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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask why do 'some' appropriately dressed racing cyclists think it is okay to not obey the highway code

108 replies

OwlLady · 27/08/2012 15:48

and I say 'some' because it is some, not all

but they are bloody annoying riding out on junctions without looking because they think they are faster than a car and then you have to slam your brakes on and look at their skinny little arses in overpriced cycling wear and equipment

or three astride trying to wave you past on overgrown country lanes
pah!

all very tongue in cheek you understand but sometimes living in rural bedfordshire is trying

OP posts:
BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 19:27

unhombre

Today on my walk I had two cyclist cut me up on a crossing, and the same cyclist that everyday rides the wrong way up a one way street.

Whan I go back to work I will encounter the twat in the BMW that never indicates and pushes in at the roundabout, The Ka driver that pulls a u turn where a u turn is not allowed and If I am very lucky the Lorry driver that stops and reveres in to the yard with no indcation.

There are wankers on four wheel, two wheels and 18 wheels etc.
There are even wankers that are walking (except when they are running across busy dual carriage ways)

I have no issue with cyclists, I have a issue with bad cyclists, I also feel the same way about bad drivers.

I can separate the good from the bad in each group.

Can you?

unhombre · 27/08/2012 19:31

BBJ - see my cross post with you?

yes of course there are 'bad cyclists etc, but the consequence of 'bad driving' on cyclists and pedestrians are usually much more grave.

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 19:36

unhombre

that presupposes that the driver is always in the wrong.

unhombre · 27/08/2012 19:46

erm...no it doesn't, BBJ. It says nothing about the chance or probability. It simply says the consequences of poor driving are more grave (sometimes literally). When did some poor cycling cause the death of a driver? There will be the odd one, but a teeny-weeny proportion of the other way round.

GhostShip · 27/08/2012 19:48

Oh right so cyclists are allowed to be shit drivers then because you think the consequences are less grave... Hmm

No. An idiot driver is an idiot driver, whether they be in car, in bike or on bloody rollerblades. All can endanger someone's life.

unhombre · 27/08/2012 19:52

GS - read that last post back to yourself?

You seriously don't think poor driving is more life-threatening than poor cycling? Though a car weighs about 3/4 of a ton and has massive velocity?

bisjolympics · 27/08/2012 19:52

I don't have a problem with cyclists so long as they do the same as me and obey the highway code. This means signalling etc. I nearly had a pile up with three this morning that I was overtaking when they decided to turn right without checking behind them or signalling. Fortunately the brakes on my car work very well and there was no one behind me.

ArielThePiraticalMermaid · 27/08/2012 19:54

Goodie! Another cyclist thread!

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 19:55

unhombre

So a cyclist is riding at speed the wrong way down a one way street with no lights and dark clothes at night. A car turns in to the one way street, the cyclist goes over the bonnet of the car.

The cyclist is in the wrong and has caused injuries to him/herself.

I'm not sayin that bad cyclists cause the death of drivers I'm saying that Bad cyclists can offten be the cause of their own demise.

fivegomadindorset · 27/08/2012 19:55

So how about the cyclist who was taking part in a road race the other day and crossed the finish line and just did a U turn in the road so he could go back to his car without looking to see if there were cars following him (at a distance and hadn't had the opportunity to overtake but thank God their brakes were good).

Or the cyclists who I followed for 2 miles down a pretty much single track country road going past passing places quite happily but not letting me past.

Or the group that refused to travel single file which would have let me overtake safely but then indicated right so I hung back and then didn't.

There are bad vehicle owners of every vehicle known possible but I will stick to cyclists on this one as this is what this particular thread is about.

unhombre · 27/08/2012 19:57

And most cyclists wouldn't have a problem with drivers - only if they observed the HC when it comes to left turns, driving with due care, not cutting up, recognising cycle lanes, recognising bike spaces at traffic lights, and generally being a 'good driver' when it comes to observations of other road users.
That sort of thing.

When that happens I will tolerate the usual drivers whinges.

GhostShip · 27/08/2012 20:05

unhombre did I say that? No. I think your point about being less dangerous is a silly one. Doesn't mean ones right because it's less dangerous. Theyre Still a shite driver putting someone's life at risk.

You're purposely missing the point.

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 20:05

unhombre

Lets try it without the example then.

I'm not sayin that bad cyclists cause the death of drivers, I'm saying that Bad cyclists can offten be the cause of their own demise.

unhombre · 27/08/2012 20:11

oh yes BBJ, on occasion they do! I haven't witnessed it myself, but what I witness, a lot in my daily travels to work is numpty drivers doing the stuff I referred to above. In 10 weekly journeys, albeit in a city centre environment, I have to take evasive action 2-3 times, having to assume drivers haven't seen me etc. Tired of the 'sorry didn't see you there mate' apology (though quite how one doesn't see me is curious.)
Sorry GS - not sure which point I am supposed to be missing.

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 20:41

unhombre

I have never heard a driver say that there wasn't bad drivers.

But you are the first cyclist on here that has agreed that Bad cyclists can often be the cause of their own demise.

unhombre · 27/08/2012 21:08

BBJ - I indicated that 'on occasion they do'. Are you a barrister?Smile
Although I did also say I have never witnessed such a thing.

Given the circumstances of how a death of a cyclist occurs, it's a wonder how any of them are actually prosecuted. There must be independent witnesses who saw it all and can testify as to how exactly the driver's actions had actually caused the death. Most witnesses will be other drivers who wouldn't be stopping, and couldn't vouch for other's driving as they were concentrating on their own driving.

ScrambledSmegs · 27/08/2012 21:13

geegee I think you've misunderstood my post. I am a cyclist myself, as I said, and I come from a family of keen amateur cyclists. My dad is one of those 'appropriately dressed racing cyclists' and he rides with care and courtesy for other road users. When not on the bike he is a pleasant, considerate person to others too. He is most definitely not a twat. I presume that you are not either.

My point is that the sort of people that do the kind of things mentioned in the OP are generally not the kind of normal, reasonable people that I find cyclists generally are. They are however, the kind of people that are most likely pretty selfish and angry when they're not on a bike as well. Where I live (London) they're also the type of person most likely to end up under a bus due to running red lights and other dangerous manoeuvres Sad Yes, some drivers are twats too, and it is undoubtedly more dangerous on the roads for all cyclists than it is for motorists. But that isn't the point of the OP.

ScrambledSmegs · 27/08/2012 21:16

Too many generallys. Must preview.

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 21:27

unhombre

No I'm not a barrister Grin , on this I will take any movement as a good start. I have seen too many incidents to count, and they have been a mix of cyclist responsible (riding through a red light at a cross roads at speed) and bad driving (overtaking a cyclist and then turning left), I have even seen pedestrians running across the motorway and cause a pile up (on the other side of the carriage way). There are idiots in each group.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 27/08/2012 22:39

I am generally kind to cyclists, as my husband is one.

But.....we live in a village. There are country lanes and fast roads and no street lights.

So why do some of them ride with no lights, in the dark? Do they want to get run over?

geegee888 · 27/08/2012 23:19

Lost track of which poster is complaining about the gear cyclists wear. What would the poster suggest? Little frilly tutu skirts? Or funeareal black? Or maybe just cutting edge team clothing based on TDF teams, as they do.

Deeply uncool. It puts me in mind of a prudish spoilsport who was never picked for games at school, and has held a grudge against fit people ever since.

Alternatively, it reminds me never to mock supermodels because they are thinner/more beautiful than me. Because I would come across as a total pillock. Except amongst other pilocks.

And I have no ambition to a pillock. I did however have some ambition to be a reasonably successful athlete at one point.

So what if your car journy gets delayed by a microsecond - leave earlier.

BoneyBackJefferson · 27/08/2012 23:33

geegee888

How long does it take you to cycle to work?

geegee888 · 27/08/2012 23:59

I don't cycle to work. What are you talking about?

BoneyBackJefferson · 28/08/2012 00:07

geegee888

You posted

"So what if your car journy gets delayed by a microsecond - leave earlier."

and I was curious about the mathematical connotations of the situation.

(Its sad I know but) I know that if I leave bang on time the roundabout for the main road will 9 times out of ten be empty.
If I am 2 minutes late the roundabout can take up to 5 minutes to get around.

If I leave 10 minutes early I also get across the roundabout quickly but meet up with red fiesta girl. who drives through town at 10mph.

15 minutes late and I get stuck behind three cyclists on three separate stretches of the road.

PrideOfChanur · 28/08/2012 00:07

Cyclists are only human (motorists too),so not all of these cyclists annoying people will be entitled or angry or deliberately ignoring the law - some of them will just be making mistakes.