Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Cyclists under fire as debate rages on shock crash figures
Riders must play part with drivers to stay safe
The debate over the safety of cycling in Canterbury continued this week with many people condemning the behaviour of cyclists themselves while others saying not enough provision was made to reduce the risk of accidents.
It came after our exclusive story last week that showed the Canterbury district was the most dangerous in Kent in terms of reported accidents. Official figures showed there were a total of 53 reported accidents in the council area, compared with just 18 in Dartford, the safest area, in 2015.
Cyclists blamed the state of roads, lack of designated lanes and poor driving for putting them at risk. However, in a vigorous debate on the Gazette’s website, cyclists too came under fire.
Those commenting included Maltheman, a cyclist himself who believed a high visibility tunic and helmet with LED flashing lights should be “the norm” or even introduced as law.
He also argued that like motorists, cyclist should be insured. “My own son had his leg broken badly by a errant cyclist with no recourse to compensation or even prosecution for the offence committed,” he added.
“As a cyclist I don’t wear headphones as I want all my senses alert. I wear a helmet, highly visible clothing and check constantly my position regarding motorist traffic, I avoid being alongside HGVS and at junctions use my common sense, getting off to walk at times. I never cycle down a narrow road knowing I am building up a line of motor traffic behind me, am are thanked many times for my thoughtfulness of others, I share the road not hog it.”
Nine of the 53 accidents recorded in the district were either serious or fatal and such is the concern of safety that last month KCC officials and police were prompted to reinforce the safety message to drivers and motorists in Canterbury.
On our website, Marco928 joined calls for cyclists to be insured: “If I slam into the back of another car, my insurance is there to provide compensation. If a cyclist knocks a pedestrian over causing injury or slams into the back of another car or cyclist where is the insurance to compensate? Also, what about introducing a cycle tax to help pay for improved cycle lanes in towns and cities?” He said standards of safety in France and the United States, from his experience were far safer.
Among nearly 70 comments left on Kentonline, Bw87 wrote: “There’s good and bad on both sides; Sunday club riders are often obnoxious, many car drivers are too.
“Mutual respect is all that’s needed.
“On the cycle lane debate, I will never use ones that are shared with pedestrians, even if segregated by a white line and different asphalt.
“The risk factor – if you average 15-20mph – of coming into contact with an inattentive pedestrian is too high. Most cyclists are car drivers; most car drivers are not cyclists. There’s a lot of education that needs doing in my view.”