The two justifications most used to impose cycling on the community at great cost, together with a massive liability on essential roads infrastructure, is how poor we are in the UK facilitating safe cycling, especially compared to Holland, and the other is how healthy road cycling is. Drivers' Union has already commented extensively about both myths.
And see: Europe cycling myth
Well now it is confirmed how cycling, which involves bad posture, unnatural pedaling movements, poor seating, hand pressures, very little suspension isn't so healthy at all.See: Cycling causes chronic injuries over and above the chronic injuries and death caused primarily because cyclists are.............well cycling. Just see UK's 2016 cycling fatals for starters.
So yes there are much better and safer ways of getting exercise and I challenge BMA to deny it.
But here's the most devastating news: For all the successful demands made by UK's,tiny but far too powerful ,Cycle Lobby, for more money and more driver oppression and jail, it turns out, as we have consistently pointed out, UK's drivers are brilliant and the Dutch are killing more cyclists than we are. Yes Holland, continually cited as cycling's Shangri La, aint as good as us at cyclist care. See it all here. Well I never!
So Boris Johnson, why have you screwed up London with hardly used and costly cycling Super Highways?
So, Louise Ellman MP, why did you allow anti driver cyclists and profiteers to cause your Transport Select Committee to commit £650,000,000 per year to cycling without even asking appropriate questions? See this disgraceful committee in action.
And all of this is based on myth and lies.
Luckily HMG is back pedaling (pun intended) on cycling funding already, but how soon before the Super Highways are torn up?
What this is really all about is the anti driver, anti infrastructure anti people, Metropolitan Elitists who want us out of cars, on bikes, walking and on buses instead, because cars give us too much independence and freedom. Not sure about this? I suggest you read this.
When will the sensible majority of MPs see that there are 35,000,000 votes among drivers and all 65,000,000 are depending on them: so ask why the tiny Metropolitan Elite of 'common purpose' are running us all?
Stats not your strong subject Keith. Dutch cyclists travel 12 times as far as British cyclists on their bikes. In order to make a fair comparison, you'd need to consider the accidents per kilometre travelled. I'd be willing to guess that this would show the Netherlands to be safer to travel around by bike than the UK.
ReplyDeleteAh Stats. I have constantly shown that with stats you can make anything fit. However you don't deny that with all the Dutch pro cycling infrastructure they're killing more cyclists then? Of course the more that cycle the more that will die from it. That's the whole point. BTW we have also shown that, like UK, you can drive many miles in Holland and not see one single cyclist.
ReplyDeleteEven the one's you do see are not the speedy Al a Wiggo racing types on a jolly, but nice steady upright cyclists actually doing it to get from A to B
Of course, everything we do has a risk. If vastly more Dutch people cycle it's inevitable that there'll be a few more accidents to go with it.
ReplyDeleteIs there a problem with nice steady upright cyclists going from A to B? I certainly don't mind!
Plus the fact that you can drive many miles without seeing a cyclist means nothing. If I need to travel 100 miles I'm more likely to drive. But if I'm nipping to the shop a couple of miles away it's just as easy to pedal there as to drive there.
Risk? Yes like shooting guns but we don't allow that in public. Cycling is an unneeded human road hazard & a liability to road infrastructure. Society can subsist without such risk.
ReplyDeleteSo you accept that the more who cycle, even in Holland, the more that will die even with all their praised cycling infrastructure. And it would be even worse if it were inundated with racing Lycra style riding. I prefer nice upright sedate roadster riding where cyclists don't hog a lane and deliberately use their bodies to impose themselves on other road users.
Yes but most people don't want to go anywhere on a bike; even to a local shop. That's the point.
These posts are in response to aggressive Cycle Lobby promotion and demands on the community. It's the minority Cycling Lobby, who are making all sorts of wild claims and so there is a need to address them and respond. Up till now, politicians have been rolling over at the expense of the majority of the community who don't cycle and the 100% who don't depend on it or need it.