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!

As an avid rural walker in sick to death of twat entitled cyclists without effing bells effing racing up behind me and yelling, 'sorry!' whilst expecting me to leap quickly out of the way, even if I'm.trying to negotiate an effing muddy puddle. Fuckers! So i like the new 'hierarchy of road users' which puts pedestrians at the top on shared pathways. I accept we all need to treat each other with respect. That includes twat cyclists who do not have the right to expect ramblers, amblers, dog walkers sniffing the air, taking their time to leap out of the effing way of them all the effing time!

Things that didnt happen. No cyclist talks like that

I’m with you OP. I already got stuck behind a cyclist this week who’d taken it upon himself to ride in the centre of the lane before the Highway Code even changed. I was stuck behind him from moments after I left my house, down a big hill and through town. If he’d kept to the left I would have been easily able to get past him as there are lots of places to safely overtake if he’d kept left but none if I have to be fully across into oncoming traffic. The pillock merrily blocked me and the huge line of traffic behind me without a second thought for miles. It’s definitely going to cause accidents as people with hotter heads than me would’ve made dangerous manoeuvres to overtake. This rule is as sensible as smart motorways.

*I'm sick to death

I could have stomached this if it was in towns and cities but even so it should have been coupled with a change to the law which explicitly stated that accidents caused by cyclists undertaking would be entirely the fault of the cyclist. It goes hand un hand with the entitled view that traffic lights don’t apply to them, there’s no need to have lights on at night and that bombing around in the pavement is safe

MNHQ please can we have an edit button?

@Sorka

I’m with you OP. I already got stuck behind a cyclist this week who’d taken it upon himself to ride in the centre of the lane before the Highway Code even changed. I was stuck behind him from moments after I left my house, down a big hill and through town. If he’d kept to the left I would have been easily able to get past him as there are lots of places to safely overtake if he’d kept left but none if I have to be fully across into oncoming traffic. The pillock merrily blocked me and the huge line of traffic behind me without a second thought for miles. It’s definitely going to cause accidents as people with hotter heads than me would’ve made dangerous manoeuvres to overtake. This rule is as sensible as smart motorways.

The guidance to cycle in the centre of the lane (known as cycling defensively) has been in the Highway Code for years. It is just more emphasised now.

As a supposedly safe driver (I'm sure you think of yourself as one, regardless of the reality), surely you should know this already?

a cyclist this week who’d taken it upon himself to ride in the centre of the lane before the Highway Code even changed

That was already allowed, and was indeed the safest thing to do sometimes, to stop drivers trying to do what you want to do and overtake by squeezing past while staying in the same lane.

@Joystir59

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

I’ve seen cyclists being aggressive towards pedestrians so maybe this will keep them off the pavements more but I think it will fuel the arrogance and entitlement that many of them have. I was on the way to work in Bristol a few years ago and this woman on her bike ride through a group of pedestrians waiting to cross the road and shouted at us to get off of her fucking way.

@Joystir59

As an avid rural walker in sick to death of twat entitled cyclists without effing bells effing racing up behind me and yelling, 'sorry!' whilst expecting me to leap quickly out of the way, even if I'm.trying to negotiate an effing muddy puddle. Fuckers! So i like the new 'hierarchy of road users' which puts pedestrians at the top on shared pathways. I accept we all need to treat each other with respect. That includes twat cyclists who do not have the right to expect ramblers, amblers, dog walkers sniffing the air, taking their time to leap out of the effing way of them all the effing time!

I'm also an avid rural walker.

Cyclists are sometimes inconsiderate, but the vehicles that cause most danger to me when I'm walking are the cars that see no no need to slow down (not even a little bit) when they pass a pedestrian on a narrow, pavement-less road.

I agree that placing pedestrians at the top of the hierarchy is correct.

I thought this would happen. Herds of Mamils cycling two abreast chatting about their Mamil interests, completely oblivious to other road users trying to get past.

It's going to create more pollution as well because motorists will be stuck in 2nd or 3rd gear for miles. I suppose dentists will benefit from having to repair all the broken teeth caused by stress related grinding 😬

I've actually never witnessed a cat trying to squeeze past a cyclist whilst staying in the same lane. I've directly experienced hundreds of cyclists expecting me to squeeze into undergrowth on shared footpaths so they don't have to, heaven forbid, slow down or stop. Lycra clad effing knobs.

Car, not cat!

I agree that placing pedestrians at the top of the hierarchy is correct.

Yes, absolutely.

The law hasn’t changed, it’s been phrased better so more people understand it. The riding in the middle is to stop dangerous drivers overtaking when they shouldn’t, 2 a breast means you aren’t on the other side of the road as long. There is actually no difference to the law a month ago, just more people highlighting the fact they were driving without an understanding of their responsibilities.

@Chloemol

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

When there is enough space for the car to be able to pass safely ie there needs to be a car width between the car and the bike.

9hrs is all it took for a cyclist bashing thread to start. Quelle bloody surprise

@Joystir59

I've actually never witnessed a cat trying to squeeze past a cyclist whilst staying in the same lane. I've directly experienced hundreds of cyclists expecting me to squeeze into undergrowth on shared footpaths so they don't have to, heaven forbid, slow down or stop. Lycra clad effing knobs.

Do you cycle? Because this happens to me daily as I cycle to work. And I’m surprised Lycra wearing cyclists are using shared footpaths - the road is much better for cycling at speed

@Joystir59

I've actually never witnessed a cat trying to squeeze past a cyclist whilst staying in the same lane. I've directly experienced hundreds of cyclists expecting me to squeeze into undergrowth on shared footpaths so they don't have to, heaven forbid, slow down or stop. Lycra clad effing knobs.

Want to join me on my cycle commute to work and actually witness how often I get close-passed?

@Joystir59

I've actually never witnessed a cat trying to squeeze past a cyclist whilst staying in the same lane. I've directly experienced hundreds of cyclists expecting me to squeeze into undergrowth on shared footpaths so they don't have to, heaven forbid, slow down or stop. Lycra clad effing knobs.

Well, cats are very courteous animals, after all.

There is a popular walking route from my village that starts up the road to the local reservoir (from where you can access the moor). There is parking at the reservoir too, so cars also drive up there. It's a narrow lane, no pavements, and lots of children and families walk it, so you'd expect the motorists to slow down, wouldn't you?

They are all driving up there for leisure (a walk around the reservoir, often with their dogs, which many of them don't pick up after), and the road isn't long, yet some cars bomb down there as if the 1 minute it would take to slow down for pedestrians is a huge infringement on their day.

I don't start threads on mumsnet calling all drivers wankers though. I know it's a minority that are a problem, just as it's a minority of cyclists. (Although a minority of drivers is still a bigger number than a minority of cyclists.)

@BurscoughBooths cross posts!

Want to join me on my cycle commute to work and actually witness how often I get close-passed?

I'm happy to extend the same invitation, as my experience is the same. Close passes aren't a rare occurrence, sadly - it's several times a journey.

I think I fortunately live somewhere quite sparesly populated where there is a good quality of driving generally. I live in a tourist spot and during high season it's very noticeable how the standard of driving deteriorates.

I failed my first driving test for going too slow 🤦🏻‍♀️ - as it’s a hazard to other road users because everyone should be driving in a manner to keep traffic flowing and roads safe. Cyclists are bound to go slower than cars mainly, and potentially stop traffic flowing, and I’m not sure giving up on cycle paths as an alternative is the best way to keep everyone safe compared to this change.
Trouble is roads are too full now anyway aren’t they for everyone, and too badly maintained for anyone, and really a bigger discussion and actions on our future road system needs to take place rather than little actions that aren’t joined up. My council put in extra temporary cycle lanes in lockdown but then took them out -we had those ones where cyclists go straight on whilst cars turn left which worry me massively when driving or even walking along those roads, but I’m not sure at all why they didn’t just set it up properly and keep it going.
Also we should perhaps emphasise ‘politeness’ on the roads - no aggressive driving, cycling or even walking - and I’ve witnessed all three much more in recent years than when I was younger.
I think we will become accustomed to the new rules, though not sure they’ve been well rolled out, but hopefully we can all get along and stay safe until the bigger issues around roads get addressed - if that ever happens.

Do you cycle?

Because no matter where I am in the country, I've found that many drivers passing too close to cyclists is a constant. People who don't cycle don't really see it though.

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.