tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969791928952941604.post3333439554680562931..comments2023-10-06T14:36:34.579+01:00Comments on The Grumpy Cyclist: Snow - The yearly national emergency arrives earlyGrumpyCyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02870343841388421714noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969791928952941604.post-32948369442590139222010-12-05T12:44:09.516+00:002010-12-05T12:44:09.516+00:00Paul, I don't drive my own car and still won&#...Paul, I don't drive my own car and still won't go out if the roads are too bad. My post was less about cycling, more about the reporting of it, especially on the BBC.<br /><br />I agree with you on the motorist front. In fact many of the things that are life-threatening on a cycle (cars pulling out of side-roads, cutting up etc.) happen to car drivers as well, it is simply less dangerous to the car driver. What motorists assume is that the same actions with a cyclist has the same consequences which it doesn't.<br /><br />I travel around Northern Europe, and have to say that I don't think the level of driving is any better there. But the fact that lots of people also cycle and that roads are designed with cyclists in mind means two things. That the average motorist understands the dangers to cyclists far better and that the road system helps protect the cyclist from the inevitable morons. Neither is true in the UK.<br /><br />And the pavements are a disgrace, I was moaning about this to myself whilst sliding around along my road, until I decided to walk in the road. But my last point is that I could (along with everyone else) decide to clear their bit of the pavement outside their house, and things would become a bit better. Just because we cannot be bothered doesn't mean we should blame the local council (and I include myself in this).GrumpyCyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02870343841388421714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2969791928952941604.post-90793578691843396822010-12-05T10:46:36.812+00:002010-12-05T10:46:36.812+00:00I guess the reason why the reporters can get into ...I guess the reason why the reporters can get into places that people can't get out of is that they are bolder, and they are probably not driving their own cars. Where I am (Haslemere, Surrey) we had 8 inches of snow. Surrey doesn't believe in spending money so only a few A roads get gritted. That means you can drive the main roads but you can't get to them. Well, that isn't entirely true, especially if you have a landrover, but the fact that my car can actually handle this stuff, and I have had the training, doesn't make me feel any better about venturing out. You see, all those motorists who behave like arses towards cyclists and pedstrians also behave like arses towards other motorists, and it is only really at time like this that your average cyclist-neutral motorist appreciates what arses the other lot are. You run serious risk of expensive damage.<br /><br />My point is that there are good motorists and bad ones. In my car most bad (ie excluding homicidal)motorists represent not much more than inconvenience, after all it is only metal. On my bike, they represent a potentially life-threatening risk. How can we move the message on from a cycle-car pissing contest to addressing the real issue, ie bad driving behaviour in general?<br /><br />Finally, it isn't just cyclists whom local auithorities abandon in this weather. When was the last time you saw a pavement gritted? Anywhere? Last time I went into work, leaving the brompton at home, I realised I would have been safer cycling on the road from Waterloo to Fleet St than I was walking the pavements.Paul Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07929808238663838155noreply@blogger.com