Let’s not create any ghost bikes this Christmas
MaPuce and I witnessed a cyclist crashing into and going over the top of a car bonnet this morning. In fact the cyclist almost landed on Ma Puce as we waited to cross the road.
For some reason, the woman who was clearly in a bit of a rush, didn’t think that she was at fault for pulling across the route of the oncoming cyclist to nip into a parking space.
In fact she berated him for ‘braking’. Honestly, the irony of that given that she almost broke him. She wasn’t an ignorant kind of a woman, she’s probably very nice under normal circumstances. But her ignorance of the basic rules of the road are more than a little worrying.
And where she thought he was going to go, rather than straight over her bonnet, I have no idea. She seemed to think that he should have pulled out and gone around her.
The cyclist was relatively unscathed and I hope he has remained that way. Unfortunately his adrenaline was pumping through his veins so furiously that, after picking himself up off the road and shouting at the woman, he got on his bike and sped off. I tried to get him to sit down and let the shock subside, but it didn’t work. So, I hope he made it to work in one piece and doesn’t go on to discover that he has any injuries.
Living in London I am increasingly used to hearing tales of cyclists being knocked off their bikes, it happened to a friend only a few weeks back. My husband has been knocked off his bike twice in the past, and now that Ma Puce is here, he no longer cycles on the road.
Ghost bikes – old bikes pained white and left at the site of where cyclists have been seriously injured or killed by motorists – and cropping up with more and more frequency. We have one at the roundabout in Victoria Park, minutes from our house.
Christmas in particular is a time when we go into overdrive, rushing around to get everything done at the last minute. I can feel myself speeding up day by day. So, I thought I’d just post a little reminder, for myself included, to try and stop the crazy rushing, particularly if you are on the road.
It isn’t just cyclists, it’s other motorists and pedestrians too. Take a breath before you pull off, remind yourself that no matter how much of a rush you are in, nothing is worth injuring or killing anyone else or yourself for. Let’s all slow down dears, it’s only Christmas!
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