Sadiq Khan’s ‘cycling tsar’ punched in the face by cyclist after he confronted them for not stopping at zebra crossing

33 comments

  1. > The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has conceded that more needs to be done to ensure cyclists follow the rules.

    > Enforcing the rules is required, he said, with simply raising awareness not enough.

    Some of us have been saying this for years, not that it’s been met by much except *”But whatabout cars?”* and complaints that cyclists are unfairly vilified.

    Hopefully those same people will remember articles like this when they next wonder why the public takes a dim view.

  2. The punching and stuff aside..

    I’m not a fan of those floating bus stops. I can see why many don’t stop for pedestrians waiting to cross to the island, and that they’re generally not great for blind or partially sighted pedestrians.

    I understand why they’re chosen (space constraints), but they’re really not very good.

    There’s one on the south side of Westminster Bridge, and on a weekend in particular it’s a shitshow for everybody involved. It doesn’t help that there’s illegally parked ice cream vans which pedestrians are trying to reach, but even just people trying to get to the bus stop, and fit along the narrow pavement on the side of the bridge, it’s crap. I cycle on the road there instead. Which means it’s not great for less confident cyclists because of the mayhem, and it’s not great for confident cyclists wanting to get from A to B quickly, who will use the road instead, and it’s not good for pedestrians.

  3. The wording is atrocious. You don’t need to be a ‘cyclist’ to punch someone. The whole ‘us’ and ‘them’ narrative is such bollocks.

  4. Many cyclists and e-scooter users seem to think that the rules of the road dont apply to them. But they are quick to complain when something goes wrong and they get hurt. The Highway Code applies to everyone. Much more enforcement is needed across the UK, not just in London.

  5. So, divisive narrative aside, this incident happened last year, why are they bringing this up now? Must be an election season.

  9. We are all in such a rush both cyclist and people in vehicles are crazy. Slow down, let people go in front of you, will you die if your a minute slower?

  11. I have only been a pedestrian in the UK. (I do drive in other countries but just not here.) For the last 15 years living here, I have come across the most ignorant cyclists and there are no consequences and no rules they have to follow. They jump up on the footpath whenever they want to. And they will ring their stupid bells. When I had small children, they would scare them into the road by shouting, ringing their bells, and speeding towards us. All while there’s a cycle lane in the road that they refuse to use. There needs to be some sort of rules they have to follow to protect pedestrians. (I will note, when we are with my husband this doesn’t happen. So if you’re a male pedestrian reading this thinking you have never seen this, that’s probably because some cyclists choose to target women and children.)

  13. Where i live you get the odd bad cyclist who thinks they have right of way over everyone and everything every place, every time but I was in the nearest city at the weekend and it was endemic.

    As a pedestrian you can’t safely assume you can cross the road at a green light crossing without being crashed into by a cyclist who won’t stop. My uncle was seriously injured in just such this circumstance a few years ago and it’s only got worse since then.

    Even in areas that have made an effort to build cycling friendly infrastructure they were weaving between the road, the footpath and the separate cycle lane at will.

    You always get the argument that drivers are worse but as incidents like this become more common (and between the rising cost of public transport and the prevalence of cycling food deliveries they are) then the arguments in favour of cyclists insurance only get stronger.

  14. > A survey carried out this week found that eight per cent of cyclists give way to pedestrians, which they must do so according to the Highway Code.

    8%

  15. I cycle fairly often and I don’t think it’s that hard to stop at a red light or at a zebra crossing. The one group that regularly do this is delivery cyclists. They’re likely penalised if they are late, so they are incentivised to skip red lights and cycle through pedestrians.

  17. I’m pro cyclist and all for cycle lanes and reducing car use but the amount of times I’ve nearly been knocked over crossing at lights or seen cyclists go down the wrong way on a one way street
    Dodged grown arsed men cycling fast on bustling pavements is way to high…. It happens on the daily whilst at work in the H&F area
    I work with homeless people and spend my days up and down the borough or further afield, walk when I can but PT if it’s too far between appointments or it’s time sensitive

    Bring back cycling proficiency certificates
    Especially for people using e-bikes

  19. as a dutch cyclist I have to say i met so many fanatical cyclist that would have been driven over by many a dutch car driver if they behaved like they do here. but yeah when i cycle i see and experience the same abuse of clueless drivers…. the uk is not a good place to cycle for now.

  20. Comments here feel like they have been lifted from a Daily Mail article’s comments in 2008, like word for word. Surprised there’s only been one mentioning “road tax”.

  21. This is ONE cyclist having a SINGLE argument with a pedestrian at a crossing. Every few minutes, hundreds of pedestrians face life threatening injuries from near miss incidents with motor vehicles every day. Very low numbers of bad cycling behaviour are cherry picked by the media.

  22. > One thing I’ve found is that I have ‘friends’ that get angry on the cycle paths, because the pedestrians / dogs / toddlers, are too slow / dopey to get out of the way. On the cyclepaths, cyclists are the cars lol.

    This. Frequently have to remind cyclists that they should be treating pedestrians with the same respect *they* want to receive from drivers. If they wouldn’t want to be honked at, yelled at or passed too closely by a car on the road, they shouldn’t be dinging their bell at, shouting at, or passing by pedestrians too closely on shared paths. A simple “Excuse me” should suffice if pedestrians are walking two or more abreast, or even just wait until there is room to pass safely (if path is narrow or there are obstacles e.g. roadworks, potholes, etc.).

  24. Yeah that sounds about right for a cyclist. Disobey the Highway Code and then get angry at someone else for telling them that

  25. Pedestrians and cyclists are natural enemies. Just like motorists and cyclists. Or buses and cyclists. Or cyclists and other cyclists.

    Damn cyclists- they ruined cycling.

  28. A survey carried out this week found that eight per cent of cyclists give way to pedestrians, which they must do so according to the Highway Code.

    So 92% break the Highway Code

  29. Pedestrians are killed annually in collisions with cyclists, and an average of 3 per year are killed on zebra crossings by cyclists. In 2022 6 pedestrian deaths-by-bicycle-collisions were recorded. That is 6 deaths too many. Cyclists are not above the law.

  30. So this is him just telling an anecdotal story that seemingly happened over a year ago at some recent event. I mean, where’s the evidence that this even happened?

  31. Those cycle lanes that keep merging with bus stops are bullshit. People just stand in it waiting for their bus or randomly exit buses straight infront of you.

  32. most things in life will have bad apples, some cyclists will inevitably treat people like shit, just like how drivers will also treat people like shit. there’s obviously more drivers than cyclists in the UK.

    i’m unsure what it is with the media and villainizing cyclists – maybe to sell the idea that cars are superior and that proper infrastructure shouldn’t be made for cyclists? who knows. this “8%” bullshit “survey” is complete and utter garbage, and is proof of the media villainizing cyclists. did you know a survey concluded that 99% of drivers are complete knobs?

  33. Sigh! Why does cycling have to become part of the culture war? A certain percentage of every population is going to be made up of arseholes. Therefore the more people who cycle, the more arsehole cyclists you’ll encounter. I’d still rather encounter one of them on a bike than operating two tons of steel!

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