Cyclists don't annoy me. Road users - all road users, that is - who do not observe the rules of the road annoy me.

Pedestrians? Walking uninsured is a thing now?

Or the rules of the pavement, as is the case with a large number of cyclists.

The only place a cyclist should be seen in public, is zooming around a very expensive Velodrome winning much needed medals for the UK.

Dally's observations are spot on regarding the antics of a great majority of these people, and remind me of an incident I witnessed a couple of years ago in Leeds.

I was waiting outside a large office building in the town centre when one of the plastic hat brigade came cycling down the wrong way in a one way street. Unfortunately for him, there was a 30 yard trench being excavated down one side of the street restricting it to single file, and coming the other way was a white van. In traditional white van mode, its driver took umbrage at this display of bad manners, and asserted his right of way which resulted in the cyclist coming off his bike in the roadworks.
Did I laugh....yes I did, especially when the cyclist indignantly appealed to the other pedestrians. When it was pointed out that he was actually in the wrong, his reply was if he followed the designated route he would take twice as long to get anywhere in Leeds!

Karma can be a bitch.

We're classing pedestrians as road-users now? Is that when they cross the road, or the rare occasions when there isn't a footpath?

If it suits you better, substitute road-user for vehicle pilot.

Users of the highways and byways then

As a law abiding motorist, cyclists will only gt my respect when they, the cyclists, respect the laws of the roads....

Ignoring traffic lights
Ignoring other trafic signs e.g. no entry, and one way streets.
Assuming that they always have right of way, irrespective of the situation.
Switching between footpath and road, as it suits.
Using pelican / zebra crossings as a cyclepath. (I'm perfectly OK with them dismounting and wheeling the bike across)

Perhaps if there were a couple of well publicised 'test cases' attitudes / actions may change?

It is against the law to ride on footpaths or pavements by the roadside. Magistrates can fine £1000.
A £200 fine is set for furious cycling.

The Licensing Act 1872 makes it an offence to be drunk in charge of a bicycle (or any other vehicle or carriage) on a highway or in a public place.

Magistrates can hand down a 1 month prison sentence and a £200 fine"

I appreciate that there are cyclists who pedal by the rules , but sadly they appear to be in the minority.
By the same token, a appreciate that some motorists don't do as they should, however, they are also in the minority.
Thats the difference.

Most of the cyclists I see are on the pavement.

As a pedestrian I don't have a problem with cyclists on the pavement. They are a lot closer in size and speed to pedestrians so I think it's far more appropriate they share the pavement than them sharing the road with buses, trucks and cars.

They just need to make sure they aren't bombing round blind corners on a hill, like some stupid kid did a couple of months ago. I'd have no problem sticking my fist into a stupid kids head if he was going to hit me.

Some cyclists seem to be more aggressive nowadays, especially the Bradley Wiggins wannabes but I put that down to the clothes they wear being too tight around the crotch area.

In general, I'd say it isn't the cycle that's to blame, more the person using it and perhaps Dave and co could enact laws that mirror legislation brought in to control aggressive animals such as the dangerous dog act.

If you ride your cycle like a pit-bull, you get put down but if someone is daft enough to enter your property unbidden, you have the right to batter them with the bike pump, spare wheel, or even the bike frame for as long as you like and this whilst wearing your cycling gear. It's a win, win for the responsible cyclist.

Don't you know, they are saving the planet.

You can even get the tax man to assist your purchase if you CHOOSE to cycle to work, but if you HAVE to drive to work, you get nowt.

Saftey standards managers in the industry i work in will never deem any accident between a car driver and a bus driver as 50/50 for disciplinary purposes, the reason being that the bus driver is trained to a higher standard and therefore is 'more' culpable than the car driver.
It's been that way for as long as i've worked in the industry. Accident are deemed blameworthy or not blameworthy there is rarely, if ever, shared blame.

...so a fairly bog standard response then, "jumping red lights", "wrong way down a street" and one that I haven't seen before "using pedestrian lights to cross the road".

Did anyone read the article linked to on the original post ?

Have you read how different things are in Holland and how things could be here if cycling was treated as "the norm" for short journeys (lets say up to ten miles) rather than cars be treated as "the norm" and cycling a bit of a weird thing to do ?

And why does jumping red lights get under so many peoples skin, is it jealousy - lets face it, any cyclist who decides to take on a motor vehicle in a head to head (or sideways swipe as the case will be), is going to die, so why are so many motorised drivers so bitter about seeing cyclists gamble with their own lives so recklessly ?

Do you feel the same about motorbike riders who drive down the outside of traffic queues too, do you suddenly realise that the problem with the queue of traffic that you are sitting stationary in is actually YOU and your chosen form of single user transport and that if you'd all used two wheels instead then probably everyone would get to their destination twice as quickly ?

Pedestrians will only get my respect when they obey traffic lights.