So back to this effort to regulate the relationship between the car driver and the cyclist. The great pity of it all is, I believe, that it will end with the regulation of the bicycle itself. If the condition of riding a bicycle is to be recognised in law, then it will have to be framed in it. If the cyclist is to enjoy the seemingly unilateral protection this proposal offers, then the car or truck or taxi lobby will demand that bicycles are registered, insured and tested for roadworthiness.
And that will be the end of the bicycle as most of us know and like it. The whole point of a bike is that it is effectively free at the point of use. Obviously the tyres gradually wear out and you will need to eat more bananas, but there are no real running costs or administrative pains in the rear. That's as it should be.
Let's not forget, too, that the bicycle is merely first base on the great personal transport merry-go-round, and leads naturally enough to a car or a motorcycle. When that great day comes, then it comes with tiresome paperwork, but until then the bicycle offers the essence of the liberty we crave without having to fill anything in or up. It's also quite good for picking up groceries and riding to and from a riverside puborama experience.
on all counts.
