to expect motorcyclists not to behave like irresponsible twats on the road...

[RedButtonhole]

especially as the emphasis seems to be on car drivers to "Think Bike".

Motorcyclist overtook me on a blind corner the other day, so close and at such a speed I swerved onto a verge to avoid him. I very rarely see motorcyclists who observe the speed limit and even witnessed one run a red light the other day at some roadworks, because there was room for it to slip through the oncoming traffic.

I know that this does not apply to all motorcyclists, but I drive the same road every day to work, its a nice open country road and popular with motorcyclists so I do see alot of this.

[WhetherOrNot]

Works both ways. My son is a motorcyclist and will tell you that an awful lot of vehicle driver are prats

[HirplesWithHaggis]

Yabu. You should always expect every other roaduser, from pedestrian through cyclist and all the way up to HGVs to behave like irresponsible twats. Best way to keep yourself safe.

[MrsHathaway]

Ndn does thousands of miles a year on his bike, and would both agree and disagree.

He's had nearly everything broken in his time by drivers failing to "think bike", most recently by a woman on a mobility scooter pulling out at a junction without looking.

On the other hand, he refuses to go out on a sunny Sunday because of the matching leathers gang who just don't get enough practice and feel invincible at 90mph - or don't want to be the slowest in their group of wankers.

[Andro]

Two wheels or four, there are a great many irresponsible people who shouldn't be in charge of motorised machinery!

[Mrsstarlord]

YABU

Car drivers are equally as irresponsible, it is important to 'think bike' because they are so much more vulnerable and easier to miss if you aren't concentrating.

'Sorry mate I didn't see you', doesn't really help when you are being dragged along the road under the wheels of a car.

Some motorcyclists are dangerous riders. Most are not. They are all vulnerable and car drivers need to be more aware.

[WaywardOn3]

Was undertaken in a 30 mph village by a young lad with L plates on a motorbike doing 60mph this afternoon. He didn't even stop at the roundabout :-o

He won't live long enough to pass his test if he carries on like that :-(

[RedButtonhole]

Please don't misunderstand me, I am a very cautious and careful driver and due to the volume of bikers on my local roads I am always, always "thinking bike" and obviously aware of everyone using the road.

I just think that the assumption seems to be that accidents involving motorcyclists are because car drivers are not aware but in my experience, there is a huge number of irresponsible motorcyclists on the road (obviously a huge number of irresponsible drivers of other vehicles too- I'm not denying that) but if I had managed to clip the guy that overtook me, I expect it would be assumed that I wasn't cautious enough whereas he actually went so fast I was barely aware of him till he almost clipped me.

MrStar, sorry to hear about your husband, I hope I haven't been insensetive. A friend of mine died after coming off his motorcycle, I do understand that not every motorcyclist is irresponsible or at fault

[Honeylimerainbow]

I agree with you.

Yes, think bike - but bikers also need to 'think car.' There are few things more petrifying than a bike rushing by you suddenly making a noise like a furious wasp and practically taking off your wing mirror in their hurry to get somewhere.

[firesafety]

I think the general assumption is that the rider is driving like a loon more often than blaming the driver tbh.

Bottom line is that almost everyone should take more care on the road, and show more consideration for other road users, whatever their mode of transport.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I was also undertaken in a 30mph village yesterday. Couldn't believe it. I was coming up to a parked car as well. If I hadn't heard him and braked he'd either r have hit me or the back of the parked car. He was accelerating fast and wasn't going to stop. God knows how I missed him.

But that's one twat. Most are far more careful.

[Mrsstarlord]

RedButtonHole - it's fine, you haven't been insensitive. It's just that the assumptions that it's always the bikers fault get my goat!! I'm over sensitive

[gobbin]

It's the bikers' fault about half of the time. 48% of m/c accidents causing death or serious injury in 2014 were caused by other road users.

[ispyfispi]

I was first on scene to a motorcyclist killed because he was going almost 100mph when he misjudged overtaking. Sad obviously but mostly I'm just angry when I think about it because if I'd have been a few seconds sooner he would most likely have taken me and my 3 children with him. I'm even more cautious about bikes now but ime they're more likely to be the ones driving dangerously.

[ApignamedJasper]

I am a motorcyclist and I agree that everyone just needs to be more considerate of others and aware of everything on the road. I am always hyper vigilant when I'm on my bike because I know how bad it can be if you come off and I never take stupid risks but there are some that do and I can totally see how they might give riders a bad name. I was overtaken by another bike in a 30mph village earlier this week, only for him to end up right in front of me as he was only on a 125cc and the traffic was too heavy to overtake anymore. Really pointless.

Ive been riding less than 6 months so not super experienced but I ride every day and in weathers and sometimes car drivers can be right twats. My number one gripe is people overtaking me when I'm doing the speed limit. I was on a major A road (but a single lane bit) the other day, very busy and the person behind me decided they didn't want to sit behind me doing the speed limit so they overtook me - into the path of an oncoming massive lorry. They juuuust squeezed in front of me in time to avoid becoming pate but I couldn't help thinking that I was right behind that idiot and would have been part of the carnage if he hadn't made it in time.

Honey, I did hear somewhere that bikes are loud on purpose so you can hear them coming but no idea if it's true on not!

[butterflyballs]

My dp was doing 50mph in a 50 limit when a woman pulled out in front of him. She said she didn't see him.

The handlebars of dps bike were pushed inwards and into dps stomach on impact, his bike ripped the entire front of her car off. Dp have seven tears in his mesenteric artery (the main artery into the stomach) causing massive internal bleeding, broken sternum, four broken ribs, both lungs partially collapsed, his entire torso, one leg and one arm went black within days from bruising, damaged shoulder, knee and wrist.

That was 17 months ago. He's STILL receiving treatment, his bowel doesn't function properly but they can't work out why, he's seeing a consultant, physio, is due to have steroid injections into his shoulder, is still not working.

He was an hgv driver and has been a taxi driver, trade plate driver and has driven more miles than most of us. He's never caused an accident and is a very good driver. The woman who hit him has been on two driver awareness courses prior to driving like a twat and got three points and fined 80 quid. She's now merrily driving about and we are stuck in this hellish limbo.

I'd say there are far more car drivers who drive like absolute cunts than motorbike riders.

[MagratGarlik]

This thread is not going to end well .

There are twats on the road in charge of all types of vehicles, you can't generalise. I had a bus pull out on me the other day, forcing me into the oncoming traffic on the other side of the road. I complained to the bus company, who investigated and disciplined the driver, but does that mean all bus drivers are bad? Of course not. You can't generalise.

The bike test these days is significantly harder than the car test BTW, but most of the ones acting like twats on the road come out on sunny Sunday afternoons only. You recognise them by their humpbacked matching leathers and plastic boots (and I say this as a responsible biker BTW).

[MagratGarlik]

And my no. 1 gripe is drivers tailgating when I'm sticking to the speed limit.

A bike can decelerate on the engine much faster than a car and has a significantly shorter braking distance. If I have an idiot with 2 tonnes of 4x4 (for example) right on my back wheel, he will go straight into the back of me when I need to slow down because they don't appreciate I don't need to start breaking as early as they do.

The braking distance is 2 seconds (4 in the wet), not 2 inches!

[RedButtonhole]

Did you miss the part of my post that said I realise this does not apply to all motorcyclists, Magrat?

I accept there are twats in control of all sorts of vehicles, I was just observing the sheer volume of motorcyclists on the road I regularly drive at the minute, and I can hand on heart say I haven't seen one doing the speed limit or driving sensibly.

It is a road notorious for accidents, most of these are caused by twat car and lorry drivers, but the motorcyclists at the minute are insane.

[londonrach]

Tbh i agree with you. I think the bad bikers live near me. I have a patient whos a biker who says bikers have a hence of keeping themshelves a live. Blind corners, fast, very very faster, overtaking when car comng towards them. Why?

[londonrach]

Sense not hence..

[Sparklingbrook]

I think bikers have more to fear about motorists than the other way around.

[MagratGarlik]

And your reason for being so aggressive in your reply is? Red

Sorry, but I think that's a bit uncalled for. I wasn't aggressive in my post, I simply stated that there are twats in all types of vehicles.

[ShootTheMoon]

I think I'd agree with your post if it said AIBU to expect people in charge of vehicles not to behave like twats - there's some genuine twattery from car/van/lorry drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, and professional drivers alike.

Tbh anyone who is breaking the speed limit, overtaking on blind bends or hills, or generally driving with rage shouldn't be on the road at all. But they are so the rest of us just have to do what we can to assume and anticipate idiocy from any other driver we see.

I do sympathise though - it's a real shock when other drivers do something so risky - I just don't see how saving a few seconds, even minutes, is worth risking anyone's life. If drivers can't realise that being on the road is the riskiest thing that 90% of us do with our lives, they don't deserve to be there!

[Charlotte3333]

I think it's a two way street; there are some teens around here on little motorbikes with L plates who nip about like they're immortal and, honestly, it puts the fear of God into me watching them. One tried to overtake me at a junction a few weeks ago and didn't pause to check if traffic was coming and reversed into me once he tried to move backwards to avoid oncoming cars. That's sheer stupidity, nothing more.

However, I also see plenty of car drivers who see a motorbike and deliberately avoid letting them pass, refuse to make allowances for them and generally act like dicks on the road. Both parties are at fault at times.

[CalamitouslyWrong]

One of the 'matching leathers and no sense of their own fallibility or mortality' gang (as described by MrsH) ran into the back of us on Easter Sunday. It was a glorious sunny day and on one of those roads that is notorious for this particular breed of motorcyclist. There was a queue of traffic in front of me who slowed down to 30 through a speed camera and then one of them was turning right, so everyone started slowing to a stop. Except we felt a bump and heard a horrible noise and a motorcyclist ran into the back of me. Based on where he hit me he must have been going to overtake (and therefore was accelerating towards the very obviously and not at all suddenly stopping traffic paying no attention whatsoever). He was a bloody idiot. He was, of course, with a big gang of other idiots.

Luckily he wasn't hurt (although he must have banged his knee pretty hard and he left a huge dent in the car) but it ruined my Easter Sunday it did.

In general life, I don't find motorcyclists to be at all problematic but the gangs of middle aged idiots on very powerful bikes who are to be found on this particular road (and it's only really this road) make me very scared. They are a complete menace. I'm sure all the not-idiot motorcyclists agree and wish they'd stop giving them all a bad name, tbh.

It's a bit like judging all humans on Katie Hopkins really.