‘Against stupidity the Gods themselves strive in vain.”
- Ancient Greek Saying
A while back, I was watching a TV programme about the Road traffic police in the south of England. It was somewhat macabrely fascinating, if not particularly enjoyable.
It seemed the police came across everything – Motorcyclists who risked everything for a few thrills on dual carriageways. A lady driving a car without license or insurance, who temporarily invented a bizarre story about having a twin sister called Primrose. The person who came out worse was a drunk person on a bike (let’s not call him a cyclist), who managed to ride without lights, ride through red light, fail to stop when asked by police and riding on the pavement, and then harangue the police as if he was the victim!
It seems the more things people to wrong, the more stubborn they are in refusing to admit they can be at fault. Unfortunately, I notice this very frequently. When I feel a car has a reasonable chance of running into me and knocking me off, I have a propensity to shout out them (usually without swearing). This invariably enrages the driver who is disgusted at your audacity for raising your voice, even if to protect life and limb.
The person on the bike ended up with a £700 fine from the magistrate’s. I don’t think anyone would think that unjust. But, I did note that the motorcyclist who took off his license plate, broke speed limit and did stunts on a dual carriageway got a whopping £80 fine, and six month ban. A six month ban probably hurts, but, if you spend £10,000 on top of the range bike, I can’t see £80 being much of a disincentive.
If he had killed someone, he may have got a much higher sentence. But, I’d rather the law was preventative – encouraged safer driving, rather than waiting for fatality to be harsh.
So many times, whilst out on the bike I despair at the standard of driving. In the car, you notice it as well, but the difference is when driving a car, you feel much more protected. When you’re on a bike, you feel much more vulnerable.
Related
I know how vulnerable you are on a bike – I came a cropper last night when I hit a deer! It was blinded by car headlamps behind it and it ran into me. The motorists told me they had been following it slowly for miles, surely they would have been better to switch off their headlamps and wait for it to run away?
I think it questionable shouting at motorists, unless they haven’t seen you. From my experience these tend to be that special one percent who are a powder keg just waiting for an excuse to explode!
The last time I shouted at some one for cutting me up they got along side me and swerved knocking me off. Luckily the car behind called the police.
In the end I wish I’d just gotten on with my ride and not worry so much about justice.