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.

The minimum width for a two carriageway road is 5.5 metres. If you cannot overtake a cyclist in 5.5 metres of width then the issue is either one of your driving, or there are other factors about the road which mean you shouldn’t be overtaking anyway - for example insufficient visibility.

@ClaudiaWankleman ghere are parts of the roads where I live that are two way but not 5.5 meters wide. These tend to have passing places which doesn’t help unless the cyclist stops on one. There are also some parts that are perfectly wide enough but on bends where you cannot see far enough to overtake.

In such restrictive roads the cyclist is inevitably cycling defensively. They should and do not have to leave the road to allow you to pass.

If you cannot see far enough to overtake then you can’t overtake, regardless of whether it’s a bike or a car or a pedestrian. Maybe you should leave home earlier.

Also what you are describing is not actually a two-way road. It’s a single carriageway which allows travel in both directions (hence the passing point where vehicles can leave the road to allow another vehicle past).

In any case, it’s not a road where you should expect to overtake.

YA definitely not BU!

If you want to be able to overtake cyclists easily there’s a simple solution: get a bike yourself and pedal faster.

Yes!

The cyclist had arrived immediately before the road was reopened so had not waited but did then hold up the traffic who like myself had waited for 20 minutes.

it’s the most British thing to be unhappy about the cyclist not queuing- they don’t have to as they aren’t travelling with a sofa and arm chair, so can go straight to the front if the queue

Luck of the draw. But you'd be holding up 10 fewer cars, because they've already gone through without you in front of them.

And if multiple cyclists turn up & wait in different places in the line, that's better than them all crowding to the front & all the motorists having to overtake cyclist after cyclist after cyclist...

You seem unfamiliar with country roads. It's normal for drivers on these roads (of tractors or cars) to make use of those passing places: it's why they're there. You can nip into one to let an oncoming driver pass you, or to let someone overtake you, for whatever reason. Cyclists should do the same. Heck, even pedestrians make use of field entrances, etc, to get out of the way of vehicles.

Please explain why cyclists are different to all other road users.

I forgot horse riders: they'll move out of the way to let cars go by, too.

I’m not unfamiliar at all.

Vehicles coming opposite ways are forced to use passing places to continue, because these are single carriageways which allow travel in both directions.

Cyclists travelling in the same direction as a car behind them have absolutely no obligation, legal or otherwise, to do so. They can carry on travelling to their destination and the vehicle behind will have to keep travelling at a speed appropriate for other users with equal right to be on the road.

Please explain what the reason is, because the same arguments seem to go for them, too. Do they exist because someone thought it made it safer for cyclists while waiting for the lights to change? Because that's the only argument for them that I can see. Once traffic gets going, those cyclists are just a slow-moving obstacle in the road.

If you want to corral cyclists at traffic lights & thereafter keep them out of the way of other road users... be my guest.

The same could be said of tractor drivers yet, as others have pointed out, they manage to be understanding & courteous. If you catch them on a good day.😁🚜

But you're right. I mean, anyone can go through their life being a selfish, inconsiderate pig. There's no law against it.

All those of you who are adamant that as a cyclist you should never have to pull over on a single track road to let cars pass, please for Gods sake promise me you will never visit somewhere like the Isle of Mull, where you will drive the locals crazy on their winding up-hill narrow roads that go on for miles.

A bit of common sense is needed here. Of course on a busy road, keep to the centre and safety first, but in rural areas, we all have to share the same space and think of others

They give cyclists more time and space to pull away from lights. Your attitude of cyclists being “just a slow moving obstacle“ is quite typical of someone who doesn’t see cyclists as a human being. Just something that has the audacity to get in the mighty car driver’s way. If you struggle to pass a cyclist safely probably best you surrender your licence.

They weren't just a spontaneous idea and are supported by some research and evidence. They do have problems though. I think it's a bit cynical using cyclists as a traffic calming measure personally and that probably a better solution exists

On the contrary, I see them as human beings with the same rights & responsibilities as the rest of us. They don't seem to see themselves that way.

That was to New...

Before stop boxes people just used to filter up and sit slightly ahead of the lights though, stop boxes are a bit more tidy 😅

No it sounds like he followed the rules. Cyclists can go to the front. That's the rules.

Of course cyclists should go to the front of the queue... are you thick?

You're polluting the planet and they're not. They are more vulnerable than you.

A bike will rarely kill someone whereas you're driving a death machine.

Roll your fucking neck back in. You're the bad guy.

If I’m on a narrow Lane and have a car or two behind it not really what I want, it doesn’t occur to drivers that most cyclists don’t want to have a driver sitting on their back wheel.

most local lanes I’ll know where there are good opportunities to pull over & when I get to those places, I’ll pull in. No point in me just stopping on a narrow Lane as a driver still will not have room to pass

ive never ever had drivers following me for more than half a mile, it’s never happened, most 90% of drivers are law abiding

what has happened is drivers passing after 3 seconds and brushing my elbow as they’ve done so which is fucking dangerous & illegal

ClaudiaWankleman a slow moving vehicle does have an obligation not to hold up a long queue of other traffic rule 169 HC. One car or two wouldn’t constitute a long queue

Cyclists I come across in the countryside are mostly out for a recreational ride about.
They aren't carrying deliveries, children, tools, passengers or goods. They aren't trying to stick to a work schedule, not do they have another 130 miles to travel that afternoon, like I do.
It is reasonable for them to pull in and let traffic pass. Dog walkers and horse riders do it. Tractors do it.