Would you drive without insurance?
Let's get serious about insurance and cycling for a moment, because whether we ride for leisure, transport, fitness or physical challenge, we're all serious cyclists. And our riding can get a whole lot more serious if we're involved in an accident with another road user, no matter who is at fault.
Ask yourself, how many times have you shook your head in disgust when hearing about a car driver who's been prosecuted for having no insurance. A familiar story. But I bet you only came to hear about it because that driver was involved in an accident. But as you're shaking your head does it ever cross your mind that you're riding your bike uninsured, and the only time you'll start to question that stance is when you need insurance and legal advice the most?
Of course there are differences between driving and cycling. You can cause a lot more damage driving a car or a van, but that's not to say that you can't cause an accident when riding a bike. Aside from this point, the only difference between the uninsured driver and the uninsured cyclist is one of legal requirement.
While we don't want to destroy the freedom and accessibility of cycling by surrounding it with unnecessary amounts of legislature, it remains a fact that if you're riding your bike on the public road, accidents happen and an increasing number of cyclists are beginning to realise that it pays to be protected. And if we want to be taken seriously by other road users, perhaps we need to take our road use seriously and get prepared for the worst?
http://www.everydaycycling.com/from the above web site author unknown
