British Cycling and CTC hit the party conferences to call for action not words on "cycling revolution"

@ Simon E

And this is why we need laws regarding minimum distance when passing, right now the highway code does not specify a minimum distance, even worse it's says to leave as much room as you would leave a car which is no good because these arseholes would also gladly leave another vehicle just a couple of inches.

There need to be automatic sanctions set out, punishment passes should be an automatic revocation of the license.

Attitude of the whole justice system needs to change, when a cyclist dies there is no automatic high quality investigation, the police do not take cyclist deaths and injuries seriously enough.

Airzound, I'm sadly in agreement with you on much of your analysis.

I have acknowledged to friends that drivers are on the whole nicer now but sadly the inconsiderate, the aggressive and "getouttamyway" drivers are still too numerous. I am sick and tired of being cut up, abused and treated like a road cone to skim past by drivers who are, frankly, at real risk of killing someone. I just pray it won't be me or anyone I know.

More than half of the public still feel their local roads are too dangerous for cycling. But we know that it's not the roads, it's the selfish, inconsiderate way many people drive.

Airzound wrote:

The car manufacturers are too strong, too powerful and the Government of all flavours is too reliant on the car industry and drivers for the revenue it brings in taxation to the Treasury.

Also, many drivers are too wedded to their cars for even the shortest journeys. While the car is the primary method of getting around, even for sub-1km journeys, then people will not want to give it up. Like a large number of the people in the streets near me who consider a car appropriate for the tiny journeys to school or the local convenience store (both of which take as long as walking because in both cases the footpath is shorter). But their votes matter while ours don't.

However, all that the cycling bodies' representative can do is put the facts out there, make their case and hope that the drip, drip, drip will eventually make a difference. Meanwhile I'm considering whether to strap a hammer to my rucksack - perhaps it will make some idiot think twice...

Simon E wrote:

Airzound, I'm sadly in agreement with you on much of your analysis.

I have acknowledged to friends that drivers are on the whole nicer now but sadly the inconsiderate, the aggressive and "getouttamyway" drivers are still too numerous. I am sick and tired of being cut up, abused and treated like a road cone to skim past by drivers who are, frankly, at real risk of killing someone. I just pray it won't be me or anyone I know.

More than half of the public still feel their local roads are too dangerous for cycling. But we know that it's not the roads, it's the selfish, inconsiderate way many people drive..

and you just said they were right to feel like that. Yes there are inconsiderate drivers but cycling is safe and it really isn't that bad.

and actually cyclists just cycling don't seem to get very many issues at all. I've been cycling properly (in a club) since 1973. I hear most complaints from cyclists that are on the whole cycling "in a hurry". There's a guy I work with that uses Strava on his commute f'ing and blinding about having to slow down for traffic. So he's not exactly in a position to moan at car drivers that are in too much of a hurry is he? There's quite a bit of that about as well.

Simon E wrote:

More than half of the public still feel their local roads are too dangerous for cycling. But we know that it's not the roads, it's the selfish, inconsiderate way many people drive.

Sometimes it's the roads too: http://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/cut-the-crap/

Airzound wrote:

This is all hot air. There is little comfort when you're riding along minding your own business when some moron decides to shave the skin off your knuckles by close passing you or drives at you or tries to assault you when you take exception to their attempts to kill you. You report to the plod and they do fuck all or the driver gets a slap on the wrists. How many of these wind bags actually ride every day in all weathers? Well from my commute very few next to zero I would say. Britain is a shit place to ride a bicycle. The hot air will of course continue. Those cyclists who do ride regularly are at a much greater risk of being knocked down and killed or seriously injured simply as the more you do something the greater the chance of you being killed.

The only way to achieve a safer cycling experience in this country is for drivers who kill or seriously injure cyclists and pedestrians, to be automatically be sent to prison for a long time i.e. at least 10 years plus and their driving licenses to be permanently revoked i.e. banned for life. Assets should also be seized and sold to pay for the damage and injuries they have caused for the lives they have wrecked. Aggravating factors should mean they get much longer sentences.

Why not use the £10 per head that Boardman wants for cycling expenditure to actually go toward better enforcement of traffic laws, for prosecutions of drivers who knock down, injure and kill cyclists, to build more prison places for these drivers, who lie through their teeth to try and get off? Surely this would send a much more powerful message to the driving population that the Government is SERIOUS about promoting cycling and protecting cyclists in this country? No more SMIDSYs. And in civil cases bring in a presumption that the car or vehicle is liable unless they can show other wise. Why not bring it into criminal law as well for that matter, the driver did drive carelessly, recklessly or dangerously unless they can show other wise?

In the mean time more cyclists tool up before riding on the roads with ever more head cams in case they are knocked down only for the cops to do fuck all or say well it's only a cyclist …………..

Ultimately we need a Dutch style of cycling infrastructure here in the UK but we all know this is NEVER going to happen. This is just cloud cuckoo land wishful thinking. The car manufacturers are too strong, too powerful and the Government of all flavours is too reliant on the car industry and drivers for the revenue it brings in taxation to the Treasury. Now if cycling or cyclists could be taxed to the same extent, then maybe, maybe the Government would seriously consider promoting cycling properly. At the moment it is just words, words, words and no action. Cycling and cyclists are viewed as an irration an inconvenience. Nice that Sir Bradley, Chris Hoy, VP won all those gold medals and Wiggins and Froome the TdF but that's as far as it goes. God I hate Cameron's podgy public school face and his charade pretending to be a cyclist with the Jag following behind him and his vacuous claims to want a cycling revolution. There might well be, but not the type of revolution he anticipates.

Well you won't get Dutch style cycling infrastructure by ranting on like that. If you want the infrastructure you'll need to convince people, not just cyclists, not just the politicians you like, but lots of people like Tory politicians and car drivers that it's a good idea, for Dutch style infrastructure you'll need a big cross party consensus and societal consensus over decades.

Yes it's easier to call people names and make out that anyone that drives a car is evil, calling people podgy. Hilarious fun. But juvenile.

Your approach seems to be "give me what I want you fat lazy evil wankers!"

I'm not a betting man but something tells me that going to be less than effective.

As it happens I know something of the vehicle following Cameron and he probably had to argue quite a lot to be allowed not to have to ride in it. That's the armoured vehicle with his protection officers in it all probably wishing he was a good lad and just got in the car so they could relax. You think the PM can just decide to go cycling round London on his own and that the DPS just say OK then? That the PM wants to make a visual statement that cycling is good and he endorses it is to be applauded. Just taking the piss and abusing him because the DPS officers have to follow him is juvenile. It's like you only want cycling to be a little club set against the world. Are you sure you want that mass participation Dutch style stuff you know where cycling is done by all kinds of people?