Let me start out in saying I'm not starting this thread to start a huge debate (but it will). Everybody have their view and this is mine (and I have the hospital records to prove it). Something that was said more than once during the Burry tragedy is that both cyclists and motorists must obey traffic laws. It does not imply guilt on anybody' part but does insinuate that both cyclist and motorist break the law while out on the roads, which is true. I saw these two letter that states the obvious - some cyclist have an attitude that breeds disregard with other road users. http://www.beeld.com/MyBeeld/Briewe/Gee-arrogante-fietsryers-eie-pad-20130106 http://www.beeld.com/MyBeeld/Briewe/Sommige-ander-fietsryers-se-selfsug-bekommer-my-20130106 This is not really about the fact that you agree/disagree or whether you feel others also break the law, it's about common sense. How often have I seen people point out quickly that the other party also broke the law i.e. just as guilty etc. or argue that since you sometime ride 110 km/h in a 100 km/h zone you are just as guilty of breaking the law as the one who rode though a red light. While this might be true it changes nothing about perception. If we always apply the logic of we are all guilty it would mean that since you exceed the speed limit by 10 km/h I am now entitled to kill you, an extreme that illustrates the basic principle that 'wrongs' cannot be measured equally, you need to consider the consequences. People by nature, are followers (monkey see, monkey do) and most will look for any excuse to do something because 'they' did it. Not very long ago we saw taxis starting to use stop streets as yield signs and eventually red traffic lights as well. People were outraged but now, a few years down the line look around you - you will see many shiny family sedans doing the exact same thing. One thing that has not changed though is the fact that we all scream about the lawlessness when that taxi kills a pedestrian but our screams is now somewhat mitigated by the fact that the finger now points both ways. So what exactly am I trying to say here? It's not about being the perfect model citizen who can claim to have never broken the law, it's about applying common sense and think about those coming after you. Most people do not apply the logic to a situation that it deserves. Take the fact that a bicycle weighs ~10kg while a motor vehicle is a few tons have a huge bearing on the outcome of your decisions. If I (the cyclist) make a judgement error on the road worse case I will pay with my life, if I do the same with my car I could potential take another life. The average motorist do not think like that. Their thinking is more in the line of 'well if they can do it so can I'. More than once when I have confronted a motorist who turned in front of me their response has been 'you cyclists ride like you own the road', very rarely do I get a 'I'm sorry'. They will justify their wrongs by pointing out 'yours' even though you were in the right in that particular case. The sad thing is the 'your' wrongs are not really yours but that of the person whose path they crossed days before. So the animosity build up against other arrogant road users are being taken out on me. Although you arrived home save you may have just killed somebody else by telling the angry motorist to F himself or flipping him the bird because he shouted at you to get out the middle of the road. Common sense really. If you don't care about yourself cool but please consider others. You loose a few seconds by stopping at an intersection and you can practice your sprints to make up those seconds. So fourietjie maybe consider that my child might cross the path of the same road users that you alienated before you threaten to 'moer' me for asking you, and your buddies to stop at a red light next time. PS. I'm not perfect and probably break the letter of the law at least once a day. I don't flaunt it or think it is my right.