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?

I don't mind them cycling two abreast as some people seem to get annoyed about
Because I always wait until there's nothing coming the other way so I can go ontt to I the other side of the road to get past (I don't like squeezing past between them and oncoming traffic as I worry about them
Falling off and me having nowhere to go, but where I live there are lots of windy lanes and it's tricky when there's one cyclist then a small gap then another one - too close together up get between when overtaking but too far apart to overtake them both at once. So there can be quite a long tailback. But I quietly tut rather than show my annoyance! As a country we need to do so much more to make the roads safer for cyclists.

Don't have a problem at all with people cycling on roads to get to places. If you are cycling as a means of transport, crack on and respect to you. Have a massive problem with people cycling on roads for a hobby, thinking they are some kind of athlete and holding up all the traffic. And yes the waving around thing is unbelievably arrogant and annoying. I hold back on the abuse but my kids here a lot about hobbyist cyclists from the back seat!

Don't have a problem at all with people cycling on roads to get to places. If you are cycling as a means of transport, crack on and respect to you. Have a massive problem with people cycling on roads for a hobby, thinking they are some kind of athlete and holding up all the traffic

Out of curiosity, how do you tell the difference?

I think roads are generally just hotbeds of rage tbh. I am a pedestrian or public transport user only as I don’t drive and I’m afraid I did once yell at a cyclist who zoomed through a red light when I was pushing DS across the road in his buggy. I hate it when they do that. But that’s me speaking as a pedestrian who felt in danger. I think it’s pretty shit for drivers to shout abuse.

People form their opinions based on their own experience.

I live in a rural area. Roads are single lane, you cannot overtake cyclists.
Trouble is nowadays there are LOADS of cyclists. I get stuck behind one about 7 times out of 10 whenever I leave or try to return to my house.
Now I like cycling and I sometimes cycle myself but I PULL OVER when a car is behind me.
I would say only about 1% of cyclists pull over and I find it so frustrating to be stuck behind one for 2 miles (distance from larger road to my house) nearly every time I go out or come home. (I need to drive to pretty much every where because of the rural location).
Because of my negative experiences of cyclists I don't have a very high opinion of them. Same goes for other people who have a negative view of cyclists - it is because they have had bad experiences with them.

As someone who power walks, cycles and drive I can see this from most angles.

However most cyclists (London in particular) only stop at red lights when there is no choice at a busy junction (and still risk it when there is literally a half space between vehicles etc) and so are disliked by the motorists who obviously follow the same Highway Code. I am taking about visitors on hire bikes as well as near death courier cyclists and hard core all weather cyclists commuters with self incriminating camera footage! Some busy London road junctions (pre Covid) station traffic safety police as cameras makes no difference to cyclists who otherwise think health and safety rules and respect for other road users including children crossing on green man to get to school etc do not apply to them.

Motorists on the other hand know what to expect with dangerous cyclists and are normally very concerned when turning or land changing in case of cyclists silently cutting up busy traffic weaving between vehicles and lanes etc.

In the rural setting I think the situation is very different and as a driver I know most like me will always give cyclists and horse riders a very wide berth and only over take slowly in narrow lanes when absolutely safe to do so. However that is me as I know many other drivers who like a weekend countryside power blast on the twisties and probably test their breaking deceleration when up against a cyclists etc.

Hope this helps to add other dimensions to this thread.

Ps I am not too keen on Lycra clad 65 year old bottoms in my face for half a mile along the windy lanes. Does wearing derrière-enhancing clothing really make a big difference when you're not an Olympic cyclist and you're just out for a little ride??

If their bottoms are in your face, you are driving too close...

Loving this thread, I thought it was just me who hated cyclists! It's the holding up queues of traffic and not giving a shit about it that riles me. Nothing says entitled cunt like sitting on a bike, holding up 20 cars and not pulling over to let them pass.

If any cyclist is getting regular abuse it suggests that they may be behaving in an anti social way

Nope it’s just being female in public. When I cycled to work in central London (so mostly in bus lanes, and I always stop at red lights), I got almost weekly rape threats from men in their fifties leaning out of their car windows, or trying to swerve into me and knock me off. One memorable guy drove up on the inside of me (multi-lane road, I was about to turn right) and tried to knock me off by swerving into my lane and opening his car door into me, at about 30 mph. He would almost certainly have killed me if he’d managed it, it was a busy road with plenty of traffic coming the other way. My male colleagues have experienced nothing like that, but all of my female friends have. Lots of female cyclists give up because of abuse - there was a series of articles in the Evening Standard about it a couple of years ago.

I have also stopped running on the pavement on my own, due to constant abuse from older male drivers. Doesn’t happen when my husband is with me, doesn’t happen in the park. There seems to be something about middle aged men in cars that makes them think they are free to express their pent-up violence. I assume you don’t think I’m breaking the Highway Code or behaving antisocially by minding my own business jogging on a pavement, so what’s your justification for that?

Never in a million years would I abuse cyclists; they have the moral high ground and win at eco-friendly travel hands down. They're doing what I ought to be doing, at least some of the time, if I was prepared to sacrifice the time, effort and convenience. I am humbled by, and grateful to all cyclist for doing the right thing by the environment. Thank you, cyclists!

@Splodgetastic

I’d like to see you lot try and do even 20mph. You would really struggle.

Nope Id be barely touching the accelerator and Id still have 4 more gears to go, did you mean on a bike? Id never want to be that inconsiderate to other road users.

I do think it should be mandatory to have insurance and an identifiable number plate on cycles, both low cost and possibly even subsidised to encourage people to take part, at least red light jumpers could be identified/prosecuted by camera as a lot of drivers are

Why on earth would it be inconsiderate to do 20mph on a bike? Not on a pavements obviously but on a road? I frequently get well over 20mph, even over 30mph!

@AlwaysLatte

Ps I am not too keen on Lycra clad 65 year old bottoms in my face for half a mile along the windy lanes. Does wearing derrière-enhancing clothing really make a big difference when you're not an Olympic cyclist and you're just out for a little ride??

Yes.....it’s to stop the chafing. Also cycle tops have big back pockets for storing stuff like spare inner tube, bike tool, cereal bar, phone....I don’t have a bag in my bike. Also if I’m out cycling 50miles believe me I need padded shorts!

mean on a bike? Id never want to be that inconsiderate to other road users

Yeah, the inconsiderate cyclists, reducing congestion and pollution. How very dare they! (and when you say 'road users' I think you mean drivers. Cyclists are road users here.

I'm just going to leave this here. The 1mph that you are delayed by cyclists would be a ton more if they all took to their cars.

www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/07/01/cyclists-dont-cause-congestion-must-get-in-front-maneuvers-by-motorists-pointless-finds-study/

Oh and of course the speed limit that is set to keep everyone safe doesn’t apply to them!
You are right - speed limits only apply to motorised vehicles.

I live very close to one of the main London to south coast cycling routes and regularly encounter terrible behaviour by many cyclists (always male, fwiw). They are just hugely inconsiderate, seem to have no awareness of other road users whether they be riders or drivers and generally clog up the main arterial routes in the area every bloody weekend.

What's grim is when they aren't wearing underwear and you can see everything 🤮

What's grim is when they aren't wearing underwear and you can see everything

Tough! Cycling shorts are meant to be worn without underwear. I am more curious as to why you are checking that out in the first place, it's not something I have ever noticed!😂

@eurochick yeah, I'm sure some cyclists are twats. Those ones are probably just as twattish when driving. Funny that nobody goes on about that though!

I think attitudes towards cyclists give a really good insight of how people consider minorities in general, for example:

The minority group must follow all rules perfectly and be prepared to take abuse if they make a mistake.

The minority should make way for the more powerful majority (even if the minority group existed in large numbers many years before the majority).

The minority must wear clothes that fit in with the majority. The minority can expect ridicule and discrimination if they choose to wear certain items.

The vulnerable minority are choosing to put themselves at risk, if they want special treatment they should pay for it themselves, infrastructure should only suit the needs of the majority.

We live on a country lane and the cyclists always choose to dump their litter outside our house. Lots of energy drink cans just strewn on our verge or in the hedge. So yes I have a personal vendetta against cyclists but I would never shout abuse to them.

"We make an effort to disrupt traffic a little as possible"

OP is absolutely deluded. There is a reason why most cyclists are despised, because they are awful.

And no I have never shouted at one. But I see it all the time, when Dh is driving and we see groups of them shouting, riding along side by side, blocking cars.

Your view that they are causing no harm, does not represent what i largely see.

I’ve been trying to understand this for years OP. There are many comments on this thread that give you the answers.

It’s interesting that some comments say that they’re being held up by ‘entitled’ cyclists. It’s the motorists who are entitled imo.

It’s other motorists who actually hold them up not cyclists, but most are too ignorant to actually understand this. I’m often held up by motorists whilst on my bike.

I think we should all have the right to choose which route Is best for us without abuse, be it a cycle path, cycle lane or road.

The motorists don’t want us on the roads and pedestrians don’t want us on the paths.

blocking cars

What, by cycling, perfectly legally, on a road?

If it isn't safe to pass cyclists riding side by side, it is unlikely to be safe to pass a solo cyclist. Drivers should not be squeezing past cyclists.