LONDON, UK - Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, has said that he would not cycle in London because it is too dangerous. Sir Bernard said that he sympathised with people who were forced to cycle for financial reasons rather than drive or take public transport.
The police commissioner told BBC London radio: "It seems to me that there's a lot of traffic and personally I wouldn't cycle. But of course some people don't have the choice, economically it's not easy, you know.
"If you've got someone who can't afford to take a car into the congestion zone - if they did, you can't park it anyway. Some people they've got limited money and they can't pay for public transport. I understand why they take the choice - it wouldn't be mine."
Sir Bernard said he had "never been a big bike rider" and was put off because "if you get it wrong, or the driver gets it wrong, the person that's going to pay is the cyclist".
The police commissioner did not seem to acknowledge that some people decide to cycle in London for health reasons, to protect the environment or because cycling is actually a faster way to move around the capital rather than rely on public transport.
Six cyclists have died in London in the past two weeks and 14 have been killed in the capital this year. The majority of deaths have been caused by Heavy Goods Vehicles. During the past week the Metropolitan police have been carrying out spot checks on drivers and cyclists at heavily used cycle routes in London and have been apparently advising cyclists that they should wear helmets and high visibility clothing - neither of which is a legal requirement (although Sportive.com would always advise riders to wear both) - and also fining riders who do not have lights. HGVs have also been fined for a large number of breaches of rules concerning driving large vehicles in London.
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