Praise for ‘abudhabiChris’

Personally I hate all this ‘we cyclists need to obey the rules so that drivers will give us respect’ crap. So I was pleased to see an instant retort to this:

Jon Burrage

I dont think we, as cyclists, can trivialize going through red lights etc. If we want to be taken seriously and have drivers look out for us and give us respect then the first thing we need to do is make sure we adhere to the rules as well. No matter how much some drivers infuriate me when Im cycling I will see 10-15 cyclists go through red lights on my ride to work...I can see why drivers think its one set of rules for them and one for us, we should all adhere to the rules of the road.

abudhabiChris

But why shouldn't it be one set of rules for them and one for cyclists.

The only reason we need red lights every 200 yards, and pinch points and traffic bumps and all the other stuff that makes the roads such a maze is because of motor vehicles.

Motor vehicles are the cause of most of the problems on roads - congestion, deaths, injuries - and they are also the reason why so much money needs to be spent building, maintaining and repairing roads. There are very good economic reasons of course but motor vehicles are the main drivers (no pun intended) for regulation and control on roads - it's as simple as that.

80% of the rules that cyclists are asked to obey are designed to solve a problem they are not part of.