Thursday 9 August 2012

A nation of fuckwits. Maybe soon: two nations.

A tragic death in London, and instead of the country's reporters asking "why are buses and bicycles mixed?", one of them goes to Bradley Wiggins, says "do you think cyclists should wear helmets", and the argument begins.

The fact that the national discussion is about whether or not to wear helmets shows how backward things are -the US is making the UK look lost in time.

The cycling campaigners try to use evidence-based arguments in the helmet debate -but miss a key point: the people they are trying to argue with are fuckwits.

Take the letter that Kim Harding reposted, High-viz vests a must for cyclists
Few will argue that helmets are not a good idea, but all roadway users – cyclists, walkers and runners – should be obliged to wear high-viz vests.
...
The law should be changed to make high-viz mandatory and the Scottish Government could win praise for common sense by handing out the vests free (buying them in big numbers will bring the cost down to pennies each).

That idiot isn't just saying cyclists should be forced to wear hi-viz, he says walkers and runners too. That is: everyone not driving a car.

How the fuck is that going to be enforced? Are you going have police (wearing hi-viz), stopping pedestrians in central Glasgow and issuing spot fines for anyone walking round without hi-viz tabards? Can you imagine that on an Old Firm match day? Or at 12 pm on a Friday night?

The fuckwit won't have even thought through whether or not it would be legal to between your house and your car, or your car and your destination. The letter writer's published address, 1 Alder Grove, Scone, has a garage and a driveway big enough for a car or two, so he's unlike to be fined for "walking on a public pavement without hi-viz" there, but what about at his destination? Is he one of those people who park half on the pavement so never have to cross a road? Or is the only place he visits some superstore off the Perth bypass?

Perhaps he expected a special case of "walking to your car" - people who do that are sensible, not like the crazed maniacs who cross zebra crossings in dark clothes, the cyclists he keeps nearly missing as he drives from his featureless cul-de-sac to the bland superstore.

Whatever -these are the people who would back any mandatory helmet law, the people who would have bicycles taxed, MOTs, banned from the both roads and the pavements. They are not capable of holding two rational thoughts in their head -you can't argue with fuckwits like this -it's like trying teach a cat to leave a plate of raw meat alone. You will lose.

The worrying thing -out in the suburbs, these idiots could well form the majority of the population.

3 comments:

  1. Why the hell should anyone ask some moron athlete about infrastructure and legislation? Wiggins can pump those pedals harder than most, but that doesn't make him an expert on the prevention of traffic deaths!

    Dara O'Briain said it best, "there's this notion that every opinion is equally valid - my arse!"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDYba0m6ztE

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    1. To be far to Wiggins if you watch the video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/aug/02/bradley-wiggins-helmet...) he does seem rather tired from celebrating and as he points out:

      "... probably a bit too tipsy to start talking about this now..."

      He finishes off with:

      "..but you know I'm probably the last person to be on the soap box about all that sort of stuff to be honest"

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  2. I dont think you're going far enough. If pedestrians and runners are going to start wearing PPE they should do it properly and also wear safety glasses, a hard hat and steel toe-capped shoes. After all, why wouldn't you? Surely sensible precautions.

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