New force to be reckoned with for London's "rogue cyclists"

I've changed the headline a bit statto rogue cyclists is now in quote marks - but it reflects the tone of the Standard report, which very much majors on the threat posed by errant cyclists and now seems to have added in fears posed by the arrival of the Boris Bike. Although having lived in the area I'd say the odd 'rogue cyclist' is the least of their worries… although if I was armed with only an orange tie it might be one of the first I'd consider tackling too.

Weaving through traffic is one of the reasons people cycle, because they hate being stuck in traffic, like cars, you know..?

Come on folks lets not just jump into the generic 'cycling is great' defensive arguments, has anyone actually read the article? they are there combatting all sorts of stuff of which one is dangerous cycling.

Im not supprised we have the same stock responses tho with that Daily Mail-esque title... 'New force to be reckoned with for London's rogue cyclists' ...really? Are you trying to get a job at the Mail Martin?

Stupid berk warden bloke: "Oi you.... you don't have brakes/went on the pavement/didn't signal/jumped a light"

Me: Rides off.

Stupid berk warden bloke gives chase: "Oi I am giving you a fine."

Me as I pedal away from him: "Yes I am fine thanks, how are you?"

Can we please have rangers who have the power to send to the crusher vehicles belonging to those incapable of not having a mobile clamped to their ear whilst driving?

The sort of cyclists who dodge traffic are hardly likely to be caught by a pedestrian in a daft uniform who is lower down the food chain than a PCSO. And even less likely to take any notice of their meaningless reprimand.

As I'm sure Simon in Kingston Upon Hull will know, a Hull cyclist was killed yesterday by a metal container falling from a lorry. It's so obvious who poses the danger on the roads.

Well if you ride on pavements or weave through traffic then they can't stop you for anything.

If you cycle legally then you won't get stopped.

I would like to apply to all including bad drivers too as stated above by Graham.

Soon I'll start jogging and dump my bike!

Why don't they just bring in a set of rules for cyclists only and we can see what we can and cannot do as it is taking the pi55.

But yes there are idiot cyclists giving the rest of us a bad name.

www.inmidtown.org

info [at] inholborn.org

This is nonsense. I work in the area and rarely see cyclists on the pavement. In fact, it's more likely that crowds outside pubs spill into the street and block the cycle paths.

Inconsiderate parking, blatant bad driving and cars/vans/trucks red-light running are far greater hazards.

So why are they just targeting bad cyclists? The DfT data says that 85% of accidents involving cyclists are not the fault of the cyclist. Will they also target zoned out zombies wearing iPods? And what about nutter city boys in BMWs?

I bet I'm not the only one who's spent a fruitless few minutes trying to find a website or similar for this midtown outfit.

Personally I'm delighted these businesses are making so much money they want to pick a selection of customers to piss off.

Makes a bit more sense if she meant:

"We are keen to encourage both new and experienced cyclists into the area [...] Not only will this reduce congestion...."

Although who knows what she meant. And +1 to graeme's point about drivers- cyclists sure are the low-hanging fruit.

How will cyclists using side streets reduce congestion?Surely the only way to do that is to reduce the number of motor vehicles on the roads. For them to say that advising cyclists to use side roads will reduce carbon emissions is a joke and the worst use of the carbon footprint argument I've heard. If they really wanted to reduce it by 10%, why not encourage drivers out of cars and onto bikes which would *really* reduce CO2.

How about we get some Rangers to inform to the Police about drivers who tail gate, speed, jump red lights, left hook cyclists, don't indicate etc? Once we have that sort of behavior resolved, then maybe we can start looking at inconsiderate (but mostly harmless) cyclists.