To ask everyone to remind.... [cycling related]

[GnomeDePlume]

themselves, their partners, children, lodgers, siblings that they need to wear hi vis and have lights on if any part of their journey involves cycling on the roads.

Driving to work this morning in the dark I found myself behind someone on his bike, no lights, no hi vis. I only spotted him because a house light picked him out for a moment. Otherwise he was near invisible.

It's sensible for cyclists to wear high-vis, and they MUST use lights.

It's sensible for car drivers to adjust speeds downwards as the nights and mornings draw in.

Those things are not mutually exclusive!

If you don't crawl along behind them until you come to a massively wide bit of the road and go right over to the other side to pass them, you risk being shouted and sworn at!

Are you in the habit of passing people on bikes dangerously closely?

Come on op your post was a bit patronising. I don't post on here every time I nearly get run over by a bad driver. One bad cyclist annoying you this morning does not mean we are all bad.

I can't believe that people are attacking the OP!

Nor can I!

All of us have a responsibility to protect ourselves and that goes for cyclists, too.

Drivers are human - no matter how alert they are, how well-maintained their vehicles are, how aware they are of weather conditions etc - things can happen that take them by surprise. Any vulnerable road user e.g. cyclist, pedestrian, dog walker, horse rider - whatever should use their common sense for their own safety,

Polar - you our out of line here (I speak as a cyclist and a driver)

polarpercy

Then you need to slow down for the darker conditions rather than make excuses

What, every driver in the country should all slow down as soon as it turns dark just in case we come across a cyclist in the dark with no lights on?

I'm a cyclist. I have lights on as soon as the light starts to fade, long before it even gets dark. I also put my lights on in the bright daytime if in busy areas as it catches the eye of drivers. As a cyclist, I care about being seen. As a driver, I care about being able to see cyclists.

When people say that cyclists are a menace, they're usually reacting to that 'holy shit I could have killed someone' when a cyclist makes a mistake or acts like an idiot.

The fact of the matter is, since drivers are so well protected, and cyclists aren't, both sides need to minimise their vulnerability. I would be absolutely devastated to injure or kill someone, even if I'd done everything reasonable to avoid it (and I am a very careful driver and pedestrian).

Why is everyone out to get the OP! The post was to encourage safety out of concern for cyclists, not a woe is me post! The OP didn't hit or come close to hitting the cyclist as they were driving appropriately for the conditions.

I’ve been undertaken and overtaken so close I literally felt the car go past -taxis are the worst

Last week came across a cyclist being loaded onto an ambulance -they were in a cycle lane but a car had pulled out across the lane without looking and hit the cyclist.

I could go on and on... cyclists can be arseholes but motorists can be so aggressive and so careless with peoples lives.

Posting on here isn't going to change a few badly dressed cyclists habits - it's just an excuse to vent on cyclists.

I think people get caught out at this time of year as the nights draw in so quickly. I agree that people need to be more aware of the fact that they are on a road and they really need to make every effort to be seen or risk their lives being in danger.

We live in a very rural area so walkers/cyclists/horse riders aren’t unexpected (I fit into two of the three categories when I’m not a driver!). Last night (6.30pm ish so very dark although not fully pitch black!) I passed three walkers with dogs off their leads on the lane which leads to our farm. Not one of them had any item of clothing I would consider bright or visible (two were in all black and one was in a blue/green colour coat with black trousers), and none of their poor dogs did either. Reflective or flashing collars for the dogs are pence off eBay- I know this because I’ve bought many! But not one of them had enough care for themselves nor their animals to bother. I spotted them in plenty of time as thankfully my headlights are good and I wasn’t doing anywhere near the limit (60mph but not safe to do anywhere near that- more like 30 at best!) but it occurred to me just how silly it was to be out at that time, in the rain, without so much as a reflective strip between them. It happens a lot on that lane so I know to expect it, but you’d think it might be common sense to wear something to at least give the drivers half a chance of picking them or their animals up in enough time to react in a manner which endangers none of them. Even at 20-30mph (less than half the speed limit for that particular road) a car could do considerable damage to a dog or even a fully grown adult. But of course it would be the driver at fault, not the people who chose to go out in the dark with no bright or light coloured clothing and absolutely no reflective strips or lights. That lane terrifies me with the thought of potentially harming a person or their animals, but sadly all I can do is try to avoid dusk/dawn hours, have my headlights on full beam and drive slowly as it is the only way off our farm. Meanwhile they apparently need to take no responsibility for themselves or their pets!

Thankfully cyclists are sensible round here- or at least they wear high vis/lights/reflective gear. Doesn’t stop them crossing three lanes at a roundabout without so much as a head nod or arm signal though!

Both cyclists and drivers need to take more care

This. Back in the 1980s, the police driving manual Roadcraft had a statement to the effect that if you were involved in an accident while you were moving, it was certainly your fault. Further, that if you were involved in an accident while stationary, it was probably your fault.

In other words, there is no such thing as a road traffic "accident" - each incident had a cause, and in most cases, both parties were to blame.

Every road user has to take responsibility, both for their own safety, and that of other people.

One of the scariest road encounters I have had was with a cyclist on a pitch black winding country lane who had no lights and no rear reflector and who was dressed in black. The only thing he / she had was the reflectors built into the pedals. That's all I could see. I don't whizz along country lanes but plenty around here do - they'd have had no chance to see him / her.

Then a few weeks ago, I encountered two horse riders - bay horses, dark clothing, a dark gloomy lane with high hedges... they were perfectly camouflaged. Luckily I was just entering a national speed limit zone from a 30mph zone so I was t up to speed but I had to brake far more sharply than I like to around horses. I was so cross - risk your own life if you must, but those horses hadn't chosen to be on the road and they deserved to be looked after better than that.

I cycle a lot, with DS on the back. Lights aren't expensive, nor are reflectives. They're not a panacea for idiot drivers but at least they give the non-idiots a chance to do the right thing.

Lethaldrizzle
Posting on here isn't going to change a few badly dressed cyclists habits - it's just an excuse to vent on cyclists.

If it was just an excuse to vent on cyclists, don't you think the OP would have just vented on cyclists?

She didn't. She offered a helpful reminder, which as a cyclist, I completely agree with. Why do you choose to see some us-and-them agenda where there is none?

My husband cycles a fair bit, to and from work when he can. He is lit up like a Christmas tree, even his rucksack has a hivis reflective cover, and the desperately nerdy reflective ankle and wrist bands (his words 😂). And that's only part of what he wears to be seen.
He agrees that some car drivers are dangerous and don't pay attention but that on the whole people are just doing their normal thing and he is the anomaly on the road.
Yes it would be lovely to have designated cycling places everywhere and for people to trundle along at 5 mph just in case a cyclist pops up but it's not a reality or practical.
He also likes to point out that he can be on his high horse about dangerous drivers etc as much as he likes but it won't help if one hits him, so he takes every precaution he can with his own visibility as then he knows he is not at fault. However if he doesn't take these precautions then ultimately him getting annoyed matters very little, if he can't be seen, how exactly can he blame a driver for hitting him.
Cyclists can be just as inconsiderate, I've lost count of the times I've been out on my horse (in full hi vis) and I've had the silent whizz of death as they zoom up behind me far faster than any normal car would try and pass (we get car twats as well cyclists, you are not alone in that) with no warning or attempt to slow down. My older horse is fine with that which is nice, and whilst my younger horse is very good on the roads, a silent ninja assassin bike whizzing up his arse on a windy day can occasionally cause hysterics.
My father who is a very very keen cyclist can often be heard yelling about of his van window at them 'get in single file, you are not in the fucking peloton' as he is on his way home to watch the cycling he has pre recorded.

As soon as the nights start getting darker my bike is lit up like a Christmas tree - two rear and front lights, one static, one flashing, helmet lights, reflective strips all over, reflective spoke covers, and me in high vis with reflective strips. I know all this isn't mandatory, but I'd rather be alive than just following the letter of the Highway Code. I cycle to commute, not for really for leisure.

When I'm driving cyclists who appear from nowhere in black clothing with pinpricks for lights terrify me! I once said to a woman on a bike on a busy road in the dark (I was on my bike too) that her rear light was barely visible, and she told me she knew, it needed new batteries! I wanted to tell he to FFS get off and push on the pavement but really there's no arguing with stupid.

This thread wasn't about bashing responsible cyclists and I totally understand that on the whole it's drivers who are the biggest menace on the road however the OP does have a valid point.

I live in a semi rural area in a small housing estate surrounded by farmland. The main road is a mile from home but even that is relatively narrow and winding, with unbroken white line all the way down so unsafe for overtaking.

There is a man who constantly cycles to and from work in low light who wears black bottoms and grey hoodie. When out of the range of my headlights he is invisible and driving even at 40mph could mean a last minute swerve or even worse, not having that split second to avoid him.

I have also very nearly flattened a woman, dressed in black with a black dog who walks the very narrow lane near to home because I could not see her at all. This was on a tight bend round which I was doing 25 as I always meet lorries and tractors on this bend.
In fact the only thing that made me realise she was there and swerve away was that her dog had a white chest which my headlights caught as she dragged him into the hedge.

I understand that it must have been terrifying for her, but it was also pretty bum-clenching for me. And I was bloody angry at her for putting us all in a situation which could have been horrific. It was mere weeks after a body had been found in the road after being hit and dragged by a vehicle in the early hours of the morning.

We also have pedestrians walk up the road. There's no pavement and you often get dark clobbered idiots stepping out into the road in front of you to avoid a low branch.

Ultimately you must be responsible for your own road use whether you're a driver, pedestrian, cyclist or horse rider.

Doesn’t stop them crossing three lanes at a roundabout without so much as a head nod or arm signal though!

It can be really difficult to do an arm signal while going round a roundabout at speed trying to keep up with the traffic. My biggest fear is signalling, wobbling to avoid a vehicle and the falling off.

When I’m driving I give cyclists plenty of room as I know how hard it is to signal safely.

Of course cyclists are vulnerable road users and drivers need to look out for them. However, they have to take some responsibility for their own safety!

Seems like for some people, the feeling of self-righteousness and superiority will protect them more than taking sensible precautions - don't know why you're wasting your time OP, it's obviously your fault for driving a car.

It's naive (or thick) to not realise that it's hard to see anyone not well lit up (regardless of how many wheels they do or don't have).

And I say this as a cyclist and runner (well someone who rides a bike and tries to run but does it very slowly) so have no agenda against anyone.

"Both cyclists and drivers need to take more care"

Most people on bikes are acutely aware of their own vulnerability and act accordingly. There is a different level of alertness that you have to have when riding a bike, mostly because you are trying to guess what drivers are going to do. If you're driving a car past side roads you're probably not trying to suss out whether the car waiting to pull out has seen you or is going to pull out suddenly. Is that car that just went past going to turn off in front of you? There's a pinch point coming up, has the driver behind realised that there isn't space to overtake through it?

For cycling to be safer the most important thing that needs to be tackled is how people drive vehicles around people on bikes (in accidents between people in vehicles and on bikes, the person in the vehicle is more often at fault). But this is not a popular opinion so instead everyone chooses to concentrate on the misdemeanors of those on bikes.

For a couple of years Morrisons (Nutmeg) have had very reflective coats in their children's section. They aren't super trendy but my goodness they light up like Blackpool anywhere near a car headlight. If you have a child who walks or cycles to school, I'd highly recommend them.

Cyclists shouldn't wear reflective gear to make drivers' lives easier; they should wear reflective gear and lots of lights and reflectors on their bike to make themselves safer.

When you are riding or walking at night, your night vision adjusts pretty well. The same cannot be said for motorists using headlights. As a pedestrian or cyclist you are far less visible than you think you are. Even wearing pale gloves or scarf, or having the odd reflective bit on your otherwise dark coat, could save your life.

Alternatively, you could look at getting some invisible reflective spray for your fashion coat or indeed your bike itself, to maximise your chances of being seen.

Flower pot - because mark my words this will just turn into a cyclist bashing thread - read crumbs post for a start - people hate cyclists. There are a small minority that are bad - but most of us are safe - it's just so dispiriting to read these threads every few months.

Some of the responses are unreal.

OP yanbu in any shape or form.

Lethaldrizzle Your paranoia about falsely predicting what you think may happen in the worst light does not mean the OP is doing anything you have made up in your head.

The OP made a helpful suggestion. That's it. Nothing more. Everything else you have loaded onto it is all in your mind.

I'm a cyclist. Thanks OP - you are quite correct.