It’s time to finally admit it. We are the most lawless users of the transport system - and the luckiest.

Expensive infrastructure is built for our use even though we don’t make any direct payment for it, and it is often ignored, or goes unused for much of the day. We pay no registration, display no licence plates, trample mores and break laws with impunity – we know we will almost never be punished.

Anything goes ... a cyclist, pedestrians and a green light on a busy city street.

By “we” I mean, of course, pedestrians. Stand on a busy city street-corner for 10 minutes, and you’ll probably need a clicker to keep count of all the bipedal lawlessness.

As I am both a pedestrian and a cyclist, I can see all sides of the saga. There's a difference between lawlessness and recklessness, between risking your own safety and risking that of others.



I find many of my fellow pedestrians to be a worry when I’m in cycling mode. They’re so unpredictable. They’ll step into the road or a dedicated cycle path without warning; often they’re texting, talking on the phone or plugged into a listening device and weaving as they go, seemingly unaware of the world around them.