The law is only as powerful as the person who enforces it.
Considering that the enforcers do not enforce it, to what good is the law? It is merely a line on a piece of paper, that is all
Anyway, since people are complaining about cyclists using pavements, perhaps I should also remind people not to become idiots and get their feet of the cycling track
I used to cycle at East Coast regulary until a particular incident stopped me.
For those who go there often or stay near there, on weekends, it is usually very crowded, to such an extent that the pedestrians actually walk on the cycling roads, putting themselves and the cyclists at danger.
I was cycling at a relatively moderate speed one night when there was this group of 3 girls in front, occupying the whole entire lane. To my right, was traffic that went in the opposite direction.
I rang my bell as soon as they were 50 metres in front of me, however, they refused to budge.
So I decided to go around them as the incoming traffic on the right was empty and I was confident that I could go around those girls before the incoming bikes came.
So still ringing my bell, I cycled around the group to the left, until I was cycling ON the white road divider.
Suddenly, the girl on the right jumped to the right, and straight into my path. The girl in the middle had attempted to playfully slap the girl on the right.
I swerved, lost control of the bike and skidded. My back wheel scratched the girl on the leg. I crashed and flew off the bike, right in front of the girls.
The bike, wasn't so lucky. It went into the opposite direction, onto the incoming path.
The cyclists in front also had to skid to avoid my flying bike. One of them fell off the bike but thankfully he wasn't too badly injured
The most ridiculous thing of all, was that despite bleeding from the arm and knee, I was subjected to the girl's malicious screaming and scolding for being "an inconsiderate rider"
They refused to let me go until some other eyewitnesses scolding them for being the inconsiderate ones that they shut up and left the place in a huff.
Consider this:
They were making things inconsiderate for people by walking on the cycling path when they weren't supposed to.
I had gave them ample warnings with my ringing of my bell for the whole 50 metres I travelled till I flew
They made sudden movements that were beyond my control
If people are complaining about cyclists on pavements, then perhaps pedestrians should also stop acting like as if they own the pavement. I always believed it is give and take.
And also, since there are some people who are anal enough to insist on persecuting cyclists who use pavements (I see a lot of them doing so on the SGClub forums), then in the same way I propose that we persecute pedestrians on cycling roads as jaywalkers, giving them the exact same punishments that jaywalkers on traffic roads get. After all, they are putting everyone at risk by jaywalking
Happens to me alot of times.
