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#1
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
I was talking to a motorist today discussing a junction where the
council have installed traffic lights where they are not required resulting in long peak hour tailbacks. I learned she spent 25 minutes in her car on a journey of 2 miles every morning. So I suggested why not cycle. From the look I got I might as well have suggested cycling to the moon. Her journey would involve largely a well lit and well surfaced cycle path and canal bank or quiet streets. Would be 10 minutes maximum. No big hills. And be less than half the time taken in her car. And would not involve the parking problems at work she had also complained about. So if people are prepared to sit in their cars for twice as long as it would take to cycle the goverment might as well forget targets for cycle use. It's not going to happen. Iain |
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#2
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
iarocu wrote:
I was talking to a motorist today discussing a junction where the council have installed traffic lights where they are not required resulting in long peak hour tailbacks. I learned she spent 25 minutes in her car on a journey of 2 miles every morning. So I suggested why not cycle. From the look I got I might as well have suggested cycling to the moon. Her journey would involve largely a well lit and well surfaced cycle path and canal bank or quiet streets. Would be 10 minutes maximum. No big hills. And be less than half the time taken in her car. And would not involve the parking problems at work she had also complained about. So if people are prepared to sit in their cars for twice as long as it would take to cycle the goverment might as well forget targets for cycle use. It's not going to happen. Iain I cannot agree more. You can talk and argue until you are blue in the face but still people will drive just a few hundred yards. They*know* you are right but they cannot make the change. There are always excuses. There is an increase in cycling but mainly of the off-raod type on leisure car-free routes. When talking to a County Road Safety Officer recently it was clear the only targets he was interested in were reducing casualties. If that meant less cyclists on the roads then so what. Cyclists could always drive to the Sustrans type routes. Of course the Leisure Department loves this - greater use of their facilities, but it does not reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. Just look at the number of vehicles that now have bikes strapped to the back of them :-( Indeed such activities may increase car use. "I HAVE to have a car so I can get to the cycle route" Just one of the many excuses. Everytime someone drives they add to the problem. Yes, even driving to cycling events and rallies. People drive from all over the country to York or the New Forest then compalin about the road conditions for cyclists. Get real. IMO there will be a crunch time - it will be when there is no more space and those of us who have not fallen into the car-culture will have the advantage. only problem is taht we may have to take to the pavements :-( I don't think it will be too long coming. John B |
#3
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
"iarocu" wrote
So if people are prepared to sit in their cars for twice as long as it would take to cycle the goverment might as well forget targets for cycle use. It's not going to happen. But since people are prepared to do this, the voices claiming its the gummint's fault that roads are inadequate can be safely ignored. |
#4
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
iarocu wrote:
So if people are prepared to sit in their cars for twice as long .... a guy at work tells of a neighbour who pulls out of her drive into the queue for the school run (big 4x4 obviously) and queues the few hundred yards to the school, then drives the long way home to avoid school traffic. She cant let the little cherubs walk because of the traffic, and she knows it would be quicker to walk with them but she's bought the car so may as well use it .... |
#5
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
JohnB writes:
I cannot agree more. You can talk and argue until you are blue in the face but still people will drive just a few hundred yards. They*know* you are right but they cannot make the change. There are always excuses. This sounds like almost as horrible a generalisation as "cyclists are all lawless lycra louts who hold up traffic and strike terror into the hearts of innocent pedestrians" I can quite believe there are some people like that: I've worked with a few people myself who I don't expect to see on a bike ever in my life (perhaps barring major life-shaking event of the "good morning Mr Smith, the operation seems to have been successful; now make sure you take regular exercise or you won't last to the end of the year"). Doesn't mean _everyone_ is like that, though. The oft-quoted statistic is that cycle use increased 30% in London since the congestion charge was introduced, so clearly at least a year ago there were non-cyclists who weren't completely car-blinded. I doubt the supply is exhausted even now. IMO there will be a crunch time - it will be when there is no more space and those of us who have not fallen into the car-culture will have the advantage. only problem is taht we may have to take to the pavements :-( Yay pedal-powered post-apocalypse scenarios. I should pop into my LBS this weekend sometime and see if they've got any rotating knives I can clip to my spokes. -dan -- "please make sure that the person is your friend before you confirm" |
#6
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
Phil Clarke wrote:
iarocu wrote: So if people are prepared to sit in their cars for twice as long .... a guy at work tells of a neighbour who pulls out of her drive into the queue for the school run (big 4x4 obviously) and queues the few hundred yards to the school, then drives the long way home to avoid school traffic. She cant let the little cherubs walk because of the traffic, and she knows it would be quicker to walk with them but she's bought the car so may as well use it .... There's many a parent around here drives a full 400 yards to take their precious bundles to school,shameful. Sam Salt |
#7
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
Daniel Barlow wrote:
JohnB writes: I cannot agree more. You can talk and argue until you are blue in the face but still people will drive just a few hundred yards. They*know* you are right but they cannot make the change. There are always excuses. This sounds like almost as horrible a generalisation as "cyclists are all lawless lycra louts who hold up traffic and strike terror into the hearts of innocent pedestrians" I don't say *all* people, although IME it would be the vast majority of motorists (including many who also claim to be cyclists). I can quite believe there are some people like that: I've worked with a few people myself who I don't expect to see on a bike ever in my life ...... Doesn't mean _everyone_ is like that, though. IMO there will be a crunch time - it will be when there is no more space and those of us who have not fallen into the car-culture will have the advantage. only problem is taht we may have to take to the pavements :-( Yay pedal-powered post-apocalypse scenarios. I should pop into my LBS this weekend sometime and see if they've got any rotating knives I can clip to my spokes. In days of yore a fellow barrow-boy clubmate had an "attachment" [1] fixed the hub flange of his trike's offside wheel. [1] I'll say no more, but it was pretty lethal to paintwork. John B |
#8
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
JohnB wrote:
Just look at the number of vehicles that now have bikes strapped to the back of them :-( Yeah, the mountain bike wheel sticking out from the side of one of them seemed to come worryingly close to my head on a narrow road the other day. -- Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address) URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/ "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine |
#9
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
Scrumpy Joe:
25 mins to go 2 miles!!! Hell, you could run it faster than that and not break a sweat. Run? Two miles in 25 minutes sounds more like a brisk walk! d. |
#10
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I Give Up (motorists attitude)
Sam Salt:
There's many a parent around here drives a full 400 yards to take their precious bundles to school,shameful. We live less than 150 yards from the school so anything other than walking (or scooting, as is my son's current preferred mode of transport) would be worse than ludicrous. However, I know several of the other parents that live not much further away who drive to school every morning - I know this because often the closest they can park is outside my house, so they end up spending all that time battling the traffic and contributing to the pollution problem just to cut about 100 yards off their walk. Absolutely insane. d. |
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