My estimation of Boris has just gone downwards. A long way.

He’s just trying to distance himself from the superhighways which he made so much of a fuss of… IMO they’re a thoroughly crap solution anyway. Blue paint doesn’t force drivers to give me space or stop tailgating me…

He’s in a place of great influence and making such an anecdotal, subjective and ill-informed (Police surveys show most collisions between car drivers and cyclists are the fault of the driver) statement is a very poor reflection on his priorities and sends a deeply unhelpful message out to the masses

I think what gets forgotten in this debate is the asymmetry of the relationship between bikes and vehicles.

To kill someone in a car with my bike I would need to persuade them somehow to leave the safety of their metal box and either strangle them with my chain or bludgeon them repeatedly with the whole bike.

To kill someone on a bike with my car I just need to change direction without looking

So while cyclists aren’t perfect blaming them seems to miss the point

he is, which is why I put question marks up there, I’m also inclined to bet heavily that he hasn’t seen them yet and is talking out of his arse. If he has seen them should he really be blaming victims in public just from preliminary reports?

I’ll sign.

How do you sign the noise of a tipper truck?

lol @ aracer

Seriously, 8-wheelers – they’re noisy, they stink, they’re big and they make the ground shake. Not much frightens me but tipper trucks with those great big wheels properly give me the willies (I give them a WIDE berth). That bashed-in, rusty, uncared-for bodywork tells me they aren’t worried about a scratch or two (a car owner’s desire to keep their car looking nice is – I think HOPE – something that gives me at least a little protection).

6 in 10 days now 🙁

Reports of a woman hit by a HGV at Roehampton. Terrible .

I’ve had a few crashes and close calls. The crashes were (AFAICR) all down to the driver either not looking or seeing me. Some of the close calls were my own fault though. I do tank along at a decent link.

I don’t think people are out to get you, and I try to be cheery and respectful to car drivers. In the case of bad driving, I might attempt to make it obvious that a particular maneuver was dangerous.

I just think we should all try and get along, however I’ve never biked in London either.

apparently not a cyclist

Rode in today (SE London to Paddington). Yet again, close passes, tailgating, hooting, abuse… all for choosing a different form of transport from a car or the Tube.

Maybe, just maybe the media and political fuss of all the deaths this week might be a turning point…

I warned Boris that his policies would lead to more cycling deaths

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/male-cyclist-in-his-60s-dies-in-crash-with-lorry-at-camberwell-road-8947110.html

wondering why it has been so bad in just this last few days (as compared with the few weeks just before say) – is it co-incidence or is there an explanation such as the clocks changing or the weather being worse or …?