To get annoyed with cyclists not using cycle lanes?

[AKMD]

In the town I live in there is a big A road leading straight into the town centre, with a cycle lane running the whole way to the countryside alongside it. Most of the track is set back from the road. I use it; it's lovely.

As a car driver, I often pass cyclists ignoring the lovely cycle lane and using the road instead, forcing cars to slow down and pull partially onto the wrong side of the road to pass them. I hate overtaking cyclists. I'm always scared of either knocking them off if they wobble or having a head-on collision with cars coming in the opposite direction. On normal roads I have to get over it but on this road I am getting increasingly irritated. AIBU?

Dappy, there's an unwritten assumption that many drivers think that they have priority on the roads - the roads are for them. If that's the case, can you understand why some cyclists might take to pavements?

Round here, most "cycle lanes" are normal pavements with a picture of a bike painted on them. That means they're max 3 feet wide, with overgrowing hedges, loose stones/twigs/thorns, numerous give way junctions to every driveway, and full of pedestrians. It's just not sensible to use that sort of path on a bike unless you're moving at a snail's pace.

We have one fabulous dedicated cycle lane which is tremendous fun to ride on, it's just a shame it doesn't really lead anywhere helpful, and is so badly drained that with any rain large stretches of it are two feet underwater...

Franz I think it is very dangerous for cyclists to be on the pavement. How many pedestrians have safety helmets on to protect them when knocked over by a cyclist?

Certainly back when I cycled, it wasn't the done thing to go on the pavement. I thought it was against the law.

Thinking about it, actually, last week there was a traffic jam on a road DH and I were cycling down. So, we crossed over and took the pavement which is labelled as a "cycle lane" instead, which was pretty damn frightening, the surface was so bad. We had been cycling at about 15-16mph on the road, and were forced to more like 8-10mph on the path (and less than that for the blind corners, in case of pedestrians we couldn't see). That is why I use the road where I can - you make better, safer progress.

Incidentally, I've never felt worried about overtaking cyclists when I'm driving - you wait until there's room, and then you go by. It's not difficult.

Is IS against the Highway Code for people to cycle on the pavement, yes, Dappy. However so many pavements these days have had a sign stuck on them to designate them as cycle lanes - presumably so councils get some sort of grant?!

Dappy, I agree with you that cyclists shouldn't be on pavements unless it's a designated cycle path. The point I was making is that we need to challenge the perception that roads are for cars.

We have a brilliant cycle path network in this country. It's called the road network.

Absolutely, Franziska. Anyone can use the roads for travelling - drivers, cyclists, horseriders, pedestrians. It's all fine, as far as I'm concerned.

Incidentally, I've never felt worried about overtaking cyclists when I'm driving - you wait until there's room, and then you go by. It's not difficult.

Exactly - its not rocket science is it!

There's actually several cycle paths round here that look lovely until you try to use them. They run down only one side of parts of the North Circular, suddenly stop dead and leave you stranded on the wrong side of a six lane road with no way of crossing. Perhaps that's why people don't use them.

I think it's a difficult one to be hardline about in either case. Where the roads are narrow, fast and dangerous, and the cycle path is in good nick etc., then cyclists should use it.

But often, where I lived in the UK, the cycle paths were a PITA - they meandered from one side of the road to the other, which involved stopping, dismounting, waiting to cross, then starting off again on the other side, only to have the same thing happen again within a couple of 100m or so. They also have to stop to cross side roads. So - cycling in those sort of conditions, it's better to be on the road and just go straight through, IMO.
Where getting over a roundabout is concerned, I'd always do it on the road rather than via pavement cycle paths or I'd be there for ages!

I'd like to add though, that cyclists should be completely barred from dual carriageway A roads with motorway-like entry and exit sliproads (A34 around Oxford springs to mind) as it is utterly suicidal to be a cyclist on there! And they used to hold cycle races up and down it, probably still do - which was so dangerous to all concerned, it was mad - couldn't get on or off the A road at times because of a string of cyclists covering the entry/exit. :(

I say all this as someone who used to really like cycling and do it a lot, btw.

Agree most cycle lanes are rubbish. My pet one is not though.

It sounds nice. Is it easy to get on/off at either end, and does it go for a long distance/anywhere useful?

A cycle lane is an invitation, not an obligation.

I actually think that the ones that are no more than a painted line down the side of a road are more dangerous than not having one at all. A bus driver said to me recently (when I stopped to record his details) that he was only obliged to give me the width of the cycle lane when passing me at 30 mph. Just the safety-aware attitude I wanted to hear when riding down a path that is literally only 3 inches wider than my handlebars.

I don't think there should be cyclists on the road full stop!

Valium, so you're part of the problem

It goes from the border of the town through about 5 miles of residential area into the town centre. The A road it runs next to is a very busy commuter run and lots of people commute by bike along that route. It also goes past 3 big schools and a FE college. Most of the way it is a separate path to the pedestrian walkway, with verges in between. Crossings are either pedestrian traffic lights or zebra crossings and there are only about 5 of them.

still don't think it's safe for them to be on most roads.

Why's that? Because you think the driving standards aren't good enough?

I don't think roads are big enough now cars are so huge, I don't think there are enough proper cycle lanes.

Alright then, AKMD, sounds like your path is fine for all but the very fastest of cyclists! I assume the path isn't full of schoolchildren cycling at snail's pace? That would obviously only be a consideration during rush hour, but that's when cycling commuters are trying to get somewhere too so could feasibly be awkward.

Valium, that's a rather frightening attitude. Do you afford the same level of consideration to other road users? By all means join the campaign for more well-maintained cycle paths, though - cyclists and drivers alike would appreciate it!

Frightening? I think it's realistic.

There is a speed limit for cycle lanes. DH regularly exceeds this. Its 17mph I believe. Which isn't very fast at all.

So YABVU, and thats just for starters.

DH refuses to use cycle lanes as he insists they are dangerous. Why?
A few reasons.

Firstly they are poorly maintained. One pothole and he ends up swinging into the main lane of traffic.
Secondly they are frequently not observed by motorists - people park and drive in them. Thus defeating the point of the lane and making it more difficult for cyclists.
Thirdly they are in the worst position in the road for cyclists. Cars frequently ignore the cycle lane, and so when turning 'BANG' straight into a cyclist as they aren't observing the road, in the same way they would if they were sharing with cyclists.

In all honesty, I used to think cyclists were a nuisance before DH started. But two accidents (which have resulted in police call outs and insurance being involved due to the driver being at fault and damaging bike and DH) and many near miss incidents, I have so much more respect for them now as a driver.

The last incident is the worst though. The police were called after an unprovoked road rage attack on DH which involved a car, hitting and running him...

17mph? Wow, even I can manage faster than that, granted not the whole time, but the last time I rode a ten mile route my average was about 14mph - some bits at 20mph. And I'm an overweight woman, not a fit man! DH averages 20mph on his cycle to/from work - I guess it's a good thing that he doesn't have an option of using a cycle lane, even if he was going slowly enough.

And Hmm, that's horrible - hope your DH is okay. Some people are crazy.

YABU OP. There are completely separate cycle lanes near me, I hardly use them as you have to give way to pedestrians, turning cars, everyone basically. I cycle to get somewhere, not to have a meander Ita snail's pace.

I hate pavement cyclists too. I have started a rant on here before about them.