To wonder why some people are twats towards cyclists

[Apacheshadows]

I’ve lost count of the number of times a car has driven past me and people (usually grown men) have screamed/shrieked at me out of their window, shouted obscenities etc.
Beeped at and then they drive on laughing
Today I had a teenage boy deliberately try and jump in front of my path on a road, this isn’t the first time someone has done that.
I had another teenager try to intimidate me by pulling out in front of me on his own bike, forcing me to quickly swerve

It’s putting me off cycling really, there are some absolute pricks out there.

Also, the number of people who have to comment on how small the bike is. It’s not one of the mini fold up bikes or a children’s one, it’s a bit smaller than average but suits me fine, but people have to comment on it constantly which is weird.

Anyone else had this when cycling? I’m responsible, use lights and wear a high vis and go slowly

I’ve known cyclists get pulled for speeding…..

and how without a legit speedo would you get pulled for speeding? you wouldn't know what speed you'd been doing, its not logical

you could be pulled for cycling furiously

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Not on the whole no.

Nothing line as much as being stuck behind loads of cyclists on the bendy hilly windy roads in the Peak District, every single time l go out at least 3 or 4 times. It’s like a joke. Cyclists give themselves absolute priority all the time, and ignore the endless snake of traffic building up behind them.

I’ve never k own one pull over ever. Tractors will, horses will, but cyclists? Never

I must have been imagining the ones that pulled over for me then.

There is a legal limit, although I’m not sure what it is.

Cyclists do as many arsehole things as drivers.

@Iloveallofthem

Some cyclists, not all, are piss takers . They think that they own the road , often cycling two a breast.

You are being unreasonable.

They are SUPPOSED to cycle two abreast. It makes it quicker to overtake them for car drivers.

Except on narrow roads. And a lot are very narrow in the U.K….

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

There is a legal limit, although I’m not sure what it is.

Cyclists do as many arsehole things as drivers.

This is pure Trumpian "bad people on both sides" nonsense.

i must have been imagining the ones that pulled over for me then

She just said that it had never happened to her…not that its never happened in the whole of human existence

Its never happened to me either…but I believe it happened to you

@TomPinch you think that there are no cyclists that are arsehole??

Because saying that some of them are would be ‘trumpian’… what about just being human?

Drivers don’t ‘hold each other up’

It’s the volume of traffic causing the problem

so why do all the drivers crawl along at 4mph? just drive at 20mph and keep the traffic flowing, or pull over and let other faster moving traffic get pass. ive had drivers purposely block the road as they don't want me to pass when they aren't moving...?

@RufustheBadgeringReindeer, nope I’ve never had a cyclist stopping for me either…

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Drivers don’t ‘hold each other up’

It’s the volume of traffic causing the problem.

Unlike cyclists who think it’s fine to have a huge line of cars following them on hilly twisty roads as they are too arrogant to dream of pulling over.

Of course they do. Too many cars in too little space = congestion and longer travel times

Which is the very definition of "being held up".

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

There is a legal limit, although I’m not sure what it is.

Cyclists do as many arsehole things as drivers.

Nope, there isn't. The speed limit in the UK does not apply to cyclists. You may come across attempts at speed limit signs being posted on cycle paths but usually these are not actually enforceable in any way.

So that's 2 things you are wrong about.

[quote PerfectlyUnsuitable]@TomPinch you think that there are no cyclists that are arsehole??

Because saying that some of them are would be ‘trumpian’… what about just being human?[/quote]
It's obviously nonsense to suggest that cyclists are as bad as motorists. They don't pollute the environment. They don't cause congestion. And because bikes aren't a ton of metal, the harm they cause in accidents is negligible.

To extend the Trumpian analogy: it's like Trump saying London has a knife crime epidemic because guns are banned.

The logic of the anti-cycling contingent on this thread really is as inane and mendacious as The Don.

More sensible countries reverse the civil onus of proof in traffic accidents because they aren't taken in by this nonsense.

@DreadingChristmasAlready

As a driver on country lanes cyclists are extremely dangerous. They often have a long queue of traffic behind them and choose to cycle during the busiest times of the day. I have never shouted abuse at anyone in my life and wouldn't start on cyclists now, but I can see how people would get the rage.

Cyclists can go on country lanes at whatever time they want

Rule 169 states that all road users should not “hold up a long queue of traffic” and should “if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass”.

Cyclists do as many arsehole things as drivers.

yeah but the difference is a cyclist being stupid will usually injure themselves, whereas a driver will kill someone or cause life changing injuries. 5 per day killed by drivers and 60 injured.

I don't cycle through a red light, im mostly likely to get injured by a driver, I cycle on pavements made into cycle lanes. I don't cycle in some cycle lanes as they are dangerous. some have wet leaves in winter, others are dooming hazard areas, many are blocked by drivers and then its a hassle getting back onto the road - so don't bother using those frequently blocked. I do know where lay-by are for drivers to pass, and will sometimes pull over (Im not pulling over on gravel though as thats dangerous) if riding in twos we ride two abreast as advised, but often slip back to single as drivers get perturbed by us following advisory practice.

apparently though I ride through red lights, ride too fast, too slow, ring my bell, don't ring my bell, don't have a bell, am a bell end, am noisy, am to quiet, am nasty, selfish and a pain in the arse, don't pay tax - I wish! don't have insurance - yes I do, both cycling and car insurance

there is nonlegal speed limits for unmotorised vehicles in the uk

whereas drivers speeding reached 2.2 million in 2020, 6000 per day - thats during a year with many months in lockdown

WhiteVanWoman91

it seemed in an earlier post you had forgotten that rule

I get why it can be mildly annoying to have a cyclist in front of your car going slower than you want to go. I don't get why it seems to cause such absolute seething rage. "Ah well yes OP you may find it annoying to have random people yell at you and swear at you and jump out in front to scare you, but HAVE YOU CONSIDERED that some cycling club once made me two and a half minutes late getting to the garden centre and therefore you deserve all you get?"

I used to commute to work on a bike and part of the route was on a shared-use pedestrian/cycle path, the kind with a white line down the middle marking out whose bit was where. But it was a touristy area, and most days for most of the year there'd be some tourists ambling over onto the cycle bit taking photos and gawping at buildings. I found it annoying. But it was a few minutes of annoyance out of my day. It would never motivate me to seethe and seethe and rage about them or try to justify other tourists in other places having people yell at and scare them. That is just very odd behaviour.

And because bikes aren't a ton of metal, the harm they cause in accidents is negligible.

This just isn't true. Pedestrians can be seriously injured by a cyclist. When I walked a lot I was far more worried about cyclists than cars. And a cyclist doing something dangerous (such a pulling on to a 60mph road without looking as I saw this weekend) could easily cause a fatal accident.

That said, most drivers are irrationally impatient when following a cyclist. If a 2 minute hold up is going to cause you a significant problem then you need to start your journey earlier. There's simply no excuse for dangerously overtaking a cyclist. The same goes for horses. Just give them room and pass slowly ffs!

Personally, I think we need strict liability for vehicle drivers in vehicle vs cyclist collisions, and mandatory insurance for cyclists to deal with their collisions with pedestrians.

yeah but the difference is a cyclist being stupid will usually injure themselves, whereas a driver will kill someone or cause life changing injuries. 5 per day killed by drivers and 60 injured.
Yes, and as a car driver I live in terror of hurting someone. When I get angry about cyclists that don’t have lights after dark, it’s not ME I’m worried about. Once we were on a 70mph dual carriageway at night (DH driving, doing about 55) and suddenly I jumped to see out of the passenger window a cyclist wearing dark clothes, no light, no helmet. It was properly pitch dark, not dusk. Thank god DH didn’t clip her- she would have been killed.

Just so many angry, impatient drivers on the road

So many people see cyclists at night wearing dark clothing without lights, you're not the online to see this FudgeSundae

its illegal to be on the highway after dark without lights

ChloeCrocodile,

Compared to the harm caused by cars to pedestrians it is indeed negligible, although I take your point. I think there should be strict liability on cyclists for collisions with pedestrians too.

Fudge, and that one crazy woman has tarred all cyclists for you? If you're terrified of killing a cyclist just imagine the terror many cyclists go through on a daily basis.

Just don't drive like a dick. You are not invincible because you drive around in a tonne of metal.