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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think cyclists should allow cars to overtake them?

429 replies

Twitterqueen · 01/12/2014 17:59

If you're cycling and you know a car is behind you and wants to overtake, should you let them / facilitate the overtake or deliberately refuse and shout 'wait' at the car? When the road ahead is straight and clear for well over half a mile, when the car has been patiently waiting for a safe, straight stretch, there is no other traffic but the road is just that little bit too narrow for the car to want to do it without some kind of affirmation from the cyclist, ie stop pedaling for a few seconds and move a bit closer into the side of the road?

OP posts:
skaen · 01/12/2014 19:04

Mrs maker- have you see. The sides of roads? Loose stones, gravel, potholes, drain covers, rubbish thrown out of cars, wet leaves... All of which mean s cyclist could slip, fall off and be crushed by your car.

The proper place for cyclists to ride is on the road out of the kerb and on a cycle path If it actually a cycle path and not s shared path with people wandering around all over the place.

Repeat driving tests every 10 years would be a bloody good idea!

WooWooOwl · 01/12/2014 19:04

You do appreciate most cyclists are trying to get somewhere within a given timescale don't you? Like work, friends house, school pick up etc.

Yes, I do appreciate it. The cyclist is trying to get somewhere within a given timescale just like the motorist, except only one of those is making it difficult for the other.

Waiting behind cyclists can put quite a few minutes on a journey, people shouldn't be expected to leave extra time for every journey on the off chance they get stuck behind a selfish cyclist.

Verges won't puncture tyres if cyclists stop and get off their bikes for the few seconds it would take the build up of traffic they have created to clear.

ThursdayLast · 01/12/2014 19:05

I don't cycle but I run on rural roads. Absolutely essential to be in the middle going around some corners to give oncoming vehicles the chance to see you. Hugging the hedge would make me practically invisible (as it were, if I were without hi vis shit).
The driver would probably get a shock as they passed me if I didnt!

Trying to overtake a horse when you're in hi vis and not sure if the rider knows you're there...that's pretty hairy too Grin

ThursdayLast · 01/12/2014 19:07

I think 'a few minutes' is a perfectly acceptable amount of time to wait behind anything. I get it can be frustrating but so what?
There is literally nothing I do that matters that much.

skaen · 01/12/2014 19:08

Woo woo - would it be easier for the motorist if the cyclist decides it's not worth the hassle and drives instead?

If all the cyclists just drove that would save everyone loads of time.

Or not.

WooWooOwl · 01/12/2014 19:08

If it's an acceptable amount of time, why can't cyclists be the ones to take it?

Blu · 01/12/2014 19:09

"Passing a car you can allow much, much less room than cyclists get itchy about. A few feet away from a car and a car is fine. Same distance from a cyclist, and they pitch a fit. "

Why might that be? .....Can't think.....nope.....oh, hang on...(waits for lightbulb to flash...)....

The official advice is for cyclists to take the centre of the lane. Trying to please others and get out of the way by hugging the side, or perhaps not having the front to stand up to abusive men in cars and vans and Bulbasuar, is one of the reasons women cyclists are more at risk than death than male cyclists.

merrymouse · 01/12/2014 19:10

I am really not convinced about all these cyclists slowing traffic down. I can't remember ever being significantly slowed down by a cyclist. Those cars though! The one way system near me would be so much faster if everybody would just realise that they have to wait until I have gone through before they can use it. In fact, this pulling over thing seems like quite a good idea - maybe all those cars could use pavements and verges too?

VivaLeBeaver · 01/12/2014 19:10

Ahh, diddums having a few minutes put on your journey .

Lots of cyclists are clipped into their pedals so getting on and off is a pain and takes more than a few seconds. And what if a car comes up behind them every two minutes? How many times do you expect the same cyclist to get off for different cars??

I always think on narrow country lanes - who's taking up more than half the road here? Me or the car? Oh that's right, its the big modern car. Unsuited to narrow roads designed for carts and bikes.

Remind me again why you think the car driver is more important and everyone else should jump out their way?

WooWooOwl · 01/12/2014 19:11

On the roads I'm thinking of, yes, it would save time if the cyclists drove. But I'm not suggesting that, cycling can be a wonderful thing. Just don't be selfish about it and ride along with the attitude that you are the most important road user out there whose time is more valuable than anyone rises.

SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker · 01/12/2014 19:12

"If it's an acceptable amount of time, why can't cyclists be the ones to take it?"

You might pass, what, five cyclists on a half hour journey. How many cars do you think pass a cyclist on a half hour journey? How many times should they pull over (even if there is somewhere suitable to do so)

VivaLeBeaver · 01/12/2014 19:13

I didnt think any cyclist does think that WooWoo. However if they're there first, which they must be if they're infront. Then the car driver has to rely on their kindness to pull in when and if it suits them. They're under no obligation to.

If you're driving at 55mph and a car comes up behind you at 60mph do you pull into the verge for them?

ThursdayLast · 01/12/2014 19:16

Well, because they're exposed to both the elements and the aptitude of drivers.

Much safer and more comfortable in a car.
I know that's why I drive one.

WooWooOwl · 01/12/2014 19:16

Roads don't have to be narrow for cyclists to be a pain in the arse. They just have to have a lot of bends. The road I'm thinking of that's popular with cyclists is more than wide enough for two cars to pass each other, you just can't see far enough ahead to overtake safely.

I don't think car drivers are more important than cyclists at all, you are making stuff up in your head if you've taken that from my posts. All road users have equal importance, which is why one should not be able to cause a significant delay for another.

What makes cyclists so important that everyone else should revolve their journey times around the possibility of meeting one?

SunshineBossaNova · 01/12/2014 19:21

For those people who think that cyclists don't pay 'road tax'. 'Road tax' was abolished in 1937 and the money for Vehicle Excise duty goes straight to the Treasury. It is not reserved for roads.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23694438

YABU OP.

hotfuzzra · 01/12/2014 19:24

"If it's an acceptable amount of time, why can't cyclists be the ones to take it?"
"Just don't be selfish about it and ride along with the attitude that you are the most important road user out there whose time is more valuable than anyone rises."
WooWoo so it's ok for motorists to be the more important road user whose time is more valuable?!
Motorists can speed up after overtaking and make up the twenty seconds they were stuck behind the cyclist.
Cyclists (especially if they were stopping, starting, getting off, pulling into verges every time a car was nearby) can not speed up and try to make this time up.
Surely the fairest thing is for all road users to SHARE the road and drive/cycle/ride sensibly and safely.

Sunna · 01/12/2014 19:25

The official advice is for cyclists to take the centre of the lane.

So why do they try to cycle up the inside of a queue of cars at traffic lights? Then, if they get to the front, hold the rest of the traffic up while they wobble over when the lights change?

I saw one idiot almost get knocked off his bike when the car he was going up the inside of turned left.

netty7070 · 01/12/2014 19:27

I'm probably going to get flamed but..most roads are not really safe or suitable for cyclists anymore, unless there is a dedicated cycle lane/path. They are so very vulnerable to injury and there are so many cars on the road now, literally millions more than there were 40 years ago. I wish it wasn't so, I'd love to cycle rather than drive on a regular basis, but it just isn't safe or practical.
I totally get that some people HAVE to cycle and I don't think that car drivers are 'more important', just to clarify. I'm talking about the reality of most roads in 2014.

GraysAnalogy · 01/12/2014 19:30

viva you may find this useful in the future Wink

To think cyclists should allow cars to overtake them?
Tricycletops · 01/12/2014 19:31

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

elephantspoo · 01/12/2014 19:32

I'm sure there would be a lot less self-righteous cyclists on the road if they had little number plates on the backs of their bikes and carried insurance policies.

WooWooOwl · 01/12/2014 19:32

I wasn't expecting to change any opinions here, like I said, cyclists have always been selfish in my experience.

I'm not asking for motorists to be most important, I'm asking that all road users to whatever they can to prevent themselves from making inhibiting someone else's journey. If that means cyclists stopping to allow cars that have already waited behind them for a couple of minutes to pass, then so be it.

Of course the fairest thing is for everyone to stare the road. But how is it sharing if you expect roads users who are able to safely travel much faster than you to wait as long as you want?

diaimchlo · 01/12/2014 19:33

Cyclists terrify me, whilst I acknowledge there are those who are considerate and good road users, they are very much IMHO the minority where I live. I also acknowledge there are stupid car drivers as well.

The number of times I have had to slam my brakes on because they have gone through red lights, just come out of a junction without giving way etc. I believe that all cyclists using the roads should by law have to have passed a test, carry insurance and their bike should carry some identification to safeguard all road users.

Cyclists choose that mode of transport therefore putting themselves in vulnerable situations, it is their responsibility to ensure that they cover all safety aspects such as high vis clothing, helmet, lights and cameras this should also be law.

Waltermittythesequel · 01/12/2014 19:34

What makes cyclists so important that everyone else should revolve their journey times around the possibility of meeting one?

I'd love to know the answer to this one, too!

clam · 01/12/2014 19:37

Vehicle Excise Duty might not be specifically reserved by the Treasury for roads, but the point is that car drivers have to pay it if they want to drive on those roads, whereas cyclists don't. Car drivers can be held accountable for their actions by their number plates, whereas cyclist can't as they don't have them.
Cars always drive with their lights on in the dark, whereas I frequently see cyclists, particularly at dusk, without them. Mind you, there is a cyclist I frequently meet coming towards me in the winter mornings, who has one of those very bright, very fast, flickering front lamps. It almost blinds me, to the extent I have to put my hand up to block its beam. The image repeats in my eyeball for minutes afterwards, impeding my vision. It would be rather ironic, not to mention tragic, if in his attempt to be seen by cars, he ended up with one ploughing into him due to the driver being blinded by his headlamp.

So there are faults on both sides.

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