Cyclists
July 14, 2008
As a (currently “former”, soon-to-be “active”) cyclist myself, I have to say that were I to collect my thoughts on my fellow two-wheelers, they would read almost exactly like this:
As a cyclist for the past 30 years, I hate cyclists. They think they are so good that the rules don’t apply to them.
They dress themselves up in helmets and ridiculous face-masks to stress how brave and vulnerable they are. They complain (with some justice) that they are treated like dirt by drivers.
But they in turn treat pedestrians like dirt.
They invent slimy, self-serving excuses for riding straight through zebra and pelican crossings — but are glad enough of the protection which red lights give them at junctions.
They ignore ‘no cycling’ signs in parks and swear savagely at anyone who asks them to obey the law.
In theory, bicycles are supposed to behave in like manner to other vehicles. More often than not, it has been my observation that cyclists have absolutely no intention (and seemingly no ability) to behave in such a manner; many fail to respect even basic traffic regulations such as stop signs and yields. The ones who ride on the sidewalks are often worse still. And rare indeed is the cyclist who will not pretend to be as a pedestrian when it is convenient to do so.
But for the fact that to do so would severely wound (if not kill) someone, I would transform into action my temptation to give errant bicycles a few “love taps” with the bumper of my car.
