Jeremy Clarkson is back on the news and its not about the Grand Tour ;)

[JOY_MRC]

The name Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t need any introduction in the automotive world, The 56 year old Brit enjoys celebrity status and is familiar around the world with BBC UK's hit show Top Gear. Like most celebrities, he has never been short on controversies. and has also been let go by the BBC back in 2015 following an incident that is also known to all . The host doesn't hesitate to let people know what he thinks in a distinguished witty way and people love him for that. As of now, people are waiting anxiously for sometime now, for his grand return to the Tele with amazon prime's GRAND TOUR.

Clarkson is back in the news but apparently its not about Grand Tour. In his latest post in UK based news column The Sun, Jeremy Clarkson rips apart Jeremy Vine’s video, where he recorded the road rage of a female motorist, as he was in front of her riding on a bicycle, causing a traffic block. We know Clarkson is called the resident dinosaur by the co-star's in Topgear, as often he praises all fossil fueled things that creates massive Power and mocks at machines that claim to save the earth. So Jeremy Vine's video was right up Clarkson’s comfort zone as in his column, he presents another side of the argument that’s rarely seen on road rage videos spread on Youtube.
Jeremy Vine is obviously not as famous as Clarkson but for reference, is a presenter on BBC-2's(Radio) program who rides his bicycle to and from work(From his Chiswick home to the Radio 2 Studios in Oxford Circus). He also happens to be a cycling safety campaigner . Vine had uploaded a video to his Facebook page, capturing a motorist unleashing a verbal tirade upon him for slowly traveling down a very tight and packed road in Kensington, West London.

https://www.facebook.com/16914557844...1782049375005/

Along with the video Jeremy Vine mentioned:

This happened on Friday. I hate to overload our hard-working London police with footage from my commute, but I feel the person you see on the tape will at some point hurt someone very badly – either with her car or in a direct personal assault. See what you think.

Responding to this apparent motorist hunt, Clarkson wrote up a response that presents some of the frustrations felt by motorists towards similar sanctimonious and self-righteous bicyclists. Reading the column below reminds us why nobody else can replace Jeremy Clarkson. EVER! .
LAST weekend, while driving through the Cotswolds, I found myself stuck behind two cyclists who were riding alongside one another.
Of course they were.
Elevated these days to godlike status by modern environmental thinking, cyclists are propelled from place to place on a wave of self-righteousness and a pious belief that they’re the new knights of the road.
Five days later, near the South Coast, the same thing happened again, only this time it was a lone cyclist, his gnarled and nut-brown thighs beating out a Victorian rhythm as he crawled slowly up the hill, proud that behind his wizened, Lycra- clad buttocks there was a queue of cars stretching half way to Dover.
Then in London, we have hundreds of them, ignoring the new multi-million pound cycle lane on the Embankment so they can make a nuisance of themselves on the main carriageway.
There was a time when you could take these morons to task. You could shake your fist and shout and point out that it’s absurd for a fully grown adult to be playing in public on what is a kids’ toy.
But not any more…
Today they all wear helmet cameras to record your rage.
Then, when they get home, they upload it to YouTube and you’re made to look like a short-tempered fool.
Which brings me to the BBC radio *presenter, and keen cyclist, Jeremy Vine, who this week uploaded some footage of a woman who’d become frustrated with his slow progress through Kensington, West London.
In it, he can be seen cycling down the middle of the road, deliberately blocking the cars in his wake, and when one gets too close he stops — still in the middle of the road — so he can record the woman driver’s foul-mouthed tirade.

The message is clear.
He’s been verbally assaulted while on a noble quest to save the polar bear.
But hang on a minute, Vine. How did you know that the woman in the car behind wasn’t rushing to see her injured child in hospital? How did you know there wasn’t a pregnant girl on the back seat who was about to give birth?
Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to be stuck behind a sanctimonious cyclist when you really are in a genuine, tearing hurry? Vine says he was cycling in the middle of the road because that way he’s unlikely to be hit by people opening their car doors without looking.
Really? Because if safety is your number one priority, why are you wearing a helmet festooned with GoPros?
Are you not aware that it was, in all probability, a camera attached to Michael Schumacher’s helmet that caused his terrible head injuries?
In fact, if safety is your number one priority, why are you on a bicycle in the first place?
Of course, it is not illegal to cycle slowly down the middle of a narrow street. But it is selfish and annoying for everyone else.
How would he like it, I wonder, if I followed him around for a month, blowing gently on the back of his ears?
That’s not illegal either, but after a few days I’m sure he’d turn round and have a strong word.
I may try it.

Clarkson does have a point regarding safety, that motorists and cyclists should respect the rules of the road and have respect for each other. From the video, It’s unclear what happened right before, during, and after the entire video was recorded, but what is clear is that Jeremy Vine’s sense of cycling and road entitlement has overtaken his ability to exercise common sense and the ability to share the road. But, We can't say that the female motorist's act can be favored as well. The bottom line is that, this entire situation could have been avoided had everyone just worked together as civilized people instead of acting like primeval ape's .


Source : shiftinglanes.com

[Arjun]

JOY MRC Loved the reply. Cycling is very common in London, and motorists are very scared to go near any cycle, as in case of any small accident or injury, the motorist will be in big trouble. In smaller roads, you can see a line of cars going on slow speeds as there would be a cyclist going slow in front of them with headphones plugged in. As its rude to honk, they keep on following patiently. Jeremy Clarkson had made his opinion about cyclists clear in one of the Top Gear episodes where he had made road safety videos to dissuade people from cycling. I have nothing against cycling. I also have a cycle which I ride to office once or twice a week. The problem here is that cyclists should also give respect to other road users and give way whenever possible. Here, its the other way around, and mostly cyclists get bullied by almost everyone.But in London, the tables are turned. Cycling is one of the most environment friendly ways to commute. There is no doubt about that. But in case we are blocking the way of many cars, which are stuck in a jam, we are indirectly increasing the pollution levels. All the environment saving goes to a toss if we are indirectly causing many cars to be running their engines much longer. A simple thing to do is to respect other road users. Be it a car, bus, motor cycle or a cycle. Giving way to a faster vehicle is a matter of common sense and that's all that has been asked here.