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?

I know, cats really are, aren’t they?

Cars even

I wonder how many inconsiderate drivers the OP spotted on that same journey? Or are we all just conditioned to accept the speeding, putting your foot down when the light turns orange so you don’t have to stop at the red, tailgating, mobile phone use, parking on pavements, not indicating etc etc.

Laws in the UK should do far more to protect cyclists. My partner works in the Netherlands where cyclists always have the right of way. Cars must stop for them at roundabouts, must give them ample room to overtake. You can lose your licence if you don’t. You don’t want to hit a cyclist either you can face huge fines as well as criminal charges.
The cycle lanes in the UK are crap. Not wide enough, poorly surfaced and more often than not having to share with pedestrians.

Far more people should cycle, it would make a big positive impact on both the obesity crisis and climate crisis.

Driving is a privaledge not a right. It is rediculous that we as a society think otherwise. With the state of the planet motorised transport should only be used on a must basis as far as I’m concerned.

@Frouby they can do whatever they like where it is safe to do so - in my experience and in terms of BHS guidance re highway code they often do not!

YABU

I hate encountering cyclists on the roads because I find them them difficult to deal with due to my unconfident driving . That isn't the cyclist's fault. It's perfectly possible to share the road efficiently and safely but far too many drivers are either dangerous and overtake too quickly/closely or nervous and hang back from overtaking for too long, causing longer tailbacks and making the cyclist nervous. I'm in the second group of drivers - I have poor spatial awareness and always think I have less space than I do so don't take opportunities that seem too borderline to me. As a result I won't cycle either because I assume that all drivers are as inept as me!

One of my close friends is a very experienced and high level road cyclist. She was wiped out by a caravan a couple of years ago that didn't leave enough space and broke her pelvis, leg and 2 ribs. She's not 100% fit even now. She regularly campaigns for safe overtaking distances and definitely says that, for optimum safety, single cyclists should cycle in the middle of the road and two cyclists should cycle 2 abreast.

Small winding country roads mean you have to take your life into your hands if you want to overtake one..

Er.... it's actually the cyclist's life you're risking!

Er, not really - it's the car driver that needs to pull out onto the opposite side of the road to overtake and risks a head on collision. Finding a suitable time to do that can take miles and miles, drivers get frustrated and take chances they shouldn't. Not saying that is the cyclists fault that they decide to take a chance, but a little bit of pulling in every now and then when it's safe to do so would really help. That's the advice given to drivers and I think it applies to all road users really.

Lol to moving next to a motorway because of cyclists!

Well it's not exactly funny though is it? She's clearly felt forced to give up her lovely home in her lovely village to move somewhere a lot less lovely as she is so frustrated at just not being able to get anywhere. I would add that we are talking Scotland here so the motoroway is not particulary busy...

It’s not funny no, it’s fictional.

I have a gripe with other road users - drivers - that may be at the bottom of the OPs irritation. An awful lot of people do not have the skill/confidence/depth perception to actually pass other road users. Time and again I end up in lines of cars behind a slow vehicle, because the driver behind the slow vehicle seems incapable of passing the slow car. Some drivers even have difficulty in passing bicycles. I think it is perfectly ok for bicycles and slow drivers to be on the road, and I shall overtake them when it is safe to do so.
I do get irked by those who seem incapable of overtaking, and are probably sitting in their car, muttering that the slow driver/ bicycle/tractor should pull over.
No, you, driver, need to learn how to overtake!

Info from the mock theory test:

Guidelines
Stay at least two seconds behind the car in front

"If the vehicle behind you is tailgating you, check your own behaviour first. Are you unduly holding up traffic? If so you should either pull over and let vehicles overtake, or you should drive in such a way that doesn’t impede the traffic flow. If you are driving a vehicle such as a tractor, or your are towing a large trailer that means you are slower than other traffic, be courteous and allow other drivers to pass when possible."

Appreciate that this is mainly talking about cars but I think it equally applies to cyclists.

@Maryjoyce and as if 2020 zero emissions vehicles will still pay no "road tax" VED, so your statement is meaningless.
You still haven't clarified your point about the bus earlier, or are you happy for me to just keep assuming you wanted a bus drive to seriously harm a cyclist, making you appear like some kind of psychopath?

I live in a costal village and it’s very unusual to not encounter at least one cyclist per journey on my way to town. I don’t understand why 2-3 riding abreast is frowned upon, much easier to overtake one lot than 3 separate small lots, or one very long lot?

On weekends I know it’s harder to overtake because the large influx of cars coming into the village, so I just leave the house a bit earlier than normal. You just get used to it, don’t you? If you give them room and are not twattish to them, they most like won’t be twattish to you.

Now the sheep, on the other hand, bloody reckless creatures, jumping on the road from nowhere

I totally respect anyone cycling in busy London including my 65 year old father who has been doing it for the past 50 years. However some do feel the road belongs to them I’ve seen them flip the finger , know into peoples wing mirrors , spit at vehicles. But the worst I’ve observed as a pedestrian and a driver are the individuals who flip while on their bike during rush hour from the pavement onto the road around small children and expect others to dive out of their way/path

@WaxOnFeckOff

If the vehicle behind you is tailgating you, check your own behaviour first. Are you unduly holding up traffic? If so you should either pull over and let vehicles overtake, or you should drive in such a way that doesn’t impede the traffic flow. If you are driving a vehicle such as a tractor, or your are towing a large trailer that means you are slower than other traffic, be courteous and allow other drivers to pass when possible."

A cyclist is not to go as quickly as s car, especially not on a hill. If the cyclist pulled over every time an impatient car was behind them, then they might as well just walk. Check out the information in the HC regarding the "primary position", and of safe legal passing of cyclists.

At present zero emission cars do pay zero however like the past transformation from predominantly petrol to diesel proved the taxes are yet to come in a very high way as with all government rip off/changes they con the majority into changing then whack on the tax.

How do you come
Yo with cyclists pay no road
Tax?

I drive so I do! And I cycle. As does do who cycles more than he drives but he still pays road tax for a car he probably uses 5 times a year.

Taxis irrelevant.

The average man or women riding their bike to work or family out for a afternoon ride are never an issue. It is only ever the mamils that cause problems and you would have thought these would be the ones to know better as it is a serious hobby for many of them.
I regularly use a road where there is a fantastic cycle path which runs for about 8 miles alongside the main road. I have used it with my children and it is flat and much safer than using the road which is very busy, think articulated lorries and buses, yet the mamils always use the road. I really can't understand the mentality when there is this fantastic provision especially for them. I horse ride and would never use this road if I had a viable safer option as these cyclists do.
Also I wonder how many have any sort of 3rd party insurance which should be compulsary for any road user.

@Maryjoyce right so now we're in conspiracy theory territory, are we? And the bus comment?

I don't think cyclists should be allowed on single carriage way A roads where you can't get past. On my commute to work, traffic regularly tails back for miles because people can't get past a cyclist. No pro lane with them around town or on county roads. But not on busy A roads!

So where should they cycle violet? They need to get to work too.

twojack that's why it says "where possible". I wouldn't expect a cyclist or a lorry to pull in when going up a hill as it can be difficult to build up momentum again. But there are plenty of circumstances where it's perfectly possible for road users to be courteous and they choose not to.

I don't need to "check out" anything, as I said above, I do drive considerately and would never put a vulnerable road user at risk but it is still frustrating and annoying when others don't afford the same courtesy - because there is a certain breed of cyclists that like to be arseholes just because they can. Same can be said for drivers but they are usually faster so are out of your hair a lot quicker. Cyclists like to quote the bit in the highway code that says they can cycle two abreast but never finish it with the bit about not when the road is fast, windy and narrow or whatever the actual detail is.

I live near a national park, the latest thing I see huge organised cycle rides, not a couple riders but packs of them, they speed along not paying attention to anything going on around them and are dangerous. I watched them narrowly miss a couple of the ponies crossing (who have a right of way over everything) they were screaming and shouting at the ponies, blocking the narrow roads and surrounding cars who were also trying to enjoy the countryside. This type of thing was going on nearly every weekend last year with one company or other organising these outings it’s getting out of control

Being a cyclist has made me a better driver because I can fully appreciate how scary it is when clueless drivers don't overtake safely.

For all the posters raging at the presence of cyclists on the roads, please invest a couple of £ on a copy of the Highway Code - you clearly need to educate yourself on how to be considerate.

I'm also not sure what the solution to mountain bikers racing down footpaths is? I know that some people have got so angry that they've laid branches across them which is really dangerous and, quite rightly, the local cyclists groups have been up in arms about it. There doesn't seem to be any inkling that they could think about their own behaviour though and the impact that has on others.

We need to reintroduce walking. Much healthier obtrusive.