Rage against the two-wheeled machine

Cyclists need to be regulated and governed like other road users


George Hook

IF I was President? Good question. Off the top of my head I can think of plenty of things I’d do for Ireland. But first and foremost on my list would be the construction of the world’s largest velodrome.  
I’d make it 1,000 feet high and ten miles long, in the middle of Leitrim, and I would round up all the road cyclists in the country and throw them in - along with their bikes - and nail the door shut. Spandex hot pants, psychedelic helmets, water bottles, the lot. In they’d all go to whizz around to their hearts content. And Ireland would be a better country for it.
I do admire their courage.  Sitting onto a bike and negotiating the busy roads in rush hour traffic must be difficult. But imagine doing it colour blind? Here I was thinking I was one of the unlucky few that struggled to differentiate between red and green. But as it turns out, the majority of cyclists in Ireland also face the same problem.  
Aside from the time that Ingrid put her red knickers in to the washing machine with my favourite white shirt, last Saturday morning was the closest I have ever come to killing another human being.  
If I hadn’t smashed on the brakes and swerved my car to the right in a split second of instinctive reaction, I would have had a dead body on my hands. And because I was driving the car, I would have been blamed.
There I was, sitting patiently at a junction and ready to turn for home when the traffic lights went green, indicating I was good to go. I pulled off and rounded the corner when a man on a bicycle flew down towards me and through a red light.  
But for my quick reaction he would have almost certainly gone head first over the bonnet. I was shaking behind the steering wheel as my cyclist pal continued on down the road, almost oblivious to what had just happened.

Modern madness
Some of the behaviour by cyclists on the roads these days is nothing short of madness. These idiots either have no regard for their own safety or they have necks like a jockeys you-know-what.  
Over the years I have personally witnessed almost every single rule of the road being broken or by-passed by a cyclist. Red lights ignored, cycle lanes shunned, weaving in and out of traffic, cycling on footpaths...you name it, I’ve seen it. The blatant stupidity and ignorance of it all is astounding.
If there are any spokey-dokey’s reading this and taking grave offence at my preposterous pontificating, here’s the bit where I say that not all cyclists are the same, there are some good ones blah blah blah... But the truth of it is that the majority of road cyclists haven’t a clue what they’re doing.
There should be mandatory testing. Cyclists should be obliged to undergo lessons and pass a competency test before being allowed to use the roads. They should be required to carry a license and insurance should also be compulsory. Why not bring in penalty points for cyclists that break the law?    
Cyclists on the road are as vulnerable to accidents as pedestrians. Bicycles offer no protection in the event of an accident and I will argue to the last that it is more dangerous to cycle a bike on the road than it is to drive a car. Why should we let every idiot with two wheels loose on the roads without putting them through the necessary safety procedures?

New legislation
Cycling is a wonderful form of exercise. It is a cheap and convenient way to travel. But cycling is also a form of transport. It must be regulated and governed according to the same principals of every other vehicle on the road. How much longer are we prepared to turn a blind eye to the blatant floundering of road rules?
The good news is that government is finally prepared to do something about it. The Department of Transport is preparing to introduce legislation that will result in on-the-spot fines for cyclists breaking red lights and committing other offences.
When the legislation passes, cyclists will effectively be subject to the same penalty points system as motorists. Though why it hasn’t happened before now is beyond me.
In 2014, according to the Road Safety Authority, vulnerable road users (including cyclists) accounted for 37 percent of all road deaths. Every person using a vehicle - engine or not - has a responsibility and a duty of care to others to act in accordance with RSA guidelines and within the confines of the law.  
Generally speaking, road death statistics do not take cause or reason into account, but I’m willing to wager that there might be a few people reading this piece with a similar experience to mine last weekend. My cyclist friend seemed unconcerned by how close he came to joining the RSA statistics, but I certainly won’t forget it for a long, long time.