A safer route is being sought for cyclists \u2013 although there appears to be no protection from the hate aimed at them by some people.<\/p>\n
Moves to reopen the old Tramway route from Stratford to Shipston for cyclists and pedestrians is back on the agenda at Stratford District Council as road safety is put in the spotlight following a couple of recent tragedies.<\/p>\n
Cyclist. Image: arminep\/Pixabay<\/p>\n
This includes the sad death of a male cyclist in his 50s on the Shipston Road in March.<\/p>\n
Without apportioning blame for the fatal accident, the Herald ran an interview with Shipston Cycle Club member Andrew Leask, 54, in our 9th April edition where he told us that the Shipston Road (A3400) is \u201cone of the most hostile roads locally\u201d.<\/p>\n
He also said he regularly hands over footage recorded on his GoPro camera of drivers passing him dangerously close and other hazardous incidents to Warwickshire Police under the force\u2019s Operation Snap scheme \u2013 which can lead to dangerous road users facing legal action.<\/p>\n
We shared one of Andrew\u2019s videos of a driver passing him closely with oncoming traffic on Seven Meadows Road.<\/p>\n
The story provoked a huge response, with thousands reading it, and attracting more than 500 comments on Facebook.<\/p>\n
A significant number of those comments were very negative and nasty towards cyclists \u2013 prompting concern from others that the rights and indeed lives of cyclists were held in less regard than those of other road users.<\/p>\n
Sammy Davies wrote that he had \u201czero sympathy\u201d for cyclists.<\/p>\n
A car passes Andrew Leask illegally on Seven Meadows Road.<\/p>\n
Oliver Moharic thought cyclists should \u201cstick to the side of the road\u201d and added \u201cif you feel it is dangerous… just don\u2019t ride there\u201d.<\/p>\n
Luigi Briganti responded to the story by blaming \u201clefty bikers\u201d for using roads at all \u2013 thinking they should be banned.<\/p>\n
Adding to the debate, Paul Moore simply stated: \u201cThe world would be a much happier place if cyclists realised that they are the very bottom of the pecking order on roads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile there were a lot of \u2018whataboutism\u2019 arguments from seemingly angry car drivers, pointing out that cyclists don\u2019t pay road tax and therefore should have less rights on the road or that they are a danger \u2013 jumping red lights for example.<\/p>\n
There were also a lot of commenters who seemed ignorant of the law, for example complaining about cyclists riding two abreast, which the Highway Code says is safer, or that they should cycle at the side of the road, whereas the code says centre is best.<\/p>\n
The most level-headed comments made a plea for respecting the rights and lives of others.<\/p>\n
Responding to the numerous comments, Andrew, the cyclist and original Herald interviewee who shared the video footage, commented: \u201cWow, if each person putting the energy into commenting put the same energy into being a decent human being on the roads, the world would be a much happier and safer place.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s all take a deep breath, realise that everyone\u2019s journey matters, and treat each other as humans \u2013 fathers, mothers, sons, daughters \u2013 no matter what mode of transport we\u2019re using on any particular day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Olivia Hatch (Green, Shipston North) told the Herald: \u201cI don\u2019t understand hatred towards cyclists, they should be looked after and encouraged by motorists. Each bicycle on the road means one less car and therefore less congestion and therefore less pollution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not helped by the current county council administration cutting funding towards cycle paths.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr Hatch wants to see better cycling and walking routes in the district and has put forward a motion to the district council outlining a raft of measures to be considered.<\/p>\n
This includes helping local interest group The Old Tramway Revived pursue its ambition of resurrecting the overgrown route from Cox\u2019s Yard to Shipston that the old tram system used. It opened in 1826 and ran until the 1900s, and was dismantled in 1918.<\/p>\n
Cyclist. Image: clickerhappy\/Pixabay<\/p>\n
Running along the Shipston Road and along the Fosse Way, it has a spur to Shipston before heading on to Moreton-in-Marsh.<\/p>\n
The district council owns some of the land, and the group wants to use that to create a greener and safer travel route. In the first instance a council officer will make a report on the practicalities of Cllr Hatch\u2019s motion.<\/p>\n
Cllr Hatch said: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the officer\u2019s report on my Safe Cycling Motion, hopefully the county and district will see sense and the Tramway Revived plan for a cycle path from Stratford along the A3400 will be taken forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Rule-breakers\u2019 theory<\/p>\n
So-called \u2018Mamils’ (middle-aged men in Lycra) are often the butt of jokes\u2026 but joking aside it would seem that some motorists would actually like to kill them. But why?<\/p>\n
A 2019 study by Australian researchers has found that some motorists dislike cyclists so intensely that they view them as not being completely human. This can lead motorists to drive aggressively by deliberately cutting off or impeding cyclists, the researchers found.<\/p>\n
Incredibly, 17 per cent of motorists told researchers that they had used their car to deliberately block a cyclist, 11 per cent said they had intentionally driven their car close to a cyclist and nine per cent said they had used their car to cut off a cyclist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you don\u2019t think someone is \u2018fully\u2019 human, it\u2019s easier to justify hatred or aggression towards them. This can set up an escalating cycle of resentment,\u201d research lead Dr Alexa Delbosc said. \u201cIf cyclists feel dehumanised by other road users, they may be more likely to act out against motorists, feeding into a self-fulfilling prophecy that further fuels dehumanisation against them. Ultimately we want to understand this process so we can do a better job at putting a human face to people who ride bikes, so that hopefully we can help put a stop to the abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u2018dehumanising\u2019 effect of helmets and certain clothes was also looked into by Dr Ian Walker of Bath University. He found that cars passed closer to cyclists who were wearing helmets \u2013 as the headwear makes them look less \u2018human\u2019 and therefore they are treated with less humanity.<\/p>\n
Drivers also gave riders a wider berth if they thought they were women (he wore a long blonde wig for that part of the experiment).<\/p>\n
Psychologist Tom Stafford\u2019s theory is that motorists hate cyclists because they think they offend the moral order.<\/p>\n
\u201cDriving is a very moral activity \u2013 there are rules of the road, both legal and informal, and there are good and bad drivers,\u201d he said. \u201cThe whole intricate dance of the rush-hour junction only works because people know the rules and by-and-large follow them. Then along come cyclists, innocently following what they see are the rules of the road, but doing things that drivers aren\u2019t allowed to: overtaking queues of cars, moving at well below the speed limit or undertaking on the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said deep within the human psyche is an anger at people who break the rules, and cyclists trigger this anger when they use the roads but don’t follow the same rules as cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Previous stories:<\/p>\n