“Cyclists see themselves as the centre of the universe,” says actress Patricia Hodge in rant questioning why police “never” stop red light-jumping cyclists

Firstly, my heart bleeds for Ms Collins. Google Maps shows Rules restaurant is halfway along Maiden Lane and that it would take a whole minute to walk there from either end. Oh, the humanity!

There was a time Patricia Hodge was 'posh totty' but she's turned 'grumpy old woman'. That said, whenever I've been in London in the last 20 years, I've always been appalled by the standards of bike riding there. But then I've also been appalled at the standards of motor vehicle driving and pedestrian stupidity. So it's probably as unfair to single out those on human-powered two wheels there as anywhere else in the UK, and I couldn't begin to guess the percentage of bad road users in London compared to elsewhere.

It does make me relieved I live north of the border, even if I was a hit & run victim within a mile of home 3 years ago. Mind you, my only experience cycling outside Scotland has been 3 MTB rides and 2 road/path rides in Northern Ireland, so it was hardly a surprise it happened here.

The universe has no centre, it is the same everywhere. 

https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/GR/centre.html

Oh dear, another celeb who hasn't bothered to check the DfT's crash statistics before mouthing off her Daily Mail type anti cycling comments...

I'd hazard a guess that the cyclists she encounters are Deliveroo/Uber Eats etc riders rather than the vast majority of law abiding riders.

Truth be told, they piss me off just as much as any minor celebrity would be too.

They are an utter menace that bring so much uneeded shite to every cyclists door with their mindless antics.

Unfortunately, motorists lump all bike riders together when forming their narrative when the reality is all together different.

I hope she enjoys her rant and 30 seconds of renewed "fame". Without quantifying her comments with a bit more detail, she adds absolutely nothing to the debate.

If cops aren't writing cyclists for running the red lights, and they see them do it, then that tells you that the city or state has some sort of law that ok's it. 

But I guarantee you that if I stopped at a red on my bike and didn't move and Joan was trying to turn right, she would be the first person to blow her horn to get me to go through the light!

Talk about a group of people who think they're the center of the universe, most actors and actresses think that way, and I'm sure Joan does. 

Being a cyclist I've seen other cyclists do some really stupid crap, and then after doing it flip someone off who they offended with their reckless actions. so I'm not going to stick up for all cyclists, but people like Joan are extremely uppity, they think they're special because they're actors and actresses and think they're the equivalent of being kings and queens and live that sort of lifestyle and expect everyone around them to treat them that way.  Well, I'm sorry, but I put my pants on the same way they do.

The irony here is that by saying this she's showing that she thinks motorists are the actual center of the universe.

So these cyclists are riding through red lights or along the pavement at dangerously high speeds but she apparently manages, as a presumably fairly static pedestrian, to have prolonged interactions with them whilst they are doing so? Interesting.

Didn't she used to have a career?

“These people see themselves as the centre of the universe and I think that’s very bad for society. I feel I have the right to say something. But when I do, I’m invariably screamed at.

“I always make sure, though, to point out that the only reason they’re angry is because they know I’m right.”

She means drivers of course.  Or does she absolve them of all blame because they are in a car, and she drives cars and doesn't ride a bike?  I think getting her to ride for an hour around any major city might just achieve a change of attitude.

I might be more inclined to pay some credence to these whinging celebs if they ever made similar comments about the many more inconsiderate, dangerous, and law-breaking motorists in London. But I suspect the problem is they spend all their time travelling around in taxis, listening to black-cab drivers most of whom, as we know, have a pathological hatred of anyone on two-wheels. 

If the road was closed, what was she doing on it? Ah she probably means closed to cars. Cars never hurt anyone, do they.

Just rode into town and back, 10 minutes each way. I witnessed 4 cars go through very red lights and not a single one of the drivers was arrested. Didn't see a single cyclist go through a red light (in truth only saw 5-6 cyclists). So what the f**k is the old trout whinging about?

I’d be delighted if every cyclist and driver going through a red light was fined/prosecuted, but that’s never going to happen.

I once came across a very rude actor, absolutely no manners and an incredible sense of entitelment.  Obviously, just like all actors and I have never been to the theatre since.

Minor celebrities who focus on bad cyclists and ignore bad car drivers do so because they use cars, so price-in their negative effects as just a part of modern life. We cyclists focus on bad car drivers and ignore bad cyclists because we use bicycles. These are understandable biases for private individuals. But journalists (and politicians) should focus on statistics to determine what is the real danger before publishing anecdotal accounts as attacks on entire subgroups. They should, but won't. I'd say maybe when hacks who work for the likes of Candis magazine are replaced with AIs things will improve, but the AIs are being trained to replicate their lazy, phoned-in efforts.

She's an actress - she makes things up for a living. Next!