AIBU to bloody hate cyclists

[FortyAndFlagging]

I have just trailed three cyclists during the course of the day. Honest to God, why don't they just pull over and let people pass?

Argh just stop with the cyclists should pay road tax and insurance crap

1. no such thing as road tax
2. as a cyclist I own a car and pay VED
3. I have bike insurance and have had it for over 15years.

So basically whats your argument now....cos I do all those things.... ignorant fool

road.cc/content/news/233955-surrey-police-make-video-showing-drivers-how-overtake-cyclists-safely

Here Surrey police explain how to overtake with respect

Just remember that as driving gets worse more cyclists get cameras & they can use operation snap to report close passes, 3 points and £100 fine for a close pass. Many cameras are so small you won’t be able to detect them

OK, so let's look at a mythical tomorrow, where bikes DO pay VED (at £0, because no emissions obvs) and we all have this mystical insurance that apparently none of have right now ( )?

Then what? What actually changes day to day?

Nothing.

YANBU but for the wrong reasons. I don't like cyclists because too many of them jump red lights, pisses me off a treat, particularly when you're pushing your child in a buggy.

Your child in the buggy is not only at the exact height to inhale the cars fumes but is more likely to be killed by a car than a light jumping cyclist.

Missb83 You don’t like me - you’ve never even met me ( or the other 1 million cyclists who belong to BC) & can make an informed opinion can you on the basis of my transport from A to B
Tbh what you e written makes you sound unhinged

Surely she's allowed to say she doesn't like you even though she's never met you

This thread is eating itself - some of you need to chill out ..

A rudimentary google finds this FOI request. There may be newer ones, but the premise is still valid.

The request was:

1) Deaths and KSIs arising from collisions between pedestrians and
bicycles on pavements
2) Deaths and KSIs arising from collisions between pedestrians and cars on pavements

The table shows (cumulative, years 2006-2010):
14 incidents involving bicycles
1011 involving motorised vehicles.

Note, this is on the pavement, which conceivably includes shared use areas for pedestrians and bicycles. But never cars etc.

So even on the footpath, a car is 98% more likely to hit you than a bike. The stats for incidents on the roads are even worse.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ukaccidenttstatisticsforrpedes

Pic of the table in the above FOI link

Just catching up on the thread. What's this about only cycles being allowed to "hold up" traffic?

It's not like every single motorised vehicle is allowed to go at the national speed limit, right, is it? Yes, people on bicycles are slower than people in cars, and thus a car driver behind will have to go a bit slower than normal, until they can easily overtake. However, the same applies to car drivers following tractors, vehicles towing trailers, large motorised caravans and goods vehicles, all of which have a 50mph limit on 60mph NSL roads.

In fact, according to gov.uk, in Scotland HGVs ("more than 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight") have to stay at 40mph on NSL roads.

www.gov.uk/speed-limit

Talking of lorries, this just came up on FB for me. Do you think it's Stroopwaffel the (hairy-handed) lorry driver from earlier on in the thread?

Video captures moment lorry drives wrong way down Swansea dual carriageway

Cars had to brake suddenly and change lanes in order to avoid it

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/video-captures-moment-lorry-drives-16366791?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=group_walesmain&fbclid=IwAR3xPmh9GJHjBOK93VnvmejZv18o5ayvi2BJbH4gD8MO7etT5UK0JNL8nNI

Out and about today I took special notice of behaviour around cyclists. I saw plenty of people cycling and being passed safely. I saw an utter idiot make a very unsafe pass at exactly the same time as I was passing in the opposite direction. I followed a couple cycling in single file for 4 miles with no opportunity to pass safely and then he used the first available safe passing opportunity to pull out onto the opposite side of the road to overtake his female companion so that he could go bombing down the hill at breakneck speed where he waited for her at the bottom. I reckon that was one utter bellend of each persuasion.

then he used the first available safe passing opportunity to pull out onto the opposite side of the road to overtake his female companion so that he could go bombing down the hill at breakneck speed where he waited for her at the bottom. I reckon that was one utter bellend of each persuasion.

Are you cross that he took "your" overtaking spot?
Or that he went fast downhill?
Or that he waited for her?

Are you cross that he took "your" overtaking spot?

I don't think that what he did showed any consideration of the traffic conditions and could qualify as 'sharing the road'. I think that having held the traffic back for 4 miles it would have been considerate and sensible to let the cars overtake at that point. But he wanted to speed down the hill. So he did. I don't think I need to feel bad about wanting to safely overtake a cyclist after 4 miles uphill anyway, why the tone?

So long as this story is accurate, the cyclist was selfish, i'd have moved to one side or stopped, to let you and others through, long before.

4 miles of up hill cycling would mean you were behind them for 30 mins or so, though it does seem a rather unique section of road!

No point expecting car drivers to show us consideration if we do no reciprocate.

It wasn't a "tone", I was merely curious at what he'd done that annoyed you!

I saw an utter idiot make a very unsafe pass at exactly the same time as I was passing in the opposite direction. I followed a couple cycling in single file for 4 miles with no opportunity to pass safely and then he used the first available safe passing opportunity to pull out onto the opposite side of the road to overtake his female companion so that he could go bombing down the hill at breakneck speed where he waited for her at the bottom. I reckon that was one utter bellend of each persuasion.

So one person (the unsafe driver) could have caused a major accident but you’re equally annoyed by just being held up for a bit? Doesn’t matter who gets hurt, does it, as long as you don’t have to wait?

I hate stupid and arrogant cyclists. And stupid and arrogant drivers. And stupid and arrogant butchers. And stupid and arrogant stamp collectors. Basically, it's the stupid and arrogant bit of some people I hate.

So one person (the unsafe driver) could have caused a major accident but you’re equally annoyed by just being held up for a bit? Doesn’t matter who gets hurt, does it, as long as you don’t have to wait?

That's a bit of a stretch. And again, unnecessarily rude and edging close to personal attack territory.

I had another example yesterday of where people are fine with cyclists if they think you are using it as a mode of transport, as opposed to being the "lycra brigade" going out for a bike ride just to annoy them.

I was going to an event about 5 miles away and one of our cars is in the garage. My husband needed the other car so I said I would cycle, about half on road and half on canal tow path. I was wearing shorts and t-shirt, sandals and had my rucksack on my back. Everyone moved out of their way, got hold of their dog, said hello, smiled, no car drivers got stroppy, gave me plenty of clearance. You get the picture. People don't like lycra louts and they don't like groups of cyclists getting in their way for the sake of it. I really do get that, but I don't know what you can do when there are so few safe cycle paths.

The bad cyclists who ride three abreast are ridiculous as are the ones who ignore the cycle lanes

To be fair cyclists should never ride three abreast.

There are places where there are safe off road cycle lanes but until they have priority at side roads, the faster cyclists won't use them. It's no fun at all when you have to stop every few yards to let a car out of a side road. It shouldn't happen, there should be absolute priority for cyclists and pedestrians at junctions with side roads, as I said upthread.

DH and I cycled to a local attraction yesterday with DS on a bike seat. On the way home some utter bellend overtook us both on a blind bend. It's not the first time it's happened either - last time, the overtaking idiot and the car which she couldn't see coming the other way both had to do emergency stops. Lucky that they could! When someone goes on about hating cyclists I instantly assume they're the sort of person who'd do that sort of overtake, tbh.

I don't care how important someone's journey is, my life and my 3 year old child's life is more important than saving a few seconds.

Missb83 You don’t like me - you’ve never even met me ( or the other 1 million cyclists who belong to BC) & can make an informed opinion can you on the basis of my transport from A to B
Tbh what you e written makes you sound unhinged

Simply speaking from experience. Never been nearly hit by a car jumping a red light but umpteen near misses from cyclists. Crossing over the cycle superhighway in London is another pet hate. I just think a greater number of cyclists than car drivers think that red lights don't apply to them!

Op I'm with you. We visited family and drive across the Epsom downs. So many middle aged men in lycra who weren't strong enough to get up the hills so wobbled about. No safe way to pass either so big queues of traffic on both sides of the road with cyclists at the front holding everyone up.

Obviously I drove appropriately but it didn't mean I couldn't feel frustrated. If I wanted to travel that slowly I wouldn't have chosen to go by car! We're in the West Country and have lots of cyclists too but we don't have the long impassible stretches we found in Surrey!