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84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

From Daily Mail.

Tory baroness, 84, uses handbag to whack cyclist who jumped a red
light

By James Mills
Last updated at 21:57pm on 14th January 2008

Hurtling through the traffic, the cyclist probably thought he had got
away with jumping a red light and nearly knocking over an elderly
woman.

But the pedestrian in question was 84-year-old Tory peer Baroness
Sharples who perhaps inspired by Lady Thatcher, swiftly delivered her
own form of retribution.

The veteran peeress swung her handbag and landed a sharp blow to the
cyclist as he whizzed past outside the House of Lords.

And she said her only regret was that she didn't hit him harder.

She added that cyclists were becoming an increasing menace to
pedestrians by ignoring traffic signals such as red lights and riding
on pavements.

And she called on cycling groups to do more to encourage courteous
behaviour on the roads.

Her comments reinforced calls for laws requiring cyclists to put
registration plates on their bikes.

Lady Sharples said she had narrowly avoided being knocked down by
cyclists three times in London.

Describing the most recent incident, she said: "I had a bag and I
swiped him. I did not hit him hard enough. They are a ruddy nuisance.

"I know they need to get to work and a lot of them behave properly,
but there are an increasing number that just don't obey the lights and
it's not fair on pedestrians."

The widowed baroness, whose first husband Sir Richard Sharples, former
Tory MP for Sutton and Cheam, was assassinated while serving as
Governor The Enema Within Bermuda in 1973, suggested a licensing
scheme for cyclists but conceded that such a law might not be
workable.

"It's up to cycling organisations - they should tell their members,"
she said.

"Laws have got to be good. If they don't work they are worse than
useless."

Lady Sharples said she believed male cyclists were more likely to be a
menace. "Women do, in general, stop at the lights when they see
somebody crossing."

She raised the issue in the House of Lords during a debate on road
safety.

She asked the government's transport spokesman Lord Bassam: "Can the
Minister say whether I am within my rights when, at a pedestrian
crossing, a cyclist rides straight at me when I have the lights in my
favour?

"I swiped one with a bag the other day. Would I be in trouble?"

Lord Bassam replied: "I will be careful on this. I am a great admirer
of the noble baroness, and I think she probably did the right thing."

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has sought to clamp down on dangerous
cyclists with police issuing £60-on-the-spot fines for riding on
pavements or jumping lights.

Tory MP Mark Pritchard urged ministers to consider a registration
plate system for bikes to make it easier to identify cyclists riding
dangerously.

He said: "Cyclist etiquette would improve if they could no longer
remain anonymous."

84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

| 84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

=v= Where was this woman when we needed her? By which I mean,
when the Shrub was riding amok in Merrie Olde and ran into a
bobbie?
_Jym_
("That kind of thing makes all of us look bad.")

84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

On Jan 30, 2:06*am, (Bill Z.) wrote:
Tom Sherman writes:
aka Mark Pritchard wrote:

What about all the pedestrians who endanger cyclists by wandering out
into the roadway with all the sense of a beheaded chicken? When will
the authorities crack down on this menace?

I've seen worse. *One time some guy was running down the bike lane (he
was running in the opposite direction as traffic), ignoring a
perfectly good sidewalk, saw me, and immediately jumped to his right
to put himself right smack in my path. Between him and some parked
cars, the whole lane was suddenly blocked.

That's beyond clueless. Given the near accident he caused, I expressed
my displeasure in no uncertain terms. *Fortunately I manged to stop
before hitting him or having to swerve into a lane with a possibility
of overtaking traffic.

It's not clear what you do to avoid someone when you've just seen them
purposely jump into your path. *BTW, the sidewalk was completely empty.

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

It's perfectly clear what to do - Manual.

84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

" writes:

On Jan 30, 2:06Â*am, (Bill Z.) wrote:
Tom Sherman writes:
aka Mark Pritchard wrote:

What about all the pedestrians who endanger cyclists by wandering out
into the roadway with all the sense of a beheaded chicken? When will
the authorities crack down on this menace?

I've seen worse. Â*One time some guy was running down the bike lane (he
was running in the opposite direction as traffic), ignoring a
perfectly good sidewalk, saw me, and immediately jumped to his right
to put himself right smack in my path. Between him and some parked
cars, the whole lane was suddenly blocked.

That's beyond clueless. Given the near accident he caused, I expressed
my displeasure in no uncertain terms. Â*Fortunately I manged to stop
before hitting him or having to swerve into a lane with a possibility
of overtaking traffic.

It's not clear what you do to avoid someone when you've just seen them
purposely jump into your path. Â*BTW, the sidewalk was completely empty.

It's perfectly clear what to do - Manual.

The problem is that, if he had just jumped in front of you after seeing
you, swerving to get by him might not work as he might just jump into
your path again. I had just enough time to stop, but if he had jumped
into my path a tad later, that wouldn't have been possible.

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB

84-Year-Old Woman Whacks Red-Light-Running Cyclist with Handbag

On Jan 30, 4:45 pm, (Bill Z.) wrote:
" writes:
On Jan 30, 2:06 am, (Bill Z.) wrote:
Tom Sherman writes:
aka Mark Pritchard wrote:

What about all the pedestrians who endanger cyclists by wandering out
into the roadway with all the sense of a beheaded chicken? When will
the authorities crack down on this menace?

I've seen worse. One time some guy was running down the bike lane (he
was running in the opposite direction as traffic), ignoring a
perfectly good sidewalk, saw me, and immediately jumped to his right
to put himself right smack in my path. Between him and some parked
cars, the whole lane was suddenly blocked.

That's beyond clueless. Given the near accident he caused, I expressed
my displeasure in no uncertain terms. Fortunately I manged to stop
before hitting him or having to swerve into a lane with a possibility
of overtaking traffic.

It's not clear what you do to avoid someone when you've just seen them
purposely jump into your path. BTW, the sidewalk was completely empty.

It's perfectly clear what to do -Manual.

The problem is that, if he had just jumped in front of you after seeing
you, swerving to get by him might not work as he might just jump into
your path again. I had just enough time to stop, but if he had jumped
into my path a tad later, that wouldn't have been possible.

--
My real name backwards: nemuaZ lliB- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Are you familiar with what a manual is? For those not aware, a manual
is basically riding a wheelie, but done purely by balance and without
the assistance of pedaling. It's the fastest way through many
obstacles on the BMX track, especially if you don't have the speed or
skill to jump said obstacle.

The idea behind my statement involves a collision with the pedestrian
who just violated your right of way with malicious intent, and coming
out on top, if you'll pardon the pun.