From: rob@icarus.inmos.co.uk (Robin Pickering)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc,uk.transport
Subject: Re: A Quick Survey
Date: 25 Jan 93 14:56:59 GMT
Reply-To: rob@inmos.co.uk (Robin Pickering)
Distribution: uk
Organization: INMOS Limited, Bristol, UK

I widened the distribution of this thread to uk.transport seeing as
it would probably be of some interest (anything has to be more
interesting than the perennial "why speed limits are an evil idea" thread).

In article <11432@baird.cs.strath.ac.uk>, dmarsh@cs.strath.ac.uk (David R Marsh CS91) Says:
> 
> Do you cycle on roads at all?

More or less exclusively.

> 
> Do you cycle on major roads at all?

Yes.

> 
> Do you cycle on major roads (especially dual carriageways) outwith towns?

Yes, my commute into work consists of the full spectrum of roads:

   Sleepy country lanes where the only hazards are the occasional
   pot hole and getting up so late that I get stuck behind a herd of
   cows for a mile.

   Small rural town stuffed full of dithery incompetent drivers competing
   for parking spaces or trying to pull out of hideous junctions with a six
   pack of screaming kids in the back of the car.

   Single/dual in places carriage way trunk road (A38 North of Bristol)

   Above A road at its triple carriage way confluence with the M4/M5 interchange
   slip roads.

> 
> What do you think of the attitude of car (bus etc) drivers?

In general fairly good around here in terms of intent (i.e few maliciously 
dangerous drivers). In general I reckon the following, faced with a tricky
marginal decision (e.g. whether to overtake near a blind bend or whether
to pull out of a junction when there is questionable time):

   one in 100 road users will do something careless which puts me in danger
   one in 1000 will do something reckless which puts me in considerable
   danger.


In most cases this is fairly benign
in that it is usually obvious what is happening and I have space
to counter the maneuver or plan an escape route. Almost always the
maneuver is due to ignorance and incompetence, I know this because I
always make a point of chasing down the offending vehicle at the next
junction or set of lights and pointing out forcefully but politely the
error of the road users ways. In nearly all cases this is met with
embarrassment or apology "I didn't realise...". In the one or two where
the driver is prepared to argue that his recklessness was justified
(I say "his" because they always are), then simply making an obvious
note of the cars registration number tends to subdue the argument.

> 
> Do you think cyclists get enough respect?

Probably not, but I think that this is just a general symptom of 
the fact that driving a potentially lethal machine in a public
place is not treated with enough care and respect by significant
proportion (majority?) of drivers.

> 
> Do you feel safe cycling on roads?

In general, Yes.

There are places where I feel safer than when I am driving because I
feel more aware of what other road users are doing and my bike is more
maneuverable.

There are other places where I feel less safe e.g. trying to get to the
right turn lane of a dual carriageway with 60mph motorway sliproads
merging all over the place.

> 
> Do you think enough is done to improve conditions for cyclists?

In terms of making roads safer, not just for cyclists; no where near enough.

In terms of "recreational" bike paths and the like, far too much.

> ...and how do you think this should be done (cycleways, cycle lanes, or what)?

A change in society's attitude towards careless and dangerous driving.
I'd like to see the rigid enforcement of laws which already exist and
were designed to make road use by all classes of vehicles safe.

e.g.:

   On my route to work there is a section of the A38 which has two lanes
in one direction and one in the other with double white "no overtaking"
lines between them. This section is on a bend at the bottom of a hill
where there is little visibility to safely overtake, hence the double
white lines. The area is only around 300m long and is in a 40 mph limit.
I am generally cycling at around 20mph through here and 100% of following
vehicles will overtake me. To do this they have to cross the line and
partially enter the other lane.
This often creates a predictable but dangerous situation when they are
suddenly faced with two vehicles coming towards them in the opposite
lane.

This is all of course completely illegal and each of these drivers
should be facing 10 points + large fine under the new Road Traffic
Act for dangerous driving. Some chance, but what really irks me is
when one of the vehicles is a police patrol vehicle who would rather
risk lives than be delayed for ~20 secs.

> 
> What is your normal mode of transport?

50/50 Bike/Car

I use the bike most of the time for traveling to work (14 miles each way)
And the car for when I have to travel long distances or carry heavy objects
or just don't feel like cycling.

> 
> How do you transport your bike (when not actually cycling!)?

Train, Plane.

> Are you a member of a cycle club or campaign group?
> 

Cyclists Touring Club.

> What do you think of current transport policy?

Stinks (literally).

> 
> Do you think that bike carriage on trains is important?

Very important. Bike+Train is a very efficient way of seeing the 
country.

> 
> What are the main uses of your bike?

Commuting, Weekend (Recreational) Rides , Long Summer Bike Tours. Both
of the latter including some mild off-road stuff.

> 
> What sort of bike(s) do you have (mountain bike, recumbent, racer etc)?

Mine:

commuting bike (an old tourer)
touring bike (a new tourer)

Alisons:

touring bike (gets used for commuting, weekend and tours)
mountain bike (not been used for years, sits rusting in a 
               corner 'cos for everything she used it for
               the tourer is better).

> 
> What do you think of law-breaking cyclists?

Stupid, ignorant and dangerous (but not half as dangerous as if they
were in control of half a ton of metal).

I do have some sympathy for the predicament of inexperienced cyclists
who use pavements to avoid dangerous situations on the roads.
Whilst I don't condone this, it is a consequence of the way that
driving habits have been allowed to make many roads seem dangerous
to occasional cyclists

The only way to change this is to make sure that transport and policing
policies send the message to these cyclists that they own the road every
bit as much as their car driving counterparts.

> 
> (And I suppose I have to ask) do you wear a helmet?

Yes.

--
   Rob.
From: richd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Rich Davis)
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 17:30:54 GMT
Subject: Suspension Question
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA