Cyclists and the Highway Code

[Jemima232]

Huh. Just Huh.

And Wow, too.

So now we have to be careful not to knock cyclists over, when driving past them.

Of course, they don't have to be careful not to knock anyone over when they go through red traffic lights, do they?

As if they need more legislation in their favour. It absolutely enrages me.

Interesting whatthe; I learned to drive quite late and my instructor said that my observation skills were really excellent and he’s noticed that in a lot of people who cycled. I joked it was necessary to stay alive on a bike. I find I have to take evasive or defensive action on my bike far far more than in my car.

I think there was an insurance company offering lower quotes to drivers who also cycle as their research showed they had fewer accidents.

I genuinely think that one of the ways we could make everyone safer on the roads is for people to ride a bike for a while in city traffic. (Never going to happen obviously).

As a cyclist who was involved in a crash with a pedestrian, I can assure you that I most certainly did not do this deliberately. The woman suddenly went onto the cycling lane without looking and I was already so close that I could neither break nor pass her. We both fell and the woman immediately blamed me - especially because I was on a road bike and - according to her - had to ride on the road and not on the cycling path (I am in Germany).

Luckily, two police officers had seen the accident and told us that I was without fault. Still, my ribs hurt for 2 weeks and the damage to the bike was about €1500. I did receive compensation from the women‘s insurance but would have preferred to not have had that accident and I can assure you that the large majority of cyclist would agree with me.

I can assure you that the large majority of cyclist would agree with me.

Yes, there does seem to be this weird assumption that there are hordes of roving cyclists actively on the prowl for accidents, like we all want to go out and break both (potentially) expensive machinery and our own bones for kicks?

But as with so much of the hatred for cyclists, it's baseless absurdity.

It is bloody scary when cars decide to over take on the same side of the road as you with traffic coming the other way

Yes sometimes when I see a car trying to do that (when I am in a car coming the other way) I try to position myself so that they think twice about it, but sometimes they're determined, and I have to move right over to the left to avoid an accident.

People seem to think that whatever the obstruction and wherever it is, they have right of way. Nope. If the obstruction (including someone on a bike) is on your side, you want until it is safe to overtake.

wait not want!

The city centre I cycle in has very wide footpaths which are designated shared cycle/walking paths, yet I still get shitty looks from people when I ride on it. And I ride on it much slower than I do when I ride on the road because of the sheer number of pedestrians that stray back and forth across the footpath like snails trying to take the longest possible route imaginable to their destination

I'd also say in my experience cycling the worst encounters I have had have always been with pedestrians on shared cycle/walking paths. The worst was an occasion where a grumpy old hag older woman tried to push me off the shared path and into the road, actually just placed her hands on me and tried to shove me into oncoming traffic

I have never had a car driver deliberately try and injure me on a bike before, although I've had a couple injure me accidentally (not paying attention when opening car doors etc) and they where all apologetic for doing so.

"It is bloody scary when cars decide to over take on the same side of the road as you with traffic coming the other way"

There does seem to be a weird phenomenon where drivers will sit behind a tractor until the heat death of the universe, but encountering a cyclist they'll fling themselves into oncoming traffic with gay abandon.

I wonder if it's a width thing, the perception that cyclists are only a foot wide so only need a foot of room (and then they wonder why we take primary). Next time I go out on the roads I might strap a metre-long plank to my arse and see if it makes any difference.

Do you realise that your antipathy towards, and the way you label people as cyclists and make assumptions is akin to racism?

I quite often see black people being rude - bloody black people are all bastards.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/01/sabotage-and-hatred-what-have-people-got-against-cyclists

Here are some statistics (and a quite balanced video - which does show some quite shocking cycling)

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2019/may/09/do-cyclists-think-theyre-above-the-law-and-does-it-even-matter-video?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR1l2eG22qpKFmY2X6B-ML3azU-5cmDK88jG0KWP-q8o99JHdwtZjjQo2cE

Of course it is the drivers fault when a cyclist overtakes on the left side of your vehicle with no thought to you turning left.

The cyclists who ride pavements like the idiot pr#ck who mowed down my child when he was 3.

Riding in tandem or even 3 or 4 in a row chatting away on a busy road.

And the red light jumping.... 's

I wonder if it's a width thing, the perception that cyclists are only a foot wide so only need a foot of room (and then they wonder why we take primary). Next time I go out on the roads I might strap a metre-long plank to my arse and see if it makes any difference.

I sometimes feel like that when walking along a country lane with no pavement - the vast majority of drivers and cyclists are considerate but not 100%. If I've got my dog (walking to heel but wouldn't necessarily jump into a hedge as quickly as me), then I've taken to carrying my walking pole horizontally.

"Of course it is the drivers fault when a cyclist overtakes on the left side of your vehicle with no thought to you turning left."

Go learn to ride a motorbike, there's a special term for this observation. They call it the "lifesaver." Can't imagine why.

Dotty - cyclists killed by vehicles turning left are generally not 'overtaking on the left hand side' - they are generally waiting legally at the junction where they are overtaken by the larger vehicle who has not seen them, as is exactly what happened to a friend of mine. You do a massive disservice to all the cyclists who have died in this way on our roads as a result of poor drivers.

Woodifer:
A generalisation does not make a discussion about the behaviour of some people who ride bikes analogous with racism.

Cyclists is a term that refers to an activity, people who are at that moment cycling. It focussed on behaviour. And people of all races, sexes, etc can be cyclists at any given moment, by choice.

Racism is about a permanent and protected characteristic, intrinsic to the person, no choice and not about behaviour and activity.

If you mean generalisations are bad, of course you are right. But most people here have made it clear it is about the cyclists who do behave badly, not all cyclists.

Pretty dodgy really to compare it to racism.

Ohgodwhyme

"Don’t care what happens to cyclists tbh. The more near misses they have, the less time they’ll want to be on the road"

Hardly a nice thing to say at all is it? I cycled and drive and let me tell you, I hate being on the roads because of the some of horrendous driving there is. It can be terrifying riding on the road because of the way some people drive. Just think that some of the near misses cyclists have is because of totally inconsiderate drivers. If there were more cycle paths, then they wouldn't be in the roads at all. If people are going to use the roads, they need to be more patient, considerate and give more thought to others as that will help prevent some of the accidents happening. If someone can't do that, they shouldn't be on the roads

Redbarrows - perhaps bigotry is the correct term

TheRedBarrows, yes obviously racism is a different thing, and I don't think anyone would be claiming that the treatment if cyclists is as bad. But the othering you experience when on a bicycle and see in discussions about cyclists is definitely real, and absolutely affects how people drive around you. The preconceptions of people towards cyclists as a group directly affect my safety when I'm on a bike. Yes I can choose to not be a cyclist but that's not much help to me when I'm riding and got some dickhead trying to teach me a lesson over some imaginary misdemeanour. It is much more than a mere "generalisation".

Of course I haven't read all the replies, but my word OP, what a knob.

In 2016, 3 pedestrians were killed by cyclists (still too many, and of course the circumstances are not known).

In 2016, 102 cyclists were killed by cars. Hardly an equivalence, is it?

Seriously, some people shouldn't be anywhere near a keyboard.

Just to say I read this as Cystytis and the Highway Code.
Slightly disappointed I'll admit

Of course it is the drivers fault when a cyclist overtakes on the left side of your vehicle with no thought to you turning left

That is my biggest bugbear about some cyclists.

Drivers don't usually try to overtake you if you are indicating right, yet a lot of cyclists think it's ok to undertake you if you are indicating left and no, it's not "lawful filtering".

Any changes to the Highway Code do need to clarify this I think.

he preconceptions of people towards cyclists as a group directly affect my safety when I'm on a bike

Agreed. I also perceive a difference if I am cycling dressed in jeans with a rucksack on, and if I am out with a group in lycra.

Drivers are far more patient if I appear to be "going somewhere" rather than creating an obstruction for the fun of it with the MAMILS and MAWILS.

Cycling infrastructure should get the same priority (or ideally greater priority) than car infrastructure. It doesn’t.

Absolutely. As soon as cyclists pay road tax.

Not road tax again!

I'm going to repeat a post I made yesterday.

^As Road Tax was abolished in 1937 and those little Highway Code handbooks explains how emissions tax works, I move that anyone shouting about "cyclists not paying road tax" should be immediately disqualified from driving, pending a retest.

If you're not aware of the abolition of road tax, what other changes in driving legislation are you ignoring from the past 82 years?^

Oh, here we go again.

1. Nobody pays "road tax", because it has not existed since the 1930s;
2. road infrastructure is paid out of general taxes, not levies on motorists;
3. vehicle tax is for good reason based on emissions, so cyclists would owe £0 anyway
4. 80% of cyclists also drive.