Image, by Richard Masoner.

When one rides a bike near a pedestrian crossing a street, it is often tempting to take the straightest line available and ride a spoke’s length in front or behind of the other person.

I have started imagining that pedestrians are surrounded by giant Fabergé eggs, three metres in diametre. Ride too close to the pedestrian and the fabulous gem will shatter. And in good Dutch style any breakages would be borne by me, the rider, deemed automatically responsible of a collision with a more vulnerable road user.

Try it and London will be a better city.

In a recent article in the Guardian, Peter Walker (possibly uncomfortable with the name bequeathed by his parents) asks:
“For a cyclist approaching the new-look Oxford Circus, this boils down to one, more urgent question: what’s to stop an absent-minded pedestrian, particularly a visitor used to looking the other way at junctions, from stepping out right into my path at the wrong moment?”

The answer, dear arrogant-cyclist-who-thinks-like-a-motorist, is that you should expect pedestrians to do these absent-minded ‘errors’ and be prepared: don’t ride close to the curb, don’t ride so fast, and don’t get upset.

I mean, don’t you ever walk, Peter Walker?