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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

AIBU to bloody hate cyclists

845 replies

FortyAndFlagging · 30/05/2019 16:20

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?

OP posts:
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6
Veterinari · 30/05/2019 21:03

He didnt look behind to check or anything. I beeped angrily and he waved.. waved!

Cheeky fucking wanker
@PregnantOnPurpose

Has it not occurred to you that the wave was a ‘thank you/apology’ in much the same way any other vehicle user might wave? Confused
How else would you expect a cyclist to communicate his apology?

Yes he was clearly cycling recklessly, but he realised that and waved an apology.

You seem determined to take in as a personal insult

LolaSmiles · 30/05/2019 21:06

Say a single cyclist takes up 3' of road - so to give them a good clearance, on a wide road, your car is two-thirds in the oncoming lane. Two cyclists would take up 6' so to give adequate clearance you are pushed right into the other lane. This means it takes longer to get past, which means that your opportunities to overtake safely are reduced, compared to overtaking two bikes which are single file and maybe fifty feet apart..
So to overtake 1 cyclist safely and 2 requires being on the other side of the road, be it a little bit of more. Either way, to move out to a safe passing distance and overtake safely means being on the other side of the road so thou have to make sure it is clear.
Bunny hopping 2 cyclists 50feet apart isn't safer. For that to be quicker than one safe overtake means not passing them at a safe distance or giving them the appropriate space and taking the risk of pulling into a smaller space between the two cyclists.

InfiniteCurve · 30/05/2019 21:08

Those people saying "use the cycle path" need to think about the whole journey a cyclist might be making ( as well as whether it's a safe path and not full of pot holes,etc) . Where I live there are cycle paths - they run for a mile or two and then stop,chucking you back onto the road.You are safer staying on the road than hopping on and off it.
The cycle paths are great if you want a bit of a ride with your children,but don't really work for anyone else.

And I (as a considerate cyclist,albeit one in Lycra Hmm) have experienced the fun of pulling in to make it easier for an oncoming van to get past,so he didn't even need to slow down.What I got in return for that was a load of abuse as he passed me - the problem seemed to be that when he was a speck on the horizon I was cycling near the middle of the single track,empty road I was on.Such fun....

recrudescence · 30/05/2019 21:09

I am actually dismayed to see that this thread - with all its ignorant and damaging hatred against a vulnerable group of fellow humans - has been allowed to flourish. I have complained, of course, but have received nothing beyond an automated reply. Shame on you Mumsnet.

dimsum123 · 30/05/2019 21:09

Ivy, there is no valid reason to not treat cyclists just like all other road users as we both know, hence you avoiding answering my question.

ivykaty44 · 30/05/2019 21:14

I’m not avoiding answering the question - I said I’d answer after you gave me your answer to my question posed first. Can you explain why registered tested drivers raise 2.2 billion? In speeding fines alone?

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 30/05/2019 21:15

Bunny hopping 2 cyclists 50feet apart isn't safer.
That depends on the speed of the bikes and the car. I regularly have cars pull in about 10' in front of me at slow speeds (10-ish mph) when I'm on my bike. I don't have a problem with that, provided they don't immediately slam their brakes on to turn left. Which the odd one does...

BlackPrism · 30/05/2019 21:15

@neveradullmoment99 your road tax is because of your polluting vehicle. Not your existence.

dimsum123 · 30/05/2019 21:21

Ivy obviously because they're speeding. But unlike cyclists who continuously break the law, drivers can be traced and held accountable.

If cyclists could be traced and fined I'm sure the revenue raised would be proportionately equal to car drivers.

So then, why should cyclists not be insured, taxed and registered like every other road user?

CassianAndor · 30/05/2019 21:24

dimsum you said that if cyclists were registered their behaviour would improve. Not true of car owners so why would it be true of cyclists?

whothedaddy · 30/05/2019 21:26

Surely the 2.2billion raised by speeding fines proves that dining isn’t enough of a deterrent to stop peopledriving like a dick! Not sure that’s evidence that insuring and registering cyclists would improve behaviour... in fact it actually helps prove the opposite surely?

dimsum123 · 30/05/2019 21:30

I want cyclists to be registered so I can report to the police each and every one I see jumping red lights, cycling on the pavement, not having lights or reflective clothing, using their phone whilst cycling, cutting in front of me without indicating etc etc etc.

Why on earth should they get off scot free when car drivers don't?

kalopali · 30/05/2019 21:31

It should also be noted that rule 169 of the HC says that you should not hold up queues of traffic and if driving a large or slow moving vehicle you should pull in where safe to do so and let the traffic through.

dimsum123 · 30/05/2019 21:32

Every single road user should be registered, insured and identifiable. I cannot think of a single reason why this should not be the case. If you can please enlighten me.

BuzzShitbagBobbly · 30/05/2019 21:33

There is really some serious ignorance on this thread. I'd be too embarrassed to admit I was such a bad and clueless driver!

Anyone who's ridden a bike on our roads knows precisely how thin the line is between safety and their head being crushed under the tyres of some pillock incapable of driving safely.

WiltedDaffs · 30/05/2019 21:33

Dimsum123 Drivers need insurance due to the large amount of damage a car can cause. A 15kg bike with a person sat on it doesn’t cause thousands of pounds worth of damage should it hit something. A 2 tonne metal car does. (That said, many cyclists are actually insured, either as membership with a cycle organisation or included in their home insurance.)

Registration does not stop drivers committing crimes. And what about pedestrians? How do you identify them when they commit a crime. It wasn’t a cyclist who assaulted my husband but someone on foot. I am identifiable while on my bike, by my face and appearance, just the same as if I committed a crime whilst walking. I do not become invisible when I get on two wheels (though the way some drivers pass me, you’d think I was!)

Tax has already been covered. We all pay for roads out of general taxation. You buy a car, not the road. Everyone has just as much right to use them. VED is a tax on emissions. If in future it pays for roads too then it makes sense that the vehicles which do most damage to them (I.e the heaviest ones) pay more.

ivykaty44 · 30/05/2019 21:34

Boris bikes are registered in London and each person has to register to use a boris bike - no one has ever needed to trace a boris bike user for a misdemeanour

Here is a bit more on bike registration schemes around the world

bikebiz.com/bicycle-licensing-for-dummies/

I have no idea why you think cyclists don’t pay tax? Of course they pay taxes, just like other people. It’s a myth that they don’t I pay. If you mean car tax then that is based on emissions and none emissions cars don’t pay car tax just like bikes don’t

Insurance, over 1million cyclists have insurance - I have insurance through cycling organisations, many more through home insurance.

As for motorists and cyclists being treated the same I think they should be. When a cyclist killed a pedestrian they were sent to prison for two years- I think the same should happen routinely to drivers that kill, far to many drivers walk free after killing

You say drivers can be held accountable unlike cyclists, but this doesn’t stop those hundreds of thousands of drivers breaking the law - even though they can be traced and fined they still speed, so why do you think registering, insuring and taxing cyclists would actually achieve?

BuzzShitbagBobbly · 30/05/2019 21:35

And as for all the drivers dashing round single track country lanes at speed - why don't you fuck off to the motorways which were built specially for you and your lead foot; and leave the lanes unpolluted and safe for the farm, foot, horse and bike traffic it's actually suitable for?

YouBumder · 30/05/2019 21:39

Every single road user should be registered, insured and identifiable. I cannot think of a single reason why this should not be the case. If you can please enlighten me.

Children cycling to school should be taxed, insured and registered? Do catch yourself on.

A quick google tells me that no country on earth has bicycle registration and licensing. Do you not think if it was such a marvellous idea other countries would have implemented it?

MyBlueMoonbeam · 30/05/2019 21:40

It's the packs of male lycra clad weekend cyclists, riding 3-4 abreast that are a pain in the arse in the country lanes where I live.

This - they have no regard for car or tractor drivers, horse riders or pedestrians & most are arrogant & rude to boot.

spot102 · 30/05/2019 21:40

I think it should be a requirement that you prove you can ride a bike and use it regularly on the road before you get a driving license.
Think everyone needs a healthy dose of respect, tolerance even courtesy, however and wherever they are travelling

BuzzShitbagBobbly · 30/05/2019 21:41

I want cyclists to be registered so I can report to the police each and every one I see jumping red lights, cycling on the pavement, not having lights or reflective clothing, using their phone whilst cycling, cutting in front of me without indicating etc etc e

What response have you had to the order of magnitude larger numbers of motorists you see doing equivalent "offences"? Obviously you have been reporting these every single time too, right? Given the significantly higher danger of injury or death involved.

Have the police got back to you with stats on the presumably thousands of drivers they have caught thanks to your detective work?

MyBlueMoonbeam · 30/05/2019 21:43

Why don't they wear pants? I'm sick of all the arse cracks!

Me too 🤮

InfiniteCurve · 30/05/2019 21:43

Well,dimsum123 ,the law doesn't say you have to wear reflective clothing.
And where will you stop - are you going to report pavement using 5 year olds?
Also,bikes are quite small and thin really - how are they going to be visibly identifiable - to a driver concentrating on their own driving?
If you say all cyclists must be registered and insured then you will stop people cycling,which I'm sure you would be happy about,but there are public health benefits,environmental benefits,freedom and healthy exercise for children and young people, all being list for what exactly?