What did I do wrong here? Driving related

[AntiqueClock]

Happened yesterday but it’s really upset me and been playing on my mind.

I was waiting at a t junction behind 1 car, waiting to pull out onto a main road. The main road has a footpath (not cycle path) running along it, which crosses the side road I was on. The road was busy and the car in front of me took probably a minute to pull out. I stopped well back with plenty of room between my car and the car in front.

As I was sitting there waiting a cyclist came belting up the footpath to my right and slammed on his brakes (so didn’t cross the side road). He then sat back on his bike looking angry and rolling his eyes (at me I think) but didn’t attempt to cross the side road- he could have gone in front or behind me to cross.

Eventually the car in front of me pulled out but as I pulled off, the cyclist went behind my car and thumped it really hard, making me stop again. I could see him hitting my car and swearing at me in my rear view mirror before cycling off.

By this point I was quite shaken but pulled off and joined the main road, turning left so going in the same direction of the cyclist (still on the footpath). As I drove on, traffic was slow and he pulled along side me again and was trying to hit my car, shouting and swearing at me. Eventually, traffic sped up and I pulled away from him and he gave me a ‘salute’ followed by the middle finger.

What did I do wrong? I consider myself an experience, competent driver but I have no idea what he took exception to. He could easily have crossed the road I was on, I wasn’t blocking him and he shouldn’t have been on the footpath anyway. His anger and the fact he was hitting my car really shook me.

I’m a cyclist and I have no idea. I cross a side road junction like this on my commute. It’s often busy with cars waiting to go onto the main road. There’s not normally a gap for me and I don’t expect there to be one. Certainly not initially when ive just arrived and the cars are already there. I get off my bike and wait either for the cars to go or for one car to hang back and wave me infront of them but I don’t expect it.

The only thing I can think is that he’s totally misinterpreted the new Highway Code stuff about people crossing side roads having priority over cars turning into them. He thinks it means anyone crossing a side road has priority over everyone including cars already there?

Do you know something, he looked into your car and saw a woman sitting there and that's why he did what he did.

If you had been a huge guy with tattooed arms he wouldn't have done a bloody thing.

Don't put your back out reaching like that.

This happened to me some years ago.I was like you waiting at a junction ,when a guy on a M/C stopped .I had right of way and was going to drive off when he started shaking his fist at me .I didnt wait to find out and drove away speedily! Just a Road/Cycle hog

I hardly think it's reaching to suggest a man is more likely to be thumping cars and shouting when it's a woman inside v a man. That's sadly how the world works.

Sorry yes I meant pavement. I just meant it was a normal pavement rather than a footpath/cycle path hybrid as there are a few round by me.

And no, I wasn’t stopped on the pavement

When the other car pulled off, were you supposed to have waited to let the bike cross?

Maybe he expected you to have actively waved him across in front of you - rather than just left a gap for him had he decided to cross (if I'm understanding the situation correctly) but even if that was the case, no need to bash your car!

I had a similar incident recently. I was waiting to turn right into a side road. I let a car turn out (from the side road) before me as I was waiting anyway but then a tractor was coming the other way and I had time to turn into the side road before it as I didn't want to get stuck behind it. As I turned into the side road a MAMIL swore and gestured at me - I assume because I hadn't let him out too. He obviously thought he was far more important than me and I should have let him out never mind getting stuck behind a tractor!

I expect he wanted you to let him cross in front of you. But if there was space anyway…….just a common or garden entitled twatman, don’t give him any more headspace.

In terms of the footpath - was there a bit of grass or similar between the footpath and the road OR did the footpath/pavement go right up to the road?

If there's grass/mud/a gap between the pavement and the road that's a different sort of thing and you can actually cycle on those WITH consideration of more vulnerable road/pavement users of course.

Footpaths/pavements that only have a kerb between them cyclists should dismount.

That's got nothing to do with they way he treated you. That I cannot understand. I'm going to read your explanation again.

He’s a knob, that’s literally it. As someone else says him having to wait probably added 10 seconds to his strava time so he had a tantrum

The only thing I can think of (and I'm grasping here) is that there were some faded road markings you didn't see that might have had some sort of implication on what happened?

Something happened in Glasgow to a dedicated cycle path where road markings were ignored. I'll see if I have a screen shot but basically the cyclist has to swerve for the car. The cyclist had eight of way and the car drove over a give way.

It doesn't sound like this, but it's the only thing I can think of.

Can't find the image. Sorry.

He’s a arse ! blow kisses at someone who gets angry while driving they don’t know what to do . Some cyclists and drivers think they own the road .

Possibly but even so no reason to get angry and hit a car and swear . Completely uncalled for behaviour, good god if I behaved like that every time someone blocked my right of way I’d be constantly angry .

Perhaps he's a Green fanatic and your 4x4 that triggered him. Perhaps he's just an everyday misogynist or both.

If there's grass/mud/a gap between the pavement and the road that's a different sort of thing and you can actually cycle on those WITH consideration of more vulnerable road/pavement users of course.

I don't think that's true at all. You can't cycle on a pavement unless it is also marked as a cycle path. Lots of pavements have a grass verge, that doesn't make them a cycle path.