Who was in the right me or the cyclist?

[crazycatladys]

Had a huge argument with a cyclist today and thinking about it, maybe i was wrong or was she? Let me know what you think...

Turned into a road which could only fit one car down and some cars were parked on the left, It is a road near my house and i use it often. A cyclist was coming the opposite direction. She was riding as if she was going to go into me, in my opinion she could of went on the pavement to get around me, the pavement is dipped in several places or waited on the side however she choose to ride right up to my car, bang on it and we started arguing.
I said to her she is not a car and she can go around me i cannot go around her because there is no room, she said i should of waited for her to pass.

who was right?

[MigGril]

Some people have said what if she was a car would you have done the same thing?

But what if she was a scooter/moped would you have waited or expted her to mount the payment. Not much different to a bike really just one can go a bit faster, some cycles can go prity fast actually. You can even get bikes with electric aids to help you go faster.

She's a valid road user treat her as such next time.

[DontBuyANewMumCashmere]

It's actually Vehicle Excise Duty, not road or car tax.
I believe it's a tax collected to offset emissions? Hence electric vehicles don't pay it? And newer, more efficient cars pay far less.

As a keen cyclist and former police officer I shudder to read anti cycling threads. So much ignorance.

lazyarse123
Sorry but you were in the wrong but saying that i think all cyclists should be banned from all roads, entitled bastards.

I think all lazy motorists should be banned from the roads, leaving the roads clear for emission free cyclists. not really, I'm not a loon and am able to see more than one viewpoint

[MigGril]

Not all cars pay car Tax though, we chose to pay minium car Tax.

[Littlecaf]

There's no such thing as road tax. We all pay to upkeep the roads through council tax locally or other tax nationally. Cyclists included.

OP you were in the wrong. Not sure why everyone else is getting upset about it.

[Tartsamazeballs]

You were beyond wrong and you went firmly into "fucking stupid" stupid territory when you starting rowing about it rather than apologising. You treat cyclists as though they are cars when on the road. If your carriageway was blocked then you need to wait to pull out.

Regarding car tax, why would a cyclist need to pay it? It's determined on engine size and CO2 emissions. It's a pollutant tax more than anything, not an "I own the road" tax. Do Kia Cee'd and VW Polos have to get up on the kerb and out of your way too? Their most modern incarnations don't pay tax

I really hope the cyclist was wearing an camera so she got a nice vid of you having a Ronnie Pickering moment

[WestleyAndButtockUp]

"Its not hard to use the pavement for two secs so a car can not be inconvenienced."

Fucking hell.

It's a road. To be shared between cycles, horses, cars, tractors, lorries....

[Plateofcrumbs]

Everyone saying 'she shouldn't have banged on your car' - I think she was absolutely within her rights to attract the driver's attention to point out how bloody stupid and dangerous they were. Maybe it will stop the driver doing something so idiotic again in the future. As long as they weren't trying to damage the car I think that it is totally reasonable to give the roof or window a sharp tap.

[Fluffyears]

Obstruction on your side of the road means you give way. It doesn't matter if it is a bike if I was you I'd read the Highway Code again.

[MidniteScribbler]

I'm not usually on team cyclist, but in this case, you were in the wrong. Treat cyclists as a car - give them the same right of way, the same space, etc. They're annoying but they do have rights.

[BreconBeBuggered]

I wonder if the OP lives near me. There's a road nearby where lots of vehicles park on the left, leaving only enough room for one vehicle to pass. Drivers on the parked side of the road routinely drive aggressively and get really self-righteous and angry about vehicles coming in the opposite direction exercising their right of way. I usually drive the long way around to avoid it, as they seem to have learned a different version of the Highway Code from me. Like the OP, they honestly think they're in the right to drive on the wrong side of the road at oncoming traffic.

[TheHobbitMum]

OP you were absolutely in the wrong. Cyclists are vulnerable Road users and drivers need to respect that. I'm a non driving cyclist and the amount of drivers who are quite frankly dangerous is shocking. I do love the "I pay road tax, you don't argument!" I often have shouted at me from impatient drivers and enjoy putting them right.

[londonrach]

May..of course it is but someone who doesnt know might be reading it!

[duckyneedsaclean]

If I was in a car, and someone turned into a road and started driving to towards me, I wouldn't keep driving towards them.

I would wait before a gap in the parked cars so they could get past, or if the road was wide enough I would pull slightly onto the pavement for them to pass.

I'd be annoyed they hadn't checked properly, but I wouldn't drive up to them and start shouting.

[diddl]

If this is real, it's actually quite a worry that OP even thinks that she might have been in any way right!

Her side of the road is block, but she just keeps on driving!!

[AChickenCalledKorma]

The cyclist probably does pay vehicle excise duty. Since most cyclists also own cars.

I'm not surprised she banged on your bonnet if you got so close to her that she was able to do that. She probably thought she was going to go through your windscreen.

(DH commutes by bike. The number of altercations he has with motorists who think they are right purely because they are in a metal box is terrifying.)

[MackerelOfFact]

The cars were parked on your side of the road therefore it was her right of way.

Although its give and take really isn't it. The roads round where I live are all single-lane because of parked cars, and road users just have to make sensible decisions about who pulls over and waits and who gets to pass. It's not always the case that the person who has the right of way should plough straight on regardless. I drive a Ka and will give way to larger vehicles if there isn't anywhere they can pull over, even if it's my right of way.

[xenapants]

"Could of went"? What on earth do you mean? Do you mean "could have gone", perhaps?

You also sound like an appalling driver, which doesn't surprise me if you apply the same amount of intelligence to your driving skills.

[Chilver]

I am staggered - and saddened - at the anti cycling rhetoric on here.

Yes, cyclist sometimes cycle on pavements although it's illegal (in some places, other places it is quite legal depending on signage) - did none of you ever question why they 'choose' to? Generally it's because it is the safer choice to get away from car drivers who think they have exclusive rights to the road. The solution is not drivers over cyclists, but to actually design infrastructure so that cars, cyclists and pedestrians each have their own place in the public realm. Until that happens (I'm working on it!!) A little tolerance and knowledge about the rules of the road would go a long way - for all users of the road!

And yes, op, you were wrong.

[boredofusername]

The number of altercations he has with motorists who think they are right purely because they are in a metal box is terrifying

This. Same when I am out running actually. It makes you really wonder whether people actually took a test and read the Highway Code. My favourite is the not wanting to give way to you as you cross a side road they want to turn into.

The cyclist had right of way. To be honest, I might have nipped onto the pavement. But I'd probably only do that if the car was behind me and been waiting a while to get past. Not if they only had to wait a couple of seconds for me to go by before they could carry on past the obstruction.

Makerel, you have the same rights on the road as the drivers of large cars. If there is genuinely no space large enough for them to pull into that's one thing, but that's usually not the case. Please don't encourage them to think they have more rights because their metal box is larger and more expensive than yours.

[Chilver]

P.s I am a cyclist and a car driver. I choose to commute and take my daughter around by bike as its quicker, more pleasant and yes, better for the environment (but that's just an aside I shamefacedly admit)

[MackerelOfFact]

Makerel, you have the same rights on the road as the drivers of large cars. If there is genuinely no space large enough for them to pull into that's one thing, but that's usually not the case. Please don't encourage them to think they have more rights because their metal box is larger and more expensive than yours.

I know, I know. But if I can pull over and the alternative is them reversing all the way back down the road holding me (and anyone else coming along) up, then I'll pull over. By 'larger vehicles' I don't necessarily just mean big cars, but things like Tesco vans or whatever as well.

I let people out at junctions too if I'm slowing down or coming up to a red light. Again, not my problem, but as a road user I think it's partly my responsibility to help keep traffic moving if I can.

[duckyneedsaclean]

Mackerel exactly.

Road rage, violent outbursts and lack of common sense help no one. Even if you are standing up for your right of way.

Just because another road user has done something stupid (in this case turning into a road & not checking oncoming traffic) doesn't mean you shouldn't be sensible and act in a way to reduce disruption.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

OP is in the wrong as has already been said.

Personally I have no issue with bikes/cyclists sharing the same road space and whilst sometimes it can be frustrating if you are in a bit of a hurry and there is nowhere to safely pass, I appreciate their vulnerability and suck it up.

However I do think that some cyclists don't take proper precautions and often cycle without lights and wearing dark clothing - I see one guy regularly cycling on a 60 limit road with trees etc bordering it so it can be pretty gloomy and he wears camouflage gear! He has a light sometimes but it is on his backpack so if he is leaning forward cycling up the hill, it points upwards.

My patience does get severely tested though when they are cycling and holding up traffic on the road while next to an empty cycle path. They have narrowed the road near me in order to improve cycling facilities which is great, however it means that it is almost impossible to pass a cyclist on the road at all due to traffic islands etc. while the cycle path remains empty.