To think some cyclists are complete arseholes....

[Sophisticatedsarcasm]

I’m not blind to the fact that cyclists get grief from drivers, you’d think they’d give some thought to pedestrians. 3 Times today I came across douchebags who couldn’t be bothered to signal when turning and almost run me over, luckily I’m very aware when out walking. One of then tried to hurl abuse at me when I shouted back some very tasteful words along with the other women also almost knocked over. If you want to cycle in a busy part of town then you need to abide by the Highway Code of signalling so people know not to cross the road not just cycle along and spontaneously decide I want that turn no matter who’s there.
Another went up a one way street the wrong way then because a car was coming swerves and almost hits me on the pavement....and not a sorry in sight... which I kindly pointed out when I shouted your welcome really loudly... not that it mattered he continued on his ignorant way.
I like to cycle but I’m always weary of people and to me pedestrians are priority.... it’s a shame not everyone feels the same.
So tell me am I being unreasonable....

Yes cars (and trucks) kill - but that doesn't mean we can't address dangerous and thoughtless cyclists.

The biggest problem, the biggest killer is the motor vehicle.

Sure. But I've never been knocked over / bumped into / had to jump out of the way of a motor vehicle. Only bikes.

I'm sure I read that new eco friendly cars were having engine noises added because they were too quiet to be safe. Part of the problem with cycling on pavements and shared paths is they are virtually silent until a bell dings right behind you at the last moment. Maybe biked should be designed to be loud. They should still be mindful of other road users though.

Maisy

When I'm riding I tend to find the people who jump red lights, cycle wrong way up streets, mount pavements etx are the non cyclists, general people on bikes in casual clothing.

That just means that they are not your type of cyclist, the clue is what they are riding on.

Lethaldrizzle
The biggest problem, the biggest killer is the motor vehicle.

Yes cause of death, now lets look at the cause of the incident. Thats not so easy.

Time to look at the bigger picture for the future.

Yes and everybody should be held responsible for their actions. Not just the drivers of cars, and I say that as a pedestrian/cyclist and driver.

Yes cyclists can be a real pain. I live in sussex and next month thousands of residents are going to be confined to their homes because a commercial company has sold tickets to 15000 cyclists. There will be road closures of up to 10 hours in some villages because the only road through is being closed! Causing at least one wedding reception to be cancelled as village closed for the day.
The estimate of locals affected by this is 350,000 and the company will make approx 2 million pounds!
Google Velo Sussex to see details of road closures.

"Lycra clad" all over this thread as usual.

Pray tell, do you go up to rugby players and tell them their shorts and jerseys are stupid?
Or insult cricket players in whites?
A tennis player in a tennis dress?

Why single out one group of people for wearing the most appropriate outfit for their pastime, when you don't slag off others for wearing the most most appropriate clothing for theirs??

This is just another thread where it descends into absolutes of "all" and "never" and "always" when there are multiple cyclists all posting and refuting these absolutes, which just makes the claims look spiteful and without merit. As for the people who say cyclists are the traffic problem on roads...

ShotsFired

Like most newly formed acronyms they have a basis in truth MAMIL, White van man, Audi drivers, BMW etc. etc.

Generalisations are not just about cyclists.

If cyclists had to have insurance and display an identifying marker, we would learn exactly how common incidents are.

"MAMIL"

Well I wear lycra and I am not a man. I am middle aged I suppose. I wear it because it is the most suitable clothing for it. I am sure I look ridiculous, but luckily I'm not cycling in a fashion show.

And I ride my bike carefully and legally so all the "all cyclists" generalisations are immediately disproved because I don't.

It is very apparent from your conts on this and other bike related threads that you detest anyone who rides a bike, whether they behave or not, so I shall wish you a nice evening and leave it there.

@kayaking that's part of living in this country. Just deal with it.

I live on the RideLondon route so every year for an entire day can't use my car or travel by bus. Retailers and pubs know their takings will go down. I know other people who live on the London marathon route who suffer the same thing, and then others live on more minor road race running and cycling routes who are disrupted a lot of Sunday mornings.

A few weeks ago I got a torrent of mysogynistic abuse from a 'man' on his bike. I had an ear infection. I had hearing problems. I walked onto a road (not one for cars) and this guy had to brake a bit in front of me (but not like a total collision). I apologised profusely to which he shouted and I quote;

'Look where you're going you stupid fucking bitch'

This annoyed me, as I don't think there is any need to talk to people in this way. In annoyance I shouted "I said sorry you arrogant fucking arse" so which he replied "oh get to fuck you daft little cow"

I thought he was going to get off his bike and attack me to be honest but happily there were other people around.

I'm not saying I was perfect. My hearing was impaired. But he stopped a good bit in front of me. My issue was with the disgusting language. No need for that.

The world is nasty enough.

@Wherethereaswill1 you just admitted you don't know how to safely overtake cyclists.

Oh btw I live near stables and frequently see horse riders riding two abreast. Even if they aren't the majority of vehicle drivers don't overtake them and neither do the majority of cyclists until waved past, because we have had horses bolting and ending up on a dual carriageway.

ShotsFired

It is very apparent from your conts on this and other bike related threads that you detest anyone who rides a bike, whether they behave or not,

You are very funny. I just have different opinion to you.

Cyclists use the pavements a lot where I live and that does annoy me. If they don't feel safe riding on the road and need to use the pavement they should dismount and push their bike along, not make the pavement unsafe for pedestrians.

BlueBug at least in London you can use the tube. The people affected in Sussex are told to walk or stay home! They will not allow "unregistered cycles" to use their local roads to get to work etc.
Someone contacted the organisers to ask for help to get to chemo appointment and was told to change the appointment. Very helpful, but money is more important than life or death medication isn't it?

I was stopped in stationery traffic once and a cyclist just rode into the side of my car. You'd think if you can't see a stopped car you probably shouldn't be riding on a road

Queen Doris
The cyclist who rode into my 6 year on the pavement outside our home so fast that she was lifted off her feet and hit the ground forehead first did not kill her but 20 years later she is still going through counselling to deal with the psychological and personality effects of her head injuries. I reported it to the police at the time but they persuaded me not to take it any further as “it isn’t illegal to ride on the pavement” and they encouraged the parents of the teenager responsible to bring him round with a bunch of flowers and an apology. Had I known how much it would taint my daughter’s life, I would have pushed to make it official. You don’t need to kill someone to take their life from them nor do statistics always show a true picture.

Anecdotes even less so

ShotsFired
I agree.

On cycling threads you get cyclists saying "yes if cyclists do blah blah blah then it is wrong and annoying' and also correcting misconceptions (like it's perfectly reasonable to overtake a cyclist without crossing the centre line). You get cyclists, and other reasonable people, saying there are poor road users and path users in every category.

Meanwhile the usual bollocks replies appear mocking people for their lycra (but they wouldn't mock a footballer for wearing kit or a triathlete for wearing Tri kit etc) making generalisations that people who have a particular hobby must be shit spouses, neglect their family, are control freaks and other pointless insults.

I'm not really sure what smug sense of importance it gives, but it's really quite sad.

On a long straight road I cross regularly, I have to actively check for cyclists before crossing at the green man. Some of them don’t appear to think that the red light applies to them.

For months there were major road works on another main road near me - pedestrians and cyclists could still use the (narrow) pavement. There was a sign that said ‘cyclists dismount’. I often got a fright as they came up from behind and whizzed past me.

Leave cyclists alone. It's motorists who are the problem

Oh it's been a while. But it's good to see the usual suspects with their cyclist hating dogmatism out in force.

On a typical clear stretch of motorway about 45% of car drivers will be speeding.

Claims that cyclists act more illegally than motorists are not true, and is based on nothing other than prejudice (as can be clearly seen on this thread).

I have nothing against nice cyclists. I do have a problem with horrible ones (well, ditto for road users too!)