Our friends at Legal asked me to talk about safety for cyclists.
Therefore I am happy to introduce you:
S.E.A. = Safety Education Action
The SaddleDrunk Method
Every day there are numbers of accidents worldwide involving cyclists. Here in London, unfortunately, we still have many accidents and some of them are unfortunately fatal.
In my opinion, first of all we need to understand the meaning of the word “ SAFETY “. Yes you can Google it to find the exact meaning but it depends how you interpret those definitions.
I think there is an unique meaning to “safety on the road” and it is to harmoniously share the roads with all the other users. Mutual understanding and respect it is an essential part of road safety. Each road users, depending on the vehicle, has different requirements in terms of speed, spaces, blind spots etc and we should always be aware of it.
Also, it is very important to avoid reacting to any challenges or confrontations that you might encounter from other road users. It is important to remember that this might end up putting you on the wrong side of the law.
Hence, “ EDUCATION “ is a key factor. This is the “ GOLDEN KEY “ to prevent accidents happening.
Why?
Because by reading & understanding the road codes and signs you will be aware of what you are allowed or not allowed to do while riding your bike on a public road. This will make you an educated cyclist who rides safely and in respect of the codes and other road users.
Awareness courses should be available to all the road users with chances to swap roles on the road to understand more the various dangers for both parties.
Accident free roads is in the public interest and I believe that awareness courses should be organised and funded by local councils or any other agencies that could benefit from it.
Finally, the last and hardest part of the S.E.A. method is “ACTION “.
It should be the easiest point, but the human being by default becomes complaisant after a short period of time.
A little explanation for the latter point is that when we attend courses, we learn something new which we practice immediately. Unfortunately, we don’t always continue practising it and we can slip into bad habits.
Therefore we all need to act responsibly while on the road which means putting into practice all the above, always remembering we are sharing the road with many other users, always following road codes and refraining form confrontations. Let’s just remember that, as per the “Second Law of Newton”, to each action there is a reaction.
Even if you follow all of the above sometimes things can go wrong anyway… Our friends at Your Legal Friend can support you on any cycle crash claim https://www.yourlegalfriend.com/types-of-claim/road-accidents/cycling-accidents/
Be Safe on the Road We Only Live Once.
Stefano