On 06/01/2012 14:25, Mortimer wrote:
"Nick" wrote in message
eb.com...
Additionally (particularly around the city of London) we have seen the
rise of a new generation of affluent cyclist who are unwilling to doff
their caps to what they see as unreasonable laws (red lights, pavement
cycling etc).

So I guess the law will need to catch up by increasing laws limiting car
driver freedoms while at the same time extending more freedoms and
protection to cyclist



Dick Francis said, rather humorously, in his novel "Straight": "If a law
is inconvenient, ignore it - it doesn't apply to you". Cyclists seem to
take this as a code of practice when it comes to rules of the road!

Well that is more a matter of subjective opinion than fact. Car drivers
have always flouted the laws with respect to speeding, parking, etc,
etc. Most cyclists and many pedestrians would argue that car drivers
have been able to get away with huge liberties whilst expecting everyone
else to keep out of their way and look out for their own safety.

When car drivers were drawn from the upper and middle classes this was
accepted by the uk jurisprudence system under the well know "one law for
the rich and one for the poor" rule.

All I was saying is that the transport user wealth profile has changed
and hence expect to see more affluent cyclist expecting the rich/poor
rule to apply to them. Now this may seem dreadfully unfair to you but
given the pollution/deaths and general problems cars cause I think you
would have a great deal of trouble justifying the present status quo in
any kind of objective terms.