So what kind of people are all those lycra louts? Were you ever one
yourself?
Have ever fallen prey to the following ways of thinking:
1. If society treats me like a criminal, then I shall become one.
2. Motorists treat me like scum, therefore motorists deserve to be
treated likewise.
3. The road is a jungle anyway, so sod it.
4. If I break a traffic law (and the action does not involve
pedestrians) I'm only putting myself into danger, not others, and I
only have myself to blame, not others. It's a private decision.
Therefore I have a moral right to break a traffic law when I decide it
is fit to do so.
5. If all those idiots causing the traffic jam were using bikes instead
of a cars they wouldn't be holding me up. I'm on a bike and not holding
anyone up. Therefore I have the right to squeeze through the gaps at
high velocity.
6. Cycling on the pavement is bad, but it is ultimately the motorists'
fault, not mine, since it is they who are bullying me off the road.
7. Bicycles and cars are such fundamentally different vehicles that
different rules should apply to cyclists and motorists. Red lights
should mean give way signs for cyclists and cycling against a one way
street should be legal by default (after all there is still enough
space for cars to squeeze past).
8. Stopping at a red light and accelerating again demands high physical
exertion. It means losing all that valuable momentum! Engine-powered
vehicles don't experience this problem. Therefore, I have the right to
go over a red pelican crossing once all the pedestrians have cleared.
9. I forgot to charge my batteries, but if as long as I watch out I'll
be ok without lights.
10. When going over a roundabout I aways take the right lane. I'd
rather cut others than be cut.
11. If I indicate a right turn using a hand signal, I'll no doubt be
undertaken aggresively from the left, and be pushed against a oncoming
bus. Better to dispense with hand signals alltogether and confuse
drivers behind me with wobbling instead.