I have been in discussion on this thread started by Ruth Sutherland

As I feel a bit sore from an accident just over a year ago, I have been doing some thinking about the types of cyclists you get on City (especially London) streets.

Ruth feels sore as a pedestrian and I don’t blame her. Cyclists are not all the same but there are too many bad ones and typically they don’t wear helmets. Let’s try and get some order into “cycling” in the city.

1. There are the dedicated cyclists such as Sally Bridgeland who have cycled all their adult lives and are methodical – always wearing a helmet – always obeying rules. These people have every right to feel cross with types (2) and (3) and (4)
2. There are opportunistic cyclists (I am one) who grab the nearest bike when needed and typically that cycle is not the riders but hired from Santander or Lime – these cyclists will wear a helmet if they have one but most often don’t. I wasn’t riding a helmet when I got brain damage.
3. There are the professional cyclists – typically using electric enhanced cyclists and rarely using helmets. I don’t know if this is out of confidence or practicality.
4. The tourist – if in organised groups they will have helmets, if they are kids having some fun  – they won’t. Organised groups use pure cycles, the hooligan kids use Lime which they can hi-jack by bump starting them.

Groups (1) and (2) are generally in danger from groups from (3) and (4) other than those who wear helmets who seem to me reasonable and not dangerous to cyclists or pedestrians.

If everyone who chances it by not wearing a helmet were required to wear a hat or risk an immediate fine, we would have a lot less foolishness , less dangerous riding and less injury.

I’d be interested to hear from cyclists, pedestrians and people who don’t come into contact with cyclists very much because they don’t live , work or go on trips to cities.

There is no doubt that cycling is a massive step forward from people using motor transport but electric cycles are now capable of moving around central London a lot faster than taxis and vans. To be frank, the electric bike is now as common a sight as the slow and fast pedal bikes.

Attempts to make the roads safe for cyclists are not able to keep up with the change in speed electric cycles bring – especially to cycle lanes which are now creating more danger than perhaps they are preventing.  The lack of manoeuvring room to get out of the way of other bikes leads to minor bike on bike incidents but also to pedestrians where cycle lanes are complex and depend on compliance with bike and car traffic lights.

How it feels at the corner of Blackfriars – Victoria and New Bridge Streets!

I would be willing to have a bike helmet with me at all time if it were explainable at meetings as necessary to be legal. The scrupulous Mark Scantlebury always has a helmet on him and I would like to think that City meetings would over time have racks for cycle helmets alongside those for umbrellas.

I am being serious here, I think that we must accept the four types of cyclist need to live better with each other and with pedestrians. Requiring people to wear helmets on all journeys is a good thing. I was only 300 yards into my trip from Queen Street when I had my incident, I only had a mile to go to my journey end – we often think that being short is ok – it is no more “ok” than drinking/driving over short distance.

The extraordinary explosion of cycling in London and now elsewhere, needs immediate attention.

BIKE HELMETS SHOULD BE COMPULSORY ON ALL  JOURNEYS.

The type of bike, the exact spot and the time of day I nearly lost my life, NO HELMET

Scooters too!

Pavements should be illegal for bikes and scooter, this scooter was cycling past the place where I had my accident and on the pavement where I landed having hit the borders of the cycle lane (see above)

Electric scooters should be covered by the “helmet-up” law.

Addendum

Please note the type of hazards that cyclists face on cycle ways. I have written about this and been to the City of London to complain about Southwark Bridge Road which has a particularly dangerous cycle lane. I was forced into the two bollards you can see in this picture by a bike who did not see the bollards till too late. If this resonates, here is another blog on the crisis of bike safety,

the dedicated and the not so dedicated (wear a helmet)