The same day that I posted Tricky’s views on cycling in Darlington, he decided he would return to commuting to work by car. I’ll let his own words explain why:
After another close shave yesterday by an ignorant motorist who doesn’t know his highway code I have decide to stop commuting by bike and use my considerably larger Ford Mondeo and add it to the ever increasing queues on Yarm Road. Life is far too short, and after 15 years of commuting up and down Yarm Road, DBC have only made things far more dangerous for cyclists. The biggest culprit being the new bus lanes that even the buses don’t use. Add to that the numerous pedestrian refuges and parked cars, and all you have is a road unsafe for cycling on.
Here is a question for you. When is a cycle lane not a cycle lane?
When it’s a bus lane apparently, just after been pushed out of the aforementioned lane by a Citreon Xsara Picasso, who, give him his dues, did have his indicator on at the time when he very nearly side swiped me. When I confronted him about driving in a bus lane his defense for nearly hitting me was “Well you don’t look like a bus either.”
Can someone from the council amend their statistics on decreased car use and increased bike use, please?
The irony here is that, I believe, Tricky has been riding to and from work since before the Local Motion campaign began and before the council started to make changes.