To think the vitriol against cycling has gotten a bit much?

[BuggersMuddle]

Obviously I'm a cyclist. I'm also a car driver, motorcyclist and pedestrian, so I can genuinely see all sides of the debate.

I've cycled to work on and off for years. In the past I could recount many tales of cars pulling too close, but very few real 'incidents'. Nowadays I could recount probably a couple a week easily (none on my weekend or non-peak time training cycles ).

My cycling ability has if anything got better not worse. I have more money, so my gear is certainly better and I have more hi-vis, better lights etc. the latter of which which you would think is good but apparently a cause for complaint as well

I do commute in Edinburgh, which does have transport issues since the tram debacle, so I don't know if this is colouring my view. All I know is I used to cover 10 miles by road a day and rarely had an issue. I now cover 12 miles (usually), of which half is on cycle path and seem to be open to all kinds of a abuse & general intolerance.

Not confined to me though, more friends have started wearing cameras in the event of incidents and the online abuse on Facebook groups / local papers in the event of cycling incidents or (god forbid) cyclists complaining just beggars belief.

AIBU? Am I just unlucky, or does the general public really seem to hate cyclists as a group? Or is it just where I live?

Cyclist "make a big thing" of car doors because when they are hit by one it can cause permanent injury (an old friend of my parents got brain damaged in exactly this way), whereas opening it onto another car might cause a dent.

What other reason would there be for a cyclist to block a lane of traffic when there is a) a perfectly useable cycle path on the road b) room for a bike and a car if they weren't sitting bang in the middle of the lane? Some cyclists manage it perfectly well. It may be a minority of dickheads but there are plenty of dickheads on bikes about. Anyway I think I wilm hide this thread because it generally just degenerates into a load of cyclists being dickheads about the fact they're adamant they're not dickheads whilst giving the impression that they are indeed dickheads, and dickheads who think they're perfect to boot.

I'm not a cyclist (too scared and, frankly, too inept on a bike) but I always look out for bikes and take great care around them, both as a pedestrian and as a driver.

Sadly, many don't pay me the same courtesy (although there are plenty that do) and it's these dangerous cyclists that colour my view as they are the ones that put themselves and others at risk.

There was no excuse for the cyclist who ran a red light and nearly knocked me over on a crossing yesterday. Are there any cyclists on here who admit to doing this and how on earth do they justify it?

I'm not comparing cyclists with motorists though.

I'm too busy avoiding cyclists on my green man crossing, weaving around us on the pedestrian crossing, zig zagging through us on the pavement to be comparing them with motorists.

I will say though I have been very nearly run over by all manner of cyclists: young men in lyrca, drug dealers in black with no lights, middle aged women with dogs in baskets, middle aged men kitted up the hilt, teenagers - they have all pissed me off with their selfish and dangerous cycling habits.

Bad cyclists give good cyclists a bad name.

bad drivers are just bad drivers and people don't make half as much fuss about them.

it's because most people think cyclists are a pain and shouldn't be on the roads nor on the pavements.

As there are more cars on the road than bikes it is crazy that so many people spend so much time noticing the bad that some cyclists do without mentioning that the bad that motorists do is a whole lot more frequent and the consequences are a lot worse.

I used to cycle, I now drive.

Obviously there are inconsiderate road users of all types, though, it's not just cyclists.

My favourite is still the pedestrian who managed to knock me over WHILE I WAS STATIONARY ON A BICYCLE waiting for lights to change. Apparently "he was just looking out for buses" and attempted to walk through me.

I was reading this thread as one of my sons called to say the bus he was in crashed. Caused by a PEDESTRIAN running across the road. In all my years of bus, bicycle and car travel I've certainly seen all 3 categories do stupid things but by far the largest are pedestrians. Especially at night in dark clothes, falling off the pavement drunk. I'm beginning to think that pedestrians as well as cyclists need hi-vis gear and helmets.
Mind you, I live in a city where red lights = at least 5 cars can get through if they floor it.

"What other reason would there be for a cyclist to block a lane of traffic when there is a) a perfectly useable cycle path on the road b) room for a bike and a car if they weren't sitting bang in the middle of the lane?"

Cycle path full of potholes. Cycle path full of broken glass. Cars parked in/beside cycle path. Road frequently used by big fuck-off artics with massive blind spots. Nervous cyclist who's had another "I can make my own decisions" motorist whizz past them with centimetres to spare on previous occasions.

Though apparently any attempt to explain why cyclists aren't all dickheads who are out to deliberately annoy you/impede your god-given right to get wherever as fast as you can out of sheer motorist-hating spite is just "another cyclist being a dickhead", so....

I drive a very long, busy straight road to work with various traffic lights along it.
It also has an extremely well maintained cycle path complete with its own kerbs to separate it from the road and the (rarely used) footpath. This cycle path runs for miles. So why does just one Prick insist on cycling in the road every morning? The road is a bad one. Drains, potholes etc.
The lanes are narrow, it's a 40 mph rat run with some of the worst driving I've ever encountered, yet every day this lycra clad douche causes annoyance.
Why?
When he gets smooshed under the wheels of a white van the anti car brigade will be up in arms about the evil driver that has to live with what has happened.
He is a selfish twunt.

Ok, that's just weird. Unless the cycle path actually bursts into flames when you try to cycle on it, or something (or is one of those classic numbers that suddenly runs into a wall, or a lamp-post, or similar).

How many cycle lanes get gritted? This city has some great cycle lanes but in the recent cold weather the council gritted none of them and a fair few cyclists came off, the rest had to cycle on the pot-holed roads (where they are allowed but I love the cycle lanes). They dont get cleared when it snows either depiste thousands using them to cycle to work.

It doesn't end where I turn off, It carries on. (The bit I drive alongside is at least 4.5 mlies long) It has separate bits on each set of traffic lights too! This guy must have a death wish!

People don't take against cyclists for weird, arbitary reasons - I live in central London the behaviour of cylists is overwhelmingly terrible!

Every day I see:

Cyclists riding two a breast down busy roads, chatting away obvlivious to traffic building up behind them.

Cyclists jumping lights.

Cyclists not wearing visibility wear.

Cyclist riding on A roads.

Cyclists shouting and swearing at pedestrians.

So yes I have a very bad opinion of cylists - of course there are good and bad and I accept the bad are a minority. But in my personal experience they are a majority so I flipping well hate them!

for me part of the difference between cyclists and driver (though ultimately they are apples and pears - very different) is cars are more heavily regulated and are identifiable.

So if a car was driving along the footpath, running a red light, driving through pedestrian crossing etc, chances are someone will take a note of the number plate or photograph it or it will be caught on CCTV and the driver will be prosecuted or receive a fine.

Cyclist are much more anonymous than cars.

Yes I have issues with driver of cars too - but that really doesn't have anything to do with my experiences with cyclists.

"So if a car was driving along the footpath, running a red light, driving through pedestrian crossing etc, chances are someone will take a note of the number plate or photograph it or it will be caught on CCTV and the driver will be prosecuted or receive a fine.

Cyclist are much more anonymous than cars."

Surely if this was the case though you would see far less bad behaviour from drivers than cyclists? You say that as if "well, my theory explains why hardly any drivers run red lights or nearly run over pedestrians or do dangerous stuff - unlike those awful cyclists, they're really well-behaved because they can be caught!". Which, erm....

I actually suspect the majority of cyclists are well-behaved because they risk being flattened to a bloody pulp making errors that would just result in a motorist having to fix a few dents in their car.

As a motorist, cyclist and pedestrian my life has been saved on more than one occasion by assuming all other road users are arseholes. The only difference is the motorised ones seem to kill more often!

"by assuming all other road users are arseholes"

Heh, I have been known to operate on a similar "they are all out to get me" assumption.

I think Dueling sums it up well. Arsehole drivers are just arseholes who happen to be driving, but cycling seems to reflect more on others who cycle.

Most posts, whether they think IABU or not, contain an 'arsehole cyclist story'. Perhaps they are just more noticeable than other road using arseholes. I'm not sure.

Leedy I'm really not trying to compare bikes and cars. If however cyclists had identifiable number plates or similar (not that I am advocating they should have) then you would get a lot few cyclists running red lights, cycling on pavements, and basically behaving like renegade arseholes without consideration for other people's safety.

many cyclists argue that they do this stuff as they feel vulnerable on the road. Completely ignoring they are making pedestrians feel very vulnerable.

It is perfectly legitimate and reasonable to be pissed off with cyclists, without having to compare them to any other road users, or justify how bad or good they are on a scale of road users.

Yes arseholes are arseholes. Unfortunately my day involves more cyclist flavoured arseholes than any other type, and has done for several years now.

My point was that cars do have identifying number plates and it doesn't seem to stop some motorists behaving like renegade arseholes. I'm not sure why you think it's so likely to happen with cyclists.

Because I think many cyclists feel anonymous and so behave in ways on a bike they might not if they were on foot or driving a car.

BeCool

Yes, it's fine to be pissed off when a cyclist does something wrong. As it is for any other road user.

The problem is that when people come onto forums like this and start going on about how bad cyclists are, that they are a menace, don't pay road tax, should have a license etc etc.

It's not that people don't have a valid complaint; I've been annoyed by cyclists acting like twats too; but it feels disproportionate and that it unfairly targets a specific group of people, who are generally among the most vulnerable. None of the accident data backs up that cyclists are that bad. Quite the opposite in fact.

And it all contributes to the antagonism we see on the roads. The drivers who see cyclists as just another obstacle in the road, who feel it's fine to abuse people who are doing nothing wrong. Because after all they're just another arsehole cyclist.

Can't say I've ever thought that myself. As I said above, I think when cycling my main focus tends to be on preserving my own miserable hide, not what evil I can get away with under my cloak of cycling anonymity.

Also presumably if you're on foot, you're also anonymous?

The only time I ever cycle in the middle of the road is if there is cars parked up to my left. I have no choice. I'm not wanted on the pavement. So sorry motorists you will have to wait till I can veer over to the left and let you pass. Try having a teeny tiny bit of patience, yeah. I don't have the luxury of an engine it's just my little legs that's doing all the work.

I used to hate being stuck behind a cyclist, but now DH cycles to and from work and some of the stories he tells me are scary. So I now try to be respectful of them, don't get right up behind them revving my engine, wait until it's safe to pass etc, and I find that they in return are much more respectful of me, slowing down and waving me on if I've been behind them for a while, not getting back infront of me if I stop at lights after passing them etc. I think they are just used to drivers behaving like idiots so they are always on the offensive.
Of course it still pisses me off to see them trundle through a red light, magically become a pedestrian to cross at a green man, veer infront of cars, not wearing safety gear etc!