Just Tune Him Out

If you’re reading this, chances are you know exactly who Jeremy Clarkson is.  If not, it's hard to describe him as anything but the most influential and significant automotive journalist ever.  Full stop.  His career spans decades, he’s genuinely entertaining, and when he speaks, his millions of followers listen.  In my high school days, my circle of friends treated the words he and his co-hosts, James May and Richard Hammond, spoke of cars as gospel.  In the early 00’s, new episodes of them on the BBC’s Top Gear were harder to come by (in the US) and more sought after then Playboy magazines.  (We were 17 and high speed internet was still new.)  But I think the time has come for us all to collectively tune out and go elsewhere to get our fix of automotive content.  (Like here!)

Clarkson isn’t a political extremist or a flat Earther.  His social commentary tends to be a bit out of touch, but he has also claimed that his public persona is mostly a character he plays for ratings.  So he’s used to getting a pass on many things.  What cannot be denied is that he is a legendary jerk and has a history of physical assault.  He was fired from the BBC after assaulting a producer over a disagreement with the show’s…catering.  Anger issues anyone?

In a recent column for The Sun, the Jezza, a man entitled enough to assault someone because he couldn’t get a steak from craft services, labels cyclists as entitled for using the rights of the road the British Government gave them.  A man who is a supporter of higher speed limits on the road complains about sweaty cyclists riding too fast.  He goes on to compare cyclists to the East German Secret Police because of the rise in use of handlebar mounted cameras.  Ironically dash cam use is just as, if not more popular these days for the same reasons.  So not only is he violent and angry, he’s also incredibly hypocritical.

I would hope a man with a keen interest in mechanical engineering, holding an honorary degree in engineering from Brunel University, would respect the most mechanically efficient transportation machine ever built.  The humble, chain driven, “safety” bicycle pre-dates Karl Benz’s Model 1, and was accepted as a viable means of transportation decades before the widespread adoption of the automobile.  In a world where automobile traffic is at an all time high, I would think all automobile enthusiasts, Clarkson included, would be singing the praises of any machine that transports people and simultaneously lowers the number of cars clogging the road.  Instead he attacks bicycles and their riders, sowing dangerous seeds of discourse into the minds of his millions of followers.  

This car versus bicycle discourse is the absolute last thing the world needs out on the road.  Personally, I've been "coal rolled", called every homophobic slur, swerved at, verbally threatened, and even had jelly beans thrown at me.  It happens with alarming frequency and rarely is any driver inconvenienced before they act.  On the rare occasion I catch a harassing driver at the next traffic light, they cower and avoid any sort of eye contact, too scared to even look at me.    

There’s lots of low hanging fruit to criticize about cyclists, I’ll admit.  Questionable fashion, odd grooming habits, and elitism abound, but the honest truth is that cyclists are people.  Does any person deserve to be injured or even killed for inconveniencing a driver for thirty seconds?  Of course not.  Passing a cyclist means there’s one less car up the road keeping you from making that green light on your commute.  More lanes for cars only means there will be more cars on the road, necessitating more lanes to be built.  The vicious, scientifically proven cycle of induced demand should end.  The easier it is to ride somewhere safely, the more people will do it.  Trust me.

In the mean time, do yourself a favor.  Tune Clarkson, and everyone like him, out.  I've already done it.