Hitchcocks Forum

I had to lay Thumper down last friday.. luckily I wasn't moving at any great speed so there is minimal damage to my beloved bike. I'm pretty knocked about though. Badly sprained my right ankle where the footrest caught me out and my left thumb went back to my wrist.. asphalt burns to right elbow and knee.

The reason for this?

A stupid woman jogger with these stupid earplug things in her head, making her effectively deaf to the traffic and concentrating only on the pavement in front of her, she didn't even look back and ran straight out in front of me..

I can't understand why there aren't laws against these things... Try driving and using a mobile phone and see what happens.

Anyone else had problems with these morons?

We have had a few killed out here when they walk infront of trams and trains. Hope you heal quickly

Along with car drivers, they live in a world of their own. Get well soon.

Bloody cyclist nearly had me off last week. No rear glance, just stuck his hand out and pulled out to turn right. Must have been deaf too as the bike isn't altogether silent! Missed him by inches then he had the cheek to shout at ME!! I gently pointed out the error of his ways

Exile, Sorry to hear that, will she be paying for the damage to you and the bike? Her household contents policy should cover her for PL.

Have you also notice the number of idiots driving cars with there headphones on as well lately. So now not only are they blind to you there deaf as well so no chance of them even hearing you.

@ Paulk: NO. Over here, the law keeps both cyclists and pedestrians blame free in any accident. The onus is always on the motorist or motorcyclist. I couldn't even sue her privately if I wanted to.

I want a campaign of some sort to get these ear-bud things off our roads. If I use a mobile phone while driving, I can risk losing my license. It's distracting, they say. My point is, how distracting is it to be deaf and totally unconcentrated while cycling or running on a road? And don't forget, because of the "greenies" over here, cyclists and runners get in a cycle lane on the inside of the traffic and have absolute right of way.

I want to see them having some responsibility for their actions. If you hit one, their fault or not, you, the motorist, are always the criminal. And you will pay.

Hi Exile. The same law applies in the Netherlands. It protects the most vulnerable road users. A good idea! Far more people in the UK would take to the road on their bikes if they did the same thing over here. A few amendments should nevertheless be made, like law not applicable in the case of cyclist or pedestrian wearing ear-plugs.

Hi Exile. Hope you recover soon. Not a pleasant experience.

Robin - sorry, but I disagree. Any law that automatically favours one person over another is a bad law. What about the concept of innocent until proven guilty? Everyone, drivers, riders, cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders should be subject to the same duty of care and should be capable of being sued if they fail to do so.

This is a serious matter and the current arrangement is clearly unjust.
The situation Robin describes does not protect the vulnerable road user - the cyclist - from injury or in any other way.
It merely exonerates them from prosecution - whether 'guilty' or not.
That's an affront to natural justice.