Rules to tame these two-wheeled terrors
ANYONE who thinks that cycling is the only responsible, ecofriendly way forward for our cities is peddling dangerous claptrap. I have been going on about the perils posed by cyclists ever since I can remember and the situation is getting worse. I don’t care how “kind to the planet” they are. I find cyclists to be some of the most inconsiderate people on the roads.
OK, that’s a sweeping statement. But to me they are among the most dangerous roadusers out there.
Lately, on top of the problem of aggressive cyclists, we have electric scooters – and now electric bikes too – terrorising the streets of some of our cities, including London. Some of these are controlled by local authorities, as are many bikes these days, such as the “Boris bikes” in London. They have rules for hiring and speed limits. They have docks where they must be hired and returned. There are now private companies too, where the bike can be just dumped in the street for the company to find and collect. But many more scooters are private, totally uncontrolled and in fact illegal.
Nobody on a scooter has to wear protective gear and nobody has to have a licence number so that they can be held to account for any accidents they cause. There were 1,280 e-scooter collisions in 2021 – 460 in 2020, and nine deaths of scooter riders. Even if the scooter drivers themselves are not injured, they often cause drivers to swerve.
If bikes and scooters must be on our roads then they should be insured, riders must wear protective helmets and be identifiable.
Other road users have to obey the laws and be responsible for their actions so why not them? I was so glad to see common sense prevail recently when a motorist who was accused of assault and dangerous driving after some cycling vigilante jumped on his car was cleared of those offences.
There are more and more cycle lanes – paid for from motorists’ taxes – causing everincreasing traffic jams. Cyclists and scooter riders think they are so righteous. But I’m sure a lot of people will agree with me that until there are some rules to control their behaviour they shouldn’t be allowed on the road.