Drivers "scared" by so many cyclists on a Sunday

QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling "overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull

On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling "overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull

Good job cycling has declined drastically since 1948.

On 18/10/2015 22:36, David Lang wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling
"overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He
said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the
roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull


Good job cycling has declined drastically since 1948.

It's obvious to everyone except you, that in 1948 very few people could
afford cars, the main mode of transport was either horses

On 19/10/2015 10:10, Bod wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:36, David Lang wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling
"overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He
said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the
roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull



Good job cycling has declined drastically since 1948.

It's obvious to everyone except you, that in 1948 very few people could
afford cars, the main mode of transport was either horses or bicycles for
the common man.

On 19/10/2015 10:26, Bod wrote:
On 19/10/2015 10:10, Bod wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:36, David Lang wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling
"overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He
said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the
roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull




Good job cycling has declined drastically since 1948.

It's obvious to everyone except you, that in 1948 very few people could
afford cars, the main mode of transport was either horses or bicycles for
the common man.

So is today's general level of affluence higher or lower than it was in
1948?

On 19/10/2015 13:15, JNugent wrote:
On 19/10/2015 10:26, Bod wrote:
On 19/10/2015 10:10, Bod wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:36, David Lang wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling
"overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He
said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the
roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull





Good job cycling has declined drastically since 1948.

It's obvious to everyone except you, that in 1948 very few people could
afford cars, the main mode of transport was either horses or bicycles
for
the common man.

So is today's general level of affluence higher or lower than it was in
1948?

Most definitely, especially as you consider that rationing was still
being used for food etc. Very few could afford a TV, only the fairly
well off could afford a car. A telephone was regarded as a luxury.
I was born in 1948 and my parents couldn't afford a tv or a phone
untill I was about 13 yrs old. A car was simply out of the question.
I remember most other residents in our street being in a similar situation.

On Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:26:49 +0100, Bod wrote:

It's obvious to everyone except you, that in 1948 very few people could
afford cars, the main mode of transport was either horses or bicycles for
the common man.

Cycling in the UK actually peaked in 1934. So did the construction of
cycling infrastructure. In 1934 11 cyclists a week were being killed
on London's roads. Hore-Belisha (of beacon fame) introduced a number
of safety measures one of which was a number of dedicated cycling
tracks including one continuous for 2.5 miles alongside the A40
(Western Avenue). Even by modern standards it wasn't bad.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/ne...e-track-opened

Unfortunately there was vehement opposition to these tracks and any
other form of cycling infrastructure. The opposition came from not
from motorists or pedestrians but from cyclists. The CTC in
particular opposed them as they feared they would lead to cyclists
being removed from roads where cycling infrastructure existed.

As Chris Peck from the CTC says

" in 1934 the CTC was dead against cycle tracks of all kinds, even
this one [Western Way]. We were still very much of the mind that we
should try and recapture the roads from the motorists, so the
construction of cycle tracks was seen as defeat. Indeed, the CTC
suggested an alternative, "motorways" – built only for cars – leaving
the rest of the road network for cyclists to continue to use. The CTC
eventually got its wish: the motorways were built and led to a flood
of more cars onto the old roads, making them even more hostile for
cyclists."

"One problem was that "the thin end of the wedge" argument against
cycle infrastructure just kept being used, and used, and used,
doggedly, by British cyclists, long after it had become irrelevant.
Long after thick or thin wedges or wedges of any description had been
rendered totally irrelevant by the fact that cycling had been
virtually eliminated from the roads anyway, British cyclists kept
talking like this – and some still do."

"The resistance to cycle-specific infrastructure displayed by British
cyclists, and particularly by the CTC, as the largest body
representing their interests, during the mid-20th century, proved a
spectacular own goal. As cycling numbers dwindled and pressure to
create more space for motor traffic grew, the fact that cyclists did
not seem to want their own space proved very convenient for
politicians. Cyclists did not want the tracks such as the ones on the
A40, or so the CTC told the government. So they were eliminated to
make more space for cars. "

On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling "overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull


This "scared" business is a funny thing.

I remember my niece at about 5 years old telling me she was scared of
spiders.

She was holding a spider by its leg at the time, whilst she pulled its
other legs off, it struck me that the spider was probably a lot more
"scared" of her.

I think some people are unable to see things from the other person's
perspective.

On Monday, 19 October 2015 12:11:24 UTC+1, Nick wrote:
On 18/10/2015 22:26, Alycidon wrote:
QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling "overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull


This "scared" business is a funny thing.

I remember my niece at about 5 years old telling me she was scared of
spiders.

She was holding a spider by its leg at the time, whilst she pulled its
other legs off, it struck me that the spider was probably a lot more
"scared" of her.

I think some people are unable to see things from the other person's
perspective.

Apparently, I have heard of some drivers being scared by hand gestures whilst being inside a 1.5 tonne tin box. Fear can come from many benign sources.

On Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:26:46 -0700 (PDT)
Alycidon wrote:

QUOTE:

"One Surrey resident referred to a rapid growth in cycling
"overtaking" the roads on Sundays, with driving very difficult. He
said some residents are too scared to drive on Sundays because the
roads are so packed with people on bikes."

http://road.cc/content/news/169205-n...a-wearers-dull

It seems to me that they lack confidence in their ability to drive
safely and legally under certain conditions. When they're worried by
volume or type of traffic all they have to do is get off and push.
;-)