No one can see you, except the police

This is my motto for safe cycling in London. Imagine at all times, that no car or pedestrian can see you but that if you jump a light or hop a pavement, that you are instantly visible to the police. No one can see you, except the police.

I remembered this this morning when I saw two guys ride Dalston Lane and Tottenham Road like they were in BMX Bandits. It made me consider a caveat for idiot: Everyone sees you ride like an idiot. Pedestrians, police, and other cyclists.

It also jogged my memory to the other consistent sort of road idiots and danger in London for who I composed this for a few years back. Danger signs to pay attention for:

Having been hit by a cab in London (Addison Lee) I genuinely see these private hire (and Addison Lee) stickers as warning signs. They give me a fright, I feel my eyes open slightly wider (sure my pupils dilate as well) and I give the car a wide birth.

I’ve learned to interpret a sign / a piece of language that means one thing and hard wire myself into thinking another. An interesting semiotics reminder. How everything communicates something but that the signified can and can be changed.