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Original poster

Cyclists killed and seriously injured on roads.....spmeone is being unreasonable

349 replies

GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 14:27

Big news in todays independent.(and elsewhere)

They say 230 cyclists are killed or seriously injured on our
roads every month.

Really? I would like to see those figures broken down to serious injury/death
The report says HGV drivers are often involved.

Cycling is becomming more popular here

OP posts:
RitaLynn · 15/04/2011 15:37

One of the major things I think drivers tend to do is drive as if nothing is going to change in the next 10 seconds. You see it on the motorways, when you see how few people stick to things like the two second rule. If everyone else (cyclists inc.) anticipated that other road users were idiots, things would be better.

bubblecoral · 15/04/2011 15:39

Well said HerHissyness

hogsback · 15/04/2011 15:46

blondepinhead you made the mistake of being a cyclist and a woman. You're a magnet for victim-blamers and of course it's your fault!

blondepinhead · 15/04/2011 15:50

Blimey, hogsback you're right!

grovel · 15/04/2011 15:52

It's triple whammy, blondepinhead, if you also wear Lycra.

hogsback · 15/04/2011 15:53

Look at them! With their lycra and their toned arses! They're just ASKING for it aren't they?

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 15:55

RitaLynn....yes you are describing defensive driving....It seems a good idea.
I rode cycles in the past...the obvious thing was parked cars opening their door into you. (they usually apologised.)

Blonde your neighbours comment was silly. She had not analysed what you were telling her. (Hope he/she is not a magistrate)

I can tell you who gets a quick appearance in court. Alleged drink drivers.

You can be pissed up on Saturday night and be in court at 10am on Monday. (I suppose they want them off the roads.)

I used to go to court. Most DDs seemed to be middle aged men.

I suppose the youngsters booze in groups and dont drive with a skin full

The breathalyser evidence is very seldom challenged. (I dont believe in infallibility) So everything needs challenging occasionally.

PS you dont believe in tailgating lorry drivers.

Heres another cliche "No one seems to admit to being a poor driver."

Surely, there is something in that.

OP posts:
givemushypeasachance · 15/04/2011 15:56

There are eejits in cars, there are eejits on bikes. Neither side has the monopoly on stupidity.

Myself and many other cyclists hold full driving licences and use cars sometimes; we have passed tests, we pay ?road tax? (vehicle emissions duty actually) so are entitled to be on the road by the standards that many people think should be set for cyclists.

Earlier this week I was coming up to a right turn into a side road, and the road I was on was quiet so I moved over to the centre of my lane and started to indicate. Yes ? a cyclist indicating! Shocking I know. As I approached the turn a car suddenly drove up from behind me very quickly ? it must have come from another side road, and it accelerating fast towards me. I turned and saw this then panicked, since it was essentially aiming at me (still in the middle of my lane), not indicating anything and just accelerating, as I wasn?t close enough to turn off yet. I swerved back to the left side of the lane just as the driver also swerved to the left, evidently having intended to dodge around me at the last second. I don?t know how he didn?t knock me off, but he clonked my handlebars and screeched to a halt, only to shout ?you stupid cow!? at me. I shouted back that he should consider slowing down. It really did leave me quite shaken.

I see plenty of cyclists doing stupid or risky things, and they should be encouraged not to. But equally motorists should take a look in the mirror and accept that they are unlikely to obey the letter of the law 100% of the time themselves, and sort out their own behaviour before they start throwing stones in the opposite direction.

penguin73 · 15/04/2011 15:59

Cyclists who drive the wrong way in a cycle lane so that they are going against the flow of traffic are a major cause of accidents around here. Not sure how the blame in that situation can lie with anyone other than the cyclist. I think cyclists need much more road awareness than car, van or lorry drivers yet we let them go off at any age with no formal training or testing and no compulsory protective clothing. Madness.

givemushypeasachance · 15/04/2011 15:59

blondepinhead - sorry that you had a similarly bad experience turning right. It makes you feel quite vulnerable as a cyclist since you have to move across the often busy traffic to the middle of the lane and sit there waiting for a chance to turn. For some reason a few drivers seem to consider that cyclists shouldn't be there - I guess we should stick to the left with broken glass in the gutter and the swinging car doors, where we belong!

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 16:08

BLIND SPOTS feature here. What does the Highway Code advise...And are people taking any notice?

another cracker is "you start learning to drive AFTER you have passed your test."

There is something in that. Although they say the test has been more difficult.

OP posts:
Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 16:16

Lets get philosophical.....There is a price to be paid for all alleged progress.
And most of us would agree cars are a sort of popular progress.

Who would Clarkson be sh+gging if he did not drive a fast car.?

OP posts:
Sidge · 15/04/2011 16:18

I'm surprised the rate isn't higher, around here most cyclists seem to have a death wish.

No reflective clothing, no lights, not stopping at red lights, not giving way at junctions/roundabouts/pedestrian crossings, veering on and off between the pavement and the roads, using the pavement or road instead of the perfectly wide useable cycle lane.

There are some great cyclists that ride safely, clearly and sensibly but sadly they are the minority.

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 16:19

Sidge What are the car drivers like in your area?

OP posts:
Sidge · 15/04/2011 16:21

Better than the cyclists on the whole.

blondepinhead · 15/04/2011 16:22

Gabby it was worse than that, my neighbour actually saw it happen (I was turning into my road). God only knows how he justified what the car driver did. Sympathy would have been nice, but I clearly wasn't going to get it from him.

My DH learnt to drive recently. He's amazed at the way some motorists behave towards cyclists now, as consideration and awareness of all other road users is part and parcel of learning to drive.

Please note that I am not tarring all motorists with the same brush. I've had very few bad experiences on my commute, and I don't think that's 'luck'. I do my utmost to treat other road users with courtesy and respect, and am very well aware that I am in a vulnerable position on my bike.

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 16:25

With all due respect that is a politicians answer sidge. And here it looks as though not many are familiar with the Highway Code. (I hope drivers dont use Clarkson as a mentor)

OP posts:
onagar · 15/04/2011 16:25

Someone said that one bad thing some cyclists do is for two of them to cycle side by side.

I have heard this before and I'm hoping someone can explain it to me. Is that a problem because the car driver wanted room to drive alongside them? Isn't that just as illegal as driving alongside another car?

I had a feeling I'd read somewhere that you were supposed to give them the same room you would a car.

Original poster
GabbyLoggon · 15/04/2011 16:30

There is a sort of rationale to car drivers HATING cyclists. (The car drivers dont think cyclists should be allowed on the roads

But would car drivers agree to having 20 quid on their road tax to build cycle tracks all over the country?)

They will say ..we are being ripped off already. (They are) But cars are a passion to some men; and a necessity to others.

OP posts:
SpawnChorus · 15/04/2011 16:36

Some of the attitudes on this thread are really pissing me off. I cycle with three children (two in a trailer, baby on a seat at the front, and I am obviously EXTREMELY careful, but there is a significant minority of appalling and/or rude drivers that make my trips stressful. The other day I had a stupid bint missing us by inches having run through a red light, and then was shouted at by a taxi driver for cycling in the "wrong" lane (if I'd been in the lane he "recommended" I'd have been crushed by the vehickes turning left.

I'm also a driver, and can say wholeheartedly that drivers are imminently more aggressive and dangerous than cyclists.

Sidge · 15/04/2011 16:37

Er no it's not, I'm certainly no politician.

I see idiotic and dangerous behaviour from cyclists most days on my local roads. I see idiotic and dangerous behaviour from motorists less often.

MollieO · 15/04/2011 16:43

I think the figure is meaningless. I'd be more interested in a percentage figure. I have no idea if 230 is a large percentage or not.

I work in London. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've seen cyclists wait at lights and or signal. I live in the country. Daily I see cyclists wearing dark clothes and no lights cycling on dark country lanes which have a speed limit of 60mph. At weekends we are ached with cycle clubs who cycle across the width of the roads making it impossible to overtake. They are usually too busy chatting to be aware of other road users. I have seen them be so distracted that they have missed a bend in the road and cycled into a ditch.

Not all cyclists are bad. My 6 yr old is careful and considerate of other road users and always signals. I hope that when he is 16 he is still doing the same.

MollieO · 15/04/2011 16:46

Ached? I meant plagued!

SpawnChorus · 15/04/2011 16:48

sidge - do you cycle often? If not, it might be difficult for you to make a fair comparison.

blondepinhead · 15/04/2011 16:49

Out of interest Sidge, where do you live? I've noticed that since the advent of 'Boris Bikes' there are a lot more people on bikes that could do with a bit more road sense. But then, these are the people who make bad pedestrians too - you know, the ones who step into the path of cars and think holding up a hand is enough to stop imminent death.