BBC Radio 4 ‘At Risk from Cyclists’ phone-in from 12.15pm today

While the question of "testing" a group of road users has been raised by this programme, why not take a look at what exactly the compulsory test for drivers has actually done:

Here is our take on the "driving test" as we approach the 80th anniversary:

http://rdrf.org.uk/2015/05/27/what-is-the-driving-test-for-notes-on-its-...

Just redressing the balance a little..

So what. You have to be a certified leftie to get on the news quiz.

A comment from the News Quiz on BBC Radio 4 last Friday describing 'You and Yours' listeners...

"....grasping Daily Mail reading Tim Henman fans".

It at 19' 5" in http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05vhkv8

no, no, no TomJ. You haven't got the hang of this internet at all.
You're just meant to make a sweeping statement, not be able to back it up with cold hard FACT.

Uncle Chris did his usual patient rational job. I loved him asking more than once about what outcome the country wanted to achieve? Was it: - more cycling and better health - or more cycling restrictions and continued pollution and poor health. I've yet to hear even the most ill informed irrelevant anecdote spouting ranter choose option B.

As for the show as a whole. It's getting the subject talked about which tends to lead to progress.

As for Radio 4's positive cycling content. I thought the last time that happened was when Linda Snell crashed her sit up and beg into Sir Brad at the village Fete - three years ago.

I accidentally caught a bit of this while driving to the post office to post back a rain jacket left at our open 25.

I am always reminded of that great Chris Morris Brass Eye quote: Your phone calls tonight have been described variously as "rabid", "pig-ignorant" and "stultifyingly ill-informed". Thanks... for those.

Quote:

One day, the BBC will live up to its pretensions of balance. One day. Not soon, obviously.

I'll stand up for the BBC here. The program was not *that* bad, and even if I don't like this program, they do have plenty of other pro-cycling content as well.

Too many people think that 'balance' means 'never saying anything I disagree with', which is patently absurd.

"That's because such things are very rare and even when they happen, result in only minor injuries."

Such things are rare compared to car on pedestrian accidents - but on the other hand car accidents involving pedestrian on the pavement are also rare.

Also, the injuries from a cyclist on pedestrian can be major, and include death. This fact should not be trivialized.

Important point is that while cyclists will - justly - be held criminally responsible for causing pedestrian injuries on pavement, drivers will not be held criminally responsible for causing bicyclist injuries on roads - even when the drivers are negligent in adjusting their driving to obvious adverse road conditions (e.g., "the sun was in my eyes").

One day, the BBC will live up to its pretensions of balance. One day. Not soon, obviously.

Or possibly not in the case of cyclists.

It's been said before, but if cyclists were a racial group, the BBC would be off the air for their blatant bias.

Incidentally, it was You and Yours which started the BBC's campaign about cycle helmets thirty years ago. No change there then.

I just heard it, the title is crap but the discussion was mostly quite reasonable and I thought that the overall tone was more pro cycling than anti cycling, with Chris Boardman given plenty of air time. It certainly wasn't just an anti-cycling rant and in no way comparable to the Daily Mail apart from a stupid message they read out at the end.

I always love the comments about putting licence plates on bikes. Being short (well, 5' 6") there is just about room for a saddle bag and a light on my bike. I'm not sure where a plate would be attached. Of course one caller did mention putting all cyclists in hiviz jackets with a registration number on them. Yeah that would work well..... would I get one for the summer, one for the winter, one for wet weather, etc? Maybe a licenced rucksac cover so my registration is visible from behind?

Despite the above, I agree with other comments that the programme did give a range of views.

In London over 20% of accidents involving cars are now hit and run, so a cyclist hit and run (which turned out not to be anyway) isn't anything special. I think a key point mentioned on the show was that the one thing we really need is police enforcement of the current rules applied to all road users.

I thought Boardman did a masterful job of rescuing what could have become a completely one-sided, anecdotal slagging match. I thought his comments sufficiently constructive and panoramic to make the bits of ranting that did get through seem quite small-minded and trivial.

The camera section was probably a bit irrelevant, but pretty much every comment he made brought in relevant points from outside the narrow, skewed field of discussion he was presented with, and helped steer the narrative in a more progressive direction.

And to give credit to the programme, despite the awful start and awful title, and the accusatory, identity-based approach to cycling (it was always about 'cyclists', never 'cycling' itself), it did at least more diverse and considered views than JUST those of angry taxi and lorry drivers. I found a few of the comments genuinely interesting, where I was expecting them to be tedious, predictable, and wrong.

Anyway, chapeau Chris!

iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05vy4kk (unfortunately). Only heard a bit of it but it sounds like a terrible program.

Yes I have ever been put at risk by a cyclist. There was one cycling on the same road as me, and there was some chance that they could have lost control for no apparent reason and swerved in to me. It's a pointless question.

I just listened on iPlayer, I wouldn't waste your time to be honest...

I'm very disappointed I missed it, I must try iplayer later, I'm sure it was quite marvellous.

Radio 4 phone-in shows often leave even the Daily Mail's readers looking like a bunch of yogurt knitting liberals.

You and Yours is always full of mentalists. Best ignored.

Taxi driver after 15 minutes:

"I was overtaking a cyclists, the lane was wide enough to do so" - So he probably wasn't giving the cyclist enough room.

"A crazy cyclist came around the bend ahead on the wrong side of the road, I skidded but was able to stop while still overtaking the cyclist on my side of the road" - So he was overtaking the bike while approaching a blind bend?

"The crazed cyclist took a swing at me through my open window while calling me all sort of names" - Maybe I wasn't on my side of the road after all... Well at least I was giving the cyclist I was overtaking enough room!

Mankind is beyond saving.

Who was the prick at the start of the programme going on about how poor the cyclists were on the London - Brighton ride? It's a charity ride you knob, a lot of these people are just doing it to have some fun and raise some money for a good cause, get over yourself.

Listening to it live and a number of callers believe that pieces of paper will prevent bad behavior. You know, the same way it has prevented bad behavior in car drivers.

Echoing some of the above. A solitary cyclist hits a pedestrian and it makes national news, yet TfL buses hit or kill 1 person a day and it doesn't make the headlines (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24923609) or even look at the national rates (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/ras30-reported-casua...). If each of these made national news it would difficult to have space in the news papers.

I was terrified once when a crazed cyclist hit my car at speed and caused PTSD inducing scratch marks on my car's duco.

He materilaised out of thin air in front of my car as I was turning right doing that thing you do in cars... driving, I mean. It was like Dr Who's Tardis just appearing out of nowhere... I screamed so loud that I dropped my mobile and it gave Tiffany (on the other end) such a fright.

What are we to do with these ANIMALS??? Oh please BBC... I hope this campaign of yours gets people talking openly about this scurge. I shudder nowadays when I see one on the road in my Land Rover... I feel so threatened... It's just not right!!!