TV viewing tonight at 9pm

[andy slow coach]

I'm not sure if it's going to be any good but it might be worth watching, dont know if any pedelecs will be on but it's about cycling and motorists on UK roads.

The War on Britain's Roads
BBC1 London 9:00pm-10:00pm , Wed 5 Dec

Documentary offering an insight into the daily conflict between the 34 million motorists and 12 million cyclists as they compete for the same crowded space on the UK's roads. Cycle helmet cameras provide a close-up view of the unfolding tension and conflict as everyday incidents get out of hand, collisions take place and police on bikes chase down errant road-users.

 

[andy slow coach]

Interesting viewing, don't know where all this anger comes from but I've never come across anything like this. Have you?

But all is not what it seems. Some Of it is professional footage.

 

[jumpin]

Lucas Brunell is an *******

 

[Scimitar]

Lucas Brunell is an *******

I say, that's no way to talk about him.
His name has an 'e' at the end.
Lucas Brunelle is an *******, if you please.

 

[103Alex1]

Interesting viewing, don't know where all this anger comes from but I've never come across anything like this. Have you?

Witnessed it in London (and a couple of times in Oxford) - a city thing, really. Pumped-up people in a hurry to meet deadlines they can't reasonably meet and incentivised / rewarded for taking risks, which they carry forward into all aspects of their lives. Recipe for tears. The taxi drivers are just a pain in the a*se - whole world doesn't have to give way just because they want to get another fare in and try to prove they're the fastest way from A to B.

Also, the fact a load of drivers (and I dare say some cyclists) these days are either high on coke or sore that they aren't (and for a given distance there are more in big cities) ... I'll carry on living in the sticks. Thanks very much.

 

[Scimitar]

I've.... seen things you pedalpushers wouldn't believe
Shoulder bags on fire outside the Barbican,
Claud Butlers sinking in the Thames by London Bridge,
All this will be lost, like cycle couriers in the rain, as you run over them.
Time to recharge the lipos.

 

[Gdread]

Witnessed it in London (and a couple of times in Oxford) - a city thing, really. Pumped-up people in a hurry to meet deadlines they can't reasonably meet and incentivised / rewarded for taking risks, which they carry forward into all aspects of their lives. Recipe for tears. The taxi drivers are just a pain in the a*se - whole world doesn't have to give way just because they want to get another fare in and try to prove they're the fastest way from A to B.

I completely agree, its a clash of the worst. One of many reasons why we moved out of the city several years ago

 

[Willin']

I've.... seen things you pedalpushers wouldn't believe
Shoulder bags on fire outside the Barbican,
Claud Butlers sinking in the Thames by London Bridge,
All this will be lost, like cycle couriers in the rain, as you run over them.
Time to recharge the lipos.

Yeah, it's a shame they wont run forever - but then again whose does?

 

[eddieo]

city twice as safe as the country! safety in numbers and witnesses!

 

[devon_skylark]

I live in south Devon and ride an ordinary bike and an electric bike and I only ever receive courtesy and kindness from other road users. Often when I am climbing a hill up onto Dartmoor on single track roads, the drivers will wait in a passing place waiting until I have climbed past them so I don't have to stop and restart on the hill.

Having often ridden in London, towns and the countryside, the latter is a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.

City drivers please note.

 

[Scimitar]

I live in south Devon and ride an ordinary bike and an electric bike and I only ever receive courtesy and kindness from other road users. Often when I am climbing a hill up onto Dartmoor on single track roads, the drivers will wait in a passing place waiting until I have climbed past them so I don't have to stop and restart on the hill.

Having often ridden in London, towns and the countryside, the latter is a breath of fresh air in more ways than one.

City drivers please note.

It's the same around here - in the main, the ass holes drive Dublin registered vehicles.

 

[andy slow coach]

If you missed it you can see it again, here.

Available until 9:59PM Wed, 12 Dec 2012

 

[dmcgoldrick]

watched the programme which conveyed very mixed messages........the lady who had lost her daughter and put all her energy into trying to make the roads safer for cycling had to be admired for her determination. the behaviour of both motorists and cyclists in london was incredible in terms of the degree of 'road rage'.............. what a crazy place to encounter on a daily basis......... not a place i would want to cycle......looked very dangerous to me.......very bad publicity for cycling in my view......
regards

 

[johnc461165]

IDIOTS ON BIKES IDIOTS IN CARS I use both.

 

[eddieo]

watched the programme which conveyed very mixed messages........the lady who had lost her daughter and put all her energy into trying to make the roads safer for cycling had to be admired for her determination. the behaviour of both motorists and cyclists in london was incredible in terms of the degree of 'road rage'.............. what a crazy place to encounter on a daily basis......... not a place i would want to cycle......looked very dangerous to me.......very bad publicity for cycling in my view......
regards

6 weeks in Italy/Croatia this summer and no problem. Back in London by day 3 2 near misses and shouting matches.

Two things: the perception of cyclists as annoying and having the audacity to hold you up. And commercial drivers under increasing pressure, racing against the clock to keep their jobs. When I come back from holidays there is a real feeling of aggression and As the economy shrinks its going to get worse.....life simply getting more difficult and people more edgy and a vulnerable cyclist in the way a very easy target to vent your frustrations on...

Re the film, the flash point for many incidents where pinch points due to traffic islands, they should be removed and replaced with proper crossings. If you have pinch points bikes should have own pass point to the right. Cycling is the future after all

 

[carpetbagger]

Two things: the perception of cyclists as annoying and having the audacity to hold you up. And commercial drivers under increasing pressure, racing against the clock to keep their jobs. When I come back from holidays there is a real feeling of aggression and As the economy shrinks its going to get worse.....life simply getting more difficult and people more edgy and a vulnerable cyclist in the way a very easy target to vent your frustrations on...

What the F are you on about ?
when i am on my bike i hate f cars !
when i am in my car, i hate f bikes !
when i am shopping or at work i hat f everybody !
and i have no f money !

back in the room now....everyone ok

 

[jazper53]

What the F are you on about ?
when i am on my bike i hate f cars !
when i am in my car, i hate f bikes !
when i am shopping or at work i hat f everybody !
and i have no f money !

back in the room now....everyone ok

A man for all seasons, and we all know what happened to him...................

 

[Geebee]

I thought it was a reasonably balanced view, they made it clear that the Courier race at the end was just that.
I would have liked them to point out that a car even lightly touching a bike can kill the rider.

The other thing to take into account is that the footage they used was probably taken from a few years showing boring rides with little conflict.

 

[RobF]

I rode Boris Bikes in London for a few days this summer and had very little bother.

It was between the two Olympics and traffic generally was quiet, which I think made the difference.

The average driver was less inclined to lose his temper when I weaved past him because his nerves had not been frayed by previous hours stuck in traffic.

But nastiness is probably never far from the surface, a white van man swore at me for the offence of delaying him a second when I failed to pull away the instant the lights turned green.

 

[Ajax]

One debate following the program...

Force cyclists to register their bikes and get a licence before using the roads

With a BBC documentary sticking its oar into the bike v car debate Ashley Winston says he’d like to see cyclists adhering to the same standards forced on motorists… By ashley.winston 05/12/2012 17:06

Force cyclists to register their bikes and get a licence before using the roads Socialvoices on MSN Cars UK