In the Times article I linked to in the last post, they dragged out a lunatic who calls himself Captain Gatso to present a counterpoint to the otherwise pro-cycling tone of the piece. I’d normally ignore this blatant trolling, but it’s amusing enough to want to go through it line by line.
For the unaware, gatso is a shortened version of gatosmeter - the name of the speed cameras that seem to be getting everywhere at the moment. Captain Gatso is the anonymous mouthpiece of a somewhat dubious operation named MAD (Motorists Against Detection) who are involved in direct action (think angle grinders, tyres full of petrol, driving into) against motorway speed cameras. They are, as I’m sure you’ll agree, ideally positioned to comment on contraflow cycling.
Captain Gatso says:
The same rules should apply to every road user.
True.
You cannot make exceptions just because someone happens to be on a bicycle.
Also true.
Cyclists already get away with blue murder
The same accusation could be levelled at lot of motorists, in particular bus drivers, white van drivers, taxi drivers and Royal Mail van drivers. Not all drivers, of course, but then I’m sure Captain Gatso mean that not all cyclists “get away with blue murder”.
and it would be a mistake to give in to their law-breaking. If they get their way on one-way streets they will then start demanding the right to intimidate pedestrians on pavements.
I do not see the link here. Pavements are full of people, dogs on string, prams, lamp posts and other hazards. Roads tend to be a lot flatter and generally more pleasant to cycle on.
I would like to see cyclists pay a £10 registration fee to the DVLA and be forced to wear a bib bearing a unique number whenever they use the public highway.
Not unless it’s made by Rapha.
Then they could be caught on CCTV cameras, just as motorists are, when they ignore no-entry signs and jump red lights.
Jumping red lights is a funny one. Technically if you go past the white line closest to the lights you are jumping a red light. On most large roads there are cycle areas at the front of the traffic lane, however there is frequently a bus/HGV or other large vehicle sitting in it.
In these situations the only thing a cyclist can do to ensure that they are visible to the driver of said vehicle is to move in front of it - which will normally result in the cyclist “jumping” the red light. Drivers can be fined for driving in cycle lanes (I suppose the cycle only area counts if the lights are red) but until it’s enforced it seems a little silly to punish the cyclist for drivers’ bad habits.
If a police officer saw a cyclist without a bib, he could pull the cyclist over automatically as he would a car without number plates.
That sounds like an excellent use of police time. No doubt Captain Gatso thinks they have a lot of it since speed cameras mean they don’t have to occupy themselves with chasing down speeding motorists.
What makes drivers angry and frustrated with cyclists who ignore the Highway Code is that they know there is very little chance of them being stopped by police. Cyclists are already far too smug – and giving them special rights that are denied to motorists would only encourage them in their arrogance.
Again, what makes cyclists angry and frustrated with bus/van/taxi/car drivers is that there’s very little chance of them being stopped by police as they swerve in front of you or aggressively overtake a gnats whisper from your elbow only to slam on the brakes when they notice the red light twenty metres away.
I can understand why some drivers may not feel inclined to give way to cyclists coming the wrong way down a one-way street. I shout at them when they ride past me but they either ignore me or come out with the old gag: “But I’m only going one way.”
I must remember that one.
Image stolen from Katmellie.
