An average of less than 40 British soldiers per year have been killed in Afganistan since the invasion. This pointless deathtoll represents a complete lack of respect by the British government and those in office, acting in the financial interests either of themselves or of some group of lobbyists whose interest in the matter is never likely to be disclosed.

To die before your time, in whatever circumstance can only serve to destroy lives, it will never make them better.

Today the Severn Bridge Road Race was stopped after a rider was killed in a collision involving a car. No further details as yet. This is what prompts me to write, a visit to the article on road.cc. If this on it’s own were not enough, the side bar of related articles recounts death after death of cyclists across this country.

In 2012 122 cyclists were killed, 3 times more than soldiers in Afganistan. So maybe the statistics aren’t really in parity, but think about it for a moment.

When you leave the house in Afganistan, chances are you will be armed with a rifle, body armour, and a myriad of other expensive and effective life preserving equipment. This is because the onus is on you to survive, the other parties involved in the events of your day are the ones who are prepared to live their lives to end yours. There should be, and there can be no comparison.

Yet apparently there is, although not the obvious one. Whilst we all understand that a poorly prepared group of political patsies may find themselves at a loss with what to do concerning foreign policy, it would seem absurd that they (some of whom even ride bikes!!) have no concept of a fair, safe and effective transport policy.

We’ve all heard the tired argument vis-a-vis road tax.

Personally speaking, I’ll pay my £180 to ride on the road every year if it means that I’ll be treated with respect and given the room required on the road, and be able to cycle in peace and safety. We know this isn’t going to happen, we know the motorists who treat us without respect, or drive drunk, or without due care and attention, or for whatever other reason will make some poor soul their victim.

It’s not a game, it’s life, and it does just come down to respect. Respect the fact that your vehicle is heavy and dangerous, respect the fact that there is a lot of traffic and you can’t get to your destination without leaving enough time, respect other people. This is where it starts, but not where it actually is.

A transport policy is something designed for TRANSPORT, it’s not a car policy, it’s not a policy to put money into pockets of shareholders of rail companies, it’s a policy for all of us, we all have the right to move around in safety.

There are very few people who start their day with the intention of killing on the road, but they will never forget the day that they did. We need a transport policy that causes less deaths on our roads, on bikes, motorbikes, or in cars, and the first step to this is to change to less lethal forms of transport.

Bicycles, for example.

But people are afraid to ride, and small wonder. We all pay for roads, we should all be able to use roads. Whilst we are all contributing, we should expect to have a basic need met.

Imagine this:

You can ride to work on functional (wide, clean, secure, well lit) routes without abuse from other road users, arrive at work and securely park your bike, shower, have a coffee and a snack, work hard all day, collect your bike from the secure parking, ride home in safety. You’ve earned money, you’ve taken exercise and your overall well-being is significantly higher, particularly as you are still alive.

Let’s actually push for the change that we want, let’s try and reduce the number of families that are destroyed every year, let’s make this a real political issue. The Times Cities fit for cycling. In loving memory of too many.