Do you know this man? If so, you might soon be going to a funeral. His.
This is an appeal on behalf of a fellow cyclist, who tragically appears to have a very short life expectancy.
I am very concerned for his welfare. If he continues in the vein he’s going, he’s not going to last long at all.
I spotted the cyclist in question on my homeward commute on Wednesday, 12th September 2012. It was about 5:45pm, and as I was waiting behind a taxi in the bus/cycle lane of the A461 out of town, he passed both me and the taxi on the inside, proceeding to blow the lights on red and cross the junction.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he continued to cycle on the inside of vehicles all the way up the Lichfield Road to Walsall Wood. He hopped on and off the pavement at will, never once looked behind him and seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around him. He had no lights when visibility was very poor, and seems ignorant of the rules of the road. I think he’s from the Brownhills area, as that’s the direction he headed off in.
My apologies for the video quality: it was raining quite hard. Click through and watch the video fullscreen at YouTube if you can’t see it very well. That’s the icon bottom righthand corner.
It’s OK though, because he’s wearing a helmet, and everyone knows, they make you immortal. Personally, I’m beginning to see a correlation between riding like an absolute twat and wearing a lid…
This not the recklessness of a young man, he’s in his forties I’d tenure. If you know him, or indeed, if you are this cyclist, study the clip. This kind of idiocy gets all cyclists a bad name. I drew parallel to you at Navvie’s Bridge, and what I actually shouted was ‘You’re going to get yourself f**king killed, you idiot!’ – I stand by this. If you know this man, please give him a clue.
Road use of this level of inconsideration and stupidity will cost you. Please sort it, for all our sakes…
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What a cock-end.
I can’t figure out why he’d do that. It’s barely saving any time. Plonker.
pretty sure it was the same guy I saw earlier on the morning going the opposite way when he jumped the red light at the arboretum
Absolutely Shocking :s i just cannot believe what i have just witnessed. This is the kind of people that make drivers Tar us with the same brush.
Personally, I’m beginning to see a correlation between riding like an absolute twat and wearing a lid…
Possibly all the helmetless twats are dead ??? #justsaying
Oh dear, the helmet lobby are testy this evening.
Suggesting there’s a correlation is not the same as saying ‘all helmet wearers are twats’ – but you know that.
The hard facts are that helmets have no measurable effect on head injury rates. You want to wear one, fine, wear it.
However, there’s an interesting phenomena called ‘risk compensation’ you may want to look at, particularly the work Dr. Ian Walker at Bristol university.
Cheers
Bob
Unbelievable…and thanks for letting me know that I’m an absolute twat!
An other idiot willing to take him self out of the gene pool. Trouble is its the poor sod in the big lump of metal that will get the blame!
Hi Barry
Can I just parse that for a moment, please?
‘The poor sod in the big lump of metal that will get the blame’
I’ll just stop there, as my eyes are a little damp.
There is no real world evidence to suggest that is even the case. Are you aware of just how hard it is to get the cops to act on even the most severe cycle/car accidents?
http://brownhillsbob.com/2012/04/23/cyclists-west-midlands-police-dont-care-about-you/
One of the saddest things about Aiden’s case (the same Aiden as above who’s suffering a sensitive helmet) is that it wasn’t atypical. You can pretty much murder someone on a bike with a car, and walk away Scott free.
Hell, you can kill 4 in one go driving a vehicle with bald tyres and only pay a £180 quid fine and get six points.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/fatal-journey-the-story-of-a-cycling-tragedy-412717.html
As to the balance of blame in accidents, statistically it runs in proportion with size; the larger the road user the more likely they are to be at fault. That’s born out in official stats. I see appalling driving every time I’m out, and most often it’s the most vulnerable who suffer most. In northern Europe, where insurance is approached more sensibly than here, the insurance and legal system is based on that fact.
The fact remains that the twat above is most danger to himself, on balance. The same mentality behind the wheel – the poor sod in the big lump of metal – is a huge danger to everyone else.
I’ve said it loads: there aren’t good/bad groups on the roads: there are good road users, and bad, whatever the transport medium. A nobend on a bike will be a nobend in a car.
Sorry, Barry, I’m just not feeling that one.
For anyone interested in the helmet debate, theres lots of stuff over at http://www.cyclehelmets.org – it’s nowhere near as clear cut as one may imagine. You want to wear a helmet? absolutely fine, I have no problem with that. Just don’t force me to, or treat me like an idiot because I’m not.
I’m of the view that the money spent on helmets were spent on road education, we’d all be in a safer place.
I will not be drawn further on the helmet debate.
Cheers
Bob
What about you overtaking on the outside fair enough but not in a lane that is marked for turning right and going straight on
Heh. I overtake on the outside, as the Highway Code and Cyclecraft assert, because there I have space if anyone does anything daft. I then re-enter the traffic to my left near the head of the queue.
Think about it: If I went straight ahead from a right-turn lane to conflict with traffic to my left would be dangerous to me. I would never do that.
I leave that kind of lark to the motorists, who regularly do that at Rushall Square, to face conflict outside the Spar.
Nice try.
Bob
Here’s my position when I crossed the junction, just to clear it up.
HI Bob
thank you for bringing this potentially dangerous incident to your blog. The Latest Highway Code makes interesting reading. The part for cyclists, especially sections , 68, 69 and 71..show which three laws are being broken in this case. Section 59 gives good advice regarding conspicuity…
cheers
David
Dicing with death at the Arboretum seems to be a right of passage for many cyclists. Red lights mean nothing. My dad always said I needed to obey the Highway Code whilst cycling, so it worries me driving around today the daft stunts I see some guys get up to.
I was coming from the direction of the Wharf recently in lane to go up Lower Rushall Street in busy lunchtime traffic, for an ambulance to come piling behind the queue with blue & two’s blaring. The 2 cars in front & to the side managed to squeeze across, but I have nowhere to go. My split decision to make the room was to pile through the gap as speed & pull over, to which I got an appreciative toot from the ambulance driver. Then followed an almightly bollocking from a woman on a Vespa. Some people just don’t know how to react in an emergency situaiton!
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