To be surprised this is legal?

[jennymanara]

Today I was driving along a dual carriageway where other cars were going at 60-70mph at least, and came across a cyclist on the road cycling slowly along on the left hand lane. The cyclist was not going fast. This seemed incredibly dangerous for the cyclist as they were going so much slower than any other vehicle on the road.

So AIBU for being surprised this is legal? This road in reality was no different from a motorway except that there was no hard shoulder, and cyclists are rightly banned from motorways as it is recognised as too dangerous for cyclists to be on.

I'll add to that the many people who cycle round the national speed limit country lanes in my village, dressed in black, with no reflectors and without helmets, driving against the traffic. That should be illegal.

Leaving aside the helmet (a separate question), that is illegal - if you are cycling after lighting up time, you have to have lights that meet the legal requirements. If you don't you face an on the spot fine (used to be £50 IIRC in the 1990s when I lived in the city where there were police around to enforce such laws)

A roads / cyclists is more problematic. Certainly around here the A road is the only route between many settlements. If someone lives in village A and needs to travel to town B, there may not be any other option than the main road. So either they have to not go to work / visit their friends / go shopping, or else they have to take the risk. Ignoring environmental concerns (and they are pretty significant), the bus is very infrequent and costs £5 plus return which plenty of people can't spend out on a daily basis.

Cyclists should go on the cycle track - that should be mandatory - and a road like that should have a cycle track.

Should being the operative word here! I'm not aware of any cycle tracks within at least a 15 mile radius of where I live.

Just a thought on the slow cyclists / coming round corners issue. Surely you're just as if not more likely to come round a corner and be faced with a tractor travelling at 10mph - so you need to be able to slow down in any event.

I'm a keen cyclist and I certainly think that doing time trials on busy dual carriageways is too dangerous. Ive driven on the A1 when there was one once and it was heart stopping at times. Cars would slam their brakes on suddenly, going from 50-60mph down to 20mph....couldn't pull out as the overtaking lane was so busy.

Was every few hundred yards. I ended up coming out into the overtaking lane and sitting there as it didn't feel safe in the inside line, though I kept up with the flow of traffic.

The odd cyclist, not doing a time trial is different. They certainly have the right to legally be there and practically they may need to go somewhere on that road.

Of course it is legal, and in fairness, it should remain that way. But ... any cyclist who uses a dual carriageway is, in my opinion, an idiot given the considerable risks. It doesn't matter how ‘good’ a cyclist you are, it only takes some dickhead too busy on their phone to see you and, bang, you’re dead.

And I'm sure the cyclist would prefer it if there was a cycle track. I sometimes cycle on a busy, fast A road. Not a dual carriageway. I don't like it, if there was a cycle track alongside I would use it.

Dual carriageways are no different to any other a Road, of course you can cycle on it

Thinking about it, when driving on a dual carriage or motorway or other fast moving road, if there is a slow moving vehicle ahead which is to do with the highways authority or similar, there is always notice and flashing lights with arrows etc.
Shame there is no way of doing that for the cyclists!

Dual carriageways are no different to any other a Road

Don't they have a higher speed limit?

stucknoe Cyclists are banned from motorways for good reasons. The A1 is effectively like a motorway.
I do think any cyclists who cycles on a road like the A1 is crazy. Even though it is legal I would not risk my life in that way.

the main dual carriage way to Dundee has a purpose built cycle path right next to it, I can almost guarantee that if you go to Dundee on any given day some cyclist will be on the actual dual carriage way

I think that their bikes should be impounded and crushed.

I'd certainly support a rule that said any road where the limit is 60 or over needs to have an accompanying off-road cycle path, starting with roads where upgrade works are going to be done anyway then over time existing roads too. Making the country more friendly and safer for cyclists makes good sense.

CYCLISTS CAN DO AS THEY PLEASE.

Please stop with the questions.

I think you should be impounded and crushed

"the main dual carriage way to Dundee has a purpose built cycle path right next to it, I can almost guarantee that if you go to Dundee on any given day some cyclist will be on the actual dual carriage way

I think that their bikes should be impounded and crushed."

I so agree - if there is a cycle track they should use it by law- as happens in the Netherlands.

Parts of the A19 are definitely motorway-like and I agree with the PP who said the reason it is not officially a motorway is due to money. It may be legal to cycle on it but I never would as it’s just not worth the risk, just as it wouldn’t be worth the risk on a motorway (if it were legal). I’m sure there must be dozens of other A roads falling into that category.

Well we have miles and miles of dedicated cycle lanes and the cyclists chose to use the road. Clogging up the traffic. They shouldn't be allowed on the roads under ANY circumstances .

We have fuck all dedicated cycle lanes round here, none of which join up to each other, fuck off dar1972

My partner got hit by a wagon on a dual carriageway a few years ago. I don't think it's safe at all, however this is before he drived and was only the way he could afford to get to work at the time.

I was really impressed that in the Netherlands you can cycle accords the whole country on dedicated cycle lanes going everywhere and anywhere you would like or need to. Sadly not the case here. I’m guessing a big part of the lack of infrastructure provision is down to low overall cycling numbers in the UK (compared to car drivers) But numbers are low , because dangers are high. It’s very catch 22. Although it is very risky cycling in high speed traffic, it might not be until there are greater numbers cycling that safer infrastructure is invested in. I don’t advocate risky cycling, but there’s not much choice in some circumstances
Personally, I think our collective dependence on private cars should be challenged (for many reasons) - but I don’t see it happening much

'drivers are to dangerous to let cyclists on motorways

There are loads of awful drivers about and there are loads of folk who bought a bike have no idea on the highway code have no safety equipment or even a bloody helmet that cycle around. One particular woman where I live refused to wear a high vis or a helmet because she didn't like it and is now dead because she was cycling in nearly dark under trees and was in the middle of the road. The woman who hit her was going at the speed limit but is traumatised for life swerved to try to miss her caught the bike wheel killed the cyclist and smashed her car injuring herself in the process.

If anyone wants to cycle on the road they should have to pass a road theory test know the rules an demonstrate it. Too many people cycling around with no clue.

I was really impressed that in the Netherlands you can cycle accords the whole country on dedicated cycle lanes going everywhere and anywhere you would like or need to. Sadly not the case here.

Shame they're so poorly used outside the urban areas. I barely saw any cyclists using them when I was over there. They're not the solution to traffic congestion either. Some of the major roads were just as congested and slow as in the UK so most people continue to use their cars outside the cities.

OP, you keep going on about the A1 being to all intents and purposes a motorway. That's tripe. The A1M is a motorway, and A1 isn't. Motorways often don't have anywhere to get off for 25 or 30 miles. Is the A1 like that? Do you get tractors on the A1 going slower than cyclists? Does it have traffic lights, and roundabouts. Can learner drivers go on the A1? Or mopeds? All of those apply to the A1, but not to a motorway

There's a big difference between the A1 and a motorway.

We have an A-road here (the A720) that is a dual carriageway with a 70mph limit. Cyclists and small mopeds are not allowed on it. The speed of traffic, changing lanes, and cars entering/exiting by slip road all make it too dangerous for bikes.

It’s such a shame there’s no real infrastructure for cyclists in uk. At least there isn’t by me. I would love to cycle to work but there’s been two serious injuries in my town for cyclists in my area in the last two weeks.so I’m just not a fearless enough person to do it. I do wish they had a cycle lane on some of the bigger roads. I would definitely cycle if I could. I only live 6 miles from work.