Not overtaking cyclist

[creampuffs]

I was driving down a very narrow twisty road 20mph speed limit when I caught up with a very slow cyclist. Double white lines down centre of road, lots of blind bends. Had to slow to 10mph at one point. Cars started queuing behind me getting irate and beeping because I couldn't overtake. One even went round me and the bike at one point. But I honestly couldn't see how to pass safely. It would have meant risking either a head on crash or knocking over the cyclist. Got to the end of the double white lines and finally had a clear view to overtake when not 1 but 2 of the cars behind me decide to overtake us aggressively. Was I really unreasonable to wait until it was safe to overtake? Left feeling quite upset and rattled by the other cars' behaviour as clearly everyone else thought I should have just overtaken.

This happens a lot where I live - usually with quite fast lycra clad cyclists but its a long, steep, hill with a lot of blind bends and blind false- summits.

The cyclists sometimes try to wave cars past but it isn't safe because you as car driver can't see and it'd still be your fault (or you and your passengers among the injured or worse) if the cyclist made a mistake and waved you into a head-on collision.

The steep twisty is a 5km road leading to a train station - commuters use it at all hours and sports cyclists like to train or race each other on it. Some ebike commuters use it too. It's a death trap.

There is a cycle path which goes "around" the hill to the station - almost twice as far but cyclists actually going to the station mostly use that owing to not wanting to die.

The mamils however seem to have a second adolescence in terms of believing they are immortal and are almost as much to blame using this hill to train as the impatient BMW and Audi drivers who dangerously overtake the queue of swearing but trying to be patient drivers waiting for a safe opportunity to overtake the lycra clad.

Even if it was 60 then the result wouldn’t change though? If OP couldn’t see then it wasn’t safe. If there is a solid white line it is also illegal.

Always be safe OP because if you went to overtake and then a car appeared your instinct would more than likely kill the cyclist and it’s you that would have to live with that so you didn’t the right thing.

I think it's unlikely they were all impatient and that you were faultless.

Actually you are allowed to overtake on a double white line if the cyclist you are overtaking is travelling at less than 10pm, which it sounds like the bike might have been. Highway Code rule 129 refers. I’m very cautious around cyclists as I am one myself, though only cycle 100kms a week, and if 3 people did pass the OP then I’m inclined to say she was probably being overly cautious. Better than taking a risk she wasn’t comfortable with, but that doesn’t mean the other drivers were wrong.

You likely did the right thing, I live rurally and am very cautious in passing cyclists because I don't want to put either of us in danger but most other drives are complete morons - some woman almost drove head on into me the other day because she was overtaking a cyclist on a blind bend and was on my side of the road completely unnecessarily because she was too fucking idiotic to wait until she had a clear view. Other people are not to be trusted, stay safe and it's all good.

"You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph or less."

That makes sense as long as you can do so safely. You should be able with a slow moving bike. Others may well be doing 20 mph.

You did the right thing OP. The first thought upon seeing a cyclist ahead should be to slow down. If more people did this there would be less sketchy overtaking so thank you for driving safely. I cycle usually around 250-300km per week, commuting and leisure. Oh and you can overtake a cyclist on solid white, but only if they are sub 10mph. Most ‘road’ cyclists will be faster than this on all but the steepest hills, so it shouldn’t be taken as the default view when approaching a rider with solid lines.

With regards to the ones overtaking you, different cars can get through different gaps. I have a reasonably powerful car, 250bhp and torque for days. It’s quick from 50 to 80 for joining/changing lanes on the motorway and matching the speed to do this. On and off the motorway all the time was the reason I bought this car a few years back, though it doesn’t do nearly the mileage anymore. My other half has a small car, 1.4l, 100bhp. It’s light and nimble, it’s quick from 0-20 and perfect for town driving, as that’s what it’s used for but it does not have any kick to go from 20mph up to speed quickly. I cannot make the same overtakes safely in the small car as I can in the big one. I need bigger gaps to move into on the motorway, I need a run up on the slip roads and I’d not be able to accelerate to overtake a cyclist in a small straight section and be confident in the acceleration to get round. I have to drive differently depending on which car I am in. When cycling it’s the small cars going for overtakes in short periods of visibility that make me most nervous. The fast cars mostly are through and gone using the other side of the road. (Talking about ‘normal’ people driving, not boy racer close pass twats)

Thank you OP for being considerate to more vulnerable road users.

Maybe the people who over took you were really important people with really important jobs

My dear father taught me how to drive and he would always say "Their hurry is not your worry"

As a cyclist, I can only say thank you. You are a good, considerate driver

It's reassuring that the majority of you think I did the right thing. Just to clarify, it was 1 car that overtook where I'm certain it was still to dangerous , he fully crossed the double solid white lines to get round me and the cyclist. I held my breath as it was before a blind bend and it could have been a head on collision had there been a car coming the other way. It was pure luck that there wasn't. The other 2 overtook at exactly the point that you could see the road ahead and it was safe, and I would have passed the cyclist first had they not very aggressively overtaken us at speed . My car just doesn't have that kind of acceleration. That just really rattled me. I've been driving over 20 years without any problems.

@DuaneDibbley no must be a similar road though!

I know a similar stretch and yes you just have to wait behind cyclists. Would be madness to overtake.

If there were solid white lines in the middle of the road then those cars that overtook broke the law. The OP was in the right, they were impatient twats.

According to the RAC

*Double white lines where the nearest line is solid
Rule 129 of the Highway Code says you must not cross or straddle these lines unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road.

There is one exception however; you may cross the line to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

Double white lines where both are solid
These are used to prohibit drivers from travelling in an area of the road used by the opposing flow of traffic, generally where overtaking visibility is restricted.

You must not overtake if it means crossing or straddling these double solid lines.*

Given that only once op slowed to 10mph, I sounds like the cyclist was going too fast for op to overtake with the nearest line solid, and if both were solid nobody should have overtaken if they needed to cross or straddle the white lines.

YANBU. I live at the top of a bendy hill, not terribly long but quite steep so obviously takes cyclists a while. If I happen to end up behind a cyclist on my way home I just sit it out and stay behind, I've seen others overtake but there's a big blind hairpin bend in the middle so it's insanely dangerous.

It might end 4 or 5 minutes to my otherwise 1 minute long journey from bottom to top but everyone survives the journey so who cares 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'd hold back if I wasn't certain of a clear, safe manouver. Cyclists need enough space and I don't want to risk encountering oncoming traffic with minimal notice.

It's hard when the impatience of other drivers makes you second guess your decision making. If it's any consolation I had a gem of a random dangerous manouver done on me at the weekend... double lane single carriageway road, I'm in lane 2, the car in lane 1 decides he's gone the wrong way and does a U-turn around me as I'm driving straight on at 30mph! Fortunately my reactions are sharp for the brakes although DH's phone fell out of his hands from the change of speed. Absolutely bonkers thing to do.

I live in the country so I’m used to people speeding down country lanes, my car has very little power behind it so I only overtake if I know I can do it safely with plenty of time, people do get annoyed with me but they usually have a more powerful vehicle that can easily get up to speed but these are also same people that overtake others even if they are doing the speed limit

The same amount as when overtaking a car.

Of course you should wait until it’s safe but they might of seen multiple opportunities you didn’t take and thought you were just a shit driver so decided to overtake you too.

I mean 3 cars over took you so I would verge on the side that you were being too cautious .

Same here. I hate the situation though, makes me feel tense. As a slow cyclist I pull in and let cars pass especially if I'm going uphill.

Well done OP. I think you did the right thing and it's great to hear you weren't pressurised into a nervous overtake by impatient drivers.

As has been pointed out, double white lines don't forbid you from overtaking (slow moving traffic only) but they do signify that the road is hazardous. Therefore you were right to exercise caution.

Everyone is different and I may well have done the same as you. Overtaking is highly dependent on our individual risk attitudes, how much power your car has etc. Also, with a 20mph limit, it's difficult to overtake safely without exceeding the speed limit.

I mean this sincerely as a cyclist and driver. Thank you and wish there were more drivers like you

You were right - better safe than sorry. Why take a risk to save a couple of minutes! Road traffic accidents are worryingly common and so easy to avoid by driving sensibly like you did!

As part of my blue light driving course we were made to memorise this...

"You MUST NOT overtake

if you would have to cross or straddle double white line where the line nearest you is solid unless necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

if you would have to enter an area designed to divide traffic, if it is surrounded by a solid white line

the nearest vehicle to a pedestrian crossing, especially when it has stopped to let pedestrians cross

if you would have to enter a lane reserved for buses, trams or cycles during its hours of operation

after a ‘No Overtaking’ sign and until you pass a sign cancelling the restriction."

We had to score 95% on the exam writing this out from memory to pass (and misplacing a capital letter or a comma was a point deduction let alone the wording) this is how much importance is placed on this one rule from the highway code (the format of the rule has changed slightly in the last 2 decades so I've had to cut and paste two together to get what we were made to reciet).

If you break this rule it is dangerous driving, if you kill someone whilst breaking this rule it is death by dangerous driving which carries a custodial sentence.

OP you were absolutely correct to drive as you did, the other drivers were inpatient and dangerous, do you have a dashcam that you could send the footage in to the police via the online reporting site?