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A survey was reported in The Times recently where 600 cabbies were asked for their opinions on road signs, among other things.
They made a few suggestions including warning of the dangers of texting whilst walking and warning of rickshaws. When I first read the article it brought a smile to my face and then it got me thinking.
In the last few weeks we have witnessed a number of cyclists sadly being killed on our roads and, among other ideas, there have been suggestions about fitting cameras to HGVs.
This tends to put the emphasis on the driver, not the cyclist, to ensure safety. In reality road safety is the responsibility of every road user whether it be a driver, cyclist or pedestrian.
I know (or at least I hope) the cabbies were joking when they said they wanted signs to warn pedestrians of the dangers of walking and texting, but the idea of cameras on HGVs is not a joke.
Yet what I don't like is the way the media is pitting different groups of road users against each other, and why there should be an emphasis on one set of road users to take action.
The cyclists blame drivers, the drivers blame cyclists and the pedestrians blame everyone including people on mobility scooters! But why should only HGV drivers have to do something?
The good news is that people are talking about the interaction between drivers and cyclists - but haven't they been talking about that for years? Maybe as the popularity of cycling increases this will force the powers that be to do more than put up a few warning signs and fit cameras to lorries.
I suspect we will see an increase in police at busy junctions in central London for a week or two and then it will be forgotten.
The average driver will be conscious of cyclists whilst we are all talking about it and it's in the press, but as we have witnessed many times before following major motorway pile-ups, drivers slow down and leave bigger gaps for a few days and then quickly revert back to their bad habits.
I feel we should all take responsibility for deaths and injuries on our roads, no matter who you are or what you drive.
In the wake of these sorts of accidents, we've been asked to develop an e-learning module on driver awareness of cyclists, which will be ready in the next few weeks.
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