{"id":30226,"date":"2019-03-04T09:08:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T17:08:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/?p=30226"},"modified":"2019-03-19T10:35:38","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T17:35:38","slug":"7-stupidest-things-cyclophobes-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/averagejoecyclist.com\/7-stupidest-things-cyclophobes-say\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seven Stupidest Things Cyclophobes Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a small but vocal minority of people who waste their energy vigorously disparaging cyclists. Unsurprisingly,\u00a0 many of their arguments are downright stupid. Here are the seven stupidest things that people who hate cyclists say.<\/p>\n

#1: Cyclists should be forced<\/em> to display license plates<\/h3>\n

… so that motorists can report them to the police when they break laws. Yeah, that<\/strong> would work \u2013 because we all know how well it works when motorists almost kill cyclists, and we phone to report them to the police, using their license plates. Basically, nothing. So I suspect that hundreds of angry motorists calling in to report cyclists would be totally ignored. Especially because most of the complaints would be along the lines of: “This guy had the cheek to slow me down for 41 seconds by being in MY lane!”<\/p>\n

# 2: Cyclists should be forced<\/em> to buy insurance<\/h3>\n

… that way, we would be able to compensate the thousands of people cyclists kill and maim each year, just like motorists do! Seriously, pay $1,500 a year for insurance when at worst you might run over a squirrel \u2013 I don’t think so! Yes, I know that once in a blue moon, tragically, a pedestrian is killed by a cyclist. I know this because it makes international news headlines when it happens.<\/em><\/p>\n

Imagine just for a minute that every time<\/em> a motorist killed a pedestrian, it made international news headlines … well, there would not be space in the media for any other news at all! People buy insurance because they have a need for it, not because people who hate them want to force them to buy it.<\/p>\n

#3: Cyclists should be forced<\/em> to undergo mandatory cycling education<\/h3>\n

As noted in #2, usually, cyclists don\u2019t kill people; motorists kill people. In incompetent hands, cars and larger vehicles are lethal. That\u2019s why there has to be mandatory education for driving cars \u2013 but not for getting on a bike.\u00a0 And if we did have mandatory cycling education … well, I can just see three-year-old Hunter having his training wheels confiscated, because he got on his Christmas bike without first passing the exam! That said, I do think it is great that more and more schools and organizations are offering cycling education. Such as Vancouver’s Kids on Wheels<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Yes,