A blogger who referred to cyclists as ‘road maggots’ represents the views of an alarming minority of road users, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.
Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says:
“Blogger Cameron Slater is not alone: he’s the tip of the iceberg. Most bigots aren’t as honest or as upfront as Slater, but they have the same basic attitude.”
“Cyclists are treated as third class citizens in this country. The government treats cyclists with contempt. The road builders treat cyclists with contempt. The city councils treat cyclists with contempt.”
“However, the worst abuse of cyclists comes from other road users. Cyclists get bottles hurled at them, abuse hurled at them, they get cut off and run over. And still, there are bigots out there who somehow manage to blame the cyclists, instead blaming the system that treats cyclists so badly.”
“Cyclists are among the most vulnerable of road users. Every single one of my friends who cycle regularly has had a potentially-fatal clash with a motor vehicle.”
Matthew-Wilson doesn’t trust other road users to respect cyclists.
“The only real way to protect cyclists from this carnage is to separate them from motorists. Cycle lanes are a good start, but ultimately, there needs to be a physical barrier between cyclists and car users, so the two can’t collide.”
“Road planners tend to see the road as a pipe: the more vehicles you fit through the pipe, the better. However, this sort of road planning inevitably causes competition between motorists and cyclists. The end result is multiple deaths, countless injuries, and a population that is increasingly scared to ride bicycles on public roads.”
