Victoria Pendleton article in the Huff Post

Velovoyeur wrote:

However, the most simple option is to link the old cycling proficiency test to the provisional driving licence. By this I mean that inorder to get a provisional driving licence, before you can even drive a car on the roads, you must be able to display an understanding of awareness and road-craft by passing your cycling proficency.

I like your thinking, but it would take a bit of a radical re-think of the cycling proficiency test.

I did mine in primary school, initially in the school grounds and then on a few very quiet residential roads around the school with barely any actual cars around, let alone anything bigger - hardly a thorough introduction to the realities of cycling to actually get somewhere in traffic.

Judging by most of the kids cycling to/from our local secondary schools, most of them seem to have forgotten it all about 5 minutes after getting the certificate, let alone by the time they get to 17.

Perhaps compulsary CBT would be better - infrastructure already in place and only costs around £100.

Velovoyeur wrote:

By this I mean that inorder to get a provisional driving licence, before you can even drive a car on the roads, you must be able to display an understanding of awareness and road-craft by passing your cycling proficency. 

You are aware not everyone can ride a bike? Ignoring those with physical disabilities, I know quite a few people who never learned to ride (multitude of reasons but most frequently, being clumsy buggers, giving up and not having parents who pushed them). Preventing them from having a driving license, whilst amusing I have to agree, seems to be rubbing salt into the wounds.

RMurphy195 wrote:

I think she has a point.

I long held the belief that car drivers who have not followed the "traditional route" to car driving are not as good as those who have.

By traditional route I mean

    Start by cycling regularly from an early age

    The spend a few years travelling by motorccyle - through sunshine, rain, snow fog the lot all year round

    Then and only then, progress onto cars.

Simples ....

And those car drivers who do cause problems should be made to travel by motorcycle - preferably on wet greasy roads, and preferably on worn-out 1960's japanese tyres. They'll learn a lot that way, or rather the survivors will!

 Good man ,well said.

I completey agree.

Welsh boy wrote:

Oh no, I hoped we had heard the last of her and her constant cry for attention when she joined the equine set.

Tell us again what exactly you've done to raise the profile of cycling and to call for safer cycling ?

thought not.