Do these messages irritate anyone else?

Anagram there has been lots of accidents with the mobility scooters! a little girl was run over by one and had her hair/scalp ripped off !!! the trouble with these things is they do not need to take out insurance, have you seen the size!! of some of these vehicles...DH has one but just a small one..but even that has gone over my toes at times (my own fault) !!

That happens to me with some of those 'silent' mobility scooters, anno, and I've had the same thoughts about stepping sideways and possibly being seriously injured!

You can still get bicycle bells and fuddy duddy type bikes like what I have have them. But not the snazzy bikes it seems.

When I am walking on our nice wide pavements in the shopping area of our small town, I am often passed by youngsters on bikes which come up silently behind me. I often wonder: what would happen if I suddenly took a step to the side - it could easily happen - would the rider come off worse or would I? Whatever happened to bicycle bells?

also I think it should be made legal to have to wear cycle helmets, some of these cyclists travel 20/30 mph! (I know! as they have almost kept up with the car)!

I used to be a cyclist, and these days I can't understand why it isn't illegal to wear headphones while on a bike. It's so important to hear what's coming up behind you.
All these road signs are designed just for me! I remember each and every one of them, all those road safety commercials, "Dip, don't dazzle", etc. I do regularly "think bike". When I worked for the NHS, the bosses decided it would be helpful to write "think drink" on their vehicles. Intended to deter us from taking alcohol, it did the opposite!

speaking of hearing! earphones in etc...has anyone seen or come across these new electric cars! a friend of my daughters has just bought one.think it was a Twingo or something like that...but the one thing that struck me ! this car had pulled up right behind me! and I hadn't heard a thing! they are so quiet, they can travel at 30 mph,, can you imagine the possibilities of people being knocked down ( blind or deaf people or chidren that "listen " for cars)these cars are silent..in fact just like the mobility scooters that glide around, they are so quiet you don't realise they are there

I wonder how many of those pedestrians were wearing earphones at the time - or texting?

Just picked up my Motor Cycle monthly paper.. was glancing through it and notice this.
Bike fatalities figures down, (DfT) show a 10% decrease in motorcycle fatalities 2010/2012 whilst over the same period Cyclist casulties rose 4%, plus those involving car occupants rose 6% with pedestrians a 12% rise.

Take a photo of him from behind just as he's mounting his bike, jeni!

Git next door is a keen cyclist. Age 72, he thinks his Lycra makes him look sexy!

I fully accept that there are some sensible bikers and I do take care at road junctions being very aware of how easy it is to loose a cyclist or biker behind the windscreen pillar.

Perhaps it's a Norfolk thing that bikers here believe themselves to be invincible. Most ignore speed limits, overtaking in the silliest places regardless of road markings or in heavy traffic sitting just by the car's off side rear bumper which is very distracting as one never knows when they're going to squeeze past.

We're also a popular area for racing cyclists. Or rather men who fancy themselves as such. They pedal like mad, going nowhere very fast with Lycra clad wobbly buttocks. Getting stuck behind one is not a pleasant experience. I do wish someone would tell them - they do NOT look sexy!

I know what you mean anno, I have spent the last few years worrying about my DS every time I think about him being on his bike. He took it off the road a year ago when a change of job meant he was commuting by train - but over the summer he has been working on it (it all seems to be part of the fun ) and I know he is itching to get on it again. I think it's just something in some boys/ men - he wanted a motorbike from a very early age, but his brother is not interested at all.

nightowl, I was so relieved when my DS sold his motorbike, after a couple of - fortunately minor - spills. I do hope that none of the GC ever decide to take to two wheels. I used to ride a bright orange moped that would do no more than 35mph with the wind behind it going downhill, but even so there were a few near misses that were none of my making.

I would like to echo what others have said about motorbikers being less visible. In my view car drivers (myself included) are often oblivious to their presence. I also tended to blame them for accidents until my son became a biker and he began to talk to me about the dangers. He rides very defensively but there's only so much a biker can do. He had a bad accident on a busy roundabout when he was commuting to work one morning. A car driver simply pulled on in front of him leaving him nowhere to go. She got a dented driver's door and a bad fright (he said he heard her scream as his head made contact with her door); he was the one on the floor in heavy traffic with a written off motorbike. He was very lucky not to be killed, and to walk away from the accident but he did have shoulder and knee injuries that took months to heal and still cause him some problems.

I think all road users owe each other the same degree of courtesy - but cyclists and motorbikers are simply less visible and more vulnerable, so perhaps deserve more consideration. All road users have to give way to pedestrians, but some of them really do seem to have a death wish...

you really can't cycle believing that drivers OWE you some form of courtesy. We're not discussing an ideal life here but real life.
Some cyclists are crazy and there are a lot of deaths per head of moror cycling population compared to those who drive cars, these are basic facts and as you take responsibility for you own safety when on a bike, its better you don't rely on others being courteous.
That about being an organ doner is unfortunately true. You have more chance of getting young organs to transplant in summer. Some hospitals prepare for it.

I think the majority of us are considerate people whatever mode of transport we use, car/bike/scooter/pedal bike, there are a minority who once behind the wheel/handlebars are agressive from the word go, also it goes for pedestrians,you know! the ones that deliberately look at you and walk out in front of you or show off to their mates how brave they are to swagger across in front of you knowing full well you have!to slow down or stop,the ones that are on mobiles and are oblivious that they have stepped onto the road.

The cyclists and motorcyclists here in Bristol seem to have a death wish! Very rarely does a cyclist stop at a red light and the ton up brigade delight in overtaking on double lines and blind bends! I now yell 'kidney donor' at them!
It doesn't do any good and they can't hear me, but it makes me feel better.

Charlotta I seem to recall from an interview with some "exerts" on the television news that something like 90% of all cyclists are also car drivers, so they really should be able to see both sides of the matter. I would disagree with the first part of your last sentence. I think all drivers of any kind of vehicle as well as cyclists, pedestrians and any other road users owe courtesy to each other – all the more so when you are in charge of a lethal weapon.

What amuses me in France is the sign warning agains a wobbly road or unstable verge of the road. It is surely cheaper to put up these signs than to do a bit of road mending.
If cyclists were experienced drivers and car drivers occasionally rode a bike there would not be so many accidents. I take care to give cyclists enough space and when on my bike I ride as if all motorists were inconsiderate. I put my own safety first and dismount ( what some cyclists refuse to do) and push my bike across a busy road if necessary.
Your life remains your own responsibility. no one owes you courtesy on the road, but a surprising amount of drivers and lorry drivers are helpful and courteous.

JO4 It is not just bikers who get killed.
My worst driving experience was some years ago on the A66 near Bassethwaite. I was doing about 50 mph on a stretch of dual carriageway when suddenly a woman and two children leaped out if the bushes and ran across the road straight in front of the car.
By the grace of God (sorry if that causes offence to anyone) I didn't kill or even injure them but the episode haunted me for some time afterwards and I still think about it 20 years on.
So I don't give special consideration to bikers.
I give special consideration to all other road users including pedestrians, in the sense that I assume everyone else is an idiot and is going to behave on the road like an idiot.

bikergran - but you are so right - car drivers should be more aware of motorbikers and cyclists - although cyclists tend to be slower, of course, and tend to ride near the kerb!

Anagram it wasn't me! lol honestly

erm! may I step in here annodomini you are very much right in your comment.
As a motorbike rider and a car driver I can see both sides.Car drivers cannot judge the speed of motorbikes (and when I say speed, I don't mean 70ph) I am talking any speed 20mph 30 mph etc etc .. the amount of car drivers that pull out usualy from junctions in front of me is unbelievable! you can get almost up to them and then suddenly the car driver looks at you and pulls out! like your invisible! there has just been a petition to include 2 motorcyle questions in the car theory test but I believe it hasn't been passed.
A motorcyclists has to ride deffensively if he or she wants to survive the day, they have to try and predict what the car driver is about to do then be prepared for them doing the complete opposite,yes I see as others do..motorcylist riding over the white line, at speeds that are just stupid and there will always be these "type" of riders, just the same as there are those "type" of car drivers.who don't give a thought about other peoples safety, they come out of no where at terrific speeds, Im sure we have all been driving along quite comfortably in our cars when!!suddenly this maniac of a motorcyclist apears next to our car window! In this country we are not geared up for looking out for pedal cyclist/motorcyclist. I ride a bright red motorcycle, I wear a bright coloured helmet, I wear a very high visibilty tabard but still we hear those famous words sorry I didn't see you!
all I can say is..do check your mirrors and do look out for motorcyclists, do! look right again before pulling out of a junction, I'm sure we have all seen the add where the chap looks right then left and pulls out, and then next thing a motorcyclist is coming through his drivers window!
we are not all maniacs,,I am a 57 yr old female who enjoys riding a motorcycle for pleasure.It has also made me a better car driver as now I do look out for motorcycles and no I havn't got a sticker in my rear window