Why are people so abusive to cyclists, what do they get from it?

[FinnyStory]

I'll start by saying it's not everyone by any means, the vast majority of motorists are patient and go on with their day. We make an effort to disrupt traffic a little as possible, use mostly very quite roads (because cycling those is far mor pleasant) and pull over often to let traffic pass, but it is occasionally necessary to use a busier road for small part of the route.

However, I rarely go on a bike ride without one person thinking they need to hurl abuse. The most frequent situation is when they've tried to overtake me on a bend and come face to face with another car, which is apparently my fault.

The most recent occasion was down a steep hill, we would have been doing at 25mph, speed limit 40, So yes we were slow and it was difficult to pass but not that slow. Traffic lights at the bottom and driver felt the need to stick his head out and yell something about how we should be on the pavement (Yes of course we should doing 25mph but that's another issue). My friend pointed to his bike mounted camera and the driver suddenly didn't feel the need to abuse us any more.

It must be exhausting to be so angry all the time, what do they think they gain from it?

cycles and cars shouldn't really be sharing a thoroughfare because they change speeds in such a different way.
Good luck creating a whole new road network.
Or just ban cars...

Narrow country roads are.hard enough to overtake never mind cyclists 2 abreast.

Now this I don’t get. You can pass two cyclists as easily as one if you cross into the empty oncoming lane. If you can pass one but not two, it sound like you are trying to pass in the same lane, which isn’t going to give the cyclist enough room.

A ) Because often, cyclists cruise through red lights, knock people down, ignore zebra crossing etiquette etc.

B ) Because it feels satisfying, albeit briefly, to bellow and curse at the object of one's ire.

Also, there is no risk. To hurl abuse out of a car window is a bit like posting on a forum. You don’t have to deal with any consequences face to face.

Drivers and pedestrians who are abusive and even violent towards cyclists, I fully believe are also abusive and violent in other aspects of their lives, and if they're not it's only because they don't think they can get away with it.

To be fair, if you’re stepping out to cross the road at a green light & a cyclist comes flying past & almost knocks you over, it’s hard not to express your annoyance.

Some of you must live in a state of constant anguish at people who drive cars judging by your attitudes to cyclists. Some of the attitudes on this thread stink.

@drspouse

cycles and cars shouldn't really be sharing a thoroughfare because they change speeds in such a different way. Good luck creating a whole new road network. Or just ban cars...

I didn't say I could do it. Other countries do though. As a country we do suffer from a lack of imagination/ willingness to spend money on public innovation.

Not too sure why some people are so oggressive OP. I just think it is their natural nature/personality to be rude. As a flip side to this I got a load of abuse when I was a learner driver with my instructor in the car. I was in the way of said other car driver who blasted his horn over ten times and then overtook me and broke the speed limit. Some people are just very very unpleasant and impatient.

I don't even drive - but as a passenger I've just seen so many arrogant and inconsiderate cyclists.

If you don’t drive then you don’t understand the Highway Code. Many car drivers are incorrect in their assumptions about cyclists e.g riding 2 abreast is not illegal.

@YetAnotherSpartacus

I don't even drive - but as a passenger I've just seen so many arrogant and inconsiderate cyclists.

But you’ve presumably seen a lot of arrogant and inconsiderate drivers too? And I bet if I said “I jumped out in front of a car yesterday and yelled GET OFF THE ROAD, the driver hadn’t actually done anything but drivers are just so annoying” you wouldn’t consider that acceptable?

Some people are just very very unpleasant and impatient

Yes, but when you’re a pedestrian, that would be the cyclists who whizz past you out of nowhere or nearly run into you at traffic lights.

Narrow country roads are.hard enough to overtake never mind cyclists 2 abreast.

You should be overtaking cyclists in the same way that you would a car - that's already guidance in the current Highway Code. It might interest you to know that the Department of Transport is currently consulting on changes to the Code, which include clarification on required distances when overtaking various types of road users.

The consultation closes 27/10/20:

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904038/consultation-on-a-review-of-the-highway-code.pdf

5 - many cyclists think they are better than the lowly car driver

This is a baffling notion. The vast, vast majority of cyclists are also car drivers surely? Do you think they have a complete personality change when they move from four wheels to two? These are the same people!

If you don’t drive then you don’t understand the Highway Code. Many car drivers are incorrect in their assumptions about cyclists e.g riding 2 abreast is not illegal

Nah. But if it is on a narrow road and there is a cavalcade of cars behind then it's pretty fucking cuntish.

But you’ve presumably seen a lot of arrogant and inconsiderate drivers too?

Some. But cyclists take the cake.

As a driver and a cyclist I get it from both sides.

Some cyclists are inexperienced and dangerous on the road and I’m terrified I’m going to accidentally kill them when I’m driving.

Some car drivers are dangerous dicks and until you’re out there on a bike you don’t really understand how vulnerable you are and the level of hate there is for cyclists.

Our club frequently find tacks thrown at the bottom of a local mountain descent or wire pulled across the cycle track at neck height which is all reported to the police as what it is, an attempt to cause possibly serious harm to someone.

I’m a decent cyclist, ex competitive and pretty experienced so would hope I don’t hold many people up too much and am always considerate of other road users. I don’t think I deserve to be potentially killed and my children left without a mother for this.

Yes, but when you’re a pedestrian, that would be the cyclists who whizz past you out of nowhere or nearly run into you at traffic lights

Yep. And then think they are entitled to do so.

Yes, but when you’re a pedestrian, that would be the cyclists who whizz past you out of nowhere or nearly run into you at traffic lights

Gosh. I don't know where you live that drivers are never ever a problem for pedestrians, but speaking as a non-driver I'd really like to move there!

(I still don't shout abuse at random drivers for simply existing, though, because SHOCKINGLY ENOUGH I can understand that they're people and not members of some weird lycra-clad subspecies out just to annoy me.)

I would never abuse anyone. However, this morning I came close when I pulled up at the traffic lights (I was third from the front) going out of our village. This is no pavement or cycle path, only quite a steep ditch to the side of the road, so I believe any cyclist would just have to wait in a queue like everyone else? Not this chap. He nearly ended up on said ditch as he tried squeeze past to get to the front - scratching both my car and the one in front. Why not just fucking wait like everyone else?

Because there is no need to cycle. Get off the road

Because your annoying

"Narrow country roads are.hard enough to overtake never mind cyclists 2 abreast. "

If it's unsafe to overtake two, it's probably just as unsafe to overtake one. That's why cyclists riding 2 abreast is safer for everyone on the road. It makes drivers behind be absolutely sure about how safe it is to move into the oncoming traffic lane before they overtake.

@YetAnotherSpartacus so it's cuntish to want to stay alive?

ps; there is definitely a power imbalance thing, a "Might makes Right" attitude. Buses, Lorries & tractors are slow but they have big engines so that's ok. Slow cyclists that hold you up, otoh, "how dare they!"