Ban bikes from the road!

[RainOrShine]

Woman steps into road without looking, is hit by cyclist, demands bike ban.  You couldn't make it up really.

Clicky - Bath Chronicle

Most of the comments are in favour of the cyclist, but how we've got to 11 comments without someone mentioning the Highway Code is a mystery.

[Julian]

You couldn't make it up, but I fear a sub-editor probably did.

[Charlotte]

Bloody hell.  None of the comments are even vaguely hysterical.  Some of them are very positively slanted towards cyclists.

What on earth is going on?

[Woofage]

What on earth is going on?

You're dreaming. And so am I

[Gattopardo]

Wheres the ban pedestrians petition?

[Gattopardo]

Or maybe look where your f*cking going you dopey idiot.  I like the cars aren't bad as you can hear them.  What if it had been a prius running on battery?

[Polar Bear]

Gosh.  My polite little letter made it 

[oldcobblers]

Now you know why that rag's local name is the Bath Chronic.

Because it is.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Oh no, I appear to have been visited by the sarcasm faerie as well as you-know-who today.

[Mike J]

I can't believe they even published the letter to be honest.

Its like having a letter saying "I burnt myself whilst cooking, therefore I want to ban cookers" 

[Greenbank]

I can't believe they even published the letter to be honest.

Its like having a letter saying "I burnt myself whilst cooking, therefore I want to ban cookers" 

Not quite. I read it as:

"I got burnt whilst browsing the ovens in the kitchen department of John Lewis. I want to ban cookers."

In other words:

"I didn't expect it be hot because I didn't expect a cooker in a shop to be plugged in and working"

or translated:

"I look before crossing a road but it didn't look like a road so I didn't bother looking."

I'm sure the psychologists will be along in a minute to discuss causation and effects.

But I can see part of her point (but I don't agree with it being stated as she did).

The road looks like it is part of a pedestrianised area, and so she assumed that there was no danger in walking out into it. Much like some of the places on my commute where I encounter the most fuckwittery by pedestrians (the raised sections of brick along Upper Ground behind the Royal Festival Hall).

I'm sure that if you replaced the raised brick sections (that are level with the pavement) with a normal road surface with a 4" drop and double yellow lines, then the number of people out into it without looking would be greatly reduced (but not to zero obviously).

[Adrian]

That is a Viz letter surely

[RainOrShine]

The road looks like it is part of a pedestrianised area, and so she assumed that there was no danger in walking out into it. Much like some of the places on my commute where I encounter the most fuckwittery by pedestrians (the raised sections of brick along Upper Ground behind the Royal Festival Hall).

I'm sure that if you replaced the raised brick sections (that are level with the pavement) with a normal road surface with a 4" drop and double yellow lines, then the number of people out into it without looking would be greatly reduced (but not to zero obviously).

The road is not pedestrianised, but it crosses a pedestrianised road.  I don't use it regularly but I do use Upper Borough Walls which is the same set up (in the other direction).  You have to ride carefully because people either don't realise or don't care that they are crossing a road.  There are no raised kerbs but there are bollards to contain the cars, so it's not exactly a stealth crossing.

I see the yacf collective have been busy posting comments...

[Regulator]

Interestingly, they all assume she stepped out without looking.  Her letter doesn't actually say that or that she assumed nothing would be coming...









...although she probably didn't look, as she was too busy on her mobile phone or had her diePod killing off her brain cells.

[Adrian]

Interestingly, they all assume she stepped out without looking.  Her letter doesn't actually say that or that she assumed nothing would be coming...

You are right. Perhaps she was in fact playing chicken and is a poor looser.

[Regulator]

Interestingly, they all assume she stepped out without looking.  Her letter doesn't actually say that or that she assumed nothing would be coming...

You are right. Perhaps she was in fact playing chicken and is a poor looser.

[Devil's Advocate Hat On]

Perhaps the cyclist was at fault...

Maybe he had jumped a red light, was on the wrong side of the road or was simply not watching what was happening around him.  It isn't unknown.

[Devil's Advocate Hat Off]



I'm afraid that there is insufficient evidence from the lady's letter to draw a definitive conclusion.

[Jaded]

...he probably had cards in his spokes too..

[Ezwoldo]

but let be honest there are some really bad cyclist on the road of late and maybe this guy is one of them but to ban cyclist on a road is just a bit stupid. 

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Well, if she was looking, she knowingly stepped out into the road in front of a cyclist. I'm not sure that's any better.

[RainOrShine]

Interestingly, they all assume she stepped out without looking.  Her letter doesn't actually say that or that she assumed nothing would be coming...


...although she probably didn't look, as she was too busy on her mobile phone or had her diePod killing off her brain cells.

True enough, but her letter does say

perhaps the streets could be made to allow motor vehicles only as at least one can hear them coming

This implies to me that she could hear no cars coming and assumed wrongly that all was clear.

[Greenbank]

True enough, but her letter does say

perhaps the streets could be made to allow motor vehicles only as at least one can hear them coming

This implies to me that she could hear no cars coming and assumed wrongly that all was clear.

Ban the Toyota Prius, G-Wiz and other near-silent hybrid or electric cars!

[gonzo]

It's a one way road and generally has slow moving traffic travelling along it.

Google Maps

As a pedestrian when I cross it, there's always people just stepping out in front of traffic, but the traffic expects it.

[Gattopardo]

It not my fault, so it must be the cyclists Yes the whole world revolves around me

[Maladict]

True enough, but her letter does say

perhaps the streets could be made to allow motor vehicles only as at least one can hear them coming

This implies to me that she could hear no cars coming and assumed wrongly that all was clear.

Ban the Toyota Prius, G-Wiz and other near-silent hybrid or electric cars!

Fixed that for you