to not have overtake the cyclists

[diamond702]

So today I was driving, and of course there were a fair few cyclists out in the sunshine. I was driving in the countryside on a narrowish road 60mph that was VERY bendy when I came up to three cyclists. I felt it was very unsafe to overtake, as I would have had to go on the other side of the road and I couldn't see more than 25 metres or so around the bends. I ended up crawling behind them in first gear for a few minutes, which meant a load of cars were behind me. Whenever I started to overtake a car would come around the bend and I would have to stop. Cars behind then started to overtake me, which meant I couldn't overtake the cyclists when I DID have an opportunity. We came up to bendy parts again and a car overtook me and the cyclists, and almost crashed head on with a car in the other direction, causing them to swear at them.

Was I wrong to not overtake on these bendy country roads? I really didn't think it was safe but when other cars started overtaking me I started to question myself.

You know the answer already. Of course YWNBU.

Thanks for the reply, I think I'm in the right but I did get a bit flustered when cars started to overtake me. Cyclists always make my nervous which means I give them a lot of room, but others seem to drive very close to them.

I am in the same situation on a regular basis because of where I live. It is simply impossible to see round corners and it is dangerous to overtake on one. Of course most of the time it's fine and so people are lulled into a false sense of security. Bloody dangerous driving. You were absolutely right though.

You obviously know the answer

I'm a very keen cyclist and think people like you are brilliant.

At the same time, I have a car that can safely overtake when many can't.

On the face of it, you were entirely in the right. If you can't overtake a cyclist the way you would a car (in the next lane across) then you can't do it safely.

Please ignore subsequent posts on this thread where people proudly cut up cyclists because they feel entitled. They're the same ones who scratch cars with buggies. They struggle to understand that they aren't the centre of the universe.

My DS is a cyclist, and he has trained me always to be thoughtful and give them lots of space. They are all someone's loved ones, as are you, and I would not take dangerous risks just to get somewhere a few mins earlier. There will always be those who would risk it. There will always be crashes.

You followed the highway code, and were completely reasonable. The other drivers were arseholes putting other people's lives in jeopardy - far too many cases of motorists seriously injuring or killing cyclists due to dangerous overtaking. :(

It's ahuge bugbear of mine.

DH once went to overtake a Merc going between 35-40mph in a 60. The elderly gent driving was causing a huge tailback so the second it was safe to do so, DH went to overtake, as did many people behind us..

Except the dickhead in the Merc didn't like it. He sped up. So did DH. The Merc matched us.
Shrugging at the stupidity of it DH slowed to get back in behind but so did the Merc. To the point we were almost stationary, side by side.
The cars behind managed to get back in but not us. DH tried faster again. Ended up at almost 90mph but our crappy little car was no match. He was trying to kill us. This went on for quite some time slowing and not being allowed back in with cars behind beeping and yelling at the Merc driver etc.
Eventually traffic appeared oncoming and I told DH that if we were going to crash, then by Christ I'd be taking the psycho with us. DH floored it and pulled in, Merc be damned. We missed him by centimetres.
Such a shame it was pre camera phones and mobiles. He was a menace.

And that is why I say screw you to anyone trying to force me to overtake when I don't want to now.

@SickOfThisShitNow

You,your husband and the other driver were idiots.

If need be you slow to a stop.

Idiot.

reset, how can they safely slow to a stop on the wrong side of the road with the cars the correct side not letting them back in?

@RainbowBriteRules

With the brake.

At the worst case you're at a standstill when another vehicle hits you head on but this ~halves the collision speed.

Honestly though, if you've slowed to a crawl and perhaps with hazard lights on, someone will stop behind you and you can pull back across.

Surely this isn't complicated. Ego is, I believe, the most dangerous factor in driving.

Ok fine, I do realise you may have to do that but it is in no way safe (just the least dangerous option) and I would think that being in a car on the wrong side of the road for much longer than you had intended to be while the other driver is speeding up is complicated. Especially if drivers behind the car were also refusing to let you back in when it was obvious you needed to.

I don't think ywbu not to over take if you're didn't think it was safe but it does seem odd that a number of cars managed to overtake you and the cyclists.

I'm glad you realise it.

Increasing speed whilst being overtaken is illegal and incredibly stupid. I think the chances of more than one person acting like this is low though and so you're likely to be let back in.

As you said though, stopping is the last dangerous option and therefore the best.

I've been in the position where I can floor my throttle and get in front of most cars. I've also aborted overtaking where the person I was overtaking sped up and I was several cars back before I pulled back in. There are many factors but ego should play a part in your decision.

@SickOfThisShitNow was being a dick and so was her husband. The actions of the other driver are pretty much irrelevant and her encouraging her DH to drive dangerously and race another vehicle mean she's a, well, my post will be deleted if I'm too descriptive.

Were the cyclists 3 abreast?

To answer your question OP, I think YWNBU. I do wonder if the cyclists ever pulled in at a convenient point though to let traffic pass if they saw that there was dangerous overtaking and lots of stress building up behind them or if they just carried on for miles like that.

It’s guaranteed that the second the sun starts shining, the arseholes emerge in their cars and start creating havoc on the roads.

It only takes one wanker and invariably a whole host of the other sheep will follow suit.

You know YWNBU OP. Don’t let them dent your condidence.

I live in an area with lots of cyclists and I don’t have anything against them but it makes driving pretty anxious for me. Lots of bendy roads mean you can’t see ahead but most drivers just pass them with ease without crossing the white line even on regular B roads . I feel I can’t do that and it makes me nervous so I hang back. Sundays are a no no for driving as there’s always so many of them.

YANBU

You never really have to wait more than a few minutes to get past a group of cyclists. Some drivers are so impatient.

You did the right thing OP. I probably would have pulled over and let all the cars overtake me, which is what I do if I feel pressured by drivers behind me.

Some cyclists make it a point of honour not to let cars pass, even when there is room for them to pull a bit to the side. It pisses me off because they give the rest of us a bad name. When I am cycling, I look for places to let cars go by safely (without stopping myself), and I always wave to thank the considerate drivers.

I don’t hang about, but I won’t overtake until I am happy to do so.

The weekend before last, on a windy, narrow, country road, a cyclist was waving me on, I ignored him. Had I gone on his say so I’d have gone head first into an oncoming car. I have no idea what he was thinking.

If someone behind me decides to overtake I just slow down and give them as much room as possible in the hope they are ‘lucky’ and there isn’t an oncoming car. It’s all you can do about dickheads really.

YANBU, as a sometimes cyclist I do wish that particularly in the cities it was more cycle friendly. In our town we have to share with the buses and taxis so in the morning and evening rush hour it's very tricky to cycle.

However I do dislike it when cyclists are 2 or 3 abreast. I know it's recommended but I'm not sure why, particularly if they are on a long stretch of empty road where it would be easy to overtake very safely if they were in single file.

How did the cars overtake you if there was no room for you to overtake the cyclists?

YWNBU at ALL! You did the right thing. Even if you would've been caught up in a wreck, you wouldn't have caused it. People are absolute idiots on the road. Even more so when cyclists are on it. They don't realize that they could cause havoc and potentially end lives, purely by being too impatient to wait a few minutes. They also don't have the mental capacity to think that somebody else could be doing the exact same thing on the opposite side of the road. They just think that they are the only ones breaking the rules.

If this happens again, just do the same if you are not comfortable overtaking. Just ease off the gas even more and let the idiots be idiots. Hopefully it'll only be themselves that they harm/kill.

I hate it when impatient people effectively steal my first safe opportunity to overtake. I would rather a journey take a little longer than risk myself and other safety by overtaking when it's not safe. When it is though I expect to be able to have my turn and not have done idiot speed on past me 😡