To be done with cyclists (as a car driver).

[bluegardenflowers]

Have cycled in the past but now only drive.

I'm a considerate driver and always allow plenty of room when overtaking and am patient in following the cyclist when it's unsafe to overtake and leave a big gap. I take care when left turning. They are more vulnerable on the road.

Yet I've been sworn at be a cyclist and it's pissing me off.

Yesterday on a busy road I saw the cyclist and was busy scanning ahead to make sure I could give him half a carriageways room to overtake. I started my overtake as he was wafting his arm around and looking back. It wasn't a clear right turn signal more a 30 degree flap around before swerving into the part of the road I was on, and swearing at me.

Ffs. If you want to turn right, stick your bloody arm out fully and make a clear signal. No wonder drivers and cyclists hate each other.

🤦🏻‍♀️ you were in the wrong OP. How many times do people have to point out the Highway Code to you??

167
DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example
approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road

You made the mistake, you drove contrary to Highway Code rules.

Most likely pissing around with their go-pro or looking for a phone for a selfie like most cyclists. Simple fact is the cyclist did not provide a correct road signal or maneuver, I.e.. they should not be on the road if they cannot signal correctly.

If that diagram is accurate, you were overtaking on hatched markings?

Out of curiosity, if it hasn't been a despised lycra man but a 10yo kid on a basic bike, would you have the same attitude?

It was a hot day, and no, not smelling his armpit, it wasn't raised high enough. I thought he was about to scratch his arse in his tight Lycra. Must be itchy?

So ONE SINGLE CYCLIST pissed you off and now you’re done with all of them?

Ok.Seems an over reaction.

Round here they ride in the pavements. I'd have SS in anyone letting a 10 yo ride a bike on a road with industrial units and lorries all along it!

Well you clearly were in conflict! However, you first made a manoeuvre contrary to Highway Code rules - really don’t understand how you can’t see this?!

167
DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example
approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road

Round here, the problem is them riding on the lanes in dark clothes and no lights/high viz/something reflective. I don't want to crash into you, ffs! Make yourself visible!!

Genuinely almost killed someone last winter - awful weather, pitch black lane against a big hedge. Two drivers in the car (me, and my sister who was a passenger) and neither of us saw him until the reflective bit on his trainers flashed in my headlights. Absolutely glad I was doing ~15mph or I've have hit him for sure.

I can’t believe when there are people like the OP who have clearly broken the HC and insist they’re in the right, people somehow think cyclists are the arrogant ones 🤔

Obviously not, which is why I said I don't drive aggressively to avoid accidents, it doesn't give the correct context if you choose one part to quote.
I'm not expending any energy or bleating if you mean me, which is why I said most cyclists I have encountered and made it very clear I was talking about my own experience, not making a factual statement on all cyclists. It as precisely to avoid this sort of comment but I suppose people will always tweak it to suit what they want to say.
I am already well educated on the rules of the road, I don't think I could gain many more entitlements unless I go for my ADR licence or have emergency vehicle training.

Not all signals look the same. The fact remains, he was ahead of you, and made something that LOOKED similar to a signal.... If he was ahead, you should have held back, and "let" him move over to make the turn.
It is one of my most feared moves, as you are relying on a car driver having some sense and consideration. I am actually always expecting them to do what you did, and prepare for it by not rushing the turn. I am generally surprised when I can hear that a car from behind has slowed down to "let" me make the turn.

You shouldn’t be overtaking at a junction

You're not meant to overtake near a junction/turning. Especially not over the road markings like that. That's a manoeuvre you shouldn't be doing. Whether or not the cyclist was indicating. You don't overtake in that area because then you're on the wrong side of the road and people turning out of the junction aren't expecting a car on the wrong side of the road.

You should never have been overtaking that cyclist at that point. That cyclist had no reason to think you would be there because you shouldn't have been. You broke the rules of the road.

The cyclist was also signalling. It doesn't matter how poor the signal is. As a car driver, you must always be prepared for that and whe

*and when a cyclist is doing something with their arms or anything, you hang back.

That is your responsibility as a driver.

You were wrong.

I also love the fact that ONE SINGLE CYCLIST pissed you off and now you’re done with ALL OF THEM

Yeh the OP doesn’t care about junctions it seems … only cares about cyclists giving correct hand signals before OP starts her unlawful manoeuvre …

YABU - and extremely so.

You broke the Highway Code by attempting an overtaking manoeuvre near a junction.

So whilst the cyclist may (our may not) have given a clear signal - you have admitted to attempting to overtake at a junction and have therefore broken the Highway Code

you should stay off the roads until you re-read and understand the Highway Code - as others have said, you are currently a danger - very far from your self-proclaimed “considerate driver”

So far we have:

• Not paying enough attention to the cyclist and starting a manouvre as the cyclist was indicating
• Ignoring Highway Code 167
• Ignoring Highway Code 130 (if the OP's diagram is accurate).

OP, like I said earlier, we all make mistakes sometimes and there is no such thing as a perfect driver. You need to accept you were in the wrong here. It's OK to be wrong sometimes. But please take note of this for future reference. In this case no-one was hurt but that may not be the case next time.

So cyclist stuck theri arm out and you went anyway? Clearly deserve to be sworn at,

my DH gave up cycling (used to cycle 10 miles to work and then back), because he got fed up of drivers, he had been rammed off the road multiple time, damage to the bike constantly and having to spend time and money fixing things. Some days I worried if he would make it back.

that's before you get onto the state of the roads, with large pot holes (which drivers avoid but crowd cyclists into) crap which people litter and a surprising amount of glass and metal object just in the road. Before he gave it up, his bike had Kevlar tyres on then just to stop the constant punctures.

the UK needs a propper cycling network not the half arsed appraoch we have, and not only this drivers need to give them more time and space

Are the cycle paths fit for purpose? Are there enough of them to make them a credible alternative?

I have recently been on holiday in a European city where there were genuinely lots of cycle lanes. Often there would be a pavement, then a cycle lane and then the road. We saw loads of people cycling and also noticed in the City centre lots of places to park bike and lots of the flats and housed had cycle garages provided. We also observed cycle theft must not be a thing since lots of people would just pull up and park their bike outside a shop and go in without locking it.

Then earlier this year we were on holiday near Cambridge and it seemed the City centre was very geared up for cycling. In fact we noticed how popular electric scooters and cycles were there.

I think rather than getting annoyed at cyclists we should be ensuring that more is done to allow them and traffic and pedestrians to coexist safely. I was only commenting the other day that the idea of an electric bicycle appeals to me nowadays but the thought of taking it on the roads in even our relatively small town terrifies me