Well look at that!

Surly Dave reports that for once, a court got something right. Regular readers of this page will, of course, be well aware of my cynicism about the legal system generally, so it's a red-letter day when something is done right, even if it is on the other side of the world. For those who missed the original story, apparently a cyclist in the UK was convicted of "inconsiderate cycling" for riding on the road rather than a sub-standard bike path (is there any other kind?).

Don't you just love it when bigoted morons with a badge who think to call themselves "police officers" start making up laws to suit themselves? Since when has there been any law, anywhere in the world, against supposedly "inconsiderate" behaviour? Granted, it would be nice if people were considerate of each other, but frankly I find it rather inconsiderate that someone would expect me to ride on a sub-standard bike path when the road is clearly the better option. And that's before I even start on all the "inconsiderate" motorists who already take up more of the road than a cyclist does, and even then demand more space rather than sharing three feet of it.

To be honest I'm at a loss as to why everyone thinks consideration is something to be "demanded" from cyclists, but not by cyclists. Well, actually, I know why, but regular readers of this blog are already aware of the disdain I have for the whole concept of "majority rules" (otherwise known as SHAMocracy). You can't have it both ways -- either consideration is something that's given freely by both sides, or something that's to be expected by both sides. And the fact is, 90% of all road users would have something to fear if "consideration" ever became the law. Something like that wouldn't upset me terribly, but I can't ever see it getting popular support.

So for once I say BRAVO to someone in a court for getting it right.