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Scooter & motorcycle use in London - let's make it easier and safer(permalink)

Posted by Dinnerlady [The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom]William Blake. Top lad:) on Friday, 17th March 2006 Last updated Friday, 17th March 2006
I think there's a general need for the driving community and enforcement officals to see motorbilkes as a help not a hindrance (next time you see 6 bikes at a traffic light - imagine how much busier it would be if those riders all chose to drive a car). Many car drivers seem to lose their humanity once iside the metal box of a car, and it seems they see two wheeled drivers as a threat to their potential place in a queue, or annoyance, rather than another human being who is much more vulnerable than they are.

As for the particular issues you mention, there are a couple of trials going on around London, allowing motorcycles and scooters in bus lanes, and I think we'd all be interested to find out more about the current state of play. There is an update on the Transport for London website, and it seems to conclude that allowing bus lane travel improves safety for the riders, while not compromising it for the other users (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/streets/motorcycle-buslane-study.shtml), but I agree that there needs to be an awareness by the more aggressive motorbike riders that they should allow plenty of room for the cyclists and slower moving traffic in the lane.

As for the parking issue, it appalls me that some boroughs seem to relish placing £80 parking tickets on scooters where they have clearly tried to squeeze into an over-full bay. Many central London boroughs with a large population of two wheeled commuters (Westminster, Camden, Kensinton/Chelsea etc) need to recognise the need for more bays. I did take it on myself to write to all the boroughs mentioned and actually got a reply from Westminster saying that some residents complained about scooter bays as they were unsightly, which left me dumbstruck.

Plus, I think you should add to your campaign that maybe new car drivers should be forced to do a CBT, so they can experience what it's like to feel that vulnerable amongst the other traffic, and they might start giving us a bit of leeway and maybe even indicating before they change lanes or do a U turn!

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