9hrs is all it took!

[Finallylostit]

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!

People are objecting because they don't normally pass cyclists safely.

Or some people are currently complaining because some cyclists are currently acting like toddlers, celebrating the change in law.

Others are pointing out that many rural roads won't accommodate the new laws, just as they barely accommodated the old ones.

It has always been a case of give and take, be sensible and be very aware of the road.

Round here it obviously has worked well, as we have a cycle loop and very few issues - and I do know as I helped get the loop legally recognised and signposted and whilst, no, I don't ride, I do belong to the local FB pages and know a lot of riders. There are very few incidents. That's why what was reported here this morning was notable.

Rural roads can be crap for horse riders, cyclists, pedestrians and car drivers alike. Grandstanding won't help, just as driving like a twat doesn't.

@LoveMyPiano

I sincerely do not understand why a bike taking a position that dominates the lane is a problem..... If the oncoming lane is clear and there are no upcoming hazards, and the road markings state so, then passing the bike is perfectly OK. Do people want to be able to pass the bike WHILST something is coming the other way? I may be possible on much wider roads/lanes, but still unadvisable and unsafe.

Yes, that's exactly what the complainers want to be able to do. And it's what they currently do, while kidding themselves that they have left 'plenty of space'.

If it's not safe to overtake whilst leaving cyclists enough roo to be away from parked cars on the left and from overtaking/passing cars on the right you sodding wait.

I realise this. But with one cyclist you CAN safely overtake them. 2 cyclists abreast, you wouldn’t be able to. Now, someone upthread pointed out that the Code says that 2 riding 2 abreast should be aware of traffic behind them and switch to single to allow cars to overtake them. I just can’t see some cyclists doing that. They will insist that they are allowed to ride 2 abreast no matter what is going on behind them.

Problem we have is they jump on and off the pavements, so you see them in your mirror as you you indicate to turn left and they are on the pavement some 30m from the junction. Then they jump on to the road when you are not glancing as part of "mirror signal manouver" and you begin the turn next minute there's a cyclist there as you are performing the turn.

I mean it is rare, it's only happened to me once in over a decade of driving. Luckily the highway code then ment they needed to break to avoid my passengers side, but under new rules had the collision occured it now be "at fault".

I've no issue with cyclists as whole, plenty in my area and I'd say 99.9% are fine but there's the odd one, I see him every morning "green leggings man" and he's a menace 🤣. If I see him up ahead I get filled with dread because he's dangerous, I've even driven the longer way to work once to avoid being the car directly behind him 😳

Thanks @GoldenOmber that’s useful to be reminded of what it says.

OP yanbu for mourning the fact that most cyclists on country roads are hobbyists up from cities, causing huge traffic problems for the locals actually trying to get somewhere - which is what roads are supposed to be for. Round here the cyclist packs create huge tailbacks and they never pull over. It’s a problem that the cyclist at the front cannot see that he’s created a twenty min tailback behind him.

Just yesterday I was following a group who were cycling at 4mph. I couldn’t overtake for ten minutes because the roads were winding and it wasn’t safe to do so. Would have taken them seconds to pull over so I could pass. 😐

The tier system was bliss for local traffic because the cyclists weren’t allowed to come!

@Alexandra2001 I'm not sure anywhere I have stated that I have an issue with people cycling from A-B for a useful reason 🤷🏼‍♀️. My issue is with arrogant middle aged men on a jolly sticking their fingers up at drivers!

I think as a country we all need to cycle more generally but I feel the mamils have done a lot to put people off or maybe it's just the ones in my area who are complete nobs and hate any motorists! Before you berate me maybe get my full views 🙄

From what I’ve read, these changes bring us more into line with what is currently the case in many European countries. So many drivers overtake me close because of oncoming traffic, then swerve back in.
I won’t cycle in the middle of the road without good reason, but neither will I keep close by cars. Learned that lesson after someone opened a car door without looking.

@BoodleBug51

We live rurally and on a national cycle route. The roads are very twisty, and I've lost count of the amount of times I've been walking the dogs and had a gang of lycra clad buffoons hurtling towards me shouting "move". Fuckers.

We also live rurally and there's no pavement outside the main streets of the village - if you want to walk to the next village/woods etc, we have to walk on the road. Everyone is careful to walk facing traffic, close into/on the verge etc but quite a few people have reported being sworn at and told to 'get off the fucking road' by the Cycling Clubs who come through the village as part of a massive route loop.

Quite a lot of cyclists are utter twats. I knew they'd start being twats in response to the perfectly balanced reasonable new laws.

YANBU I cycle and drive around a mix of city and country roads and I treat other road users with the courtesy I hope they'll offer me, like pulling over gates to let them pass if it's a narrow road when I'm cycling.

Angry men in cars are only going to get more angry now. I've had experience of them going out of their way to intimidate and hassle me before this, now it's going to be hell if they've been pissed off by cyclists like the ones in the OP. I haven't got a camera on my bike but I'm going to get one for front and back.

You sound like a proper cyclist, Octomore. Too many don’t think about what is safe for everyone, including themselves. They cycle through red lights really fast so cars with right of way have to brake. Undertake you fast, coming out of nowhere when you’re waiting at a traffic lights junction wanting to turn left and they’re going straight on.

I meant to say that the new rules will encourage twattish cyclists to be even bigger twats

The Highway Code clearly says to move over to let cars pass

@WindyState

Plenty of cyclists are people commuting to work.

Plenty of drivers are driving for leisure.

So your point is...?

Plenty of drivers are people commuting to work.

Plenty of cyclists are cycling for leisure.

So your point is...?

@Joystir59

I meant to say that the new rules will encourage twattish cyclists to be even bigger twats

Exactly. The lycra-clad twunts who hog all the small country lanes, AND the main A road, four-abreast are a fucking nightmare as it is. These 'new rules' gives them carte blanch to go from mini-twunts, to massive twunts.

I think is some one was to do a risk assessment on allowing cycling on roads as a leisure activity the result would be to not allow it.

Objectively allowing exposed cyclists share the same roads as 10 ton HGVs would raise huge safety questions.

There are a lot safer ways to exercise e.g. the gym and walking in the countryside is very pleasurable.

@GoldenOmber

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!

Golly.

Enid? Is that you 😂

As to road tax, there is no hypothecated taxation in the UK. Even if you only ever walk or use public transport you will pay for road upkeep through taxation. How are people so effing dumb? It's like kids having to share their toys.

@mids2019

I think is some one was to do a risk assessment on allowing cycling on roads as a leisure activity the result would be to not allow it.

Objectively allowing exposed cyclists share the same roads as 10 ton HGVs would raise huge safety questions.

There are a lot safer ways to exercise e.g. the gym and walking in the countryside is very pleasurable.

Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?

Half the cars on the road are there for leisure. Should they be allowed to shared the roads with HGVs? I mean, driving isn't exactly safe, is it?

I drive daily, but I also cycle.

I have always cycled with great care and awareness of other road users. I only move to the middle of the road on blind corners so impatient drivers don't try to pass me when it's unsafe as they would then be most likely to swerve into me to save themselves. Not having that!

I also pass cyclists carefully and only when it's safe to do so, much to the dismay of cars behind me frequently.

Car drivers need to be more patient. Cyclists need to be more considerate. Everyone is entitled to use and be safe on the roads.

I wish they'd been some requirement for cyclists to wear fluorescent jackets or similar at the same time. It's so much easier to deal with when you can see them from a distance on a dark night

The proportion of car traffic that's leisure related was made really obvious during the lockdowns. On a nice weather Saturday, the roads around me (national park) are normally rammed with cars; in lockdown they were basically empty, save for the odd delivery van or farm vehicle.

Nightmare. When you're stuck behind a cyclist you're going slower, which means you need a bigger gap to be able to overtake than if you were stuck behind a car. And if you're stuck behind a tractor they always pull over to let cars go past them.
It's going to be very dangerous for both the cyclist and other road users, particularly motor bikes though. I can be stuck behind a slow cyclist, but bikes need a minimum speed to balance so it's going to either cause them accidents going slow or push them to take risks they wouldn't have.

It's all just to make driving inconvenient and stressful so we'd rather not.

I don’t have an issue with the rules on positioning but I do think there needs to be more done about big groups of racers. I was following a group of around 20 this morning and just gave up even trying to overtake as it was too dangerous. Clearly they should have broken into smaller groups with space to allow cars to pass safely but were too selfish to do so. It’s poor behaviour like this that puts everyone at greater risk.

"9 hours is all it took" for a cyclist bashing thread to start on MN

I just wondered, since the Highway Code also changed for other road users, if anyone wants to do any horse rider or pedestrian bashing, too.

There are many hundreds of thousands of pedestrians out on the roads at this very moment -- watch out!