the state of the local roads (not ED specific - potholes everywhere in the world)

[Horsebox]

Fair enough, not a dig at you, particularly, it just feels like the whole motorist vs cyclist thing has been done a million times on here.

I'm certainly not against the idea of a road safety/highway code test for cyclists - (does the cycling proficiency test still exist?) - but to make any laws 'enforcable' then cycles would have to be licensed which I don't see happening anytime soon.

I know that City of London and Met Police run a scheme whereby any cyclist caught running a red has to attend a 'road safety' class in exchange for their fine being waived.

There's a whole other argument here about the infrastructure of our roads not being designed with cyclists in mind and I'd like to see that changed, along with the attitudes towards cycling in this country. Road users need a mutual respect for each other and I think I see this changing ever so slowly, but there's a long way to go.

As for dangerous cyclists, yes, there are some and yes they are annoying. I cycle 20 miles a day, to and from work. Some of the behaviour I see really does beggar belief - no lights/hi-viz clothing on a winters night, running reds and cutting through pedestrian crossings, yes it happens and only serves to piss off drivers etc so that we all get tarred with the same brush. But it also REALLY pisses off other cyclists.

Likewise there are some maniac drivers out there - like the guy that saw fit to drive 2 inches behind me today on Brixton Water Lane, tooting his horn for me to move out of his way, or the Bus driver that forced me and another cyclist off the road in Woolwich, only to find out that the other cyclist was an off duty cop (goodbye driving license and career!).

But I know that not all drivers are arseholes and many of them probably have a bike at home as well. If I reported or complained about every idiot on the road, I'd be forever moaning about it, and life really is too short for that.

/Rant over.

[woofmarkthedog]

It's an international 'ting

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/Pardon-our-dust-Daytona-500-delayed-by-pothole?urn=nascar,219587