Reply to post: Re: Cyclists who treat pedestrians as a slalom course are idiots

NZ hotel bans cyclists' Lycra-clad loins

Pompous Git Silver badge

Re: Cyclists who treat pedestrians as a slalom course are idiots

I'm not in the least upset at the idea of sharing the footpath with cyclists. If they feel unsafe in traffic, then they can walk on the footpath as I do. That after all is what a footpath is for: walking on.

The verbal abuse is not unique to cyclists. I have been told to watch where the fuck I'm walking (at a speed only marginally faster than a snail) by fellow pedestrians, usually female, young, and staring at a mobile phone.

What upsets me is the possibility that I might be seriously injured, or killed by a cyclist. There have been two deaths that I know of so far; one in Launceston and one in Melbourne. There are generally far more "accidents" occasioning physical injury rather than death, but we are not privileged by those who know with the relevant data.

Putting a stick into the spokes of a bicycle might very well be a salutary lesson and save lives! The bicycle rider might well claim to have accidentally killed or seriously injured a pedestrian, but it seems a bit far fetched to claim bicycle riding as accidental when it's clearly a deliberate act.

Please also note that Hobart has several thoroughfares with dedicated bicycle lanes. I have never seen a bicycle rider using them. Nor have the people I have asked. They merely act to restrict the available amount of roadway for the use of cars and buses.

You might want to ask yourself what your attitude would be to a vocal section of the public demanding rather expensive infrastructure changes and then ostentatiously refusing to use them when provided.

As for ostracism on the road, that too was earned by the cyclists. South of Hobart is the Taroona Highway, a long, winding stretch of road with double white lines to discourage overtaking. It is common for cyclists to ride two abreast to prevent vehicular traffic from behind overtaking in the left hand lane. Overtaking in the right hand lane is insanely dangerous and the cyclists, knowing this, put their own and everyone else's lives at risk by cycling ever so slowly. That they are doing so deliberately is apparent from their smirking faces as they look over their shoulders at the traffic banked up behind them.

No, not all cyclists indulge in this behaviour. But what relevance is that? Ever so many do and no action is taken by either police, or fellow cyclists.

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