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

Pedestrians can be seriously injured by a cyclist

and vice versa - cyclists have been killed in crashes with pedestrians

but cyclists will usually be jailed for killing pedestrians, statiticly it rarer and the sentences harsher - so many cyclists will be far more careful around pedestrians than when driving

More pedestrians are killed than cyclists - by motor vehicles

motorcars don't drive themselves - drivers cause crashes

more pedestrians are killed each year on the pavement by drivers than are killed by cyclists anywhere on the highway every 20 years

Tbh I'm bemused by the constant mention of groups of MAMILs on these threads. You would think that half the UK spends its days stuck in country lanes behind a collection of hairy arses. The last time I checked most people lived in towns.

All I'm getting from this thread is that those with a car think they're the only ones with places to be.

TomPinch Everyone on mn lives rurally & that’s why they need a car, there are not any pavements in the rural locations they live. So this is why hth

motherheroic

I often come across the same two cyckist on my morning commute. They use the main rd out of town, it’s heading towards a nearby town.

I assume it’s there commute as the time of day etc
M20 years that rds been ear marked for a cycle Lane, if drivers were that concerned about other commuting infringing on their speed - then help proactively get segregated infrastructure of decent quality and signage for these paths and where they go

Wound it not be amazing if there was just less hate in general? Everyone is so busy being right with their opinions it’s like gospel, sigh

Haven't read the whole thread for once because I'm impatient and this thread made want to say this...

I am a pedestrian in the city and cyclists are horrible. They think they're in some kind of race. Ignore pedestrian crossings and generally make crossing the road really stressful. Especially at The Monument junction.

I will wait patiently for my turn and the green man to appear. Makes no difference to cyclists. They tear through anyway.
Faster than cars

@Pegsonstrings

Wound it not be amazing if there was just less hate in general? Everyone is so busy being right with their opinions it’s like gospel, sigh

There is absolutely no point in cyclists just agreeing to differ and being 'nice'. It solves nothing. In this debate, like so many others, one side is in fact in the right.

Most cyclists on this thread have provided anecdotes of witnessing death or injury caused by bad driving, or having avoided it themselves. Most motorists can only point to cyclists being a nuisance, an inconvenience, or rude. And some whataboutery, deflections and false equivalences.

@Sloelydoesit

Haven't read the whole thread for once because I'm impatient and this thread made want to say this...

I am a pedestrian in the city and cyclists are horrible. They think they're in some kind of race. Ignore pedestrian crossings and generally make crossing the road really stressful. Especially at The Monument junction.

I will wait patiently for my turn and the green man to appear. Makes no difference to cyclists. They tear through anyway.
Faster than cars

I don't condone anyone running pedestrian crossings. But I wish I had a dollar for each occasion I've seen a metal box do the same. Plus some extra for the increased danger by the fact that it's a metal box.

There are pig ignorant cyclists exactly the same as there are pig ignorant drivers. I don't think one is more anti the other- both have examples of really shitty road use. Large groups of cyclists take over the whole road here and smirk at drivers that are unable to overtake, same as some drivers deliberately cut off cyclists. They are arseholes on both sides

Aaaaaand right on cue an instructive comparison.

1. Shitty behaviour engaged in by a few cyclists that inconveniences some motorists that live in the countryside, but which isn't dangerous to the motorist.

1. Shitty behaviour experienced by the majority of cyclists daily, and which is dangerous enough to cause death or injury.

But apparently it's just the same.

Metal box?

I’ve given up cycling. A big part of the reason was other cyclists engaging in dangerous behaviors. They not only did things that made things difficult for riders who do obey traffic laws, but they create huge amounts of justified animosity towards cyclists in general. It feels like if we could get rid of the cyclists who speed through red lights and overtake pedestrians, cycling might be safe for the average person, but that just isn’t going to happen.

I can't stand cyclists as a car driver because I'm absolutely terrified of hitting them. I hate that I have to put myself at risk overtaking them but mainly I just live in bloody fear of clipping them. I always drive considerately round them, I live rurally and there's tonnes of them around our village at the weekend and on narrow lanes you either are stuck behind them for ages or doing risky overtakes to get round them. They make my driving life more stressful so no, I don't like them.

I've also had one give me(and then young dd) an absolute mouthful of abuse when I refused to go round him when he was waving me on round a blind bend . A friend who is a police traffic officer (and keen cyclist) says when you are driving the only person in charge of your car is you and you should completely ignore cyclists who wave you on and only go when you feel confident to.

@TarzansFavouriteThong It’s not up to cyclists or any other road users to control your stress for you or to facilitate the ease of your personal ‘driving life’. If you’re as terrified as you say the answer is not to do ‘risky overtakes’ at all.
I don’t understand the point your second paragraph is making. So you encountered a bit of a dickhead on the road; what’s your point?

justified animosity towards cyclists in general

Giving up cycling because you're afraid of being the subject of homicidal rage is completely understandable. I wouldn't describe that homicidal rage as justified though. That's just a bit of a stretch.

@TarzansFavouriteThong

I can't stand cyclists as a car driver because I'm absolutely terrified of hitting them. I hate that I have to put myself at risk overtaking them but mainly I just live in bloody fear of clipping them. I always drive considerately round them, I live rurally and there's tonnes of them around our village at the weekend and on narrow lanes you either are stuck behind them for ages or doing risky overtakes to get round them. They make my driving life more stressful so no, I don't like them.

I've also had one give me(and then young dd) an absolute mouthful of abuse when I refused to go round him when he was waving me on round a blind bend . A friend who is a police traffic officer (and keen cyclist) says when you are driving the only person in charge of your car is you and you should completely ignore cyclists who wave you on and only go when you feel confident to.

You sound an extremely nervous driver, I find nervous drivers to be poor drivers.

I've no idea why you needed to justify your decision making whilst driving with a police officer? It's plainly obvious you are behind a potential killing machine and it's your decision at every junction, roundabout or over taking situation what you feel is safe.

You think like this because you have failed to realise that cyclists are just as legitimate users of roads as cars. You seem to think that cyclists should only use roads if they do not slow cars down. You are wrong about this. You just have to accept that you need to slow down when other legitimate users of the road are legitimately using that road.

Just like tractors slow cars down and police horses (and other horses) and pedestrian crossing slow cars down. All of these are legitimate users of roads and you have absolutely no entitlement to think of these users as 'dangerous' or an inconvenience to you.

Thing is I’m not going to kill a tractor driver if I overtake him and a pheasant flies out.
Yes they cyclists are legal road users. However using the road for a leisure activity which is designed so that people can get from A to B is annoying. I’veno problem with horses as they are generally getting from one place to another without killing the selves or their horses either.

It’s not just that there’s one plucky cyclist. My country route to work and back is full of them. It’s incredibly frustrating going 20 miles an hour for a lot of it.

@Lightisnotwhite

You think like this because you have failed to realise that cyclists are just as legitimate users of roads as cars. You seem to think that cyclists should only use roads if they do not slow cars down. You are wrong about this. You just have to accept that you need to slow down when other legitimate users of the road are legitimately using that road.

Just like tractors slow cars down and police horses (and other horses) and pedestrian crossing slow cars down. All of these are legitimate users of roads and you have absolutely no entitlement to think of these users as 'dangerous' or an inconvenience to you.

Thing is I’m not going to kill a tractor driver if I overtake him and a pheasant flies out.
Yes they cyclists are legal road users. However using the road for a leisure activity which is designed so that people can get from A to B is annoying. I’veno problem with horses as they are generally getting from one place to another without killing the selves or their horses either.

It’s not just that there’s one plucky cyclist. My country route to work and back is full of them. It’s incredibly frustrating going 20 miles an hour for a lot of it.

If you know you're going to have to travel at 20 mph then plan your journey.

I live in London, if we had more cyclists and cycle ways then I'd be able to travel at more than 5 mph as we'd have less traffic.

Cyclists are also trying to get from A to B. In my case, work

I am lucky that I can mainly travel on a cycle way to my place of work but it involves one small stretch of a twisty country road, only last night did a van overtake me dangerously on a sharp bend not realising a car was coming the other way, they missed the other car by inches.

I have to plan my cycle journey allowing time for potential punctures and weather changes so car drivers should allow the same especially if they know their route is cyclist-heavy. I am a car driver too btw.

I am a car driver too btw.

studies have shown cyclists make better drivers, they are more alter and pay attention to their surroundings. 80% of cyclists drive, its a shame that 80% of drivers don't cycle as the roads would be safer

www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2018/10/09/cyclists-are-better-drivers-than-motorists-finds-study/?sh=54bbb7e56f6c

www.drive.com.au/news/cyclists-more-confident-on-road-than-drivers-study/

However using the road for a leisure activity which is designed so that people can get from A to B is annoying.

Many people use the roads to get to their hobbies or for leisure activities, to meet friends or family. It is what roads are used for the world over - the fact you find this annoying is really saying a lot about you

Oh, is it ok when drivers use the roads for leisure activities?