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Original poster

9hrs is all it took!

770 replies

Finallylostit · 29/01/2022 10:45

The new highway code to cause anger!

I went for my morning cycle - no issues did nothing different than I normally do.

Home, shower, jump in car to get food shopping. I live down a country road - wide enough for 2 cars to pass with care, wide enough for a car to over take a cyclist sticking to the left of the lane, with the required space at certain points. Locals all know the places to do it safely.

Today 1 cyclist riding down the middle of the lane - now unsafe for car to pull over to other lane and pass - brilliant

Was he considerate of other road users and pulled over- no.

As on the other side were 8 riders riding two abreast high fiving each other and doing the finger to the motorists. Shouting its the law twats!
Were they considerate of other road users no.

Some of the new laws i think are sensible -
but the ride in the middle of the road, even if there is a cycle lane because you don't feel like it - is asinine

2 abreast packs of mamils hunting on weekends as they venture out of London - when they are generally rude enough as it is - gives those cyclists who are arseholes a legal right to now be an arsehole.

Be considerate and pull over to let cars and vans pass -
that is as likely as Downing Street not having another party in a lockdown!

OP posts:
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10
Lauren1983 · 29/01/2022 15:08

Although I agree that pedestrians should be given highest priority on the roads, the truth is that car is king and this will never change.

I can't risk my life even if I'm in right so I will always assume a car has right of way. The only exception are traffic lights and even then I will double check oncoming cars are actually stopping.

I've had several cars reversing out of their drives onto the pavement right in front of me. I always stop and let them continue because although they should stop for me I can't risk being hit.

heartonthetyne · 29/01/2022 15:08

@Dillidalli

Can’t stand cyclists, hate that they slow me down but….to be safe, they should take up the room in their lane as much as a car does. To overtake them you should be leaving as much space as you would a car. Yes some cyclists will cycle to the left and allow you to pass, they obviously feel safe enough to do so but they don’t have to. Cycling safely is more important than the 3 minutes you save if you try and squeeze yourself past.
Great post.

@Kennykenkencat then the road isn't wide enough for the car to overtake, whether the cyclist is in the middle or riding on the left.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 29/01/2022 15:09

@lockheart If you are correct, this makes a nonsense of the hierarchy of vulnerability. Which is my point.

mumda · 29/01/2022 15:18

Let's be honest, the list of road users by vulnerability actually is

  1. Pedestrians and cyclists in the dark with no light clothing at all, no lights or reflectors.
  2. Everyone else.

Giving them no extra responsibility might indicate that road deaths are fairly low currently and no extra burden needs to be put on them.
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-provisional-estimates-year-ending-june-2021/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-provisional-estimates-year-ending-june-2021

ifIwerenotanandroid · 29/01/2022 15:25

These rule changes seem to give cyclists exactly what they want, without any responsibility. Cyclists can apparently go anywhere they like: pavements, cycle lanes, the rest of the road. They can overtake or undertake or hold up traffic as much as they like. They can overtake vehicles turning right. They're unidentifiable so can't be held responsible for their actions.

Really, it's as though the government only listened to one group, when formulating policy which massively affects several other groups. Where have we seen that before?

Cyclists should not be allowed on pavements. Where a cycle lane exists, every cyclist should be in it. Nobody should undertake. Nobody should overtake a vehicle turning right. No groups of cyclists should be allowed to bunch up (they do round here, forming a mass the length of an HGV on narrow, winding country roads).

And yes, I used to be a cyclist.

Nottogetapenny · 29/01/2022 15:25

If cyclists have more rights on roads they should pay a bike tax!

cptartapp · 29/01/2022 15:25

The problem with cyclists holding up motorists with the new rule is that once motorists have eventually got past them, many will simply put their foot down for the rest of their journey to make up for time lost.

BurscoughBooths · 29/01/2022 15:27

@Nottogetapenny

If cyclists have more rights on roads they should pay a bike tax!
Why? Is there any logic behind this comment? Cars are taxed on their emissions. Zero or low emission cars pay no tax. Bikes would be in the zero emission category so no tax is due
GoldenOmber · 29/01/2022 15:27

Cyclists can apparently go anywhere they like: pavements, cycle lanes, the rest of the road. They can overtake or undertake or hold up traffic as much as they like.

That’s not actually what the new rules say, though?

GoldenOmber · 29/01/2022 15:29

I find it baffling that so many people with strong views about the Highway Code revisions have not bothered to read them. Or indeed read the previous version it seems.

Surely if you feel THAT strongly about something you’d take five minutes to check what it actually says? No?

ivykaty44 · 29/01/2022 15:30

@Youngstreet

Dd and I nearly got taken out by a cyclist running a red light as we crossed with the green man. They absolutely should be registered and insured, it’s the only way to make most of them obey the Highway Code.
considering driver rack up 2.1 billion fines just for speeding - being registered and insured doesn't stop them breaking the law - so why would it with any other law breakers?
ivykaty44 · 29/01/2022 15:32

@Nottogetapenny bikes have VAT just like other purchases, so they do have tax

Cbtb · 29/01/2022 15:35

Wrongkind if and kennykencat

Yes you have to stay behind the cyclist until you can safely pull fully over the white line to overtake or the cyclist pulls over to let you pass.

Imagine the cyclist is a tractor. Give the cycle a tractor sized bubble around it. Only pass them when you would a tractor.

If on a single track road (which may be national) then do what you would do if you met a tractor - either follow them slowly until they pull off or wait for a passing place

There actually easier to pass if bunched up in a short group rather than a long line because it minimises the time you have to be on the wrong side of the road.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 29/01/2022 15:36

@BurscoughBooths

Cars weren't originally taxed on their emissions: everybody paid the same. Then cars over 25 years old paid no tax - for a while, then this was stopped. Both of these changes happened in my lifetime. This is just a tax like any other & can be changed as the government of the day wishes. Any cycle tax could be introduced & modified at any time & in any way.

Theluggage15 · 29/01/2022 15:36

The rules say that cyclists should move over or stop to let cars past when safe to do so, so they should be doing that, they are not meant to hog the road. I actually prefer it when they ride 2 abreast, it’s a shorter distance to overtake so safer.

Cbtb · 29/01/2022 15:38

If I were not

New guidance says cyclists are not allowed on pavements

Some cycle lanes are death traps and actively encourage filtering by being to the side of the cars in a queue to a junction. The abuse i get if I stay middle of lane in a queue up to a junction (rather than filtering to the front) and so slow down the cars behind is quite impressive

JuergenSchwarzwald · 29/01/2022 15:40

I've had several cars reversing out of their drives onto the pavement right in front of me. I always stop and let them continue because although they should stop for me I can't risk being hit

I shout at them to stop. Yes you are risking verbal abuse but they need to be told.

If cyclists have more rights on roads they should pay a bike tax

why, out of interest? Cyclists are often car drivers, so pay VED, tax on fuel (or electricity), VAT on car services etc. As well as paying general taxes.

ivykaty44 · 29/01/2022 15:41

@Tavelo

So many motorists complaining about cyclists and yet they wonder why their children are born with mental defects. Perhaps it could be the enormous levels of pollution you spew out daily just a thought
lung cancer is not decreasing even though smoking rates are the lowest in Europe. 40000 premature deaths each year in uk alone due to pollution from vehicles and presently its ignored by most
Player20868 · 29/01/2022 15:41

I also think the middle of the road thing is beyond insane - when I walked into town yesterday there were a couple of cyclists riding so close to the middle line (residential area) they were practically on the other side of the road, they were just lucky no car was coming round the corner. I'm wondering why they didn't specify "middle of the lane", not "middle of the road"; but then I've wondered for decades why we don't have decent cycle lanes like the ones I saw in the Netherlands many years ago, where the cycle lane is to the inside of the pavement....

You do have to wonder about the people drawing up some of our new laws, but then I suspect lots of them have official drivers to ferry them about, it's not like they actually have to navigate the real world much...

EmbarrassingHadrosaurus · 29/01/2022 15:41

Cyclists can apparently go anywhere they like: pavements, cycle lanes, the rest of the road

can apparently is doing a lot of incorrect lifting there.

Where a cycle lane exists, every cyclist should be in it.

Even the unbelievably narrow cycle lanes that are scarcely wider than the gutters and full of broken road surfaces?

9hrs is all it took!
ivykaty44 · 29/01/2022 15:43

If cyclists have more rights on roads they should pay a bike tax

why, out of interest? Cyclists are often car drivers, so pay VED, tax on fuel (or electricity), VAT on car services etc. As well as paying general taxes.

so what if a cyclist owns a car that doesn't emit pollution, they won't pay a pollution tax? bikes don't pollute.

council tax pays for roads, pay pays for motorways

JuergenSchwarzwald · 29/01/2022 15:44

@cptartapp

The problem with cyclists holding up motorists with the new rule is that once motorists have eventually got past them, many will simply put their foot down for the rest of their journey to make up for time lost.
They already do. so no change there. And they do it whether you're on a bike or in a car.

I was driving at the speed limit today behind a learner, and a BMW driver decided that he was too good for the speed limit and overtook me then undertook the learner (who was rightfully in the right hand lane for the approaching roundabout). Some people are just idiots, whether on four wheels or two.

Cbtb · 29/01/2022 15:45

Helmets. I wear one because the only nasty accident I’ve had was a skid in ice and so was helpful. Ditto with my kid. She’s more likely to get hurt falling off herself because I don’t let her cycle on roads yet.

However studies show that

  1. Helmets are useless in collisions with multiple or HGVs .
2. Cars and HGV pass closer to cyclists wearing helmets

So it can be argued that helmets do not help and may make you less safe on roads with traffic.

WindyState · 29/01/2022 15:45

@Nottogetapenny

If cyclists have more rights on roads they should pay a bike tax!
Like what? VAT? Income tax? council tax? Not VED, surely, as any idiot knows that VED is a tax on emissions.
JuergenSchwarzwald · 29/01/2022 15:45

so what if a cyclist owns a car that doesn't emit pollution, they won't pay a pollution tax

I have a hybrid so I don't pay VED on my car. But I still pay tax when I do buy petrol and on the cost of the car service. And of course all the general tax I pay. I made that comment because the cyclist-haters love to go on about "road tax" but cyclists pay plenty of tax, via their cars and otherwise.