The Enduring Mystery - Why People Hate, Berate And Spit On Bicyclists (When Not Running Into Them)

[hatrack]

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Fast forward to 2022 and Greater Manchester, where I now live, and I recently had a conversation with a driver whose opening gambit was: “If I had my way I’d put all cyclists up against the wall and have them shot.” As a journalist I’ve become accustomed to abuse on social media from people I’ve never met. But this guy was saying it to my face. He ran a walking group and saw cyclists as the enemy rather than allies in a car-centric society.

A few months earlier I’d noticed another man persistently calling me an “absolute prick” on Twitter. He would copy in Andy Burnham, as if the mayor of Greater Manchester cared who my haters were. My crime, it emerged, was campaigning with a local group to make our suburb of Stockport a bit safer and nicer to walk or ride a bike around. It was the bike bit he seemed to object to. He accused me of being an incomer set on “ruining our village – she’s not from here and she’s not welcome”. I quickly worked out who he was. I don’t usually engage with trolls but since he was local I sent him a message saying I knew who he was, what business he ran, and suggested he meet me face to face to call me a prick. He deleted his profile.

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Any cyclist who claims they never see others pedalling merrily through red lights or on the pavement is probably not telling the truth. But as the lead for fatal road accidents for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Det Ch Supt Andy Cox, says, the anti-cycling hysteria is out of all proportion to the danger cyclists pose to society. According to the DfT, cars are the vehicle type most often involved in fatal collisions when members of other parties are killed, followed by lorries and vans. Very few other road users – four pedestrians in 2020 – are killed in collisions with cyclists.

Also in 2020, 141 cyclists were killed in road accidents in Great Britain, compared with 618 car occupants. Yet less than 2% of all traffic mileage was made by bikes, compared with 73% by cars and taxis. “It is a very, very rare event for cyclists to cause the death of somebody else. So, proportionately speaking, our focus should be on the vehicle,” says Cox. “I think we need to reflect on that number of cyclists dying each year. That’s a shocking amount of devastation that’s not needed, not acceptable. And I think drivers just need to think about that when they decide to push by.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/30/why-do-some-people-hate-cyclists-so-much

[hlthe2b]

1. Probably for many of the same reasons they react the way they do toward the pedestrian in a lit

crosswalk that they nearly ran over while turning right on red without even a casual look to their right. Ditto those who do so while turning left across a pedestrian crosswalk without scarcely slowing down. Instead of an apologetic word or gesture, they will scream at, curse at, and threaten. Too many malignant narcissists in this world today and now, even more feeling enabled after years of idolizing the ultimate sociopathic narcissist--Donald Trump.

And yes, I have some first-hand experience, given my penchant for long hikes and urban walks in the pre-dawn hours with my pup. While always well seen, given reflective clothing and lights, I have been greatly helped after receiving a bright flashing (and wearable) red and blue light gifted from a sheriff-deputy neighbor.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. I don't hate or spit on them.

But I'm astonished at the times they blithely bike through stop signs and red lights, and then are surprised when hit by a car who is following the rules of the stop sign or light.

Or when they wear very dark clothing at night and ride a bike with no head or rear light. I've nearly hit more than one of those.