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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why people are so horrible to cyclists that are not breaking the rules?

491 replies

DataColour · 30/04/2023 17:08

Even I get irate at cyclists who go through red lights, pedestrian crossings etc. But how about those that obey the road rules?

This afternoon, cycling with DS14 and DD12, one car honked us whilst overtaking. No reason, apart from the fact that they were delayed by a few seconds as they couldn't go past me within inches to spare. I was riding in the middle of the rode and DD to my left, which is perfectly within the rules.
Minutes later, a road which I always ride in the middle because, if even half a chance, vehicles will overtake without giving any space. A group of pedestrians, shout at us, saying "you should be riding behind each other, what's wrong with you?"??
WTAF???

Why are some people such twats? Luckily (or unlikely) my DCs are used to this, so weren't bothered. Some driver gave my DD (11 at the time) the finger whilst cycling to school. A grown man trying to get one up on a 11yr old girl.

OP posts:
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EustaceTheMonk · 01/05/2023 19:07

SnackSizeRaisin · 01/05/2023 16:35

Erm no it wasn't. It said that you shouldn't cycle more than 2 abreast. Now it says that it may be safer to cycle 2 abreast. No change in the law, just a change in wording to help barely literate people like yourself.

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I fail to see the need for such a total lack of common politeness and manners on your reply.

FrangipaniBlue · 01/05/2023 20:07

No you're right @8810F it's just where I live there are no "cycle lanes" they are all shared use paths so that's immediately what I thought about when I read that bit of the post 🤦🏽‍♀️😂

dizzydizzydizzy · 01/05/2023 20:23

I think society is very polarized these days - in all walks of life and all activities.
It seems to be acceptable to hate anyone that's not like you.

Also the roads have been getting busier and busier so we're all more frustrated about holdups - there's more of them and they are all worse. So being delayed by 10 seconds by a cyclist seems far worse than it is.

While cycling, I've had drivers deliberately try to knock me down. I don't remember that happening 15-20 years ago.

Poopoolittlekitten · 01/05/2023 20:28

DW thought I was exaggerating when I said some drivers cut cyclist up, behave aggressively and yell shit stuff then she came on a bike ride - just a pootle down to the beach along a bike lane that runs parallel to the road and the first set of lights we stopped at some bloke leaned out and yelled ‘ fat fucking bitches’ at us for no apparent reason…

MockneyReject · 01/05/2023 21:09

FrangipaniBlue · 01/05/2023 15:59

This is exactly the kind of attitude that makes people say "it's just jealousy".

What has the fact you have children and a minimum wage job have to do with anything?

and reading your later posts it's almost like you begrudge the guy having both the spare money and spare time to enjoy his hobby.... 🤔

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Then you've misunderstood.
The OP asked why some people get cross at cyclists.
My point is that being held up is annoying. That driver's jobs are no less important than cyclist's hobby.
And that the belief that cyclists have the moral high ground sometimes manifests as a refusal to move aside and let drivers pass.
I've made further comments in response to posters saying that, as a driver, I'm part of the problem. I've pointed out that I have no option.
The relevance of my job/kid is that during lockdown, the groups of cyclists were out in larger than usual numbers, locally, making a difficult time (work/childcare) even more stressful.
When I've cycled for fun or exercise, I've made every effort not to hold up, eg, delivery drivers. It feels like a reasonable thing to do.

Whichnumbers · 01/05/2023 21:30

Cyclists weren’t able to ride in large groups during lockdown as it was prohibited due to covid regulations

Loria · 01/05/2023 21:34

@MockneyReject I get that especially during lockdown it was annoying to have people out and about blocking your way to a poorly paid job for the sake of their Strava screenshot. But. They're just doing their thing, as you're doing yours, and mostly they're no more in control of the mechanisms that keep you poorly paid and ensure our roads aren't fit for purpose than you are. Cyclists aren't your enemy.

DdraigGoch · 01/05/2023 22:01

8810F · 30/04/2023 23:05

Well that was a long and laborious read and although it acknowledged that the study group were already fit at the start of the study so therefore skewing the results somewhat, it is projecting that cyclists will live longer.
I would be interested to see if this data changes at all in future after the cyclists' long term exposure to the pollutants emitted from the motor vehicles they cycle amongst every day.

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From what I understand, the air quality inside a car just as bad - if not worse.

DdraigGoch · 01/05/2023 22:07

EustaceTheMonk · 01/05/2023 01:29

Cycling 2 abreast was illegal until quite recently. I must admit I was shocked when I found out the law had been changed without any sort of public announcement that I could see.

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No it wasn't illegal. It's long been implicitly permitted in the HC.

CaroleSinger · 02/05/2023 01:13

I thought it was only within the rules to ride in the middle of the road only if it was necessary for you to be seen, not as a default? Cyclists do tend to misinterpret the new rules. They also often seem oblivious to the inconvenience they cause to a whole row of traffic. Not everyone wants to travel at 8mph just because you are.

CaroleSinger · 02/05/2023 01:15

DdraigGoch · 01/05/2023 22:07

No it wasn't illegal. It's long been implicitly permitted in the HC.

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Only if it is necessary in order for you to be seen.

Whichnumbers · 02/05/2023 05:37

Only if it is necessary in order for you to be seen.

can you show me where it say that you can only ride 2 abreast to be seen?

nomoredrivingytu · 02/05/2023 05:49

@CaroleSinger isn't it always necessary to be seen?

QuintanaRoo · 02/05/2023 06:18

I thought it was only within the rules to ride in the middle of the road only if it was necessary for you to be seen, not as a default?

I think that’s your interpretation. The HC does not say that.

  1. Ride in the centre of your lane, to make yourself as clearly visible as possible, in the following situations
  • on quiet roads or streets – if a faster vehicle comes up behind you, move to the left to enable them to overtake, if you can do so safely
  • in slower-moving traffic - when the traffic around you starts to flow more freely, move over to the left if you can do so safely so that faster vehicles behind you can overtake
  • at the approach to junctions or road narrowings where it would be unsafe for drivers to overtake you
2) When riding on busy roads, with vehicles moving faster than you, allow them to overtake where it is safe to do so whilst keeping at least 0.5 metres away, and further where it is safer, from the kerb edge.

So I guess it depends what a busy road constitutes as and that is down to the cyclist. And even then it’s if the cyclist thinks it’s safe.

Kazzyhoward · 02/05/2023 07:11

YDBear · 01/05/2023 07:55

Actually the emissions aspect of VED is just a way of incentivising people to buy lower emissions vehicles. VED used to be known as the Road Fund License and was a hypothecated tax—it was collected to pay for road maintenance and construction. This hasn’t been the case however since 1936, after which roads have been paid for out of general taxation and VED just goes into that general pot. Actually I think it would be a good idea to restore a link between VED and road construction, with the tax bands set by weight (not emissions) since it is,
after all, weight that actually wears out roads.

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I agree, and the "zero" cost for zero emissions will soon end when most cars are electric as they'll have to raise the same tax money somehow.

FrenchandSaunders · 02/05/2023 07:20

It might be legal but I think it’s a bit selfish to cycle 2 or 3 abreast across the whole lane with no awareness of the 30 cars behind you 🤷🏼‍♀️

nomoredrivingytu · 02/05/2023 07:22

FrenchandSaunders · 02/05/2023 07:20

It might be legal but I think it’s a bit selfish to cycle 2 or 3 abreast across the whole lane with no awareness of the 30 cars behind you 🤷🏼‍♀️

🤦‍♀️

DdraigGoch · 02/05/2023 08:43

ejbaxa · 01/05/2023 09:29

There are a lot of dangerous drivers and there are a lot of antisocial people on the road - spread across all types of road user. I'm teaching my ds to drive and he had hesitated at a busy roundabout. Nothing dangerous, but the person behind blasted their horn repeatedly and then when my ds pulled out, this car very closely tailgated us on the roundabout and then continued to do so as we drove along a 40mph road at about 35mph. People are nasty and crazy. It sucks to encounter such people.

I'd like to see horns removed from cars. I never hear them used for legitimate reasons, always to express annoyance.

Devoutspoken · 02/05/2023 09:23

Well quite, thou shall not hold up any driver for any reason, they've all got really important jobs and important things to do

vivainsomnia · 02/05/2023 09:37

My point is that being held up is annoying. That driver's jobs are no less important than cyclist's hobby
So automatically assuming the cyclist is doing so for fun rather than maybe going to his job as a nurse fur instance.

How about all the drivers that cumulatively create most of the delay and that maybe many of them are driving to enjoy a hobby, shopping, going to the gym, for a walk with their dog etc...

It's selective frustration because it's easy to blame those we associate with the least.

Cooknook · 02/05/2023 09:38

It's not that deep really, cyclists are markedly slower than cars on roads, not really relevant what anyone- cyclist or driver is travelling about for.

DdraigGoch · 02/05/2023 10:41

Reality25 · 01/05/2023 10:32

You've kindly hit the nail on the head - why are such vulnerable road users on the road?

It's pure idiocy, truly.

We have incrementally legislated, at great cost to consumers, over decades to ensure modern vehicles are safe for passengers even in dangerous accidents.

Yet we allow any rando in skin-tight clothing and next to zero crash-safety to ride in the road as well?

It's paradoxical.

If you support safety then you're by definition against cyclists riding on the same road as cars.

If you're against safety then you should be happy for car safety legislation to be scrapped.

Anyone else just wants to have their cake and eat it too.

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Would you also say that because women are vulnerable they should never be allowed out in public without their father/brother/husband as a chaperone?

The solution should always be to deal with the threat (whether that's dangerous men or dangerous motorists), not to restrict the lives of the potential victims.

DdraigGoch · 02/05/2023 11:05

Marchintospring · 01/05/2023 10:36

Well yes but every car on the road needs insurance whether you have other vehicles or not.
Maybe your bike comes under the road tax of zero emissions but you should have insurance in case you hit someone or someone hits you. And a MOT to make sure your lights and brakes work. And a test.
Roads can’t be recreational in this day and age.

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I have insurance. It costs £3.73/month, such is the low risk my insurer deems me to pose.

MockneyReject · 02/05/2023 11:16

My point is that being held up is annoying. That driver's jobs are no less important than cyclist's hobby
So automatically assuming the cyclist is doing so for fun rather than maybe going to his job as a nurse fur instance.

Why would a nurse take a group of friends to work, with him? I suppose they could have been groups of 4, 6, 10 male nurses all cycling to work, together, but they tended to give off more of a group of furloughed men, out having fun together, with the knowledge that, as cyclists, they were morally superior to me, in my car, so were absolutely not going to move over, to let me pass.

vivainsomnia · 02/05/2023 11:17

It's not that deep really, cyclists are markedly slower than cars on roads, not really relevant what anyone- cyclist or driver is travelling about for
It's most commonly the cheer number of cars that slows traffic rather than cyclist except for the middle of the country.