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.

Whether you like it or not, the day of mass car usage is coming to an end

Maybe in the large city centres with good public transport networks, but certainly not in smaller towns and rural areas where public transport is generally pretty crap. People need cars to get to work, to go shopping, to take kids to school, and to get to the railway stations for longer journeys. Of course, the alternative is just to let the thousands of square miles outside city centres decline and return to nature and for everyone to move to a few large city centres. How would you feel about twice as many people living in London or Manchester?

jasjas1973 I dont think car use will disappear.

I think there will be a scrappage scheme when electric cars can be bought cheaper

The infrastructure just isnt there outside cities. My nearest city is Leeds and public transport to Leeds from my area is shocking.

Lots of changes need to be made before you can reduce care by a meaningful amount.

Lifecraft I am using my brain. Obviously you arent.

I have given a situation where people come off a rural trial staright into the road. Is that not coming out of nowhere?

No, it's coming off a rural trail.

HTH.

So again, I will ask. You don't understand turns of phrase?

If you're driving in heavy traffic, the kind in which said cyclist can weave in and out of, then you have to prepare for said cyclist 'appearing out of nowhere' at the traffic lights, where hopefully there will be a forward stop box, where hopefully the cyclist feels a little safer. I am driver and cyclist and I've never been 'surprised' by a cyclist at the traffic lights because I expect them to pop up at the last minute and I don't accelerate fast at the green light. Just be nice.

Vulpine unfortunately, my little town doesnt have cycle lanes or stop boxes.

The cyclists tend to stop next to cars. I do always let the go and dont see drivers other wise. I was replying to the OP saying a cyclists coming at speed up the inside then pulling straight in front of their car, must be the drivers fault.

What I have seen is the traffic stopped and cyclists coming at speed, betting the light changes for them. Unless the road is straight you cant always see them coming until the last second.

Of course you should set off slowly. However a cyclist travelling at speed coming up to traffic lights, has their own responsibilities too. That's all I am saying.

Near me there is a t junction. As you approach you can not see what's coming round the corner. Yet cycling clubs seen to think it's ok to take the corner on the wrong side of the road.

Again they coming flying round at speed, so to use a turn or phrase, come out of nowhere on the wrong side of the road into on coming traffic. When one went over someones bonnet about a year ago, not sure how that was the car drivers fault. Who was driving slow because they were approaching a junction.

According to some, because the cyclist is more vulnerable they have less responsibility. I would say if you are less vulnerable , dont cycle like a tit. And drivers should drive like tits either.

As long as car is king which it most definitely is in this country, cyclists will always be the frowned on minority, tits or not, every minor misdemeanour dissected, every twat cyclist called out on threads like these. The real problem is the car not a few dick head lycra clad middle aged men but I realise that's falling on deaf ears.

No the problem is people behaviour like selfish dicks on the roads.

They can be car drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians etc.

But it seems the pro cycling community dont want to acknowledge that.

Plenty of care drivers also cycle. Its rarely one or the other.

The real problem is the car

No, it really isn't. It's EVERYONE who uses the roads. There are selfish and incompetent pratts on foot, two wheels, four wheels, and also driving taxis, vans, lorries, buses, etc.

I was always taught to drive as if everyone else on and near the road were complete idiots and it's served me very well over my 40 years of driving.

So again, I will ask. You don't understand turns of phrase?

Is that you admitting that they don't come out of nowhere, after you responded to someone else who made that point with "They really do come out of nowhere". Utterly daft.

Cyclists don't come out of nowhere. They often come from somewhere that you don't see, which is sometimes the cyclists fault for not obeying the rules of the road, and sometimes the motorists fault for not looking at what's going on around them.

There are certain euphemisms drivers use to disguise their own uselessness:

They came out of nowhere = I wasn't looking properly
Suddenly = Over a period of time, during which I wasn't concentrating.

I even hear people say "suddenly the lights changed". What were they expecting, a fucking dimmer switch?

Kazzy- cars have been on our roads for over 100 years and we've normalised the amount of carnage and pollution they have caused and continue to cause. Bikes are not doing this. I repeat - the real problem is the car.

Lifecraft so you dont, in fact, understand turns of phrase. You take words at their literal sense. That clears up your point of view.

Came out of nowhere can be 'I wasnt looking properly'

It can also be 'person on bike cane round a corner that fast on the wrong side if the road and didnt leave me any time to react'

Or 'person on bike came out of a trail straight into the middle of the road, not leaving anytime for the car driver to react and avoid hitting them'

Or 'person in bike was weaving in and out of traffic. Despite checking all 3 mirrors several times, as they were riding erratically they couldnt been seen'

Because car drivers have 3 mirrors to check and can not stare at each of them at once. So if you choose to weave in an out, theres a chance they can not see you in the mirror they are checking. That's why it's not smart to weave in and out.

Of course the driver should then set off carefully anyway. But if I bike comes up the inside and then pulls straight in front of your car. That's the the cyclists fault. Which is the example the pp have that I was referring to.

But pretending all cyclists drive in a way that doesnt pose a danger to themseleves and other people is plain ridiculous.

Vulpine pollution wise, cars are an issue.

Safety wise. People driving like selfish dicks are the issue.

Again, if the infrastructure of the country was different. Especially in rural communities, people may no need cars.

Even to get to my nearest city takes 20 mins in the car. But in a bus it's over an hour. I never minded a long commute. Until you have kids and have to be able to get them to school and work enough hours to pay the Bill's. Impossible on public transport around here. Impossible on a bike too.

So if you want more cars off the road, start looking at why people use cars. Despite the fact that they are a bloody expense most of us could do without.

Lifecraft so you dont, in fact, understand turns of phrase.

I understand turn of phrase, and unlike you, I understand when it is used stupidly.

Clearly you dont.

You though 'out if nowhere' meant teleporting. So really, who made the stupid connection?

@jasjas1973

We can all post anecdotes. You are doing the same.

I can post about the cyclist riding the wrong way down a one way street looking at their phone with no hands on the bike at all.

Or the cyclist that undertook a lorry that was clearly indicating left.

For every bad cyclist anecdote there is a bad driver anecdote.

Its about time as Kazzyhoward posted

No, it really isn't. It's EVERYONE who uses the roads. There are selfish and incompetent pratts on foot, two wheels, four wheels, and also driving taxis, vans, lorries, buses, etc.

that the fault lies with everyone one the roads, and trying to shift the blame solely in one direction is stupid.