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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To get annoyed at cyclists in the middle of the road

217 replies

ILiveAtTheBeach · 03/11/2015 18:26

There are loads round here. They don't cycle to the side. They cycle in the very centre of the lane you are in. So you can't overtake if it's busy. Thus you drive to your destination in first gear. I. Haven't. Got. Time. For. This. Aargh!

OP posts:
merrymouse · 03/11/2015 19:06

I'm always amazed by how much people are held up by cyclists and horses. I used to live next to Richmond park which can be like a mini velodrome but have never been significantly delayed by a cyclist.

Now live somewhere with livestock wandering all over the road and loads of leisure cyclists and horse riders - I'm still held up for maybe 5 minutes a fortnight.

I have certainly never had to follow behind a cyclist in first gear - imagine this would only happen if they were pushing their bike.

merrymouse · 03/11/2015 19:07

Or rather a really big velodrome...

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 03/11/2015 19:08

I was cycling home from work in Manchester, and I was cycling close to the edge of the road, as the OP would want me to - when a bus went past me so close that I had to swerve, so it didn't hit me.

It is just sheer luck that I was by a section of dropped kerb, and was able to mount the pavement. If I had been by a normal section of kerb, I would have hit it, fallen off, and might have ended up under the wheels of the bus.

THIS is why it is not safe to cycle close to the edge of the road - as other posters have said, it encourages drivers to try to squeeze past when there is not enough space for them to leave the cyclist a safe space around them, and when a driver passes too close to a cyclist, it is the cyclist who is at great risk, not the driver.

If I had been riding further out in the road, the bus driver would have had to wait until it was safe for him to pass me, and I would not have been out at such risk.

If a cyclist is clipped by a car's wing mirror and falls off in busy traffic, will the cars around them have enough time to swerve and miss them? Not always. This is why drivers should leave adequate space when they pass a cyclist - but far too many don't, forcing cyclists to cycle further out into the road to ensure their own safety.

Also, the road quality at the edge of the road can be really bad - pot holes, broken glass etc, etc, all of which are hazards to the cyclists, and it is safer for them to cycle a bit further out than to have to swerve suddenly to avoid one of these hazards.

eatingworms · 03/11/2015 19:14

It's a few minutes delay for you OP, but for the cyclist it's their life.
It's a no brainer really. I don't blame them for choosing their safety over your few minutes. (Or seconds really, let's face it).

DarkNavyBlue · 03/11/2015 19:18

YABU

DarkNavyBlue · 03/11/2015 19:20

it encourages drivers to try to squeeze past when there is not enough space for them to leave the cyclist a safe space around them, and when a driver passes too close to a cyclist, it is the cyclist who is at great risk, not the driver.

^ this.

As soon as cars start trying to squeeze past me when it's not safe, I get myself in the middle of the lane.

FuzzyWizard · 03/11/2015 19:21

YABU- as others have said that's the safest place for them to be.

Gatehouse77 · 03/11/2015 19:30

I would advise any cyclist to stay as much in the middle as feasible for their own safety.

What I loathe is the sweeping comments (not necessarily on here) of an entire group of people.
There are shit cyclists, drivers, pedestrians, etc.
There are considerate cyclists, drivers, pedestrians, etc.
There are people in a hurry, people happy to amble along and those sticking to the rules of the road.

I fit into all those categories at different times. Sometimes they're genuine mistakes, I'm not fully concentrating, have time to improve my fuel efficiency (!) or just my normal self!

mudandmayhem01 · 03/11/2015 19:44

Agree with everything you say except if you are not fully concentrating you shouldn't be in charge of a ton of metal going along at 30+ plus mph. The same as someone in charge of an hgv, dangerous machinery, a surgeons knife etc

Original poster
ILiveAtTheBeach · 03/11/2015 19:46

I would never ever get near to a cyclist, or overtake unless I could leave significant room (obv), but it is frustrating, when it's rush hour traffic and one person on their bike is being followed, by maybe 30 cars, all having to crawl along like snails. People are late for work. Kids are late for school. I imagine that the cyclist is saying "I want to cycle, and if it makes you all late, tough shit, because in the Highway code, I have the upper hand". It's a bit selfish, no? I cannot "allow for cyclists" when I decide what time to leave for the school run - it's a 1.5 hour round trip, I have no idea how many cyclists I may encounter along the way. Today there was one on the dual carriageway. For miles.....

OP posts:
avocadoghost · 03/11/2015 19:54

YABU. DH nearly ended up under a bus the other day because it overtook him too close on a bend. He's looking into getting armbands with LED lights to make himself more visible as apparently, for some motorists, regular (and bright!) bike lights aren't enough.

Save your ire for the likes of the two women on mobility scooters I saw pull out into a main road yesterday, right into traffic without lights on in the fog. Idiots.

avocadoghost · 03/11/2015 19:55

Also - if it's a dual carriageway aren't there two lanes available to use? Confused

pinotblush · 03/11/2015 19:55

DS went on a cycling proficiency course a little while back and a cyclists are to be treated/treat the road in exactly the same way as a motorist, so the people in the middle of the road are doing exactly the right thing.

TessDurbeyfield · 03/11/2015 19:58

I would never ever get near to a cyclist, or overtake unless I could leave significant room

You might not but the cyclist doesn't know that and will certainly have experienced many people who don't give significant room. In any case, if you do leave significant room then it is no problem if the cyclist is in the middle of the road as you will be able to go into the opposite lane to overtake them. If you can't do that then clearly you are no giving them signifiant room.

I deliberately come out further into the road at certain points in my journey because I know from experience as a driver that there is poor visibility and from my experience as a cyclist that people will try to overtake nonetheless. By positioning myself so that they can't 'squeeze past' they don't then take the risk of trying to get past and then pulling into me when something suddenly comes the other way.

Right now I can't cycle anyway because I was knocked over by a car last week and haven't been able to walk or cycle (even if my bike was rideable) since. The reason I was knocked off was because I was on an unsafe pavement cycle path which has numerous side roads that cut across it. A car drove up and turned right into that road without even looking at the cycle path and the fact I was on it. Several fellow cyclists on this route have told me that they always use the road because they have seen too many similar accidents on the cycle path. So that is the answer to 'why are people on the road anyway' before we get onto tiresome debate again.

Blu · 03/11/2015 19:58

Cyclists are advised to cycle in the centre of the lane. There is research that shows that the higher ratios of women to men cyclists killed is because women do not have the same confidence as men to claim the lane and so get hit when people overtake when squeezed in the gutter, and get run over when vehicles overtake them turning L.

If you can't overtake them in the centre of the lane, how could you do do when they are a court of feet further in?

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 03/11/2015 20:00

The thing is, whilst you are a thoughtful driver, and act carefully around cyclists, ILive, too many don't, and cyclists have to assume the worst of all drivers, for their own safety.

I don't cycle any more, and haven't for many years, but my sons cycle regularly, especially the two who are at university, and I worry a lot about their safety. Ds2 actually asked for a GoPro (or similar) camera for Christmas, that he will use when he is out and about in his bike - as he says, if anything happens to him, at least we will know what caused it.

daisychain01 · 03/11/2015 20:03

My pet hate is being overtaken on a bend it gives me the rage. The other thing is overtaking me when there is another car coming towards us. Scarey. I feel like a cat with 9 lives except I am running out of lives.....

HarryLimeFoxtrot · 03/11/2015 20:03

I have no problem with cyclists on the road. The ones who keep nearly taking out my kids on the pavement are a different matter though. It is a pavement. For pedestrians. It is not a cycle path. I do not have to give way to a cyclist. I am not going to step off the footpath onto the grass verge.

TessDurbeyfield · 03/11/2015 20:04

Please could you explain the problem a bit more clearly. I don't understand how their road positioning - as opposed to their very existence - is holding you up. Either you can pull safely to the other side (in which case it doesn't matter whether they are in the middle of the road or the gutter) or you can't (in which case you shouldn't be over taking anyway). I don't see the problem unless it is a disguised 'why are they on the road anyway' complaint.

KidLorneRoll · 03/11/2015 20:05

YABVU.

People who think like you is why some degree of awareness training for vulnerable road users needs to be in the driving test.

daisychain01 · 03/11/2015 20:05

And why should cyclists have to cycle in the gutter which is on a camber and it's full of crap, potholes, slippery leaves etc??

daisychain01 · 03/11/2015 20:08

Harry this isn't a general let's slag cyclists off thread. It is talking about cyclist's road positioning. Thanks.

RiverTam · 03/11/2015 20:12

It's hardly the cyclist's fault that you have a preposterously long school run journey. You could just as easily blame all the cars on the road that are not filled to the max.

catfordbetty · 03/11/2015 20:18

Also - if it's a dual carriageway aren't there two lanes available to use?

Yes, this needs explaining.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 03/11/2015 20:23

What do you mean there was a cyclist on the duel carriageway for miles? Were you seriously stuck behind the same cyclist for miles? I find this quite unbelievable actually, unless you're a very bad driver with no confidence.

If you're giving a cyclist as much room as you should be safe when overtaking it shouldn't matter whether they're in the gutter or mid lane because you should be in the opposite carriageway. It's very simple. If it makes a difference to you then that can only mean you're squeezing past unsafely.

Someone I know was killed recently when cycling. She was cycling in the gutter and a bus tried to squeeze by and there wasn't room and it ran into her, she went under the bus. If she had been in primary position she would be alive.

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