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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think cyclists shouldn’t be on pavements, and certainly shouldn’t expect pedestrians to move for them.

187 replies

GoldenLabbie · 08/07/2021 16:24

I was walking home just now, when a bloke on a bike came right up behind me and said ‘can I get past please’. I was that taken a back I actually moved for him! But then if he’s arrogant and entitled enough to ask me to move, he’s not going to take kindly to me pointing out he should be on the road is he? Surely he should have moved onto the road, which wasn’t even that busy BTW, to pass me? Or ideally been on the road full stop.

OP posts:
Funkyfraz · 09/07/2021 07:14

Fair enough as long as you give way to pedestrians

tangone · 09/07/2021 07:18

Vehicle excise tax is based on C02 emissions. Vehicles with no C02 emissions are exempt. A bike has no CO2 emissions, so obviously cyclists don’t pay that tax.
We all pay for the upkeep of roads through our council tax.

tallduckandhandsome · 09/07/2021 07:19

I live near a dual carriageway that has a nice wide cycling path and pavement and yet some cyclists STILL ride on the pavement and expect you to move for them.

I don’t move for them and tell them to get on the cycle path. Some people are just cunts, whatever their mode of transport.

Bumblenums1234 · 09/07/2021 07:19

I'm not a cyclist but I don't see what he did to upset you. He was polite and asked you if he could get past.

ABCDEF1234 · 09/07/2021 07:20

Under the highway code cyclists should not be on the pavement. Tell him to get on the road

YellowBellyCat · 09/07/2021 07:20

Vehicle Excise Duty - widely known as car tax or road tax

And I don’t pay a penny with my electric car….should I not be allowed on the roads either?

TooBored1 · 09/07/2021 07:20

Am I the only person who gets depressed when the cyclists v cars v pedestrians or the wheelchair v buggy on the bus rears its head AGAIN?

We all know what the actual answers are:

  • Some people are prats, no matter what they are doing at that particular moment. Their behaviour has nothing to do with whether they are pushing a buggy, driving a car etc and everything to do with how they are as a person

*The real issue is lack of good transport facilities that meet the needs of all. If buses were better designed and more frequent, there'd be enough space for all. If transport networks were better planned, there'd be room for pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, cars etc to co-exist safely.

Let's not fall into stereotypes and getting angry at each other, let's push for the transport system that we need and are entitled to.

(And yes, there would still be prats who refuse to fold their buggy, jump red lights, drive too fast or cycle on the pavements, but there'd be space to work around them and not out others in danger.)

TheSunShinesBrighter · 09/07/2021 07:22

@YellowBellyCat

Vehicle Excise Duty - widely known as car tax or road tax

And I don’t pay a penny with my electric car….should I not be allowed on the roads either?

widely known as - Its not accurate but it’s understood what people are referring to.

Gov. U.K. website calls it vehicle tax.

Doghead · 09/07/2021 07:24

As a cyclist who got knocked off her bike on the road recently, I now ride a short way on the pavement. My nerves were shot to shit by the driver. Shoot me!

TheSunShinesBrighter · 09/07/2021 07:26

Am I the only person who gets depressed when the cyclists v cars v pedestrians or the wheelchair v buggy on the bus rears its head AGAIN?

No you’re not alone. Everyone thinks they’re more important than everyone else.

So we have laws which tell us what we can/cannot do. Many people don’t seem to care though.

TheSunShinesBrighter · 09/07/2021 07:28

@Doghead

As a cyclist who got knocked off her bike on the road recently, I now ride a short way on the pavement. My nerves were shot to shit by the driver. Shoot me!
Just don’t knock over a pedestrian and shoot their nerves to shit in return... 😬
Stevenage689 · 09/07/2021 07:29

@updownroundandround

If cyclists are on the pavements, then they need to 'give way' to pedestrians.

If cyclists are on the roads, then they should be paying road tax, and drivers need to 'give way' to them.

At no point, EVER, should cyclists use roads when there is a designated cycle path available, because it's been created specifically to accommodate cyclists (usually because the road is a busy one and traffic needs to maintain speed to avoid traffic jams).

At no point, EVER, should cyclists suddenly decide to become 'pedestrians' to avoid red traffic lights !

A) Road tax isn't a thing.

B) some cycle paths are straight up dangerous. One near me is next to a road but it crossed drives every few meters and is shared use with a footpath and has random street furniture in and stops abruptly after 500m with no hint of how to continue the journey. I use the road thanks.

C)one massive junction near me is busy. I get off and walk across the pedestrian crossing because it's quicker and safer for me and less of a nuisance for car drivers (if I stay on the road, I would hold then up because I can't accelerate as fast as a car.)

I agree with you about not cycling on pavements, so well done on one out of four.

whatswithtodaytoday · 09/07/2021 07:29

No of course cyclists shouldn't be on the pavement, but if the road is unsafe (because the government have never prioritised cycling) they will go on it. If I have to cycle on the pavement I sit behind pedestrians and wait for them to either notice me and let me past, or until the road is safe.

My commute has a wonderful section where the cycle path runs out, and the only option is 100 yards of pavement or launch yourself into the middle of a gyratory system.

I drive, cycle and walk, and I know cyclists are often idiots. I know cycling behind someone going slower than the speed limit is annoying. I'd happily pay some kind of tax, but I have no idea how you'd enforce it. If we all just share the roads and act like reasonable humans, the roads would be a lot safer for everyone.

Terhou · 09/07/2021 07:34

He shouldn't have been on the pavement, but I don't see what's arrogant and entitled about asking politely and saying "please"? Would you have felt the same if he'd been walking and made the same request?

Craftycorvid · 09/07/2021 07:37

YADNBU, OP - one of my pet bugbears too, and where we live it isn’t otherwise courteous people who say ‘excuse me’ before passing; it’s youths cycling very fast and erratically, generally whilst clutching phone in one hand and drug of choice in the other (yes, I realise I sound crabby and ancient). DH is crabby and ancient and shouts at them which could put him in danger (he’s had verbal abuse and threats). I do know cycle path provision is rubbish and roads unsafe and I accept people may need to take to the pavements at times, but get off the bike and wheel it if so.

WiseUpJanetWeiss · 09/07/2021 07:57

@Terhou

He shouldn't have been on the pavement, but I don't see what's arrogant and entitled about asking politely and saying "please"? Would you have felt the same if he'd been walking and made the same request?
It’s all about timing and notice isn’t it? A bell dinged or a “cyclist coming up on your right” called out with several seconds notice is one thing on a shared path, but the cyclists that expect you to leap into the nettles/oncoming traffic within two seconds are dangerous idiots.
EvenRosesHaveThorns · 09/07/2021 08:00

I waited at a traffic lights and when they turned red I crossed the road. A cyclist on the road sarcastically shouted 'youre welcome' at me because, god forbid, they had to stop and obey the laws of the road and were expecting some kind of verbal platitudes. some - I say some - cyclists have a self-entitlement complex and misunderstanding of simple highway code!

BobLemon · 09/07/2021 08:03

The subject of cycling never fails to reveal just how disgusting the general population can be.

toconclude · 09/07/2021 08:09

@PickAChew

Our council has had the bright idea of shared cycle and footpaths. Some cyclists feel it's OK to ride at full pelt on them, as if they were on the road. It's bloody dangerous.
Yup. And God forbid you ask them at least to use a bell or warn you they're behind. However the MN cycle crowd will no doubt be along to tell you that you should just walk along clinging to the hedge just in case they deign to use the route.
toconclude · 09/07/2021 08:11

@BobLemon

The subject of cycling never fails to reveal just how disgusting the general population can be.
I really hope you are not trying to say it's ' disgusting' to expect cyclists to obey the Highway Code?
BrownEyedGirl80 · 09/07/2021 08:11

They need number plates so identifiable imo but don't get me started on that bugbear

igelkott2021 · 09/07/2021 08:11

Yes as I thought the thread has descended in the same old stupid arguments.

Right - on "road tax". There is no such thing and hasn't been since the 1930s. And VED just goes into the general pot. And now it's not a tax to use the roads, it's a tax on pollution. Those of you screaming for those naughty cyclists to pay "road tax" (even though they don't damage road surfaces or pollute the atmosphere) will no doubt be STUNNED to know that I don't pay "road tax" for my hybrid car because of its age (you do pay something now, but's a reduced rate).

Maybe VED needs to be renamed as "road pollution tax" to make some drivers understand.

igelkott2021 · 09/07/2021 08:13

I really hope you are not trying to say it's ' disgusting' to expect cyclists to obey the Highway Code

No but most of the drivers moaning about them don't comply themselves (and neither do pedestrians). Pots. Kettles. Black.

TheSunShinesBrighter · 09/07/2021 08:25

Maybe VED needs to be renamed as "road pollution tax" to make some drivers understand.

Gov.U.K. Calls it Vehicle tax.

TheSunShinesBrighter · 09/07/2021 08:26

@igelkott2021

I really hope you are not trying to say it's ' disgusting' to expect cyclists to obey the Highway Code

No but most of the drivers moaning about them don't comply themselves (and neither do pedestrians). Pots. Kettles. Black.

Tit for tat. How pathetic.