Hi all,

Was just thinking today that cyclists get a lot of hassle for jumping lights, not fully obeying the road laws etc. but what is it that makes us so different from pedestrians? We are both vulnerable, we are not motorised, etc. But it seems that pedestrians can cross the road at red lights when no cars are coming, they can cross the road without crossings and quite often they hold up cars and cause them to stop / slow down because they are standing in the middle of the road trying to cross.

It can't be an issue of numbers and there are WAY more pedestrians than cyclists. So what is it?

One argument can be that cyclists use the road, but really we get only the same rights on the road as a pedestrian and our licensing is similar to that of pedestrians - non-existent.

Also what about people on skateboards or rollerblades using the road. One can argue they are similar to bicycles but they probably wouldn't get the same hassle that we do. We all know that road laws are not specific enough for cyclists and we are simply tacked on to the existing laws.

One can argue though that cyclists are more wary when "breaking" the law than pedestrians as cyclists have a day-to-day experience of being in close proximity of cars, so should theoretically be safer.

Pedestrians are also rarely honked if causing a hold up compared to cyclists who are honked just for the sake of it sometimes.

So why are we treated so differently to pedestrians? Is it because everyone has experience of being a pedestrian? If so, is this not an argument for making sure motorists ride a bicycle / scooter / motorcycle before becoming licensed?

Thanks

Daven