Talbot Avenue? There's no such thing as a dangerous road (From Bournemouth Echo)

Talbot Avenue? There's no such thing as a dangerous road

10:13am Tuesday 2nd March 2010 in

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THERE is no such thing as a dangerous road. The stretch of tarmac and the road markings that make up Talbot Avenue and the roundabouts associated with it do not present a danger to anyone in themselves.

See a video by an Echo reporter as he cycles around Bournemouth's accident blackspots - see the Related Link at the right-hand side

The only things that make this stretch of road dangerous to cyclists, or anyone else, are the people using it. There are good and bad motorists and there are good and bad cyclists, but there are far more bad motorists than there are bad cyclists.

The biggest reason for this stretch of road being dangerous to cyclists is the excessive speed, impatience and aggressive driving of the motorists. I haven't cycled along this road for a number of years and that is out of personal choice, I would rather take a longer journey and ensure my own safety by not having to expose myself to the must-get-past mentality of some drivers.

Not all drivers are bad, in fact some are fantastic, give plenty of room and wait patiently for a safe place to overtake - as per the Highway Code! After all they are only being delayed by a matter of seconds and is it really worth taking the risk of killing or injuring another human being just to get to the stationary line of traffic a few seconds earlier?

On a much lighter note, I am pleased to see the new campaign to encourage safer driving - Caught Speeding, no excuses.

The standard of driving in the local area is appalling and I support the crackdown on those who continue to endanger other people by driving badly. This morning, due to oversleeping, I drove into work and found myself getting very frustrated with the flagrant disregard for the Highway Code and traffic laws by what seemed to be the majority of motorists.

Speeding, bad lane discipline, red light jumping, aggressive behaviour, queue jumping...I could go on, but this just seems to be considered normal behaviour by the majority of drivers.

I was astounded to see a number of motorists drive down the wrong side of the road, over a blind crest in order to jump past the queue of cars and sit at a red light. One driver in particular carried out this manoeuvre despite the fact that there was a cyclist coming in the opposite direction!

I am expecting that the anti-cycling lobby may well object to these comments, however before they get the chance to start yelling, consider this: It is a small minority of cyclists that run red lights and ride on the pavements, but it's the majority of motorists who break the speed limit.

There are more uninsured motorists on the road than there are cyclists in total.

More cyclists equals less cars equals less congestion!