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.
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