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Why so much anger towards cyclists?

248 replies

Thatsthatthen87 · 09/09/2022 17:50

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/01/i-will-never-ride-a-bike-again-why-people-are-giving-up-on-cycling

Just read this and I can totally relate to what a couple of people are saying about drivers' attitudes to cyclists. If people are not following the rules or using their bikes responsibly or whatever, I get it, but some drivers just seem to hate the fact that they have to share the road. Why? I've even had 'get a car' yelled at me from a window. 😄

OP posts:
ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 12/09/2022 11:29

the cyclists I hate are the ones cycling on the pavement.

loveisanopensore · 12/09/2022 11:44

In the UK road tax was abolished in 1937.

whumpthereitis · 12/09/2022 11:58

When I’m driving, I find cyclists fucking annoying.

when I’m cycling, I find drivers fucking annoying.

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Mumski45 · 12/09/2022 12:10

@the80sweregreat nobody pays road taxes, why should cyclist pay an additional tax.

Roads are paid for out of general taxes including council tax which are paid by people irrespective of whether they ride a bike or drive a car.

Car drivers pay VED which is based on emissions and for low emission cars is zero. Why would a cyclist pay VED?

Mangolist · 12/09/2022 16:53

I admit to being really pissed off this morning. Crossing over on a green pedestrian light, I saw a mad super fast cyclist coming towards the crossing. I knew he wouldnt stop, so I pettily walked really slowly. He swerved right round me and looked over his shoulder glaring. All the cars stop, why should he be different?
As I said upthread, I cycle and drive so get cross with those who label all cyclists the same, but it's people like that who get everyone furious

Tulipvase · 12/09/2022 16:58

People hate cyclists because they have to slow down sometimes. Then dress it up by saying it’s all about safety. I’m not a cyclist but a pedestrian. It’s not the bikes that make me rage on a daily basis.
I wish everyone had to be a proper pedestrian (walking somewhere with purpose not just shuffling around the town) before they are allowed to learn to drive.

Badbadbunny · 12/09/2022 16:59

Carrotzen · 09/09/2022 18:30

One cyclist going about his day fine

A group of middle aged men who think they're in the tour de France gallavanting in their lycra is very fucking irritating.

Also cyclist who bell me out the way on a footpath/no cycle zones. As a cyclist you'd expect a car to slow down amd make a safe overtaking maneuver not beep their horn at you. Same here, if your cycling on a footpath don't just bell at me

What do you expect them to do? Get off and walk? I'd rather they ring to give me chance to walk aside rather than try to pass without me knowing they're there!

Bunnycat101 · 12/09/2022 17:35

There are plenty of sensible cyclists who probably have to deal unfairly with aggressive motorists. However, round my way there are too many ‘pack cyclists’ who are just dangerous and they piss everyone off. There also seem to be a fair amount of unofficial cycle races so you can suddenly find 100 plus cyclists on a windy country road where it’s hard to overtake.

WrongWayApricot · 12/09/2022 19:59

Tulipvase · 12/09/2022 16:58

People hate cyclists because they have to slow down sometimes. Then dress it up by saying it’s all about safety. I’m not a cyclist but a pedestrian. It’s not the bikes that make me rage on a daily basis.
I wish everyone had to be a proper pedestrian (walking somewhere with purpose not just shuffling around the town) before they are allowed to learn to drive.

I was a pedestrian and a cyclist before driving, a proper non shuffling one, I passed my test well into adulthood because of my disability. When you drive you see the other side of the coin, I am now very afraid of hitting a cyclist. My first drive after my test a cyclist hopped off the pavement in front of my car and cycled across me and other traffic, this is because they didn't want to signal and wait for their right turn at the junction. I had to do an emergency stop to not hit him.

When drivers complain about the safety of sharing the road with cyclists they're not making it up because they want to go faster. I don't want to kill someone, that's the absolute truth, I really, really don't want to kill someone. If you had to work in a very dangerous place and they also had people working there that ignored all warnings, didn't read or obey the safety rules and did dangerous things without warning anybody, and on top of that if you hurt them you will get the blame I think you'd be cross too.

TheChurchOfEli · 12/09/2022 20:50

If you had to work in a very dangerous place and they also had people working there that ignored all warnings, didn't read or obey the safety rules and did dangerous things without warning anybody, and on top of that if you hurt them you will get the blame I think you'd be cross too.
Motor vehicle drivers also fit everything you’ve just said here but no bile directed to ALLLLLLL drivers? It would be unfair of me to be cross at swear at you because other car user didn’t indicate and caused me to break / swerve etc, but it’s fair game to abuse cyclists just for simply existing

xsquared · 13/09/2022 00:09

Pretty much every week there is an anti-cyclist thread and the same things get said over and over again.

Too slow on the road

Too fast on a footpath

They should use a bell to indicate that they are approaching

They should not ding a bell and just call out instead

They skip red lights

They move back onto the pavement at a traffic lights to avoid stopping

They move off the pavement and into the road without indicating

They cycle half a dozen abreast nattering away without looking at the road so that you can't overtake....

This is not representative of the vast majority of cyclists in my experience and there are plenty of considerate cyclists about.

I drive, I walk and cycle if that makes a difference.

The hazardous thing that pisses me off more than anything else when travelling is pedestrians walking in the opposite direction to you looking down on their phones, often with earphones on, rather than watching where they are going and being aware of their surroundings. I give them space as we get closer, but because they are not watching where they are going, they meander and then you have to call out for them to look up before they walk into you.

WrongWayApricot · 13/09/2022 00:49

TheChurchOfEli · 12/09/2022 20:50

If you had to work in a very dangerous place and they also had people working there that ignored all warnings, didn't read or obey the safety rules and did dangerous things without warning anybody, and on top of that if you hurt them you will get the blame I think you'd be cross too.
Motor vehicle drivers also fit everything you’ve just said here but no bile directed to ALLLLLLL drivers? It would be unfair of me to be cross at swear at you because other car user didn’t indicate and caused me to break / swerve etc, but it’s fair game to abuse cyclists just for simply existing

With all the anpr going on it's highly unlikely that the car being driven dangerously a) isn't very aware that they're being dangerous and b) won't get caught.

Because the vast majority of cars, lorries, vans, buses are driven by people that had to pass their theory test. That means they understand the basic flow of traffic and many signs. If a car is being driven dangerously you can report the reg, or it will be caught on camera. Drivers still get abuse but not as much.

Cyclists get more abuse because there's no way of reporting a dangerous cyclist unless you can remember what they look like, what they were wearing and what type of bike they had. I'm not condoning any abuse, just saying why I think they get more.

Even pedestrians understand more about the parts of the road they're using than many cyclists. And even people driving illegally at least know they're in the wrong. It's the lack of awareness of so many cyclists day in day out that pisses people off. Cycling with no lights in the dark, sitting in lorries blind spots, coming out of traffic to overtake and not looking behind first all the while not even knowing these things are wrong and risky is mad to me.

A car can sometimes behave erratically in front of me, but I've never seen one use a zebra crossing to turn right. I know that if it did I wouldn't be sued for not being able to stop in time, and I know I probably wouldn't kill them as I've already slowed for the crossing and they're in a tin can with airbags.

HouseOfGuineas · 13/09/2022 06:44

Even pedestrians understand more about the parts of the road they're using than many cyclists. And even people driving illegally at least know they're in the wrong

what an utterly idiotic post.

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/09/2022 08:22

The hazardous thing that pisses me off more than anything else when travelling is pedestrians walking in the opposite direction to you looking down on their phones, often with earphones on, rather than watching where they are going and being aware of their surroundings. I give them space as we get closer, but because they are not watching where they are going, they meander and then you have to call out for them to look up before they walk into you.

Or maybe you can stay off pedestrian spaces?

Deathraystare · 13/09/2022 08:24

I am a pedestrian and it makes me gnash my teeth when I have to battle out the way of fucking cyclists who despite now being able to take up more than half of the road area, prefer to cycle on the pavement. Plus those few that do use the road have decided that the red stop sign means you can run over any pedestrian trying to cross the road. And how quickly they speed up if they see someone trying to ross the road. Fuckers.

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/09/2022 08:28

Deathraystare · 13/09/2022 08:24

I am a pedestrian and it makes me gnash my teeth when I have to battle out the way of fucking cyclists who despite now being able to take up more than half of the road area, prefer to cycle on the pavement. Plus those few that do use the road have decided that the red stop sign means you can run over any pedestrian trying to cross the road. And how quickly they speed up if they see someone trying to ross the road. Fuckers.

Absolutely.

Sometimes there are more cyclists on the pavement than on the shiny new cycle lane alongside.

xsquared · 13/09/2022 08:59

@ChardonnaysBeastlyCat I am usually walking when this happens. So, if not the pedestrian area where do you think I should walk then?

Just yesterday I was crossing a set of traffic lights, when someone was on their phone instead of looking where he was going so he nearly walked into me.

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/09/2022 09:06

xsquared · 13/09/2022 08:59

@ChardonnaysBeastlyCat I am usually walking when this happens. So, if not the pedestrian area where do you think I should walk then?

Just yesterday I was crossing a set of traffic lights, when someone was on their phone instead of looking where he was going so he nearly walked into me.

You said travelling, not walking.

xsquared · 13/09/2022 09:10

The fact that we have this in Manchester is shocking.
Anyone live near there and how has it worked out? Is it exclusively full of distracted users or a free for all and still the same?

xsquared · 13/09/2022 09:11

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/09/2022 09:06

You said travelling, not walking.

Yes, and I travel on foot to work.

I also said I walk, cycle and drive but you automatically assumed I was cycling.

StrikeandRobin · 20/09/2022 19:46

This is why.
Clear cycle lane but choosing to ride two abreast on the road causing hold up
vm.tiktok.com/ZMFeqYgVM/

purdypuma · 20/09/2022 19:58

We are surrounded by lots of winding country lanes, cyclists frequently ride side by side making it impossible to pass. A lot round our way use their bikes to travel to from work which is great if they didn't do so wearing dark colours at night with insufficient lights on their bikes. Little or no use or arm signals so it's a guessing game as to when they intend to turn.

Imho the minimum expectation of any cyclist should be that they are insured. A cyclist collided with my friends car causing significant damage & she had to claim off her own insurance as cyclist had none. In addition cyclists should be expected to pay a tax specific to cycling. They should also have to wear a helmet & visible flourescent safety clothing & there should be a minimum amount of lights on cycles. This would hopefully protect the safety of the cyclists & car users.

BakeOffIsBack · 20/09/2022 20:57

Why are people angry? Because this is MN and people are angry about… well anything and everything really - even when it makes no rhyme or reason. Like cyclists.

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