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The Conservative Party leader was caught sailing through red lights and more, but his willingness to get out of his car once in awhile and experience other forms of transport is still laudable - a few fleet types should try it
Who'd be a politician? Being a role model the whole time must be a tough gig. Tory leader David Cameron will know this only too well, getting caught the other week jumping two red lights and cycling the wrong way down a one-way street by a Daily Mirror photojournalist.
The usual safety types got wheeled out to condemn his actions, and a couple of years ago I might have been the same. Back then as a daily car commuter, many of the two-wheeled crew drove me mad with their constant law-breaking, holier-than-thou attitude towards car drivers and general disregard for pedestrians.
Many of them still infuriate me on the latter two points but having switched to two wheels for shorter distance commutes into London - brought about by an aversion to paying the congestion charge, a vague desire to be a bit fitter and because it's simply the cheapest, simplest and quickest way of getting around parts of the city centre - I've softened my standpoint.
I'm still no fan of cyclists dangerously jumping red lights at busy crossroads, and scaring pedestrians and freaking out drivers whose right of way is being infringed. But I can see why cyclists run some red lights at filter points onto main roads when their way is genuinely clear - just like almost all of us as pedestrians will happily walk across the road at traffic lights whether or not the green man is showing, as long as we've checked it is safe to do so. Neither is 'best practice' but both are examples of human nature with a dose of personal risk assessment.
Still feeling like a 'car driver who cycles a bit', I wait at red lights all over the place while other cyclists sail past, but my point is this: to really get better road safety policy we all need to put ourselves in other people's shoes - or vehicles - a little more often. Cyclists who drove a van for a few days would soon realise most van drivers don't hate them. Often, they simply can't see them due to a severely restricted rear view.
Equally, car drivers who rode a bike once in awhile would soon feel how scary it can be when car drivers get too close, don't look properly or turn without indicating. And if both 'tribes' walked a bit I'm sure they'd treat pedestrians at zebra crossings with more respect.
Along with the existing National Commute Smart Week, the Government could encourage a 'National Commute Differently Week'. Fleet managers might be able to do the same on a micro level too. It might just make better road users of all of us.
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