Candle in a snowstorm

[Martin Cassini]

Every time I cycle round Elephant & Castle I remember Meryem Ozekman who was killed there last April. Entering the roundabout, you feel you're stepping off a cliff into a churning whirlpool of buses, trucks, vans and cars, their stressed-out drivers all vying for space and intent on getting ahead and beating the lights. In the eye of it, you're a candle in a snowstorm, completely exposed. So I tend to flag my presence with exaggerated hand movements, obviously looking behind and side to side as much as ahead. So far, I'm unscathed and still alive (famous last post?). Of one thing I'm certain. If there were no lights and no priority, drivers would relax, cool down, give and take, and as a cyclist I would feel a lot less vulnerable.