The arrogance of drivers



H

harro

Guest
I am a regular commuter and someone lonely recreational cyclist.....I potter
to work and do the regular round the river and other cycling journies in our
lovely city....

But this morning on Perth's 6PR talkback radio I had to laugh and shake my
head at the ignorance of some people. Some clown called in to have a whinge
to the police commissioner about a bunch of riders using one lane of Mounts
Bay Road in peak hour traffic.

Some of his claims were:

They should use the shared path that runs along Mounts Bay
Road.............(ok now this is not the place for a bunch of riders to
be...common sense dictates this surely????)
He pays car rego so he has more of a right to the road than cyclists....(I
too pay car rego and own a car.....do I not have the same rights)
He could'nt use the (second or outer lane) to get past the bunch because no
one in that lane would let him in......(plan ahead clown...see a bunch a
distance in front of you...make a move earlier so you can pass them..its
called road planning.....a basic driving skill)

This ignorant clown was rightfully put in his place by both Liam Bartlett
and the commissioner that despite tha fact the the dual use path is not a
suitable place for a peloton the cyclists have every right to be on the road
as he does.....it is this type of attitude that certainly does not endear
motorists to cyclists....

Now I generally use shared paths or footpaths where I can...esepcially along
Gt Eastern Hwy in peak hr traffic cause lets face it......with so many cars
and trucks my chances of survival are beter on the footpath......

It is people with this attitude that scare me quite seriously.
 
On 2006-04-11, harro (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> They should use the shared path that runs along Mounts Bay
> Road.............(ok now this is not the place for a bunch of riders to
> be...common sense dictates this surely????)
> He pays car rego so he has more of a right to the road than cyclists....(I
> too pay car rego and own a car.....do I not have the same rights)
> He could'nt use the (second or outer lane) to get past the bunch because no
> one in that lane would let him in......(plan ahead clown...see a bunch a
> distance in front of you...make a move earlier so you can pass them..its
> called road planning.....a basic driving skill)
>
> This ignorant clown was rightfully put in his place by both Liam Bartlett
> and the commissioner that despite tha fact the the dual use path is not a
> suitable place for a peloton the cyclists have every right to be on the road
> as he does.....it is this type of attitude that certainly does not endear
> motorists to cyclists....


Did the police commisioner also bring up the points you mentioned in
the previous paragraph -- particularly planning ahead?

Did they spend much time on this call?

If so, all the more positive education, great!

--
TimC
Always carry a short length of fibre-optic cable. If you get lost,
then you can drop it on the ground, wait ten minutes, and ask the
backhoe operator how to get back to civilization. -- Mike Andrews in NANAE
 
harro wrote:
> I am a regular commuter and someone lonely recreational cyclist.....I potter
> to work and do the regular round the river and other cycling journies in our
> lovely city....
>
> But this morning on Perth's 6PR talkback radio I had to laugh and shake my
> head at the ignorance of some people. Some clown called in to have a whinge
> to the police commissioner about a bunch of riders using one lane of Mounts
> Bay Road in peak hour traffic.
>
> Some of his claims were:
>
> They should use the shared path that runs along Mounts Bay
> Road.............(ok now this is not the place for a bunch of riders to
> be...common sense dictates this surely????)
> He pays car rego so he has more of a right to the road than cyclists....(I
> too pay car rego and own a car.....do I not have the same rights)
> He could'nt use the (second or outer lane) to get past the bunch because no
> one in that lane would let him in......(plan ahead clown...see a bunch a
> distance in front of you...make a move earlier so you can pass them..its
> called road planning.....a basic driving skill)
>
> This ignorant clown was rightfully put in his place by both Liam Bartlett
> and the commissioner that despite tha fact the the dual use path is not a
> suitable place for a peloton the cyclists have every right to be on the road
> as he does.....it is this type of attitude that certainly does not endear
> motorists to cyclists....
>
> Now I generally use shared paths or footpaths where I can...esepcially along
> Gt Eastern Hwy in peak hr traffic cause lets face it......with so many cars
> and trucks my chances of survival are beter on the footpath......
>
> It is people with this attitude that scare me quite seriously.
>
>
>

Try Victoria. According to an RAA survey in 2001, Victorian drivers were
the most aggressive, most arrogant and most intolerant of all states.
It's great riding a bike with some of the turkeys down here.
 
harro said:
It is people with this attitude that scare me quite seriously.
I hate to let you down, Harro, but these people account for easily 90% of the population in Australia. The thing that scares me, is that with such a huge increase in cyclists over the past 10 years, so many of those riding bikes were probably sitting in their cars whining about cyclists just like d!ckwads like the guy you're talking about. We are indeed a nation of hypocrites.

Lotte
 
harro said:
He pays car rego so he has more of a right to the road than cyclists.
A few days ago I was crossing Burwood Hwy near the Velodrome and this car failed to give way on a keep clear zone, mind you the cars a banked back from the lights ahead so all he could do was park on the clear zone. I had words to him and his reply was exactly the same as the guy above, I pay rego and you don't so you don't have any rights on the road. Another d##head.

Another girl last night in the same spot was driving along with her eyes looking downwards, probably at a phone, she got a fright when a friend said their is a bike wanting to cross in front of you.

This part of the road is three lanes wide and nearly all the time two cars will give way and one will not.
 
Dancier said:
I had words to him and his reply was exactly the same as the guy above, I pay rego and you don't so you don't have any rights on the road. Another d##head.
<best delivered in a calm, authoritive and measured voice>

That's not correct. You pay rego for the same reaons that people who own firearms have to register their weapons: that vehicle you're operating is a lethal weapon. The fees you pay compensate society for the death and destruction that cars inflict on society. My vehicle is benign, that's why I don't have to compensate society.

Yes I have dlivered this piece and the result was predictable: slack jawed wibble wibble I've nothing to say about that...
 
reading posts with quotes of the slack-jaws that ring up talk-back, with me it's always with the funny voice.

I suppose in this day & age of 'user pays', there is really no scope for sharing anymore.



The road is no place for cars I reckon, far too dangerous.
 
EuanB said:
<best delivered in a calm, authoritive and measured voice>

That's not correct. You pay rego for the same reaons that people who own firearms have to register their weapons: that vehicle you're operating is a lethal weapon. The fees you pay compensate society for the death and destruction that cars inflict on society. My vehicle is benign, that's why I don't have to compensate society.

Yes I have dlivered this piece and the result was predictable: slack jawed wibble wibble I've nothing to say about that...
I leave aside the fact that registration fees pay for little more than the administrative system that allows the State to collect registration fees and keep track of car registration. I have been known to give them this to think about -

"I pay registration too. On 2 vehicles, you know. And I'm not using either of them now, am I? So I'M subsidising YOU, aren't I? You owe me money, don't you? Where's my $10, you tight *******?" (delivered with a smile)

I know the logic is wrong, but I always enjoy using someone else's illogical argument against them if I can.

SteveA
 
SteveA wrote:
<snip>
> I leave aside the fact that registration fees pay for little more than
> the administrative system that allows the State to collect registration
> fees and keep track of car registration. I have been known to give them
> this to think about -
>
> "I pay registration too. On 2 vehicles, you know. And I'm not using
> either of them now, am I? So I'M subsidising YOU, aren't I? You owe
> me money, don't you? Where's my $10, you tight *******?" (delivered
> with a smile)
>
> I know the logic is wrong, but I always enjoy using someone else's
> illogical argument against them if I can.
>
> SteveA


I love it!
 

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