Heathrow car rental firm sparks fury by warning tourists London's cyclists 'become indignant if you hit them'

 
Car rental warning: The company said London's cyclists were a 'hazard' to drivers (Picture: Getty)
Matt Watts30 July 2014

A car rental firm based at Heathrow Airport has sparked fury among London cyclists after branding them “a hazard” in an online guide for overseas motorists.

The website for heathrow-car-rental.co.uk crashed yesterday after a surge in visitors due to angry cyclists outraged by the controversial comments.

The firm’s office was also bombarded with phone calls of complaint.

The guide stated the capital’s cyclists “can be a bit of a hazard, since though they pay no road tax, they still have the same rights as any other vehicle.”

“No law requires them to wear reflective clothing, have lights, or give any sort of signal.

“Furthermore, cyclists tend to ignore traffic lights and one-way streets, so please be careful you don’t hit them, cyclists become most indignant if you hit them, and legally, it is always the motorists fault.”

There was a backlash online, after links to the guide was were posted on Twitter, with users suggesting a boycott of the firm.

Cyclist John Jeffrey tweeted: “I am indignant now, let alone when you hit me!! This Heathrow Car Rental company is being Cyclistist!”

The London Cycling Campaign, that promotes safe cycling, condemned the guide saying: “The comments made by the firm were irresponsible and as a public-facing website, potentially very dangerous to cyclists. It also tends to undermine the image abroad of London as a city that encourages cycling and sustainable travel.”

Councillor Amrit Mann, deputy leader of Hounslow Council called for more respect between motorists and cyclists in the wake of the row.

He said: “Our message is simple – manners cost nothing - there is no need for rudeness on the roads – and this goes for drivers and cyclists alike.”

Enviro Vehicle Ltd, that runs heathrow-car-rental.co.uk declined to comment when contacted by the Standard, but it posted a comment on the website that said the site had crashed “due to a large amount of traffic received from an adverse campaign by Twitter users.”

It went on: “We apologise also to all those cyclists and other website visitors who took offence at some light-hearted comments that were on this website about cyclists. All these offending remarks have been removed.”

A member of staff also said its office had received “about 100 calls of complaint” in just a few hours. In a tweet, London Cycling Campaign had posted the company’s phone number, suggesting people “share their views” with them.

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