AIBU to find cyclists annoying

[MumOfTheNorth]

This probably is unreasonable but I just find cyclists so annoying. Not saying every cyclist does every one of these things. It just seems to happen a lot. Am I the only one that gets this irrational irritation?

What I find annoying...

• Taking up the whole road so you can't leave enough space to safely over take
• Weaving in and out of traffic
• Walking around cafes or the office in sweaty lycra with their click clacky shoes
• Running red lights when I'm trying to cross on a green man
• Cycling on the pavement
• Not tucking in on small country roads once in a while when there's a massive que of traffic behind them
• Having no lights or helmet on in the dark
• And most of all... talking to me about cycling

Justifiedcheese, as a pedestrian I hate having a bell being rung at me, if a bike is that close to a pedestrian, they should jjust slow down

I often do a riverside walk. There are two paths, parallel to each other, the upper and lower. The lower one is properly tarmacked and meant for shared use. . The upper one is not tarmacked. I took to walking up there to keep out of cyclists’ way. However increasingly cyclists are bowling along the upper path too. They are a PITA.

So you want me riding behind you, waiting until you notice me?

Most pedestrians have EarPods in these days.

Honestly as a cyclist you just can’t win: use a bell, don’t use a bell, call out to let me you know there, dont call out, use the bike path but not that one where I want to walk.

What has happened to tolerance of others? Yes some people can be knobs but they’re not all drivers, not all cyclists and not all pedestrians

my dh is hard of hearing so he would struggle to hear whatever the bikes do to make their announcement, but an announcement is better than not

I never use a bell, first thing off a new bike. Nobody seems terribly clear on what they mean so they don't make any interaction any more predictable

I avoid shared spaces as much as possible but on the very rare occasion I have to ride through one I go not much faster than walking speed if I'm anywhere near a pedestrian, but I'd honestly rather ride further round than use shared spaces

Tasslesated, no, just say excuse me the same as if you were walking past, thats what I do. What's wrong with slowing down to walking pace

Onetime, same, I never use a bell

Cyclists have probably chosen the upper path to keep out the way of pedestrians 😂

shared spaces are a pita. Even closely separated doesn’t work. Years ago there used to be a great off road cycle route to my uni. Road, verge, two way cycle path adjoining a wide pedestrian walkway. Clear signs that one was for cyclists, the other for pedestrians.

i ended up using the road as the cycle route was always clogged up with pedestrians who either didn’t realise it was 2 distinct paths, people in large groups forcing others to step in front of cyclists to get past, dogs on those long leads setting trip hazards…

all those who moan that cyclist don’t use cycle paths should try using one before they pass judgement.

our local one is mainly used as a car park, so I don’t use it as it’s not safe to have to keep hopping into a busy road or onto the pavement to get round yet another parked car.

Part of the problem is that pedestrians often make erratic movements when a bike is coming - you could get past them easily but when they spot you, they panic and start stepping sideways.

If you ring a bell it often prompts them to step sideways. I always go very slow around pedestrians and also prefer to avoid shared spaces. But then you get drivers on the 'why don't you use the bike lanes' thing

My favourite thing is a bike path blocked by temporary road signage put there for drivers' benefit.

Also a lovely bike path but they never cut back the bushes so you literally can't cycle along it.

fearfuloffluff

My favourite thing is a bike path blocked by temporary road signage put there for drivers' benefit.
**
Also a lovely bike path but they never cut back the bushes so you literally can't cycle along it”

Opposite here. Lovely new 2 mile shared path with clear dividing line and illustrations. The pedestrians are on the inside lane, the cyclists on the outer, next to the road. We ought to have them countrywide as in European cities. Would be perfect if the Council ever cut back. I’ve been shouted at quite a few times for daring to cross a foot into the 2.5 m cycle lane because I’d rather not be nettled!

How else do you propose I get to work?

Why would anyone stop getting away with things and get fined? It's not like motorists always see justice. Heck, even if a car driver does get caught the sentence for what equates to manslaughter is pitiful.

There should also be a component to driving lessons where you have to ride a bike/trike on the roads.

@fearfuloffluff https://singletrackworld.com/2021/07/mexico-city-bus-drivers-probably-wont-pass-cyclists-so-close-after-this-terrifying-training/

Traffic offences pursued against cyclists are very, very rare. Because cyclists are anonymous.

Sentences for deaths caused by driving are severe where serious fault is shown but not where accidents happen. It’s not manslaughter to run someone down if they step out without looking, or pull out carelessly or vision is obscured by an illegally parked van etc, and there’s no drink, drugs, speeding or recklessness involved. Which goes for cyclists too.

Who mentioned accidents? You're not going to get convicted of anything if you're genuinely not at fault. "Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving" is as good as manslaughter and yet you could get away with anything between a Community Order and a 5 year sentence.

I know of a case locally which had enough evidence that it could have been successfully prosecuted as "Attempted murder" but the CPS went for "Careless driving" anyway. Didn't even do the bloke for failing to stop.

In Japan, cyclists and pedestrians tend to share the same spaces, as it’s considered fine to hop onto the pavement if you don’t like the look of the road, and we have a LOT of very narrow streets with no pavements (and very few cars) where everyone just shares the one single space. I don’t know, cyclists and pedestrians mostly seem fine with each other here, and I rarely hear of any complaints. Maybe we are all just used to it. It helps to keep cycling very popular and keep most streets relatively free from cars, so pedestrians are much safer overall.

I’ve seen Mumsnetters fuming about even young children cycling on the pavement. How are small kids supposed to get their bikes from the house to the park unless they are allowed to go on the pavement?

A death caused by careless driving (“without due care and attention”) is very, very rarely charged as manslaughter. Judges and juries understand perfectly well that a moment’s distraction is not a matter so culpable that a person should go to prison for years because of it. ‘There but for the grace of god…’ etc.

In many cases in sentencing a judge will say that the accused will have to live with the anguish, which is punishment in itself. I said upthread something about the long-term harm caused to people caught up in accidents caused by cyclists.

Recklessness of drivers is different.

How are small kids supposed to get their bikes from the house to the park unless they are allowed to go on the pavement?

Seriously?

By not making ten other people late for work ideally.

How do you know that they do @WereYouListeningToTheDudesStory ? You should join up with @TheShellBeach who apparently knows for certain that I jump all the red lights on my ride to work.

If the only option to get to work is to prevent others from travelling at an appropriate speed by cycling down a dangerous, winding, narrow country lane, you're naturally going to make others late to get to their destination.

You are the traffic. Bikes take up less space than cars and ease congestion.

Oof, that's good! They don't have to contend with potholes and try to balance though!