Was I BU to not reverse?

[FedupofbeingtoldIcantusemyname]

I'm a little bit unsure of the 'rules' on reversing up/down hills

Was riding down the road near where I live (I ride a small motorbike) - said road is narrow in places so it is often necessary for one car to reverse to a wider point if 2 cars meet each other going in opposite directions.

There was a car in front of me that had another car facing the other direction in front of it, so obviously the 2 were trying to get past each other and having a bit of a stand off as neither was reversing.

When I arrived I expected the person facing up the hill to reverse as then there were 2 people waiting to come down the hill and as I am on a small bike I have no reverse gear and can't reverse up the hill. They didn't, they just continued to sit there until 3 or 4 other cars arrived in both directions causing a bit of a traffic jam! Eventually they did move but was IBU to not reverse before the queue built up?

People refusing to reverse give me the rage.

I did one day have to threaten to call the police on a narrow lane where a stand off was happening. Someone got so het up over the reverse up the hill thing that he was sat 5m from a passing place with nothing behind him whilst there were 10 vehicles waiting in the other direction.

I do find that most people are sensible and if you know the roads you pause at passing places and also if you use narrow lanes then you need to be able to reverse.

Oh dear!

I had a situation last year with someone who absolutely refused to reverse as she was coming up the hill. Utterly ridiculous as there was at least ten cars behind the one coming down and nothing behind her. I got out to try and reason with her as she kept quoting the Highway Code at me. She was very young and I think recently passed her test.
That worried me, to be so stubborn and lacking in common sense that she couldn't see that she should reverse as practically we couldn't safely get ten cars reversing.

Stubbornness is dangerous.

Similar to you Mrscampbell, just ridiculous lack of common sense.

I once had to reverse round two blind corners cos an absolute twat wouldnt reverse approx half a metre into the passing place she was halfway in already!

Perhaps she was a stickler for highway code too

Twat!

Two stubborn people quickly leads to mayhem on narrow country roads

....and don't visit Sheffield

That should be rule number 1 of the Highway Code.

It's not just the hills it's the roundabouts and the trams and, well, just everything. I'll happily drive into central London but Sheffield gives me the willies.

I once reversed for about half a mile along a very winding single-track lane in the Highlands, because the woman coming the other way refused to reverse about ten yards into a passing place. It was very narrow & to my left was a sheer drop to the sea.

I motioned for her to go back & she looked panicked & shook her head. Fortunately nothing came up behind me while i was reversing.

What was really odd and bloody annoying was that she advanced as I reversed, keeping about six feet from my front bumper

I wish I'd insisted she let me reverse her tiny little car for her

Whatever Bengal, I'd like to see you push a bike that weighs more than you do up a hill. Most bikers can't. Same as most of us can't pick our bikes up on our own if they are dropped. Doesn't mean we shouldn't be on the road.

It isn't law that your have to own a car or you shouldn't be on the road. Driving would be impractical for me at the moment due to living in a rural area where I need my own transport and I can't afford to be unemployed for 6+ months while I learn to drive. Plus I can't afford to run a car at the moment. Should you be driving if you get so worked up when on the road or off the road ? There are situations as detailed above by PP where common sense is more important.

I have no plans to visit Sheffield so I should be ok .

I have read through the HC, even though I'm not required to by law, because I was shocked at how little I got taught in the cbt I just can't remember the whole bloody thing off by heart, it is quite extensive.

I am sorry for your losses but there are people who have accidents all the time who know the HC inside and out, knowing it doesn't necessarily stop you from being in an accident.

If you are unhappy about the amount of knowledge people like me have before being allowed on the road then maybe you should take that up with the government. I have done what I'm required to do with regards to courses and licenses, I'm not riding illegally and am not doing anything wrong so please don't take it out on me. Fwiw I agree with you on that point that it isn't enough but it is what it is at the moment.

I'm not posting excuses I'm just saying what the circumstances were at the time! I appriciate that I should have given way to the person coming up the hill where possible but in this instance it wasn't possible.

Fedup you have been really polite to some quite hostile comments. I am afraid that 'common sense' is really important on the roads and the Highway Code cites 'where possible' which means that it is not to be taken as literal rules when another solution is less dangerous.

Not relevant to your original question but just wondering, did your instructor show you how to lift your bike from the ground using your back?

It might be worth checking you tube videos in case you ever need to do it. Obviously there're some bikes where it would be much harder but it would be easy enough for a 125.

Well I've lived on a road like this for 10+ years and the main rule is, whoever is closest to the winder point reverses.
Seems to work just fine.
And it's easier to reverse down a hill than up a hill.
Very odd rule there!

Surely all road users should know the highway code - there are rules and laws in it that you need to know, regardless of whether it's the law to read it? Even pedestrians and cyclists should know the highway code - there are no tests for them to take either.
Ignorance is no defence.

I have a scooter ( a large but restricted 50) and would always either turn it or paddle it back with my feet IYSWIM in those circumstances. Have to say I would not feel comfortable riding something that I couldn't physically manoeuvere . OP how do you manage to park it properly if you can't reverse it or push it? Or is it just that I'm so fat I can use my excess weight to help ?

I would also recommend practising U turns regularly - empty car parks in the evening are great. You should eventually be able to do a U turn reliably within 2 parking spaces.

I can do a U turn. Just not on a steep uphill slope in a narrow lane with cars behind me

I can push it backwards with my feet on a flat or downhill, so it's not that I can't reverse it at all just that I can't push it like that uphill as I'm obviously having to work against gravity.

No he didn't Bard, but then he was a really crappy instructor. He didn't even show me how to use my indicators until 30 seconds before we went on the road and just told me to do what he did. Really helpful advice for when I'm on my own!

Ahh, see that's where you're making assumptions Bengal. I couldn't see down the road before I proceeded. Narrow country lane with lots of blind corners. I went around a corner and the 2 cars were right in front of me so I couldn't see them until I was right behind them. Otherwise, yes, it would have made much more sense to wait further back until they had sorted it out, as I have done in the past.

I can push my bike on flat ground, but up a hill forwards or backwards, you're having a laugh, I'd say majority of bikers couldn't reverse their bike up a hill, and maybe only a few could push it forwards up a hill for a short period. Saying you shouldn't have a bike if you can't push it in all eventualities is fucking stupid and unworkable.