On Tue, 25 Feb 2003 22:40:32 GMT, "Eddie Dubourg" <
[email protected]> wrote:
>> I quite agree. If I got nicked I would put my hands up, not bleat like a Gatsoed cager. I
>> absolutely do not claim the moral high ground on this issue, but I do think the risk to others is
>> low, and I never do it if it would cause any inconvenience.
>Which is exactly what Paul Smith says.
Up to a point, Lord Copper. In SmithWorld(TM) speed enforcement is dangerous, and he has created an
entire website devoted to whining about it. See how much of my website is devoted to whining about
enforcement of stop lines (note: not red lights, I don't enter the junction - how Clintonesque is
that?). I freely admit that I am in the wrong.
I *do* write to my MP and the DfT on issues where I think the law is wrong, and even if the law is
completely absurd I do my best to comply, with the spirit if the letter is impossible[1].
>I think the risk is low, and I would not do it if it were unsafe.
The facts, in Smith's case, even facts he himself uses, are against him. Risk of crashing rises
above the median speed (31mph on a 30mph road) - and risk of fatality increases with the fourth
power of speed. Believing it's safe in this case is largely a matter of deluding yourself that your
selfish desire to speed is not /really/ dangerous to others, despite the evidence to the contrary.
If you could show me any evidence of danger posed to others by a cyclist being at the front of a
queue, a foot in front of the stop line, I personally guarantee that I will rethink my actions.
Danger existing solely due to the presence of boy racers doesn't count, though
>Moving to the front of a traffic queue will always cause inconvenience - cars will position
>themselves before you arrive on the scene, and mess up what they were thinking of doing - by your
>own admission you have to move past the cars to the front - how do you know what the cars were
>going to do before you arrived?
I generally clear the junction before they do. If that weren't the case I wouldn't do it, because it
would inconvenience people. I do my best not to inconvenience people when I'm on the road.
[1] In one case I am required by law to fit a pedal reflector on my bike which is "clearly visile
from the rear." This is not physically possible, and I've written to them telling them so.
Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony.
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