To think that cyclists shouldn’t be allowed on dual carriageways

So the knife killed him, not the bike? Ok

My point was it’s not practical for lots of people to cycle, particularly given the U.K. weather. The idea of banning cars so the smug, self-satisfied aren’t I great because I can cycle crowd can have easier access is a ridiculous suggestion.

And I’ll repeat what I said in a previous post, I’m a fan of more/better cycle lanes, but the idea of banning cars in favour of cyclists is ludicrous.

Using a form of transport costing hundreds of pounds that can weave through jams of polluting vehicles which cost thousands? Hm yes baffling.

I wont cycle on roads, only cycle trails or paths. The roads, even apparent quiet country lanes have the most awful camber and oftne the edge of the road has been tarmaced so many times that it has a really high drop into vegetation, if your wheel went over there, you would fall off the bike into scratchy thorny hedges.
Then there are roads where you might have a bit of green cycle lane, just painted green but its full of drain covers, rubbish, bits of glass etc etc, again with a sharp camber in some cases
Then there is the concept of 'quiet country lanes' which are usually bendy with 60mph limits, cars come whizzing round corners (as seen in this thread, no one seems to have a concept of slowing down to anticipate pedestrians or horses or bikes), its really dangerous
Obviously Im not in the target market for commuting by bike but I would go on roads more often if they were safer. AT present we have to take our bikes on the bike rack, drive them to a safe spot and then get them out to ride them. Ridiculous. Luckily we have long cycle trails round here.

@Sallysoup - to get to work of course - theyre commuting. The Peak District is full of cyclists at the weekend.

I think one of the key takeaways from this thread is that people mean different things when they say dual carriageway!

Round here, the dual carriageway is basically like a motorway but with 2 lanes. In fact, 10 miles up from the junction by my house, there's a junction with a motorway that only has 2 lanes - the only real difference is that that the motorway has motorway rules and the dual carriageway doesn't. The dual carriageway is 2 lanes in each direction, and very fast. It's a major trunk road connecting 2 motorways and imo cycling on it is extremely dangerous.

Obviously not all dual carriageways are like this!

Cyclists baffle me. I see them everyday, obviously committed with all the gear, expensive bike etc, head down weaving through standstill traffic breathing in diesel and weaving around parked cars and buses.. when just a mile or so away is the start of the stunning peak district, hundreds of miles of practically empty roads through stunning scenery. Why are they cycling round busy A roads instead?

The only thing that bothers me here is how shite our roads are for cyclists. I was in another European country recently and was blown away by how amazing their cycle paths were. Literally everywhere. They had a road, a pavement and a cycle path, all of which were separated by a bit of grass so none came into contact with each other. My son is 6 and cycles to school. I walk whilst he goes beside me on the pavement. I dread the day he has to stop because he's too old to be on the pavement but too young to be on a very busy road.

Well there's no reason a bicycle shouldn't be used on a road like this, it looks like one round the corner from me with a 30mph speed limit.

I didnt say it was a single carriageway. I simply said the OP said it was 60 mph and therefore a single lane dual carriage way, they often are

We have a 50 round here that unfortunately I keep forgetting is 50.

Is there is a pavement already, could you campaign for it to be converted into a multi-user path? This would remove the need for cyclists to use the road.

Most of us know this.

You need to drive at an appropriate speed to the road, such that you can stop short of any hazard. If you can't see far enough to react and brake then you need to slow down.

You do realise that if others who are able to cycle to work, choose to do so, there will be less traffic on the road - don’t you?

Don’t be so narrow minded, it’s not all about you.

Here is a single lane dual carriageway nearly 2 miles long (note the sign - dual carriageway / ffordd ddeuol), 70mph speed limit, and it has a warning sign for horses in 330yds (the Fedw Equestrian Centre). I wouldn't go anything like 70mph on it in a car.

Yeah. My 25 mile commute to work would be great on a bike. If I didn’t live in the U.K. where it’s pouring and fucking freezing.

As Maddeming says. There are 2 lane dual carriageways in central Milton Keynes that are 30mph.

It doesn't mean it is a single carriageway because there is a specified limit below the national speed limit - I have been on plenty of 2 lane dual carriageways that have limits specified below the national speed limit.

Now that we have (still not) established what a single carriageway and dual carriageways are …..

single = no barrier between the opposite sides of traffic, there could be one lane, two lanes, three lanes etc
dual carriageway = barrier between opposite sides, typically two lanes per side but could be one lane or more

But, not only can motorways differ from three lanes per seperated carriageway ….. th
A motorway is defined in that motorway regulations apply. Not by the number of lanes or central barrier. There are motorways with one lane or more
The A38(M) is a single carriageway, seven lane motorway
The middle lane can switch directions as required for traffic flow

To make cycling safer and get more people doing it, good for their health and the environment., slowly squeeze drivers so cars are used less.

Alarmingly, I once come across a cyclist on the A1, somewhere north of Grantham. It’s not motorway there but is still a 70mph section.

So if there isn’t a speed limit it’s 70. Jeez, this isn’t hard!

Most people are perfectly capable of driving well without a forensic knowledge of the Highway Code. I only found out what an urban clearway was a few weeks ago and I’ve forgotten already (not something you find in urban environments IIRC, which is probably why I don’t know what it is).

You’d think so eh? Some motorists use the second lane for driving rather than for just overtaking.

Only if it is less than 70.

I cannot see around corners - that’s the point

What I can do is look ahead of me. If I cannot see the length of my braking distance I slow down.
What I can do is see ahead in my line of sight, which can be further or shorter depending on the direction of a corner as I use a right hand drive car, which means that I am positioned with a slightly different angle depending on the corner.

Hard bends are common on country and town roads, but don’t typically exist on main roads such a dual carriageways, they are designed to have a gentler curve explicitly for driver visibility - which is to aid the driver in looking ahead for other traffic and hazards