If you were to pay heed to the comments below any news article about the Highway Code, the building of cycle lanes, clean air zones, or low traffic neighbourhoods you might think that everyone hates cyclists. In fact, unless you have your head in a bucket of sand, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everyone who isn’t on two wheels feels we are responsible for all the ills in the world and therefore all drivers were simply out to get back at us.
Reality
There are complex reasons why cyclists on the road are seen as the enemy, some of them justified, most of them not.
Now, just before you switch off thinking this is going to be one of those tirades about how road tax doesn’t exist, why we don’t need licence plates yah de yah de yah, this isn’t one of those kind of pieces. I’m so tired of these complaints, and all the other common ones about the rule breaking lycra-clad crowd – and I’m sure you are too.
But these arguments are so common place, it does make me wonder how people can live their lives so clueless about how the law in this country works, and ignore all science and evidence presented to them. You get the feeling that they feel it’s a personal conspiracy against them, or even worse, they’ll speak on behalf of the aged or…
