Hundreds of Cyclists Stage “Die In” In Downtown London to Protest Unsafe Road Conditions

Love it, what a great idea! I think we should do that here in Vancouver, but the roads are already pretty bike friendly and we might be pushing our luck.

Cheers to them! If we all could organize to this level instead of the critical masses that instead get us beat up by police, or arrested, or worse turn off the majority of cyclists from joining in.

The fact is that infrastructure built for cars is not properly observed, so when the added element of cyclists are present, it becomes very dangerous for the less protected.

Rules need to be established and punishment must be meted to ensure compliance, but the biggest issue is visibility. If a driver is not looking out for cyclists, they will never see them.

@PBJoe,
I agree with you that the infrastructure built for cars isn’t observed or monitored very well, but I think that is in large part due to funding. And that I think most people don’t want to have more police around, especially in places like where I live. Around here, people think cops only pull them over for traffic violations because the officer has nothing better to do. I don’t think that seeing more of the red and blue would help.

Personally I think that cyclists need to be re-classified as pedestrians, not vehicles. As far as possible injuries in a collision, cyclists share much more in common with pedestrians than they do cars. If cyclists were allowed to ride and think like a pedestrian, they would be less likely to be hit. At least that has been my experience.

rico, you need to get in on this. They’re talking about biking in the Netherlands.

I was there, and it was incredible to see how many cyclists and pedestrians turned out. Hopefully it is enough to get the attention of the media, and most importantly TfL.

I’m a Londoner that now lives in the Netherlands – I’m no serious cyclist, but here in Utrecht I of course cycle everywhere, every day.

The Netherlands is often held up as a shining example of cycling safety, however there’s a crucial reason behind this that is often ignored, and which is highlighted by the argument above on classification of cyclists:

Everyone in the Netherlands is a cyclist.

There is no distinction between those that bike and those that don’t. Not even to the level of age or disability, as such things are provided for in bike form. Mainly because there isn’t anyone that doesn’t.

Developing such a culture requires, however, that the infrastructure be put in place. A culture of cycling can’t develop if cycling is not as safe, encouraged and provided for as cars, aeroplanes or trains. But the culture of cyclists should change too – you don’t see many lycra-clad, helmet wearing race-bike users here, as the cities are as unsuited to them as they are in London. And this is part of the problem as well, as it’s hard to convince the authorities to develop appropriate city-cycling infrastructure when the people trying to do the convincing are not the people that will benefit from the most important changes.

@jimmy,

that’s not a bad idea. But until then, I will ride my bike on the sidewalks, and keep myself as far away as possible from cars.

Outstanding!