Campaigners See Red; Cyclists, Sadly, Do Not

M@
By M@ Last edited 226 months ago

Last Updated 27 February 2006

Campaigners See Red; Cyclists, Sadly, Do Not
redlight.jpg

We featured some green minicabs today. All very good, but they still guzzle hydrocarbons. So, while less damaging than your typical taxi, they’re not exactly ‘friendly’ to the environment – just less hostile.

To be truly non-polluting (odd drip of oil aside), you need to switch to pedal power. It’s quick, keeps you fit, avoids the congestion charge and offers shortcuts not available to motor vehicles. But for all its virtues, cycling can have a devastating impact on the very immediate environment; particularly those parts of the ecosystem who wander around on two feet, naively expecting to cross the road in safety when the green man appears.

Hundreds of people a year are hit by arse-brained cyclists overlooking red traffic lights. It’s dumb, selfish and ignorant and is giving cycling in the capital a bad name. Now, this bunch of parents have decided to do something about it.

The Reay Safely to School group (that first word is the name of a school, not a typo) are patrolling a Stockwell crossing each morning this week, to raise awareness of the issue. They’ll be handing out ‘I stop at red’ badges to cyclists who do, and hopefully the business end of a jousting lance to those who do not.

The special badges ought to form part of a collection: ‘I use lights when it’s dark because otherwise I get smeared across the tarmac’ and ‘I don’t ride along pavements like a five year old’.

As we’ll hopefully see many more velocipedes on London’s streets over the next few years, any and every campaign to promote safe cycling is very welcome.