Cycling in Sydney Australia
Hey Girls, Apparently You Need to Ride More Manly Like.
full story
To stay in one piece, ladies, cycle like a macho man
Katie Law
Boris Johnson yesterday announced more plans to improve cycling safety in the city
to get killed?
It's a strange and disturbing statistic, especially given that the same set of figures also show that male cyclists have more collisions and
crashes than women, and are also more likely to be seriously injured.
Is there anything that women cyclists can do to reduce their risk, other than waiting for Boris's new measures, which include the possibility of
cyclists being allowed to turn left while the lights are still red, to
become law? The short answer is yes: behave more like a man.
For there's no doubt that by and large a bloke on a bike, like everywhere else in life, is more aggressive, more confident, takes more risks and
goes faster than a woman does. My advice is that, for once, it may pay
to take a leaf out of his macho rulebook.
You have only to wait with a group of fellow cyclists at a light to observe the complete range of gender characteristics. It's the men who park
themselves squarely out in front of the waiting traffic; it's the men
who fly ahead at top speed; it's the men who get into arguments with
drivers. It is also more likely to be the men who shoot the lights,
ride the pavements and squeeze through potentially dangerous traffic
jams. I'm not saying that women don't — but they are less likely to.
While these characteristics hardly constitute a superior moral code of behaviour, they almost certainly go some way towards asserting the
rights of the cyclist to occupy the same turf as the driver. In so
doing, they may also offer better protection against the lorries that
have been responsible for most of last year's cycling deaths.
I only fully came to realise all this after I was fined by the police for shooting a red light, even though at the time there was not a
pedestrian in sight. I didn't question or challenge the offence but I
did make the decision that if I was going to be treated like a
motorist, I was jolly well going to behave more like one in future. And
a male one at that.
Since then I have become a veritable road hog in a fluorescent jacket, perfectly happy to pull right ahead and claim the middle section of the middle lane whenever I go round a
roundabout, even if it means making the cars and lorries behind me slow
down. They can honk all they want to, but the point is that they can
see me.
Nor do I have any hesitation in pulling out to cross a lane, having made eye contact with the driver behind me, holding out my right arm, to slow him down with imperious confidence. I've even
started rapping boldly on the car windows of drivers who drive and talk
on their mobiles.
Perhaps when we can turn left on red, I might be able to return to being a little more ladylike. Until then, staying alive seems more important.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alf Torrisi on -
That must have been the other 3 out of the 13.
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on -
"In 2007, an internal report for Transport for London concluded women cyclists are far more likely to be killed by lorries because, unlike men, they tend to obey red lights and wait at junctions in the driver's blind spot."
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Permalink Reply by noelbike on -
Doddsy can you give me the link to the internal report you refer to? I'd like to see that one.
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on
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Noel i just quoted mbhwudy's attachment. will have a little dig tho.
This is a link to the study that found "risky" cycling is rarely to blame for cycling accidents
Still its definitely safer running a red light on a bicycle than it is to j-walk at across an intersection.
The pedestrian just wants to cross the road, but the cyclist avoids taking off with heavy vehicles.
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Permalink Reply by noelbike on
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far more likely to be killed .............. because...................they tend to obey red lights
Not quite the same as what you are now citing, my friend.
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on
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Huh? i just cut and paste what was said in an article.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8296971.stm
From experience, breaking road rules to get a clear run away from traffic is safer than riding in motorised traffic.
If you jump a red light in Sydney it means you often avoid being overtaken by a bus driver who is looking to pull into a bus stop.
If a bus (or taxi, or motorist looking for a carpark) pulls over on you which is more likely to happen when you wait for a red light, you can quite easily be killed.
far more likely to be killed .............. because...................they tend to obey red lights
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Permalink Reply by noelbike on
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In that UK report, allowing for the greater numbers of male cyclists, males are 1.7 times more likely to be KSI (killed or seriously injured).
Also, 5% of the contributing factors attributed to cyclists in fatalities were disobeying 'give way' or 'stop' signs or markings.
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Permalink Reply by Kim on -
Doddsy, that's really nice that you think running a red light is safer however this morning I was nearly taken out by a cyclist running a red light and not looking. It may be safer for you but at least look out for other cyclists who do have right of way.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Daykin on -
Not having a dig at anyone here but how are the two scenarios in the diagram comparable when the truck's position in "Approcahing from right" is different from the "Approaching from left"? If the truck was in the same position on both cases neither would be particulary good.
Surely the "Approcahing from right" scenario assumes the truck driver has stopped and allowed adequate space for cyclists to get in front of him
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