To think that cyclists shouldn’t be allowed on dual carriageways

[Cappuccino5]

Considering they’re not allowed on motorways!

There’s one dual carriageway in particular near us where cyclists on it are not only dicing with death re: their only lives, they’re also putting motorists at risk too. It’s a notoriously dangerous road - 60mph with very sharp bends, hill sections and narrow lanes. It’s like a race track. There have been many serious crashes and fatalities over the years (sadly including one involving a family member) - I genuinely can’t understand how a cyclist thinks it’s safe or appropriate to drive on a road like this, especially considering there’s a pavement (always empty, no pedestrians) that they could easily ride on. There simply isn’t enough room for cars to safely pass them!

Indeed. But if this post indeed pertains to the very specific and highly uncommon scenario of a single lane dual carriageway then the entire thread is (intentionally?) misleading. 99.9% of dual carriageways in the UK are two lanes in each direction. If OP is talking about a single lane scenario then they should have been explicit and worded the title and description very differently.
But then it would have less effect to stir people up wouldn’t it.

I hope everyone is writing to the council then. Bike lanes with debris are not safe for cyclists either so it sounds as if they have no choice.

@Quinlan do you think cyclists should be allowed on motorways too?

I'd love this. I drive sometimes, mostly walk everywhere. Would love to cycle more but there are too many bad drivers.

Although, around here cyclists are pretty safe on the footpaths as almost all of our town are allergic to using their legs.

No it isn’t. a carriageway and a lane are not the same thing.
a dual carriageway has a carriageway either side of a physical central median (barrier, verge etc). The number of lanes each carriageway contains can vary from one to any number. In the UK overwhelmingly dual carriageways have two lanes either side (national speed limit for cars =70mph) but there are several roads (sometimes old ones like OP has said) where they are single lanes either side of the median - speed limit as posted likely 60mph. In some cases there are roads that have three or more lanes on each side - they are still dual carriageways and not motorways.

Are you joking? Single lane dual carriageways are not uncommon at all. The confusion is arising purely because a significant number of drivers seem unable to understand the difference between the words "lane" and "carriageway".

Thank you!
I should have looked it up before posting!

No, it isnt. How do you not know that if you drive? And, even worse, it’s been explained on here and instead of checking, you tell people they are wrong.

A dual carriageway is lanes of opposing traffic separated by a central reservation. Thats where the dual comes from; two separated carriageways which can have one land of traffic in each direction.

@Sherararara
Single lane dual carriageways are very very common. You don’t know that because you clearly didn’t realise what a dual carriageway actually was so whenever you’ve driven on one with a single lane, you haven’t realised that you’re on a dual carriageway. That’s your own ignorance, that doesn’t make them 0.1% of the dual carriageways in the UK.

It's scary that so many people have absolutely no idea what a dual carriageway is.

And a duel carriageway is something different again, involving picking your way between fist fights and street brawls when navigating a town centre at pub chucking out time

I’ve literally just given a very detailed definition of dual carriageways.
actually single lane dual carriageways are not very common at all.
especially if you measure it in miles - miles of single lane dual carriageway vs miles of two+ lane carriageway in the UK it’s a tiny proportion.

Agreed although Im not sure of your percentage, we have a number of single lane dual carriageways around here and conversely lots of 3 lane ones too!

This thread has amazed me.

That’s not the definition of a DC, it can have one lane in each direction, or indeed 3.

They're from the ancient jousting routes, of ye olde days.

The speed limit for a car on a single lane dual carriageway is 70mph unless otherwise posted.

You can't ban cyclists on dual carriageways as that would deny access to a lot of urban roads with a reservation down the middle. They're not all 2 lane NSL, rural routes connecting towns.

Some dual carriageways can be defined as an "expressway" which carries similar restrictions to motorways without the legislation, hard shoulders and motorway graded junctions and they restrict cyclists.

There's a major NSL dual carriageway near me that connects 2 motorways cross-country and functions very similarly to a motorway in terms of traffic behaviour. A few times I've come across organised "time trial" events on there which is hairy when you've got a speed difference of 40mph. Even an observant driver has to respond quickly and lane 2 isn't always avaliable for a safe, rapid overtake. I don't know if the events still occur but the traffic flows have increased over time, and there have been cycling fatalities on there.

Some roads just aren't safe for cyclists- and I would not want a "minimum" pass of 1.5m with a 30mph speed difference, let alone idiots doing close passes, but there is no way to sensibly blanket-ban cycling on dual carriageways- it would leave some people banned from cycling out of their driveways to start a journey!

I wonder if you live near me - the dual carriageway round here refers to, as you describe, a major and very busy road that goes cross country linking 2 motorways!

Speed limits are exactly that - a limit not a target. If the road has "sharp bends, hill sections and narrow lanes", then drivers should be driving slow enough for those conditions. I suggest it's drivers who are the problem here. It's not the job of cyclists to get out of their way so drivers can use it like a "race track".

Sometimes a cyclist doesn't have a choice. The route from A-B includes dual carriageway.

From experience some are better than others as are all roads.

Prior to retirement I used to cycle along a 2 mile stretch of fast road, usually in rush hour and so it was more clogged. Out of hours it could be a bit wild. Fortunately there was a 4' nominal cycle lane marked with a white line.

Occasionally I had scary moments - cars veering into my bit. Often on their phones.

i can see the issue.
I use a busy dual carriageway daily and if there's a cyclist, lane 1 ends up doing 25mph whilst all waiting to pull in to a very busy lane 2 which is doing 60/70 mph.

It's very dangerous - i cant imagine not caring about my life enough that i would think its ok to ride a bike on a very fast road.

Dual carriageways don't always have two lanes either side though. What makes them a dual carriageway is having a central reservation.

Maybe they don't have a choice.

@soupyspoon it would be quite funny if these people weren't in charge of cars!