center>CakeSteed
Camp Commuter
Junkbike, junkbike, dernernernutnernut</center>

Mike Skinner · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JinjaNinja

Serioulsy dude, your way off skinners point though!

He wants to say, "bicycles have every right to use the road in the way that cars do"
EVERYONE on here knows the mentality of car drivers.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

^^^^ what he said

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Gingersaurus · May 2007

Done.

Dan67 · May 2007

Done

<center><h4>Kine sis Max light XC</h4></center>

Silver Bullet · May 2007

signed

i was always under the impression the cyclists had right of way anyway...
or atleast thats what i think i was told on my cycling proficiency thing i did however many years ago...

***
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Super Nuts4fsr · May 2007

Signed. I can't stand cycle lanes, period.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally pos ted by Why am i here

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skyliner · May 2007

Cyclists have always been afforded the same rights as Horses on the roads.
Would this change in the HC mean that the equestrian brigade would have to hop the hedge into nearest field, as it provides "safer passage" for them with less interference to motorists?

Signed and recruiting more signees.

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice

shadow_ops · May 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Tartanyak

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JinjaNinja

But how many roads have cycle facilities near them, and if they do why ain't you using them? Its not a great change to the code, so I've signed.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Round me, here's why:

They're thin, full of the detritus from the road, they tend to be badly maintained, have huge dips for drains that run in the same direction as the road, wide enough to fit a bike tyre down/, have cars parked in them, wiggle erratically, stop and start suddenly, have idiot give way parts with no warning, have cars parked right next to them with drivers that think because there's a big gap between them and 'real' traffic that they can open their door without looking then leave it open...

<center>CakeSteed
Camp Commuter
Junkbike, junkbike, dernernernutnernut</center>
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

+1 same problem i have here, i think we have 10 inch cycle lanes through a smal section of my local town. then it comes to a mini roundabout-a little blob of white paint and the cycle lanes suddenly go on the pavement, end, go across to the island for pedestrians, end, go back to the pavement, end. you get the point

a little bit of pain never hurt anyone

Your right to ride on the road is in jeopardy

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