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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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to ask you what do I DO? Cyclists, one way streets.

95 replies

LRDtheFeministDragon · 03/08/2012 18:39

There's a street near where I live which is one-way. It has cars parked on both sides, just space for one car through the middle, and a blind turn off to one side, so you can understand why it is one way. I have before driven down it (at 20, which is the limit, or less - often more like 5 or 10) and found a cyclist coming the other way at speed, often turning in at the end. It is really scary. You do not have much time to see them and slam on the brakes. I do honk when they do this (if I have the time to react), because plainly they haven't seen me (and don't know it's one-way).

Today, three cyclists came riding triple-file down the middle, the wrong way. I slammed on my brakes and honked, and because I'd come to a complete stop and my window was open, I called 'it's one-way!' to them.

One of them laughed, and said:

'Don't be stupid - I live here! It's only you who honks!

I said it's one way and it's illegal what you're dong.

'I don't think it's illegal! It's not illegal. No-one cares! Do you know what speed limit it is?'

I said 20, and I hadn't been doing 20.

'Oh, I think so, I think you were.' (I wasn't. I wouldn't have been able to stop for them if I'd been much over 20, which is why I wasn't. I'd been doing mayb 5, because another bike going the right way had been in front of me. He seemed to find all of this very funny).

At this point one of the others slammed his hand on the back of my car. They were all laughing and shouting.

Ok, I know probably it was pointless to stop, or to argue. I am still shaking.

What can I actually do about it? They obviously either don't know, or don't care what the law is. One day they are going to get themselves killed, or me, or some other driver, killed.

I don't have the first idea what to do but I want to do something.

OP posts:
StunningCunt · 03/08/2012 19:25

I was hit by a car driver, who tried to blame me for him driving like a twat.

What an arsehole.

StunningCunt · 03/08/2012 19:25

Sorry, that's ALL car drivers who are aresholes. All of them.

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 03/08/2012 19:26

So you hate me then? I am a cyclist.

Can you see how silly you sound? (that's Welsh, not the OP)

VivaLeBeaver · 03/08/2012 19:29

I'm a car driver and a cyclist. I hate myself!

StunningCunt · 03/08/2012 19:30

Self-hating cyclists are the worst kind.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 03/08/2012 19:35

Thanks, stunningcunt, you're hilarious. Hmm

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ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 03/08/2012 19:39

I'm not sure she's trying to be "hilarious" but is trying to point out the absurdity of some of what is being said here. Some cyclists cycle in a way you don't like therefore you hate everyone who rides a bike?

WelshMaenad · 03/08/2012 19:41

Only WHEN riding the bike. I'm sure I'd find them perfectly lovely if, say, they were giving me a glass of wine.

delilahlilah · 03/08/2012 19:43

A Schoolfriend of mine cycled the wrong way down a one way St. The result of doing so killed him at just 17 yrs old. He was a really lovely lad, such a pity. It has had a massive impact on his family, and the car driver involved, and still does 17 years later. The police should take these things seriously and monitor the street. Hopefully they can prevent an accident taking place.

Dominodonkey · 03/08/2012 19:43

I like the cyclists who just won another 2 gold medals for Britain!

StunningCunt · 03/08/2012 19:44

Yeah I have the same thing. When I see someone in a car I have an irresistible urge to throw eggs, rotting fruit, etc., at them.

When they get out of their cars and coming chasing after me, these feelings miraculously dissipate and I tell them I just want to share the love.

StunningCunt · 03/08/2012 19:44

Sorry that was to Welsh's post at 19:41:17....

LRDtheFeministDragon · 03/08/2012 19:45

Yes, I understand what stunning is getting at.

Please, do carry on. I'll fuck off elsewhere and let you bat insults around.

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sneezecakesmum · 03/08/2012 19:47

I like cyclists as they are non polluters.

I like car drivers as I am one.

Live and let live please! Drive a lot slower round that blind bend. simples Grin

StunningCunt · 03/08/2012 19:47

Unfortunately, LRD, this tends to happen whenever anything to do with cycling is mentioned. There's always someone who has to come out with an inane generalization and it's downhill from there.

darthsillius · 03/08/2012 19:53

I live in a one way street which has a cycle lane but cars can also park there so you rarely see it. It goes into another one way road. It always scares me when cyclists come straight at me up the road. I am a cyclist too and i never do it.

Have seen the odd car going the wrong way too and have had abuse shouted at me for pointing it out!

mamhaf · 03/08/2012 19:53

Do you hate Geraint Thomas when he's on his bike Welsh? Cos he's just won Olympic gold with the team pursuit cyclists.

And that velodrome is one-way - hope they were obeying the system.

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 03/08/2012 19:54

"Inane generalisation" - exactly. And sorry to be pedantic, but you didn't say "when riding their bikes"!

Anyway, yes live and let live. The cyclists going down the one way street the wrong way were being dicks. Most people who cycle also drive a car so constant sniping is daft. Feel the love.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 03/08/2012 19:59

I do see that, stunning. I think it happens both ways - people have strong feelings.

But, well, I didn't start it - my feelings were running high when I started this thread but I didn't go in saying 'bloody cyclists, yada yada'.

It is very common, where I live, that cyclists don't know that it's illegal to go the wrong way. Lots of them are students, often not from the UK and not aware of UK road rules, often not people who've ever looked at the highway code. Periodically the university does campaigns for cycle safety, which regularly demonstrate that most of the ones who do things wrong, aren't doing it deliberately - they honestly don't know what the rule is. That's actually more scary, because obviously if they assume they're fine to duck down the one-way the wrong way, they won't even be looking out.

But I digress, because despite this lot saying they thought it wasn't illegal, I suspect they did know perfectly well.

It's not reason to stereotype all cyclists. Loads are brilliant, but I do wonder if perhaps when you have lots of very young cyclists, and lots of people break the rules, it's more likely others join in and follow suit?

But most of my mates cycle (I can't really, I don't have good balance), and they would never do this.

OP posts:
WelshMaenad · 03/08/2012 20:07

delilahlilah, I'm sorry. What a waste of a young life. This is why I get so annoyed with those who think road rules are for wimps and the challenging of bad cycling is somehow funny.

Trills · 03/08/2012 20:13

Cyclists like that give the rest of us a bad name.

I don't know there is anything you can do.

Trills · 03/08/2012 20:15

The trouble is that some roads are one-way for cars but both ways for cyclists - they usually have a cycle lane in the "wrong" direction though, and they don't have cars parked on both sides. So I can see why people who don't think very hard might assume it's true for all one-way streets.

JumpJockey · 03/08/2012 20:19

We used to live on a very similar street, and got bashed into head on by a kid cycling the wrong way, with no lights, while texting Angry We assumed he would eventually look up, so when dh flashed and hooted the kid tried to steer into one of the parked cars but ended up hitting our bonnet (we were virtually at a standstill by this point)
He then said to DH "i really hope you've got insurance mate' Hmm luckily for him when it was daylight there was no damage. I'm a cyclist, and really wanted to give him a good shout for dong things that give the rest of us a bad name. The ridiculous bit is, the street was part of a one way loop so people were usually just being really lazy, i always made a point of doing the whole loop so the dd's wouldn't think it's ok to go the wrong way.

NotAnArtist · 03/08/2012 20:20

DH was knocked off his bike when he was cycling (far too fast) down a one way street when he was 18. He got concussion and a knee injury that lost him his place in the Marines. He cycles across London every day to work (following the rules of the road, I might add!) and I still feel sick with worry at what might happen. There are twatty motorists AND twatty cyclists out there and I'm terrified that he'll get really hurt one day.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 03/08/2012 20:21

trills, I promise you it's not the case here.

There is, in the general area, one street I can think of where there's a cycle lane going the opposite way on a street that's one-way for cars. There are a lot of one-way streets around here, and all the others I can think of are not like that. FWIW.

jump - I used to live on a one-way loop like that. I nearly hit a cyclist who came the wrong way, swerved and came off badly. He was furious with me, thought it was my fault. It's a problem with this town.

I'm going to ring PCSO tomorrow, will come back and update if it's interesting.

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