....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?

@TheSnugglyDuckling
A quick search revealed ;
5 reported pedestrian deaths involving a bicycle in 2019 in comparison to 305 pedestrians killed by cars in the same year.
I think you are a menace

On parent’s insurance until they can get own insurance - just like car insurance - when on main roads.

Parks etc - no ins necessary.

It needs to be proportionate. Car drivers kill and injure people daily. How often do we hear about people retaliating against them, or doing something that puts a driver at risk because their mere presence offends them?
There is a genuine belief that cyclists do not deserve to be on the road. And sadly I can't see that attitude ever changing.

Ridiculous to tell 12 year olds not to ride their bikes without insurance and if that was enforced they'd just ride on the pavement for far longer than was safe for pedestrians.

Ok, but can you explain how that would have stopped what happened to the OP this morning? Or stop the countless close passes or aggressive drivers I face daily on my commute when I'm cycling safely legally and responsibly?

Just cycle where you're not causing massive tailbacks. Simple.

It's literally cars that are forming tailbacks.

Roads are there for cyclists as well as motorists.There's a scary number of people driving who haven't clocked this yet.

OP, I totally agree. I cycle in London and every time time I’m out someone drives dangerously close to my back wheel in an intimidating way, or overtakes too close (pointlessly because I’ll just catch up with them at the next junction). It’s like some drivers see cyclist as obstacles, not human beings. I’m just an average commuter cyclist not a a racing cyclist - not that it should matter.

I would have thought that we all want to get from A to B with as little interruption as possible - which includes not having to give the police detailed reasoning for being a car driver who has just run over a cyclist.

(or whatever you've been doing)

It isn't your job (as a driver, cyclist or pedestrian) to "teach other drivers/cyclists/pedestrians" a lesson because of what other drivers/cyclists/pedestrians have been observed to have done.

Stay in your lane, drive/walk safely and don't be a dick.

If you see another road user acting like a dick, just stay back and go about your day. The police will take care of it. (or not but , you know, it isn't up to road users to police other road users)

I cycle commute into the centre of town and home again. Every day of my commute - EVERY DAY - I am put in danger by drivers not paying attention and pulling out at junctions, or not caring and pulling out anyway. I don't run red lights, I don't ride on the pavement, I just want to commute safely.

I don't interact with idiot drivers - it's not worth the risk. A good hard stare is usually enough.

I do worry though that if something should happen to me, I'll be dismissed as a "stupid cyclist" and the blame put on me.

I think more people need to cycle, but it's just not safe - I'm lucky to be able to access a lot of cycle lanes, but even with these in place I've still had cars pull out on me, and been clipped (which must have been malicious because if I'm in the cycle lane the driver shouldn't have had cause to clip me!).

It shouldn't be "us and them" when it comes to road users.

I ve cycled since a child... 100's of '000s of miles both in UK and europe.

I don't believe in the HC & BC advice about this primary position.... it just winds up drivers even more than they are already AND it doesn't work.. a bad driver will try and get past wherever you are in the road.... most drivers just think your being a dick and deliberately slowing them up.... they don't know about primary or HC changes...
Being in the right doesn't help you if your dead or seriously injured.

I cycle on quiet roads and when they are narrow and i hear a car/truck coming up behind... i let them pass if at all possible, the reason being is that IME drivers would try and get past regardless... however, vast majority of drivers are fine... though they do pass too fast but they do that when i 'm walking the dog too.... ignorance i guess?

Just seen a FB reel where a cyclist is in primary position and a SUV mounts the verge and goes up the inside!!! (UK)

If the Govt was serious about getting the roads safer, they d introduced deterrent sentences for poor driving and for causing accidents atm if you want to literally get away with murder.... run down a cyclist, chances are you wont even go to prison.

Driving test is piss easy too... my DD passed with minimal training.. so i got her a pass plus course.

Many European ones have a minimum number of hours.... we need to introduce retests every 10 years too.... i bet most drivers would fail even our easy test.

I think a scheme should be set up that automatically includes 3rd party insurance for cyclists on either house ins or car ins.

It will make cyclists adhere to rules, stop at traffic lights etc

There are plenty of cyclists who do what’s er they want whenever it suits them.

As for electric scooters, I hope they are banned from even being sold asap.

Why did you knock on her window?? Clearly after an argument and you got one, why moan about it now.. and maybe don't ride in the middle of the lane

Exactly true.

I think a scheme should be set up that automatically includes 3rd party insurance for cyclists on either house ins or car ins.

Any cyclists who aren’t aware, you can buy cyclist insurance policies. I have one which includes third party liability and personal accident along with the usual theft and damage. The fact that it costs me £29 a year should say something to those who think cyclists are dangerous about how little risk and danger insurers and their actuaries actually believe cyclists pose to others and how unlikely they think it is that they’ll be required to pay a third party claim.

The OP was riding in a perfectly legal position to ensure she remained safe. She did nothing wrong. The driver, on the other hand, did do something illegal. So your post just proves the OPs point doesn't it?
Four wheels good, two wheels bad. Pathetic.

So you resorted to vandalism??? Sets the scene well for cyclists thinking they can do as they please

Because a bike and a car are very very different, surely you can see stupid this comment is

@Itaintwhatyoudoitsthewaythatyoudoit

Your words..

"It will make cyclists adhere to rules, stop at traffic lights etc

There are plenty of cyclists who do what’s er they want whenever it suits them.

As for electric scooters, I hope they are banned from even being sold asap."

... did not answer my question. How will that stop drivers behaving dangerously towards cyclists? The OP was cycling legally and safely. So your point is?

I'd ask santa to bring that Go Pro before your morning commute. Maybe nip to Curry's or Halfords. You need to be recording tomorrow really in case she escalates.

@MissMaple82 yes a car and a bike are very different. A tonne weight metal box is basically a killing machine in the wrong hands. So a driver "teaching a cyclist a lesson" for merely existing could end up in serious injury or death. That's the bottom line.

I think there is a misconception. People don't hate cycling, as a sport, and they want the population to get fitter, for the good of individuals and to take pressure off the NHS.

Cycling on the road is a danger. My worry is primarily the cyclists.

OP, you can't see that your approach to the road is very idiosyncratic. You say that you approached the driver and banged on her window at the lights, because you were shocked. But I thought the first rule of roadmanship was not to allow your emotions to intervene between you and your job of driving safely. You've got to keep a lid on what you feel. If you do that to an unbalanced driver, they might get an attack of road rage and push you off your bike. Be more careful for your own sake!

You are not taking a stroll in the park, you are travelling on a road which has speed machines transversing bends: drivers in charge of lethal machines. If you, say, did that to somebody having a driving lesson, the instructor would tick you off about interfering with their pupil and panicking or distracting them.

I've got a question. Do cyclists not stop at lights and crossings because it's difficult for them to do this, without wobbling? Is it because they'd find it too tiring to build up momentum again?

The OP was cycling legally and safely. So your point is?

The cyclist was doing what many cyclists go. Being passive aggressive. Cycling in the middle of the road when there was no cars approaching her.

Rattling off the HC is passive aggressive too. There was room for both the cyclist and the car today but the cyclist wanted all the cars to drive slowly behind her. Why?
Then claiming to ‘politely knock on a car window’ - the irony!

Ffs victim blaming at its finest! If a driver behaved like that during a test then I'd expect them to get an instant fail because THEY BROKE THE FUCKING LAW!

So it's a clear road except for you and a car behind you. You decide to sit on the centre line because you can, making it as difficult as you can for the car to get past. You have caused this situation.

THEY BROKE THE FUCKING LAW! So cyclists want cars to obey the law while they themselves sail through red lights and pedestrian crossings. Double standards.