To ask how we stop dangerous cyclists

[Everythingisnumbersnow]

Why do the most dangerous ones wear those stupid little headcams too? YOU'RE the problem, guy.

Have a heart! It’s very difficult to get going again if you stop on a hill. I’d pull over at the top and let you pass, though.

It’s also very difficult to cycle at walking pace, though obv cyclists can get off and push, which is what I sometimes do on crowded shared paths.

The highway code indicates that drivers should "Give motorcyclists, cyclists, horse riders, horse drawn vehicles and pedestrians walking in the road (for example, where there is no pavement), at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car" (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/road-users-requiring-extra-care-204-to-225#rule212). That is, at least 1.5 metres of space (when travelling at 30 miles an hour or below) or 2 metres of space (when travelling greater than 30 mph).

That will put the driver in the oncoming lane, and therefore they should observe the same behaviours and safety considerations as they would do overtaking powered traffic. If it's not safe for them to pull into the oncoming lane, they shouldn't do it, simple.

I've got no problem with cyclist letting people know they are passing safely when their is a gap in incoming traffic but I do have an issue with arrogant twats blaring rape alarms expecting people to jump out their way.

well thankfully I don’t do that 😁

have you ever actually been stuck behind a cycle for 20km? Like really? Goodness you must have been there an hour. How irritating. Or did the cyclist pull over in a gateway, etc like I would do if there wasn’t a wider bit coming up. If there was a wider bit coming up then yes I wouldn’t pull over in a gate way. I’d know you could wait a minute or two and then get past. Like I happily do when driving.

Because pedestrians do not want a bike cycling right behind them for minutes on end any more than the cyclist does.

Yes i have. The cyclists on this road don't pull over, it's a bit of a challenge ride they like to do - quite steep so not so bad on the drive back as they go a fiar bit faster. Luckily I can generally avoid the road but it's a nightmare doing it on a weekend.

I live, drive, cycle and walk in Cambridge where we have some terrible roads and lots and lots of cycling and pedestrians. I used to think I saw many more examples of bad cycling than bad driving. Recently it's shifting a bit and I see a little more bad driving. But pedestrians have always been a nightmare!

Whilst I totally understand the frustration when you’re driving and stuck behind a slow cyclist and not able to pass I often wonder do these drivers hate horse riders just as much? Or is it just cyclists?
Is it because cyclists often don’t pull over to let cars pass on hills? It’s very difficult to stop on a hill and get going again if you’re cycling. Should cyclists just not cycle on hills then?
Not sure there is an easy solution

That’s really shit of them. And I’d like to think not normal in most areas. But I can imagine if it’s a bit of a famous route, especially a climb, such as Box Hill that it attracts lots of cyclists and does make it a nightmare for drivers. I must admit if I’m halfway up a steep hill I’m not pulling over as I’d never get started again. But I hate hills and any I’ve done would be very short and I’ve never done one where someone couldn’t overtake me mid hill anyway.

I'm a cyclist, pedestrian and public transport user.

As a cyclist, I have the biggest problem with buses. They get right up my arse and don't pass with enough room. I will wait behind a bus to allow them to pull out (this is starting to sound smutty, apologies) on the drivers side giving them the signal to move but some of them are so bloody minded.

Car drivers are used to cyclists where I am. Lorries, Luton vans, flat bed trucks can be arsey but we give each other the finger, all good,

I can't abide those floating bus stops, not as a cyclist, a bus user or as a pedestrian. They are so bloody dangerous. I go slow past these on my bike because people who are crossing the bike lane quite often don't see me until it's too late. Other cyclists can pass me I don't care, but I will not be responsible for hitting a pedestrian near these things.

In London we have segregated bike lanes but they aren't very frequent so you have to use your wits a lot. A bit of paint down the side of the road where ALL THE POT HOLES ARE or you might share a very wide pavement which is clearly marked CYCLE LANE and WITHOUT FAIL either a jogger or pedestrian is walking along it. Cue lots of shouting and bell ringing. Usually they have their EarPods in, oblivious to the world.

I think we should bring in obligatory insurance to cyclists. I have insurance which includes accidents and damage to other vehicles. My bike is a pedal assist e-bike and has a top speed of 15.5mph. I could cause a serious accident if all the variables were against me. So yes, if you ride a bike, even a non-electric one, you should be insured. And I think having some kind of trace on each bike would be good too, in case the rider pegs it away from an accident before the emergency services arrive. A bar code or unique number, perhaps.

Yeah it's a bit like that. And then if I'm out on a walk and a man (becaue its always a man) comes barrelling up on his bike expecting me to jump out the way it grates.

I am looking forward to the summary of this thread in the Daily Heil

Haha should be a belter

I feel in London and other major cities that some cyclists are an absolute pain in the arse to pedestrians and they certainly make it harder to cross the road safely. All the traffic has stopped at a crossing, apart from the competitors in the Tour de France (apparently) whistling up the left. Then you get the kamikaze Lime bikes and so on and Deliveroo riders.

Also some MAMILs are just absolute fucking ultra competitive twats who probably drive their Audis furiously when not cycling in the same way. I was out cycling with DH and struggling to get up a hill (I am fit but don't cycle often) and got a load of negging comments from cyclists passing us on their wafer thing wheels. Have never had that from fellow runners, ever.

Cyclists should be forced to have 3rd party insurance and bikes should have registration numbers so cyclists can be easily identified. Cyclists should face the same consequences a driver would for not having insurance, running a red light, travelling along the pavement and so on.

What cyclists often struggle to realise is that they are loathed by pedestrians and car drivers largely because they believe the rules of the road don't apply to them. Not all cyclists are bad, but a lot are, and the problem is their behaviour isn't tackled by the authorities.

If cyclists were all responsible, didn't jump the lights and followed the same rules that car drivers did, they would find that over time drivers would have more respect for them.

When you see videos of someone leaning out of a white van passenger window to push over a cyclist, yeah that's not behaviour to be encouraged, but it is the misdirected result of the van passenger/driver's frustration at encountering cyclist after cyclist breaking the rules.

It's the same thinking that leads to people wanting reparations for the slave trade. A lot of people behaved badly in the past, so the victims who weren't personally affected react against people who weren't the perpetrators but are similar to them.

When you see videos of someone leaning out of a white van passenger window to push over a cyclist, yeah that's not behaviour to be encouraged, but it is the misdirected result of the van passenger/driver's frustration at encountering cyclist after cyclist breaking the rules.

no it isn’t misdirected frustration. It’s illegal and dangerous and can kill somebody. Let’s not minimise it.

I have been waiting to exit a minor road before on more than one occasion and a car driver going by on the main road who has not been impacted by me at all has shouted a load of nasty abuse or thrown stuff. For no reason other than being a thug. And I suspect hating women. I get loads of abuse when with female friends cycling, barely any when out with men.

If cyclists were all responsible, didn't jump the lights and followed the same rules that car drivers did, they would find that over time drivers would have more respect for them.

If car drivers were all responsible, didn't jump the lights and followed the same rules that cyclists did, they would find that over time and cyclists would have more respect for them.

What cyclists often struggle to realise is that they are loathed by pedestrians and car drivers largely because they believe the rules of the road don't apply to them. Not all cyclists are bad, but a lot are, and the problem is their behaviour isn't tackled by the authorities.

Most cyclists are also car drivers and pedestrians.

As a pedestrian I have never once seen the authorities tackle car drivers jumping lights, yet it happens every time the lights change.

@Dotjones
Totally agree with everything you say but it also applies to car drivers. Most are law abiding and considerate but there are plenty who don’t follow the rules, who run red lights, break the speed limit etc and the potential consequences for everyone else are so much more serious. That’s why so much more time & effort goes into making sure car drivers have appropriate insurance (though sadly many don’t do this either)

Motorists behave dreadfully around horses on the road but there never seems to be the same vitriol online and in the press.

When you see videos of someone leaning out of a white van passenger window to push over a cyclist, yeah that's not behaviour to be encouraged, but it is the misdirected result of the van passenger/driver's frustration at encountering cyclist after cyclist breaking the rules.

Bull. Shit.

These men are common or garden thugs. A person riding a bike can do everything by the book, pull over at every opportunity etc. and still be the target of murder attempts by men with an inferiority complex.

Look up "rolling coal". Men who spend thousands modifying their vehicles (usually pick-up trucks) to chuck out smog on cue. No motivation other than sheer spite.

Given how many cyclists ( and pedestrians ) ( and and other car users ) are killed by motorists I think we need to sort out the bad behaviour of car drivers first

Because the evidence is that it's the arrogant and careless drivers that are the problem

And they won't wear head cams if they thought it would show them to be wrong ?

They are to catch the bastards trying to kill them

I live in the fenland city that's capital of a certain kind of committed cyclist. There are pluses and minuses to this. I'm a pedestrian and cyclist but no longer drive. I like the cycle lanes and initiatives for cyclists. I dislike the over zealous initiatives to control some traffic flow. I highly dislike how pedestrians don't get much of a look in initiatives wise.

There's a certain self congratulatory way that any failure can be ignored. We have - for example - several uncrossable corner areas. Ironically, cars often let the pedestrian waiting cross. I was once shouted at by a cyclist as I was crossing one of these points. Cyclist going very fast.

New highway code rule is that cyclists give way to pedestrians.

Doesn't matter if the path is shared or has designated cycle lanes, Cyclists should give way to pedestrians.