BBC Radio 5 Live had a phone in on Cycle Safety this morning, unfortunately interrupted by the studio fire alarm going off and an evacuation! You can listen to it here for the next 7 days.
The usual arguments came up; cyclists don't pay road tax (even though no one does!); cyclists need licences; cyclists shouldn't ride 2 abreast; cyclists shouldn't jump red lights ("RLJ'ing" I somewhat agree with this, it presents little danger to anyone, but it provides motorists with their biggest stick to beat us with, even though 3 or 4 times more injuries are caused by RLJ'ing motorists - and then the injury is usually to another road user, whereas cycling RLJ injuries are usually to the cyclist themselves).
One caller pointed out that London streets can convey 2000 cars per hour, but 14000 bikes per hour, thus cycling benefits everyone (we are even reducing congestion for motorists).
One taxi driver complained about the hordes of cyclists on Waterloo Bridge using the bus lane (as they are allowed). He said they held him up and he had to overtake 4 or 5 wide across the lane. Presumably he wants them to cycle single file in the gutter so he doesn't have to deviate from his line at all, providing his door mirror can miss the cyclist by 1cm.
I hate this assumption that many drivers seem to make that they must travel as fast as they can at all times. What's the rush? Did you set off too late? Okay, the taxi driver makes a living, but most probably he drives fast between one hold-up and the next. His average speed is unlikely to improve much for all this risk and fuel usage. (I do have some understanding of the issues, having worked as a motorcycle courier and a mini cab driver for a few years!).
On the few occasions that I use my car to travel around Bristol, I find my average speed is around 8 mph, on the bike it is usually around 11 mph, and of course costs a lot less!
Anyway, potentially a big day for cycling as Parliament debates it at 2.30
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