Cyclist gesticulating wildly at me

Unlikely. Cyclists like to have a go even when they don't have a leg to stand on. Absolutely baffling they'd decide to take their ride during the hours of the morning everyone's going to work or dropping kids off at school, if they're afraid of cars being close to them. I suppose he expected you to trawl behind him the whole way.

Cyclists are so bloody selfish, they choose to play their little hobby on a public road, creating a nuisance and inconveniencing others, then they get all upset when someone overtakes them, behaving in a threatening and abusive manner. We need to start reporting Cyclists for their behaviour.

I don't know of any other hobby that’s played on public roads.

Don't worry OP, I doubt the little man child you passed will report anything.

Cycling should be banned on public roads.

It sounds like you overtook him in a way that frightened him.

If he had a camera, I expect he will report the footage to the police. If the footage shows you driving safely, the police won't prosecute. They will only prosecute if the footage shows that you were driving in a careless or dangerous manner.

I cycle to school with my primary school children on a road that sounds similar (I'm only on it for about 45 seconds but it is narrow and winding and full of blind bends) and often send footage to the police of drivers that overtake us too closely or overtake on a blind bend, resulting in near-collisions with oncoming motor traffic. The close passes usually result in 3 points and a fine for the driver but the blind bend overtakes get quite a bit more (one recent one got 5 points and £1000 fine).

When I am driving a car, I will only overtake a cyclist if there are no blind bends and I can see that the opposite lane is clear as I always use the full oncoming lane to overtake a cyclist. There are very few roads in the UK where it is possible to overtake a cyclist legally without using part of the oncoming lane, so there is nothing to be lost by using the full oncoming lane (and a lot of safety to be gained). A general rule of thumb to follow is that if the cyclist hits a pothole (plentiful in this country) and is suddenly left laying on the road sideways, would you still be giving him enough space? If I'm going to be making a turn in the next 400m or so while driving, I don't bother overtaking a cyclist at all -- it just isn't worth the risk and won't save anyone a meaningful amount of time.

I wish I didn't have to run a camera on my bike (or spend chunks of time cropping video and filling in police forms). But I do it because reporting my near miss might save someone else's life.

He sounds fun. 🫢

If you read the original post you will see she says she still gave requisite space for the cyclists on this occasion so it isn't the scenario you are describing. It is ridiculous that some people can't accept that some cyclists can be dickheads in the same way some drovers can be.

He sounds fun. 🫢

He sounds fun. 🫢

He sounds fun. 🫢

DH uploads footage of 4-6 dangerous drivers (around cyclists) a week. Around half would be on narrow lanes. He gets feedback on each one - I’d say 50% are no action, 40% are “had a word” and 10% are progressed to prosecution.

Thank you for all the replies and sorry it’s taken me all day to respond!

Firstly we do live semi rurally- the lane I described has no footpaths and as mentioned is narrow- if someone is walking their dog on it and a car comes along they have to sink into the hedge so it’s not a route suitable for walking to school with a child. We also live three miles away and this is the nearest school.

I do accept on reflection I should have waited to overtake until I could see further ahead and wasn’t as near to a bend, but I’m not lying when I say I was considerate to the cyclist and felt I left plenty of room. Like I say it was definitely over the minimum, I’m not saying it was that amount exactly, but he was certainly never in danger of being hit by the car and nor did I slam on my brakes after passing him as some have suggested.

The reason I mentioned his clothing is because he seemed it me to be out for a hobby ride, not cycling to work, plus there’s nothing around there unless he’s a teacher at one of the schools! I know cyclists have the same rights to use roads as everyone else but you’d think people would exercise common sense and not choose to cycle on narrow country lanes when there are lots of cars trying to get to school for a specific time. I know I’ll be flamed for saying that but come on it’s common sense!

Unlikely. Cyclists like to have a go even when they don't have a leg to stand on. Absolutely baffling they'd decide to take their ride during the hours of the morning everyone's going to work or dropping kids off at school, if they're afraid of cars being close to them. I suppose he expected you to trawl behind him the whole way.

Sorry to disappoint you. Your abs equipped car won't stop on a dime. Physics applies. A car has greater mass and higher velocity. Try stopping on a gravel road and your brakes may actually not work v.well. A car travelling at 30mph takes generally 23 metres or 75 feet to stop. That increases significantly in wet conditions and in snow or ice your brakes may be useless. At 20mph its 40 feet.

Thank you for all the replies and sorry it’s taken me all day to respond!

Firstly we do live semi rurally- the lane I described has no footpaths and as mentioned is narrow- if someone is walking their dog on it and a car comes along they have to sink into the hedge so it’s not a route suitable for walking to school with a child. We also live three miles away and this is the nearest school.

I do accept on reflection I should have waited to overtake until I could see further ahead and wasn’t as near to a bend, but I’m not lying when I say I was considerate to the cyclist and felt I left plenty of room. Like I say it was definitely over the minimum, I’m not saying it was that amount exactly, but he was certainly never in danger of being hit by the car and nor did I slam on my brakes after passing him as some have suggested.

The reason I mentioned his clothing is because he seemed it me to be out for a hobby ride, not cycling to work, plus there’s nothing around there unless he’s a teacher at one of the schools! I know cyclists have the same rights to use roads as everyone else but you’d think people would exercise common sense and not choose to cycle on narrow country lanes when there are lots of cars trying to get to school for a specific time. I know I’ll be flamed for saying that but come on it’s common sense!

I was referring to the sort of speeds at which bicycles travel. At 20mph, an ABS- equipped car can stop on a dime, regardless of driver skill. It has four nice, wide tyres, and no chance of skidding, so the car can brake right at the very limits of the tyres’ adhesion. A cyclist can’t hope to do this and remain in the saddle. Under hard braking, a car can decelerate at around 1.0 G; a cyclist, less than half that.

Not actually true. It depends what is ahead of you and at what distance. A car travelling at 50mph behind a vehicle 10 metres ahead is not going to stop safely. Stopping distance increases exponentially with speed, road conditions, brake and tyre conditions and the reaction time of the driver

Don’t be daft. Drivers in cars with ABS can stamp on the brakes as hard as they like and stop safely from any speed. A cyclist who brakes too hard will go sailing over the handlebars.

That is fair, but why not also ask: how many times do you witness dangerous/illegal behaviour from cyclist on an average 15min spent walking outside vs from car drivers?

Today, just 1h ago on the school run, literally when leaving my house there was a cyclist on the pavement. More pavement-riders were encountered. Some also crossed red lights. Nothing to report from drivers, they all indicated when turning into the side roads I was crossing and left me cross before turning. And none of them drove at a red light. Anecdotical of course, but this is a fair representation of what happens in urban areas.

Unlikely. Cyclists like to have a go even when they don't have a leg to stand on. Absolutely baffling they'd decide to take their ride during the hours of the morning everyone's going to work or dropping kids off at school, if they're afraid of cars being close to them. I suppose he expected you to trawl behind him the whole way.