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City Tower, ManchesterCyclists need to show more respect to motorists, says Salford councillor
A Salford councillor who is a member of the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) committee has said that cyclists need to show more respect to motorists. His comments came as hundreds of cyclists took to the city’s streets at the weekend to call for improved conditions for bike riders.
Conservative councillor Robin Garrido was speaking at a meeting of the committee where an update on cycling initiatives currently planned by TfGM was discussed, reports the Manchester Evening News.
He said that while motorist were often urged to be more considerate towards people on bikes, the opposite should also happen.
“There is a lot about motorists treating cyclists with respect but I think cyclists should also treat motorists with respect,” said Garrido.
“I would like to get a message out to cyclists to treat motorists with respect.
“There are things like crossing red lights, and crossing from the near side to the left hand side.
“I do think we ought to be telling cyclists to pay more attention to road users,” he added.
The councillor said he was in favour of TfGM’s efforts to provide better facilities for cyclists in Greater Manchester, but added: “We have all seen situations were cyclists seem to regard traffic lights as not necessarily for them or road signs as not being for them so we need to increase training for cyclists as well as motorists.
“If we improve facilities it may have a knock on effect to improve the way we cycling.”
However, Pete Abel, a volunteer of Manchester’s Love Your Bike campaign group said it was right that “people driving vehicles that can kill people” should have a bigger share of responsibility for the safety of vulnerable road users.
“All road users need to show respect to each other but it is car drivers that are responsible for the vast majority of deaths and injuries to other vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists and therefore they need to show a true level of respect for all vulnerable road users,” he said..
“People who drive one-tonne or 20-tonne vehicles have a higher responsibility because they are driving heavy vehicles with air bags that can kill people.”
TfGM’s transport strategy director Dave Newton said it provided training to foster mutual respect between motorists and those on bikes.
“What is required is mutual respect between motorists and cyclists,” he said. “We offer training to motorists and cyclists.
“With cyclist training, we help to give people more confidence and brush up on their skills in cycling in commuter-based traffic.”
On Saturday, as in many other cities across England, hundreds of cyclists took to the streets of Manchester to call for more Space for Cycling. You can see photos of the event on the Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign’s Flickr stream.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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61 comments
I don't disagree that improvements could and should be made, but it's embarrassing some of the rubbish written here.
Absolutely. But calling fellow cyclists "imbeciles" and "Neolithic" (?) isn't helping. I don't agree with many of the more militant cyclists, including on this forum - but I'm heeding your advice.
The trouble is "Respect" means different things to different people.
Driver's idea of respect, a vein popping "GET OUT OF MY F*****G WAY!"
Cyclists idea of respect, a whispered "Please could you see your way to possibly not actively trying to kill me today if it's not too much trouble Sir."
What a great steaming pile of horse-apples. No wonder we have to fight so hard for everything we can prise out of them.
If this is the calibre of our public servants then we need some new ones. NOW!
Showing respect is all very well and good. We should when we're cycling, walking, driving, whatever our mode of transport
but these comments are in the context of 'give space for cycling' which is about making things better for the vulnerable road user and clearly show where this guy's sympathies and priorities lie (with the motorist, if you haven't guessed!)
Once again the cycling mob shows it's ugly head on this site.
To all the people slagging this guy off. Have you actually read what he's said? It's not really anything out of the ordinary is it.
He's not gone to the press, but expressed pretty sensible fair views in the appropriate forum.
I hate being labelled a cyclist with some of you, when you're quite clearly imbeciles.
The "cycling mob" ...? Sorry mate, but the only imbecile I'm seeing here is you. We would simply like to survive our journeys and not constantly get hit on the head with this lazy and utterly retarded victim blaming by the likes of him. Fuck you!
Er, I think your moniker needs changing..;-)
I'm usually very friendly. It's things like this that get my goat.
It's even a very friendly goat, too! Relatively speaking.
TheHound wrote:
Once again the cycling mob shows it's ugly head on this site.
To all the people slagging this guy off. Have you actually read what he's said? It's not really anything out of the ordinary is it.
He's not gone to the press, but expressed pretty sensible fair views in the appropriate forum.
I hate being labelled a cyclist with some of you, when you're quite clearly imbeciles.
The "cycling mob" ...? Sorry mate, but the only imbecile I'm seeing here is you. We would simply like to survive our journeys and not constantly get hit on the head with this lazy and utterly retarded victim blaming by the likes of him. Fuck you!
Work harder. Buy a tank.
replyquote
I think above demonstrates that a lot of people do not know anymore how to treat each other with respect...unless they learn manners and consideration they will remain ignorant and transfer that attitude in what ever they are doing. On the road they will always be right, whether they drive a car or cycle. Only difference is the cyclist is more likely to suffer.
Jesus christ we have a cycling apologist...
Jesus christ we have a cycling apologist...
I'd agree with what you were trying to say, but not the way you've said it.
The story isn't the story. Local councillors make comments like this all the time, after all our councils have responsibility for transport planning. You can find pages and pages of articles in just about every local newspaper with councillors expressing concern about cars speeding outside schools (that's now almost as much of a campaigning cliche as kissing babies).
The story here, is how many local newspapers are now running purposefully controversial cycling stories because it generates a bit of traffic. The story could be about almost any cycling matter, and you'll get the same vocal minority popping up, usually some retired UKIP voter who is angry about everything and was given a few too many toys made with lead paint when they were young.
Read 'em, laugh, take the piss. Humour and logic always win against bigots and fruitcakes.
Every day I thank my lucky stars I don't live in Cheshire. When I spend any time on that side of the country, I see all the painted shared pavements that undulate up and down with the drop curbs and I piece of my heart dies. It's a scruffy mess as well as being totally unfit for purpose.
There's a bloke where I live in Cambridgeshire who parks his car in dangerous places with that mancunian drawl. As he shouted at me for mounting the pavement with my bike so he could pass on my side because there were other inconsiderate drivers parked on his side, that accent in the form of an angry driver is one of my least favourite.
I honestly think if I had to ride a bike in Manchester I'd strap some comedy dynamite to my carrier and a sign saying "you hit me, I'm taking you with me".
Its really not that bad. Cheshire is the Surrey of the North. Beautiful rolling planes and the Peak District on the doorstep. Muppets are endemic to any urban area. Fix the road to the edge and I will gladly cycle there.
As for TheHound, I won't dignify his comments with another quote, but we will soon see if he sticks around. I'll just go back to being another aggressive cyclist from the 'mob' again tomorrow when I move out into the middle of the road to avoid the same potholes I go past everyday.
P***k. He needs to concentrate on the dangerous state of the roads before he starts spouting such drivel. The condition of the roads and the
pathetic attempt at cycle lanes (the usual green paint strip on the inside of a congested bus lane) is a hazard for all concerned.
Commute from anywhere in the Manchester region and what you'll see is more 'law breaking' by motorists than cyclists. A couple of times a week I'll see red light jumping by a bike. It's daily by a car with the added bonus of them speeding up to get through the lights regardless.
LMAO is this fascist cunt for real?
I have no respect for any of them, they are murderers.
Poor old doesn't-know-his-nearside-from-his back-side. Near side = near to the kerb = left hand side.
It's usually pretty obvious when someone calls for more "respect" that they probably haven't ridden a bike since the age of 7. There ought to be a mandatory requirement for anyone calling for it to join the morning rush hour commute on a bike.
With the risk of becoming a pariah, I do in some way agree with his comments.
Should we treat motorists with respect? Yes, because we ourselves want to be treated with respect from motorists. This is the Golden Rule (or ethics of reciprocity).
Similiarly, we should all obey relevant road signage, regardless of mode of transportation. Though I would wager that a number of those people caught running red lights are not what we would identify as "cyclists" but that other group of people that "ride bikes". In the same way that vehicle drivers distance themselves from red light jumpers, those without VED and insurance, those without licences etc.
I do not think that we should be telling cyclists to pay more attention to other road users, as the experiance of nearly anyone who rides on roads, we are painfully aware of not only what vehicles are doing, but also what they could be doing, the near pass, the failing to give way to cyclists, the left-hand hook. Certainly, the statistics on the cyclist vs. motorist collisions demonstrate, overwhelmingly, it is the motorist that causes the collision and not the cyclist (though they do cause some).
The part I disagree with is the whole tone of the what the councillor says, it is the picking up the lazy stereotype of the lawless cyclist and spouting it. UKIP are publically flogged when they use lazy stereotyping when referring to immigration, this is not too far removed from that.
As Pete Abel goes on the expound, the issue really is one of vulnerability, in a cyclist-motorist collision, if the cyclist is at fault they are likely to injure themselves, if the motorist is at fault the cyclist is likely to be injured. While this balance of power exists the more vulnerable need to be protected by the less vulnerable.
The comments section on that story is another big bag of fun. In particular, I liked this one from a "Nigel Street"
Indeed, we do
I actually had quite a incident free long cycle yesterday.
When i say incident free, i actually mean just the three incidents where drivers showed consideration to me at all.
I do abide by his so called consideration rules, i do generally try to keep left (without being too left) BUT it still does not stop cars driving by far too closely or failing to realise that i as a vehcile on the road have right of position when in a pinch point on the road.
Look see Mr Councillor, I too can highlight examples of poor behaviour
Next up, Robin Garrido advises sending Peter Sutcliffe a thank you note, you know, for not murdering your mam with his hammer.
He's a dicksplash.
Once again, someone wheels out the tired old 'respect' line. It's time we started pushing people on what exactly they mean when they say this. I think we're all agreed that road users should obey the law and stop at red lights, but when someone like Cllr Garrido says "show respect", what exactly is he expecting cyclists to do? I'd wager it's some or all of the following:
- Don't filter either on the inside in the bike lane, or the outside
- Don't ride to the front of traffic queues to use advanced stop boxes
- If you reach a queue of traffic, queue like a car
- Yield right of way to the bigger, faster vehicle all the time
- Stay in the gutter to permit drivers to pass, at all times
- Don't use primary to prevent unsafe overtakes
- Give a big wave of thanks to every driver who doesn't kill them
Basically, when I hear someone say cyclists should 'show respect' to drivers, or that cyclists should 'share the road', it's a veiled threat that cyclists should get out of their way, and stop flaunting the fact that congestion and traffic jams don't really slow bikes down.
Dick
How about we start with people having more respect for people in general, and move on from there
I heartily agree. No more them and us or us and them scenarios. We should be all be given the space to travel on our roads with respect to all road users.
I did a lovely 50km ride in London yesterday - nothing happened of any note. It was beautiful.
Hear hear!
Councillor Robin Garrido who is a member of the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) committee.
Perhaps with his attitude towards cyclists and complete lack of understanding of the problems faced by cyclists that this person displays he should not be on the transport commitee.
Load of bollocks really.
I suspect Councillors need to get off their fat expense account ridden arses and ride some bikes in traffic to learn what they are talking about.
And what does he mean by "crossing from the near side to the left hand side."?
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