Vigilante Cyclist. Is he the most hated man?

[milquetoast1]

This chaps just been on the Jeremy Vine show, and all the calls have been pretty crazy in response. It prompted Jeremy Vine to respond to one caller "I can't understand why you are so upset about somebody reporting crimes to the police".

 

I'm guessing most people that hate cyclists so much would be first in the line to prosecute a driver that annoyed them.

[aliceBB]

I listened to that show too, and although I'm not generally in favour of people being 'spied upon' i.e. filmed everywhere they go, I found myself agreeing with the cycling guy when he made the following points;

 

1. It's what the traffic police should be doing, but there aren't enough of them, especially for the volume of traffic on our roads today. So this cyclist and others like him are doing a vital job, a bit like Neighbourhood Watch. (The police should pay for each video submitted which leads to a conviction, I reckon!)

 

2. If what he is doing saves only one life, it will have been worth it.

 

It seems to me that we have become so selfish as a society that many of us think we should be able to behave as we please, without being 100% mindful of other people. That attitude isn't great in relatively safe but busy social contexts, such as shopping centres or theme parks or football stadiums, but it is potentially fatal on the roads. Apart from war zones, there are few other situations where so many people are all in control of two tons of dangerous weaponry. For this reason we cannot afford to let people get away with driving irresponsibly - it's literally a question of life and death.

 

If your ego prevents you from believing that it's vital to be considerate and to follow the Highway Code when driving/cycling, then the answer is simple : accept that you will probably be prosecuted sooner or later as a result of other road users (with more social conscience than yourself) filming you being selfish or reckless, or do us all a favour and get off the roads. I realise that for many drivers, adherence to the Highway Code isn't cool - it's almost a badge of honour with some cretins to brag about how many times they have 'got away' with speeding, etc. If it were just their own lives they were endangering, I would angry about it. But it's my life, and my kids' lives and every other road user's.

 

One of the objectors said 'If every cyclist did that, what sort of country would it be?' Well, the obvious answer is a safer one, but the point is that not every cyclist will need to do it, or will even want to. If there are just enough 'vigilantes' filming poor motoring, I predict it will, like speed cameras and mobile breathalyser units, have a positive influence on the standard of the nation's driving.

 

Which can only be a good thing

Edited March 3, 2015 by aliceBB

[skinz]

I listened to that show too, and although I'm not generally in favour of people being 'spied upon' i.e. filmed everywhere they go, I found myself agreeing with the cycling guy when he made the following points;

 

1. It's what the traffic police should be doing, but there aren't enough of them, especially for the volume of traffic on our roads today. So this cyclist and others like him are doing a vital job, a bit like Neighbourhood Watch. (The police should pay for each video submitted which leads to a conviction, I reckon!)

 

2. If what he is doing saves only one life, it will have been worth it.

 

It seems to me that we have become so selfish as a society that many of us think we should be able to behave as we please, without being 100% mindful of other people. That attitude isn't great in relatively safe but busy social contexts, such as shopping centres or theme parks or football stadiums, but it is potentially fatal on the roads. Apart from war zones, there are few other situations where so many people are all in control of two tons of dangerous weaponry. For this reason we cannot afford to let people get away with driving irresponsibly - it's literally a question of life and death.

 

If your ego prevents you from believing that it's vital to be considerate and to follow the Highway Code when driving/cycling, then the answer is simple : accept that you will probably be prosecuted sooner or later as a result of other road users (with more social conscience than yourself) filming you being selfish or reckless, or do us all a favour and get off the roads.

 

One of the objectors said 'If every cyclist did that, what sort of country would it be?' Well, the obvious answer is a safer one, but the point is that not every cyclist will need to do it, or will even want to. If there are just enough 'vigilantes' filming poor motoring, I predict it will, like speed cameras and mobile breathalyser units, have a positive influence on the standard of the nation's driving.

 

Which can only be a good thing

 

Quite. Glad you punctuated vigilante. Some regard him as taking the law into his own hands which is false. The guy who whacked him certainly did, I just hope he ends up before a judge. That'll learn him.

[milquetoast1]

I was the only person in my office supporting this guy initially, but I think I managed to convince a couple to agree with me by the end of the show that arrogant drivers/cyclists are a problem and not people filming them.

 

Somebody piped up with the tired argument that all cyclists should have insurance, but I when I asked why he couldn't really give an answer.

 

I asked how much his car insurance was, and he said £980. I then asked how much would it be if it was just third-party (I knew the answer) and he replied not much less, about £970.

 

This is the point. The expense of motoring insurance is almost entirely due to the third-party risk. The expense of cycling insurance is almost entirely due to the risk of theft. The real actuary risk is probably a few pounds, and you can get it free with some memberships.

 

There is no point to mandatory cycle insurance, except to satisfy the people that hate cyclists.

Edited March 3, 2015 by milquetoast1

[truman]

I was the only person in my office supporting this guy initially, but I think I managed to convince a couple to agree with me by the end of the show that arrogant drivers/cyclists are a problem and not people filming them.

 

Somebody piped up with the tired argument that all cyclists should have insurance, but I when I asked why he couldn't really give an answer.

 

I asked how much his car insurance was, and he said £980. I then asked how much would it be if it was just third-party (I knew the answer) and he replied not much less, about £970.

 

This is the point. The expense of motoring insurance is almost entirely due to the third-party risk. The expense of cycling insurance is almost entirely due to the risk of theft. The real actuary risk is probably a few pounds, and you can get it free with some memberships.

 

There is no point to mandatory cycle insurance, except to satisfy the people that hate cyclists.

 

Genuine question..if cyclists have not had insurance then, as there will have been no claims,how does anyone know what the risk would be?

[milquetoast1]

Genuine question..if cyclists have not had insurance then, as there will have been no claims,how does anyone know what the risk would be?

 

Some cyclists do have insurance.

[truman]

Some cyclists do have insurance.

 

How many..? Very few I'll bet..

[aliceBB]

Quite. Glad you punctuated vigilante. Some regard him as taking the law into his own hands which is false.

 

I always punctuate 'vigilante', regardless of context. It's too loaded a word to be useful!

 

In this context I think 'Guardian Angel of the Road' might be a better description of the cyclist in question.

[JFKvsNixon]

How many..? Very few I'll bet..

 

Some bicycle clubs offer insurance as part of their membership. Also if you've go an expensive bike a lot of cyclists will have accident damage insurance, and there'll be some public liability insurance as part of this.

[milquetoast1]

How many..? Very few I'll bet..

 

Quite a few, because it's given away free with some cycling clubs. It's really really cheap because, well, the third-party death and destruction caused by cyclists is pretty close to zero. It only exists in the heads of people that hate cyclists.