Dannyboy

Blyton's attitudes and language are pretty dated. But if an actual statue of her might cause controversy, how about a representation of her astonishing rate of literary productivity. More than 800 books, plus magazine articles, and at one point an estimated output of 10,000 words a day (thank you Wikipedia). I am in total awe, even if not all of those words were really complex. How about a monument of a perpetually moving keyboard, probably solar-powered? Those who were so-inclined could even take it as a tribute to the Forum....

How about a statue of Enid Blyton on the roundabout, and smaller depictions of her characters as bollards up Lordship Lane? The Secret Seven up one side, and the Famous Five on the other? How about Boris Karloff - or is he too Forest Hill?

But those 2 minute red lights are the perfect time to practise your track stands! I don't have a bell and rely on my voice/reactions. Dopey pedestrians can be a hazard, but I think it just shows how much we all rely on sound as well as sight when crossing the road - people don't hear a cyclist coming (other than when I'm coming up to Crystal Palace, when you can hear me wheezing and croaking from some distance), so they don't have the stimulus to look. I'm trying to work on my zen attitude to all other road users, you can tell. That goes particularly for motorbikes/scooters - in fact, I think you do best as a cyclist to emulate motorbikes in terms of overtaking stationary traffic and so on.

Interesting article blinder999. I guess you could argue that some of those who jump the lights are making a better assessment of risk than those who get themselves into HGVs' blindspots. But those are different categories, I think. I try to resist the temptation to jump lights because I know it annoys drivers, and/but I wouldn't cycle up the inside of a lorry for all the money in the world, even if there was a non segregated cycle lane. Nero - given the name, I'd have thought a chariot driven by some nubile slaves was more appropriate! Pashleys have a nice upright position, but I might be cautious about cycling with a back problem. See if you can get one from somewhere other than Evans: the Starbucks of bike shops.

The two things work together, I think. One factor that encourages cyclists to behave irresponsibly is their perception of being poorly served by the traffic system and other road users. If you're not being given enough space by car users and think you 'know' the lights, then there is a temptation to ignore red in order to get thirty seconds of freedom. That's stupid in all sorts of ways, of course, but it's the idea of interaction that is important. Similarly, they won't use bike lanes if they know from experience that they lead them into more dangerous situations/intermingle them with heedless pedestrians/are full of broken glass. A contract might therefore be better than a charter - and one between all those who use the public highway, be they cars/motorcycles/scooters/bikes/pedestrians, and those who construct and administer it. But that might have implications for enforcement. In Australia, as I understand it, any offence you commit on the road - whether in a motor vehicle or not - can earn you points on your licence. For some cyclists, the threat of getting three or more points would limit their behaviour. On the other hand, is this what we want the police to do? The entry costs of cycling can be very low. That's one of its wonders, but it also means that its open to the young and the irresponsible, particularly teenage boys. Quite how you get them to wear helmets/lights/reflective gear/ride on the road I'm not sure.

Me too - pretty impressed by this whole forum thing. Registered for streetcar by email and they've not got back to me yet, so I'm going to ring 'em up tomorrow. Hope I don't get the stressed woman.