Cyclist bad manners?

[Hagridy]

There were roadworks on my journey today which kept us waiting for 20 minutes so quite a few cars waiting. Just before we were allowed past a cyclist came up behind us but decided to pass us all and wait at the front. Once we were past the roadworks the road is very windy so it took a couple of miles before I could safely pass never mind all the other cars he had pushed past.
AIBU to think it was bad manners for the cyclist to whizz past us all and keep us all waiting. Most cyclists seem sensible but every now and again I come across a complete idiot who seems to think the road belongs to him.

Sorry that should say being considerate to "motorists" obviously.

@Alexandra2001

None of that translates to actively encouraging cars to close pass me in a busy urban environment, with a child on the back.

They can soddin well wait.

If they don't, I run a camera and will report them to the police.

I’m both a cyclist and a driver, but at roadworks with traffic lights I worry that if I don’t go in the front, the lights will change and then a car will be heading towards me with no where to go.

You won't even admit that some cyclists are dicks? OK then 🙄

The cyclist is perfectly entitled to pass you and sit at the front of the queue. As if they are going to sit around in the cold and wind if there is a gap. When I cycle I do
the same .

@OoooohMatron

LIVING dicks, if you please

Some cyclists (like the one in the OP) should take a leaf out of our local farmers books. I've frequently been in a queue of cars behind a slow moving tractor, and when they can see a line of cars building behind them they pull into a gateway or other suitable place and let us all through with a jaunty salute. If only some cyclists were as considerate as our lovely local farmers

Of course they are, cyclists are everyone, there's undoubtedly some dicks.

I'm saying only idiots use cyclists doing what they're meant and allowed to do as a stick to beat cyclists with.

I never said anything about stopping in narrow lanes. I stop at passing places on single track roads to let cars past. It's actually the safest option as people don't get frustrated and do stupid overtakes

And as for the person who said I shouldn't be cycling if I can't do more than 10miles per hour - Firstly, what about uphill and secondly, I'm not the fastest cyclist, does that mean I'm not allowed on the roads?

The cyclist is allowed to filter to the front, however they should also pull over when they have a line of vehicles queuing up to pass them and allow these to pass.

So they were fine to pass the traffic but ignorant and selfish to hold up traffic, they should have found a safe spot to pull over and allow cars to pass.

It can be hard on windy country lanes or busy streets to pass a cyclist safely and I would never put their life in danger by trying to push past.

The highway code rule 169 says slow moving vehicles SHOULD NOT hold up a long queue of traffic........ and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.

Anyone should use the road at the speed that they're comfortable with and whilst I agree that moving over sometimes is a great idea it is at the discretion of what the cyclist considers safe, and often it is hard to get safely moving again from a pull in point

Well, thats not what the thread is about and you called a pp stupid for pulling over to allow a long line of cars past.... which is specifically what i was replying too... the key is "When safe to do so" ie a layby/passing place.

Urban is totally different, a reasonable fit cyclist will make better progress than a car, very little need to let em by, you'll soon over take them again.

Yes when my dd was small i used to take her out on a child seat too, she used to love it! We had a big orange sticky out thing that warned drivers to give us room, plus i stuck a teddy bear to the carrier, no one wants to drive over one of those!

My son and I are just a little bit more vulnerable than a tractor.

Which of us do you think you're more likely to hurt if you clipped us?

As a following driver you don't get a say on when the cyclist ferns it safe, they have a better view and may have spotted a potential problem that you have not

If the cyclist had pulled over and allowed the op to pass do you think the op would be posting- 1 dick does not 2 dicks make - in this case the cyclist was a dick

It's not stupid, it is rule 169 of the highway code

I think there is a happy medium. Sometimes I pull over to let cars pass, sometimes I don't. I have been out on a longish ride today, mainly on narrow, sometimes single track rural roads. I stopped quite a few times to let other traffic pass, when I got to safe places, mainly actual passing places on the single track roads on relatively flat parts of the road. I won't stop on hills, or if there is an obviously safe place to overtake coming up. But on roads where it is difficult to pass, if there is somewhere suitable to pull over for a few seconds then I always do. On one of the roads I was riding on today, I needed to stop a couple of times to allow oncoming traffic to pass too, just as I would have done if I had been in my car.
If I am on a shared path with pedestrians I always appreciate them stepping aside to let me pass when they can so if I am sharing the road with other vehicles I will do the same when it is safe to do so. There are plenty of roads where I live where the road is not wide enough for 2 cars or even a car and a bike to pass safely and nobody would get anywhere if people weren't willing to pull over when the opportunity arises.

@OoooohMatron Yes there are, plenty as there is in life BUT the difference is, no matter how big a dick, he or she wont kill you if you crash into them at 60mph.

A woman today was jailed for 3 years for knocking down and killing a cyclist... is your urgency to get home/work/shops etc worth 3 years inside a jail, a retest and a 5 year ban, not too mention insurance which will cost you more than your car is worth.

@maddening

No it isn't.

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/law-slow-moving-vehicles-tractors-196711?intsource=amppcontinuereading&inttmedium=amp&intcampaign=continueereadingbutton#amp-readmore-target

From the link:

"No, cyclists are not obliged to move to allow vehicles to overtake.
Rule 169 of the Highway Code does not mean that cyclists have to pull over for passing traffic, although police officers may suggest riding further to the left if it is safe to do so.
If the cyclists deems that the conditions are not safe for overtaking they are able to ride in the middle of the lane.
This gives them control of the flow and speed of the traffic until they feel it is safe again"

I live in Cornwall, i can honestly say, very few farmers pull over now, bigger tractors do 35mph and they are all in a hurry.

Don’t be so childishly petulant. The UK is so behind many other countries, particularly in Europe who see cyclists as legitimate road users and which have for years broadened the discussion out into how car traffic damages the environment and monopolises public space to the heavy exclusion of other users. And your contribution? Act like a toddler because you don’t want to share, have a big old face on you. Christ, it’s tiresome.

@QuertyGirl you wouldn't be clipped if you pulled over safely and allowed a long line of traffic past would you, and if you gave a jaunty salute like the farmer does I'm sure you and your son would be rewarded with some lovely gestures of appreciation, so off you pedal dear!

Source other than local rags? There is no exemption in the highway code so where does the exemption come from.

And absolutely the cyclist should be in prime position and not forced to the left of the road, but they should occasionally find a spot to stop and let vehicles past.

OP you and your attitude are wrong. That said, I think it would have been courteous for the cyclist to wait until the queue of waiting cars had passed before going on their way.

Your OP was 8 lines long. 4 of them are you thinking you are right and the cyclist is wrong (and an idiot):

"but decided to pass us all"
"never mind all the other cars he had pushed past"
"bad manners for the cyclist to whizz past us all and keep us all waiting."
"come across a complete idiot who seems to think the road belongs to him."

It's such attitudes which mean cyclists are so vulnerable on the road.

I don’t see how my views put cyclists at risk. I waited what felt like forever for a safe place to pass, nice and wide and slow. I have seen many occasions where motorists put in this position haven’t been as patient. If I had come up behind him I wouldn’t have minded so much, it was the fact I had waited 20 minutes in a queue before he arrived on the scene. I see most people think cyclists should go to the front of the queue in this situation so that’s me told. I do think he should’ve found a place to stop and let the cars past having done this though.