....to tell you that negative comments about cyclists can cause issues...

[alittlequinnie]

I cycle to work - every day that I'm working in the office.

This morning I was cycling - wearing high viz, a helmet - two red lights on the back and two white lights on the front.

I'm going to try to upload a picture of where I was - the road is really really narrow - so no matter where I position the bike if you want to overtaken me you are going to have to go over the centre line.

This morning only me and a car coming up behind me on the entire road. I'm pretty much bang on centre in the lane. Nothing coming towards me or the car behind me.

Car behind overtakes - really really close and then pulls in too quickly in front of me - causing me to swerve.

Few meters up the road catch up with them at the lights. Knock politely on the window and ask her "why on earth did you do that - there was plenty of room?"

She responds that it's my "own fault" I was "riding in the middle of the road" I "do it on purpose" and she see's me "every morning" - then calls me a stupid cow.

I say "really? you did it as a punishment?" - she then repeats that I shouldn't be in the middle of the road.

No point arguing with stupid so I remind her that it's a good idea to read the Highway Code - she tells me I need to read it and then calls me a cunt.

I feel this all the time on the bike that all the comments that "all cyclists" do red light jumping and pavement cycling etc means that there is just such a HATE for cyclists - wherever and however they ride.

Imagine what this is like for me - this woman has told me she sees me all the time and she did it on purpose - so she's bound to do it again - it's really frightening.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to achieve by posting this - just think carefully before spreading the sort of venom for cyclists that I see on here and other sites?

*Some cyclists are incredibly rude when pedestrians slow them down.

Fixed that for you.

So what?

There are a shitload of dickhead drivers too. Some people are arseholes regardless of which mode of transport they use.

Cars and pedestrians aren't separated... how do you think people cross the road?
its also perfectly legal to park on the pavement in most circumstances.

Just as cars are allowed to park in cycle lanes, that are painted with a broken line (the vast majority)

Some cyclists are rude and pass closely by, not all, just as the vast majority of motorists, even if they don't like cyclists on the road aren't like you but drive considerately.

Let's face it some road users whether they're car drivers or cyclists can be absolute arseholes but.....

I think some car drivers underestimate exactly how much their own lives would be changed out of all recognition if they killed or seriously injured someone. How would you live with the guilt, even if it wasn't your fault? "Punishing" someone for what you perceive as "bad" behaviour in your big metal box is insanity.

However I think the same goes for cyclists, who wants to be in the "right" from under the wheels of a car?

It's batshit entitlement which leads which leads people to think their rights are more important than their responsibilities.

The driver in this case is a lunatic and needs to be reported.

We don't cycle out from the kerb to wind up drivers, we do it to avoid being killed. How selfish of us

This is the kind of path I would take.

I'm not getting car doored and it's not safe to overtake in that lane so I'm taking primary position.

To be fair I can understand the objections to a point. It’s only ever going to truly work when we have cycle lanes on every road, every pavement where it all links up and cyclists are banned from roads.

Currently you have cycle lanes built and then cyclists still have to go in roads as there’s no connectivity. So some choose to stay on the road rather than dip in and out and that is infuriating to drivers when they have less lanes, and are still being held up by cycles.

I think one of the key issues is that cycles here are built half as an extension of pavements which mean they are having to stop for side roads, and the other issue is they are half designed on road that just disappear into nowhere.

We need like in Holland. Where it’s essentially a tiny continuous road next to car road but separated by kerb from both car and pedestrian.

In roads where this is too small they need these to be redesigned as one way or shared surface no through road.

@starfro

"Cyclists go cycling on the numerous cycleways or mountain-biking trails that are allocated to them.

Don't go and clop up our entire road network for your hobby. You can't overtake safely, hence the delay. Normally there are 30-40 cars backed up (sometimes more). The safe gaps are small. City-dwellers don't understand rural lives.

Fundamentally cars and bikes don't mix, and should be separated."

Does the OPs photo look like a country lane to you?
Commuting on the roads by bike should be normalised and embraced. I cycle to work and for work (I'm a community physio). If I drive to work it takes twice as long. Do you know why? Because there are too many cars clogging up the road holding me up. Clearly you don't understand urban life.

Again, more victim blaming and justification for placing someone's life at risk for doing something perfectly legal. Pathetic.

cycling is a WONDERFULL hobby, and so much more....an excellent mode of transport and a fantastic and enjoyable way to stay healthy😇
driving urgggghhh, just makes you fat and chucks out fumes, clogs up the roads, kills people
cars = CARNAGE

So I cycle commuted to work and back today. Thankfully it’s nearly all on a tow path with only five mins road cycling per journey. In those ten mins today I saw a car parked blocking a cycle path meaning I had to go onto a very busy A road, a car jump a red light a car come over the white line and into the cycle box with me at some red traffic lights. I indicated politely that she was in a cycle box and she just glared and shrugged.

So three traffic offences by motorists in ten minutes all of which put me in danger.

i didn’t see a single cyclist breaking any laws or Highway Code.

obviously I’m aware that some do but my point is that drivers probably notice cyclists breaking the laws and cyclists notice drivers breaking the laws.

Every one should just be nice to more vulnerable road users even if sometimes they are at fault

No wonder cycling works well in Holland, where there are proper cycle lanes with kerbs to make them safe.

I don't think expressing negative stuff about cyclists puts them in danger, if the negative stuff is saying that their being on the road makes them - and the kids in road level carriers - very vulnerable to danger. Surely, such comments will make drivers think twice about the safety angle and look out for cyclists more carefully.

Not being a driver or a current cyclist, I can't understand the argument being solely about what happens when everybody knows and follows the HC and follows logic. I am worried about those circumstances in which human error causes a disaster. Cyclists sometimes come across to me as if they are talking about a chess game in which rules make everything play out rationally. If a dog jumps out, or a driver miscalculates, or they have a medical emergency behind the wheel, then the cyclists on the road are the least well protected and the rules count for nought. For this reason, cycle paths must be built wherever possible.

@Diverseopinions

"I don't think expressing negative stuff about cyclists puts them in danger, if the negative stuff is saying that their being on the road makes them - and the kids in road level carriers - very vulnerable to danger. Surely, such comments will make drivers think twice about the safety angle and look out for cyclists more carefully."

But doesn't, that's the point of this thread. Drivers are seen as a menace who shouldn't be on the road of who deserve to be taught a lesson. Like the situation from the OP. If put them at much greater danger. That's the sad reality.

I had to cross 100+ primary children over a cyclist only ‘Road’ (it was a pedestrian area) when leaving a theatre in London. It was right outside, we had no choice. The cyclists were literally riding through the children! ALL of them! Not one stopped to let us cross. There were no lights, we had teachers either side of the children but they just didn’t care! It was absolutely horrible. The car drivers were much better behaved and were a lot more understanding!

road.cc/content/news/online-abuse-dehumanises-cyclists-297405

online abuse endangers cyclists.

Lumping any group of people together in a negative way is basic bigotry, which is a form of stupidity

I think everyone would agree that that particular cyclist was extremely dangerous and should be penalised for cycling that way. And I also agree that if licenses would help support better safety then yes, they are a great idea.

However saying all cyclists are the same is a bit like saying that everyone who wears red is a terrible danger to society. Most cyclists, the same as most pedestrians and most car drivers are just trying to safely and carefully transport themselves from a to b.

I see cyclists doing stupid shit every day, nearly taking out small children on zebras and not stopping at lights. I’ve only ever seen a cyclist nearly get hit by a car once and the driver was trying to go through an amber and so was the cyclist

When a car comes up behind and you can do so, please move to the side. It helps us overtake more safely.

There are a lot of hills where I live. Bikes are slow. I'm very patient with them (though it irks me when they are blind to other road users - which seems to be 95% of cyclists around here). I don't want to hurt anyone. I feel a lot of pressure when the person behind me is getting impatient, beeping at me to overtake when it's not safe to do so, and the cyclist continues on the narrow, windy, blind cornered roads with no passing lines totally oblivious to anyone else. Sometimes I wish they would help me pass by moving to the side. That's got to be safer for them too as motorists are less likely to be hit by frustrated drivers if they let them pass.

In no way do I condone dangerous driving towards cyclists but just wish cyclists would do their part more often. There is nothing like having followed a slow bike up a steep hill for 10 minutes patiently, there's a lane in the road they can pull into to let cars pass (they don't even have to stop) and they just keep going in the middle of the road, missing the opportunity for everyone. I don't push my luck but I've had many cars behind me do stupid things because of cyclists (like overtaking me and the cyclist on blind corners).

I agree op. I'm a cyclist. I'm also a driver and a mum. I'm saying this all as there is a lot of dehumanising and othering of cyclists.

I cycle to commute, and there is so much dangerous behaviour and abuse from drivers. Conversely, as a driver I rarely notice reckless behaviour from cyclists.

Ideally, there should be segregated cycle paths, to keep cyclists safe. It's not safe for cyclists and drivers to share the same space. Separate spaces would also mean the angry drivers, for example those on this thread, would be separate and therefore not risking cyclist safety with their impatience.

"It's not safe for cyclists and drivers to share the same space"

There is no reason why it can't be, other than for motorists who don't take sufficient care around cyclists. That's the bottom line here.

Thankfully with the introduction of widespread 20mph limits, we'll all be going the same speed in towns/cities soon.

There's a few reasons speed limits are falling. Emissions and accidents. Speed limits not being applied to cyclists says it all really.

Ideally, there should be segregated cycle paths, to keep cyclists safe. It's not safe for cyclists and drivers to share the same space. Separate spaces would also mean the angry drivers, for example those on this thread, would be separate and therefore not risking cyclist safety with their impatience.

Where I live there are lots of unused cycle paths as cyclists don't want to stop at road junctions & so they prefer to go on the road so they can keep moving.

It's frustrating as a driver to have a cyclist holding you up when there's a cycle path which they point blank refuse to use.

Bizarrely in lockdown there were almost no cyclists on the roads in my area. Instead they wanted to use the cycle paths which are shared with pedestrians. I can't comprehend why they weren't making the most of the traffic free roads 🤷🏻‍♀️

@converseandjeans I can't explain the covid thing (was the opposite round my way with bikes on dual carriageways) but I never use cycle lanes as they're generally terrible.

All of the grit, dirt, stones and other crap gets pushed onto cycle lanes from cars and I see glass often. They don't seem to get any cleaning/sweeping so is an unpleasant and puncture inducing experience.

@converseandjeans possibly there were more people cycling that weren't seasoned cyclists so they felt safer using the cycle path.

I don't use the cycle lanes a lot because:

They're often dirty

They have sunken drains in so it's bumpy (I have kids on the bike but even on my own it's unpleasant)

They end randomly and then I have to join the road anyway and I have got lost or stuck because of this.

They're uncomfortably narrow

They're next to parked cars so risk being doored

There's parked cars in them

I have to give way to traffic going the same way, why would I stop/start when I don't have to? It takes actually effort for me to do this

Shared lanes risk people, dogs and kids stepping out in front of me so I have to ride slow, I have places to be and I don't want to spend lower than I have to getting around.

Would you drive you car down a narrow road with a 10mph speed limit, along side a construction site so the road is a mess and one of the big machines might randomly hit your car and seriously injure you? Or would you just use the normal road, that's wider, cleaner and faster?

Would you drive you car down a narrow road with a 10mph speed limit,

I frequently am forced to follow bikes for extended periods up steep hills at slower than this speed. They don't move to the side when they can safely to do in 95% of cases. I'm not sure they realise the hazard they are causing to themselves (impatient motorists who will pass closer just to get past) or other cars (who overtake on blind corners just to get past the bike). It's in their own interests to let cars get away. I don't condone reckless behaviour even if feeling frustrated. I'm patient with bikes (even if annoyed) but the cars behind me often aren't and get annoyed with me for not doing dangerous overtakes.

along side a construction site so the road is a mess

Describes so many roads around my neck of the woods at the moment. ;-)