| Topic: | Re:church street 2 | |
| Posted by: | Raymond Havelock | |
| Date/Time: | 13/06/20 21:09:00 |
| A family out in Hammersmith collided with an elderly resident when their small child went straight into her. The child was not being supervised as the others were all on the road and cycling the wrong way down a one way road. The child on a single width pavement. It's reckless. The victim was injured and just left but was person I was delivering supplies to. I found her on the pavement with a neighbour. Not even an apology, only concern was to the child. A complaint has been lodged. by the witness. But who can do anything about peoples behaviour? So Guy, this might look idyllic but not if you are on the receiving end. What if the Child got hurt? or the pensioner seriously injured for daring to walk on a pavement? I've watched in utter disbelief while out on my bike as a family cycled with the father calling the shots as he led them straight out of a junction looking the wrong way and noted that he could not ride his own bike one handed or look behind hime without wobbling badly. I've mentioned this before. Sadly, Bikes in this hilly and ultra commercial city just don't work as a mass means and certainly not without a mandatory and high standard form of training and testing. The complete flouting of road regulations and poor ability of riders over theist few months has led me to putting my bike away for the duration. It's appalling and just not sensible. And for many, routes and limitations of what is safe to ride with and weather will never make us anything like what can be done in the lowlands. I know I can't sustain long daily commuter riding, I'm fit and healthy but I've just not got the stamina to ride any more than a few miles with any sort of cargo. We've enjoyed many Cycling holidays as a family but I have to say not in the UK. It's always been wind rain and hills. But Holland and Belgium in the flat areas and a bit of Cambridgeshire have been great. Primarily because they are fait and the infrastructure has always been there. I just accept that London and it's suburbs are not really suitable for mixed modes without damaging it's capacity to provide prosperity for as many as possible in all walks of life. And what happens when we get old?. Hips, knees, neck mobility, hearing and eyesight, all vital to cycle safely. Unlike Holland where it's flat and speeds of cycles are regulated it's just not possible here. This happens to almost all sooner or later. |