Snowmageddon hits Cambridge Motorists

Turns out that most motorists in Cambridge are, in fact, morons when it comes to knowing what to do in the snow.

Gladys didn't know what had come over her

The evidence is simple and clear enough on a snowy day like this - all you have to do is count the number of motorists after overnight snow, and subtract from that the number who obey rule 229 of the highway code. Don't get me wrong - this isn't me being anti-motorist, in fact some of my best friends are motorists. But they must expect some criticism when they all act like this...

I don't expect anyone to be able to say what numbered rule in the Highway Code says, but I do hope that everyone knows what the rules are as apply to them and their mode of transport - and if you drive a car in snow there are certain rules you have to follow. The most obvious is don't drive around in a car covered with snow - clear the snow off the windows (ALL of them), the number plates, your mirrors, your lights, and any other snow that could blow off and cause a problem for any other road users (including pedestrians and cyclists). Hardly rocket science.

I counted 136 who didn't clear snow properly, who either had covered mirrors, windows or number plates, or who had an inch or more of snow on the roof and who were thus shedding. I counted 21 who were not breaking this law - I assume many of them were parked overnight in garages - for the most part these legal cars weren't just cleaned of snow, they were entirely free of it.

Or, in other words, about 87% of motorist in Cambridge this morning broke the law with regard clearing snow from their cars. This correlates nicely with what we already know about motorists breaking the law - the average British driver scoffs at the law, knowing that the Police in the UK don't give a monkeys about the daily lawlessness that blights every village, town and city in the land.

The lesson for cyclists? Treat motorists like the hardened criminals they keep proving themselves, en mass, to be. Fed up with getting a face full of snow when one of these white knuckled rage filled buffoons passes too close and too fast on icy roads, spewing slush from their wheels and white snow in your face? I'd suggest getting in touch with your police force, but they're just another branch of the motoring lobby so they won't give a crap either - I've tweeted the above image at Cambridge Police and their online twitter traffic cop, whats the betting nothing comes of it? 

So, dear readers, what the heck do we do about this? Would, as one friend suggested, asking at the next junction 'want a hand with your snow, mate?' before pushing white stuff from the roof down over the letterbox they've cleared to see through be considered hostile? I suspect it probably would...