Cycling In Traffic

It is always sad to see a life lost when it could have been avoided. I have just been reading about a 19 year old cyclist who was killed by a young woman who was both speeding and sending a text on her mobile phone at the time of the accident. She has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. A penalty which will send a strong message to all drivers.

What shocked me most about the story was that the cyclist had gone through a red light. There is no question the woman driver who hit him was driving recklessly but if the cyclist had obeyed the traffic laws he would still be alive today. If he had been driving a truck then it might have been the young woman who had been killed.

Many cyclists seem to think they can ignore the rules of the road and I can understand, from my own experience of cycling why they would want to but it seems harsh to blame the person who was doing the less dangerous action. Would anybody dispute that to drive through a red traffic light is an extremely dangerous and hazardous action?

Speeding can be dangerous though so much depends on the particular situation of the road, traffic and weather conditions. It is a total lie when the police spew out their standard line that speed kills. If that were true we would all be dead because our planet is speeding through space at the most incredible speeds. According to the police we should all be dead just from the astronomical speeds we are all travelling at even as we sit still.

Speed is relative and a simple, blunt, statement that speed kills is just plain wrong.  It is shameful that any police force or person should promote what is so clearly a lie. Speed relative to a situation is a very different thing and doing 45 mph in a 30 mph limited area sounds very excessive and dangerous.

Texting on a mobile phone whilst driving is very distracting, no one would dispute that and if you are distracted then you are paying less attention to your driving. On todays busy roads we all need to keep our wits about us. We need to remain focused on driving and texting on a mobile phone is not something you should be doing.

So there is no question that the young woman was driving carelessly and perhaps dangerously but to say that it is her fault that the young cyclist died seems to be stretching the point. On a scale of 1 to 10 of dangerous things to do on the roads then driving through a red light has to be right up there at number one. If you drive through a red light you stand a fair chance of being killed or seriously injured and anybody who does it should surely be aware of the risk they are taking.

I have enormous sympathy for the family of the cyclist. It is a sad and unnecessary loss of life but I would argue that he knew he was taking a risk and was flouting the law. He should not have been in front of the car that hit him.

We should encourage cycling. It is of benefit to the cyclist from a health point of view, it is beneficial to the local area because it reduces traffic problems and it benefits our planet because of the reduction in carbon emissions compared to using a car. We should be doing much more to make it easier and safer for cyclists to travel around.

If we had a system of roads just for cyclists that were seperate from traffic there would be far more people prepared to cycle. There could and should be a real national network of cycle routes that are well maintained and safe to use. It would be an expensive undertaking and have an initially high carbon footprint but over the long term it would save the healthservice money, benefit the environment and we might all lead healthier and more enjoyable lives.

Politicans pay lip service to such schemes and there are around 10,000 miles of designated cycle routes around the country but only about 30% are on routes free of cars and trucks. If we are serious about helping cyclists we need priority for cyclists where they and other road users meet. Cyclists and cycling need to be supported and encourage and most importantly of all,  protected from other road users.

I am sad to hear of the death of this young cyclist but it should not be accepted that cyclists can or should feel the need to cross a red traffic light it is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. We have to find a better way promote cycling and keep cyclists safe.