Wednesday Wonderings: Cyclists vs Drivers

I am a cyclist, but I make sure that I abide by the Highway code.  I read it before cycling at university because I was never on the roads before without my dad with me.

There is currently a war between cyclists and drivers, both saying that it's the other's fault for causing accidents.  Now, I don't ride my bike outside the university grounds because I'm too scared that I'll get hit.  I wear a helmet at all times, and usually gloves.  Most cyclists I see don't even wear a helmet and sometimes even wear their headphones!

Cyclists wonder why they get hurt, and I have seen, plenty of times, cyclists jump red lights.  They are there for a reason!  There has even been made a specific area at the top of the traffic light queue for cyclists to wait.  And many cyclists don't indicate, don't stay single file by the curb, and don't go into the correct lane when they are coming up to a junction.  It annoys me also that cyclists ride on the pavements instead of the roads because they are scared of getting hit.  Unless it is stated that the pavement is for both cyclists and pedestrians, you can't ride on it.  You have a chance of knocking someone over.

Most drivers don't really help the situation too much either though.  Like cyclists, they will jump the lights (though not as often as cyclists), don't indicate and go into the incorrect lane.  Some drivers even forget that they have mirrors attached to their cars.

Now Scotland are trying to enforce a new law where the driver is always at fault if they hit a cyclist, but that isn't fair if the driver has been abiding by the rules and the cyclist hasn't.  My dad was in a traffic jam, moved about 3 inches into the other lane to go a different way (he was going about 3 mph), and a motorcyclist hit him.  Luckily, my dad wasn't charged with anything, but it's this problem that could cause innocent people to get points on their license or even end up in jail.

So there is no winner, because both cyclists and drivers are to blame.

Exciting Updates

I walked 10km on Saturday with my dad and raised over £300 for Crohn's and Colitis UK and FORTH. I'm really proud of myself because I didn't stop once, and my dad thought I was going to on the final hill (I would call it a mountain).  We did it in 2 hours and 25 minutes and managed to finished just before the rain decided to fall.

It was also my dad's 60th birthday on Monday.  I can't believe he's 60!  You wouldn't think it if you met him.  He has too much energy for someone who is meant to be 60.  We (my mum, sister and I) got him a microlight experience and he should really enjoy that as it's his kind of thing.  We ate a lot of food over the weekend in celebration (we went out on Saturday, Sunday and Monday).  But alas, I could not eat any of the cake :(

Wednesday Wonderings: Travelling with Headphones On

This is something you probably see every day - someone with their headphones on listening to music while walking around. Are people so anti-social these days that they can't go for an x minute walk without listening to music or even an audio book? And, not to forget, it's rather dangerous because you have little awareness of your surroundings, no matter how carefully you look around when crossing the road.

It's not just people walking around but I've seen cyclists and drivers wear them too. Cyclists need to be extra careful because they are on the road with little protection on (especially as many people don't wear helmets anymore) surrounded by heavy metal boxes going faster than them. And drivers with headphones in is just stupidity. What happens if something goes wrong with your car but you could have prevented it because you heard it before it got worse? Or if an emergency vehicle is coming up but you don't see them?

What's worse is when you can hear someone's music from across the road. That person clearly doesn't want to hear anything in a few years time.