Change to Highway Code and cyclists responsibilities

[busby]

Excellent to hear, then no doubt you would support any proposal to make it compulsory for cycle, horse and e scooter users to have insurance and it be a criminal offence, similar to car drivers, if they don't ?

What an excellent idea.Write to your M.P. BUSBY.

 

[John Barrett]

How many car drivers would buy insurance if it wasn't mandatory..??BUSBY.

I well remember being collected from Shannon airport in 1983 by a young lady driving an ancient Ford Cortina. As we drove to the plant I noticed that the whole dashboard was loose and bouncing up and down as was the car. When I asked if the car had an MOT the reply was "Oh that?". "It's optional here" she said, nonchalantly!
I tightened my seat belt...

 

[tonyidle]

I'm not upset having to have due regard for cycle or horse riders.

But we do need some fairness here. Yes, deaths caused by cyclists are rare, but there does seem to be an increasing number of deaths caused by electric scooters, which I presume are similarly bereft of insurance.

I only alluded to the none existent payout for death in the case of the man killed by a cyclist. What is probably more important is a payout from insurance if the victim suffers massive and life changing injuries which require long term medical help or alterations to their lifestyle, for instance constant care. These can be massive payouts from the insurance companies in the case of car accidents. Who provides the cash if a cyclist causes the same injuries ?

I see that is there an insurance policy available right now which cyclists, (and presumably electric scooter riders and horse riders) can buy which would cover THEM in the event of THEM causing death or injury to a third party. So, have you got one ? If not, why not ?

Unless hired from one of the few such schemes currently operating electric scooters are illegal to use anywhere in public. I assume the hire schemes will have there own insurance.

 

[Sandancers]

How many car drivers would buy insurance if it wasn't mandatory..??BUSBY.

Don't know, maybe just the ones who had a care for fellow human beings ?

 

[Sandancers]

Unless hired from one of the few such schemes currently operating electric scooters are illegal to use anywhere in public. I assume the hire schemes will have there own insurance.

Maybe not in your area, but non-hire e scooters are used extensively in cities, just a wild guess but suspecting that if the perpetrator had hit a child he would NOT have had insurance. The below from yesterday's Daily Mail;


A police officer suffered a broken leg when an e-scooter rider crashed into him during an official blitz against the illegal vehicles yesterday.

The 22-year-old rider was arrested after colliding with the officer in Willesden, North London, at around 1pm.

He had been ordered to stop during an operation to get the vehicles off the streets, but police say he failed to do so.

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[tonyidle]

Don't know, maybe just the ones who had a care for fellow human beings ?

If we get back to basics insurance is there to cover the purchaser against a claim arising from an accident. In the absence of insurance one is personally liable for claims arising from an accident. Most motorists have assets that they'd prefer to keep in the event of an accident claim so they purchase insurance. Those with nothing to lose don't care (in some cases).

 

[tonyidle]

Maybe not in your area, but non-hire e scooters are used extensively in cities, just a wild guess but suspecting that if the perpetrator had hit a child he would NOT have had insurance. The below from yesterday's Daily Mail;


A police officer suffered a broken leg when an e-scooter rider crashed into him during an official blitz against the illegal vehicles yesterday.

The 22-year-old rider was arrested after colliding with the officer in Willesden, North London, at around 1pm.

He had been ordered to stop during an operation to get the vehicles off the streets, but police say he failed to do so.

Totally agree but it has never been possible to insure any vehicle that is illegal to use.

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

There is a trend in Nottingham for e-scooter rider's and to some extent cyclists to have their face's stuck to their phones which in itself brings added danger to everyone

 

[MattR]

Excellent to hear, then no doubt you would support any proposal to make it compulsory for cycle, horse and e scooter users to have insurance and it be a criminal offence, similar to car drivers, if they don't ?

No I wouldn't. The costs of doing so would far out way any benefits.

And why are you broadening the discussion to include e-scooters? They are a different issue and not covered in the legislation changes or are they?

 

[Sandancers]

No I wouldn't. The costs of doing so would far out way any benefits.

And why are you broadening the discussion to include e-scooters? They are a different issue and not covered in the legislation changes or are they?

I'd be surprised if they were not included as they are "green".

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[MattR]

I'd be surprised if they were not included as they are "green".

As has been mentioned above, e-scooters are not legal so cannot be insured for use on public highways (excluding trial areas) and wouldn't be covered in the legislation change.

 

[two]

This seems to be a very emotive subject.
None of us owns the planet, instead we must learn to share it with an ever-increasing number of others for the time we are here.
I am sure there are just as many inconsiderate motorists as there are cyclists.

 

[busby]

Don't know, maybe just the ones who had a care for fellow human beings ?

There are plenty prosecuted every week for no insurance and it is mandatory.BUSBY.

 

[busby]

Don't know, maybe just the ones who had a care for fellow human beings ?

About a million drivers are estimated to be not insured in UK.BUSBY.

 

[busby]

There is a trend in Nottingham for e-scooter rider's and to some extent cyclists to have their face's stuck to their phones which in itself brings added danger to everyone

It's a bit tit for tat but how many car drivers are texting and talking whilst at the wheel.It does not help us to tolerate and be curtious to other road users just slagging each other off. A bit of patience and tolerance to other road users and pedestrians will reduce your blood pressure and it just may put a smile on your face.Its no wonder there are wars.BUSBY

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[John Barrett]

About a million drivers are estimated to be not insured in UK.BUSBY.

And that's with ANPR nowadays. Imagine how many there were before that gadget arrived!

 

[Off da Grid]

I cycle to work and in my area there are no street lights a lot of tree covered dark even in daylight roads and lanes without pavements.
I have found that the more visible I make my self the more respect and room I am given on the road.
I have a rear light that is designed to be used in daylight and can be seen from 2 km away without being dazzling to drivers.
I come across a lot of walkers who not only don’t know which side of the road they should be walking on and also tend to wear dark clothes in the main, you can tell whose local as they are more easily seen.
I have a bell but so many pedestrians I come access don’t even turn round when I use it they then get miffed when I shout at them.
I wouldn’t want to collide with a pedestrian as I might damage my bike.

 

[MattR]

About a million drivers are estimated to be not insured in UK.BUSBY.

This may include some of the 800,000 + drivers who are not licenced plus the drivers of 634,000 untaxed vehicles.... But the figures are shocking and it is relatively easy to identify those vehicles but they persist. How could licencing cyclists etc work when so many cars and drivers ignore the law?

 

[Russell's Dad]

Just remember there is a difference between a "cyclist" , which includes drunken yobs who just happen to be on bikes and those who have got an old pile of rust out the shed to venture out into the countryside and who don't know how to behave or just don't care ....... and cyclists, who are insured via several available clubs and companies, and who ride regularly for pleasure and/or for commuting.
Similarly there are motorhomers/ campervanners like us, who care for the environment and worry about how their chosen holiday format effects others, and motorhomers/ campervanners who are drunken yobs who happen to have a motorhome/campervan, or have just got an old pile of rust off ebay to venture out into the countryside and either don't know how to behave or just don't care.

 

[bobandjanie]

Where we live in Spain, European cycle teams train all winter, Yes they hold people up and some have died in accidents, we have some roads with 30km speed limits and cyclists have priority with the lane marked in the centre of the lane, see the sign it doesn't matter if it one or two abreast you will be fined if your caught not giving the cyclists 1.5m.

Yes I am a cyclist and have a helmet lights and a bell, and having cycled in the UK on this trip the difference is very noticeable and the new laws are needed. Bob.

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[Cheshirecat57]

As far as cycing goes, I am sure that there are 1 million good cyclists for every 10 idiots

My problem is that I seem to keep coming across the 10

 

[AXO66]

It’s the undertaking that’s dangerous . I now ensure when turning left that I keep tight to the kerb on the approach to block of that danger and thereby expect the cyclist to stop or go around the outside . That should also give me time and eyes to scan for pedestrians crossing the road ahead .

 

[MattR]

It’s the undertaking that’s dangerous . I now ensure when turning left that I keep tight to the kerb on the approach to block of that danger and thereby expect the cyclist to stop or go around the outside . That should also give me time and eyes to scan for pedestrians crossing the road ahead .

Unfortunately it seems that more drivers do that even when crossing into cycle lanes and travelling straight on or turning right. Some of those turning left will also block the cycle lane even if there is a cycle space at the front of each lane (ASLs).

 

[DelMar]

It is normal in this country, when things are not liked, to get them banned. So what are you waiting for, if you hate us cyclists so much, go for it. Then we can sit on the side of the road, recording all those idiots in cars, doing their normal stupid things and get them off the road too.

I guess that means only pedestrians will be left.

 

[John Barrett]

It is normal in this country, when things are not liked, to get them banned. So what are you waiting for, if you hate us cyclists so much, go for it. Then we can sit on the side of the road, recording all those idiots in cars, doing their normal stupid things and get them off the road too.

I guess that means only pedestrians will be left.

I guess we English are next then...

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[scally]

If they'd been in a single file, they would have taken up twice the length, so you'd not be able to overtake them then either.

Or are you proposing overtaking them on a narrow lane without crossing the centreline in a wide vehicle?

They should split up to give other road users adequate room as indeed motorists are expected to do. Allow thinking and braking distance, isnt that the rule ?

 

[Russell's Dad]

They should split up to give other road users adequate room as indeed motorists are expected to do. Allow thinking and braking distance, isnt that the rule ?

So cars always have enough space between them to allow an overtaking car to pull in if they have mis-judged the overtake? No they don't.
Good cyclists in groups will always try to keep together to stop cars from trying to squeeze in when they have attempted a poorly-judged overtake.
This thread could run forever.

Please do not think I don't get a bit annoyed when stuck behind slower traffic, bikes, tractors, learners, etc ..I do. But I will never take a poor overtake and put myself or others in danger though impatience.

 

[Larrynwin]

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[GeeCee]

I'd just like cyclists to be registered with a number plate, just like all other road users, so they can be identified when they transgress the new/old rules... and/or when they cause accidents.

With rights come responsibilities.

So all kids will have to have number plates on their bikes when cycling to and from school or to their friends' houses. Presumably they'd have to pay for their plate which would have to be licensed. So 3 kids in a family that's 3 plates and 2 more if mum and dad cycle. Have you thought this through? What about horses too, presumably thye should have number plates. They are road users and hold up traffic on country lanes, and that includes cyclists.

 

[GeeCee]

I'm a motorist (drive a small van every day for work), pedestrian (live in a city so often walk places/dog in town or Seafront) and a cyclist (mostly for leisure but sometimes to avoid a road journey) and the general attitude to cyclists is depressing.

The vast majority of people riding bikes will be drivers/walkers too so it's so silly to single out these groups and the majority of these attitudes are coming from typical media sources stiring up conflict for newspaper headlines and click bait just the same as they do with other things it's such a shame so many fall into that clichéd trap of cyclist hate.

I've been annoyed by people using all modes of transport and it's just a fact of living on a crowded island with poor infrastructure that conflict arises. Still no need to blame one group more than another.

By the way I really don't get the obsession with bikes needing bells on. They achieve nothing that a friendly 'good morning or hello could i come by on your left?' couldn't.

I feel it's just yet another media induced stick to beat cyclists with.

I was riding my mountain bike along a wide bridleway the other day and came up to a group of 4 people walking and chatting in a row taking up the whole width (no problem whatsoever with that) as we approached my partner said 'good afternoon, what a lovely day it is' and the group turned and made some space for us and 3 out of the 4 returned my big smile as I passed and thanked them but the older lady of the group had a look of a smacked arse and shouted 'get a bell!'

I was gob smacked there's just no need for that kind of response when there's plenty of space and time for pleasantries instead. Some people are just miserable i guess and want something to moan about or to bring you down to their level.

Well said, especialy the bit about most cyclists being drivers and walkers. As for the bell, I invested in one during the 1st lockdown because on the very quite country roads near me, I was constantly coming across people walking 3 and 4 abreast across the road (becuase it was reasonably safe to do so) and I found it far easier to keep ringing a bell than shouting an advance warning. Also recently while cycling into York on a shared pedestrian and cycle path, one pedestrian on hearing my bell responded with a "wow, a cyclist with a bell" and a happy smile with it.

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