h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am a regular cyclist, of course I am a driver as well and like to think I am considerate of all road users and pedestrians.

However I often hear complaints that cyclists don't follow the rules of the road. And yet there are many cases where to follow the rules would be suicidal. Take a multi lane roundabout, according to the rules you should go to the inside and spiral your way out. Clearly this only works for cars, as a cyclist you just have to use common sense and get around it as safely as you can.

Many traffic lights are triggered by the weight of a car on a line on the road, but the bicycle is too light to trigger. So is the cyclist supposed to wait at the red light until a car comes along to trigger it? Clearly that would be stupid.

So once you accept that not all rules work for bikes it becomes a matter of interpretation as to which rules to obey and which to ignore.

And my second point, when having a debate with a driver over an incident, what they don't seem to understand is that in all likelihood what is at stake for them is perhaps a 30s delay, but what is at stake for the cyclist is their life!

Not quite, traffic lights are often triggered by an induction loop. That is a hoop of wire in which has a small current induced in it when any ferrous object passes over it. These used to be quit sensitive as on setup it was normal to test them by waving an iron bar above.
Apart for the above I generally agree.
Generally many car drivers do not give cyclists consideration; this could be due to the few cyclists who behave badly. I believe we need much tougher and impose the law for both drivers and cyclists. The problem with doing this is we need more police and an on the spot system whereby you pay the fine or walk or if your assets don’t meet the fine you loose your liberty until it is paid. Puts the responsibility in the hands of the individual