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!

I don’t know about anyone else but I have rarely encountered cyclists on a dual carriageway so not sure it’s a major issue, certainly not where I live. And are cyclists more dangerous than tractors? An A road is not a motorway for that reason. There could be slower moving/more vulnerable road users so you need to drive accordingly.

I think most accidents happen on country roads, which are a 60mph limit though lots of them aren’t suited to driving that fast. They tend to also be where you are far more likely to encounter a cyclist and there is unlikely to be cycle lanes.

It’s unfortunate that these threads inevitably descend into a driver vs cyclists debate. Surely we can all agree that cycle lanes are good for everyone because it keeps cyclists out the way, easier to see and therefore safer.

I don’t cycle. I do drive, I just don’t want to hit a cyclist so the easier they are to see the better.

I wasn’t saying anything. I have come across a cyclist on this stretch and obviously I slowed down to their speed. They were good enough to stop and pull their bike on to the verge. It’s actually quite steep so I think they are secretly glad of the rest.

I’d love to hear how you can see around corners. What an amazing superpower that must be. 😂

@TheSassyTraybake I do think cyclists are more dangerous than tractors - tractors generally stick to the side of the road, pull in to allow people to overtake and don't try and drive 2-3 abreast on narrow roads.

I live, work and drive rurally and tractors are some of the safest vehicles I see on the road - cyclists on the other hand absolutely terrify me and I dread coming across them!

Clearly what that poster meant is that you are supposed to drive in a way that anticipates that anything may be round a corner - a cyclist, a broken down vehicle, a sheep in the road.

It really depends if they are allowed to ride on the pavement or not - absence of pedestrians does not make it a cycle path!

I live close to a dual carriageway which has a wide foot/cycle path on either side. Signs clearly show that cyclists are permitted to ride and it is well maintained. On the rare occasion I encounter a cyclist slowing down traffic on the road, I (and all other drivers) are annoyed (although I do nothing to express my frustration directly to them unlike others).

The issue is the car drivers, or at a push the lack of cycle lanes as an alternative route. Often dual carriageways are short sections of road.

No, thankfully I'm not a driver! Find the distinction fascinating though - I've seen two-lane central reservation dual carriageways with sub-70 limits (e.g. the Euston Road, most central London major roads), but never a single lane national speed limit dual carriageway.

It would save an awful lot of people a deal of time if they RTWT and noted that I have acknowledged I was mistaken.
But if it makes you feel better to continue to flog a dead horse, fill your boots.

cars put cyclists at risks. Do you know how many cyclists are killed every year by cars (no drivers have been killed by cyclists). Your post is completely misinformed. Cyclists are also now allowed to ride on pavements. If you cannot handle a road where cyclists can legally ride, maybe take some driving lessons. your post is nuts!

Typo 'now' obviously should be 'not'

yes, small but significant difference. should really proofread before posting

The issue is speed. Cars travelling at 70mph find themselves upon cyclists travelling 10-20mph before they know it.

The biggest problem is drivers don't read the road much past their bonnet so get taken by surprise far too frequently. Ask any police officer who regularly deals with road incidents.

42 ish

D1 class road, dual carriageway, one lane each direction. D2 is your most common two lanes per side.

D2's are probably the most dangerous roads in the UK, motorway speeds but without motorway restrictions (learners allowed, tractors allowed, cyclists allowed etc) and no hard shoulder.

I had to overtake a cyclist on a dual carriageway yesterday- it was quite dangerous as I couldn't see them due to the vehicle in between me and cyclist - that car was able to pull into the other lane and didn't slow down much, whereas I couldn't move over due to having a vehicle alongside me, so had to brake quite hard with an HGV right behind me. You can't just change lanes at will!

The mainproblem there was the HGV - I wish there could be some detection and enforcement against tailgating.

The table in this suggests the opposite. The most dangerous by far are urban roads and NSL 'rural roads' . Not the '61-70' category 7 which must be dual carriageways.

www.motor1.com/news/415257/most-dangerous-road-types-in-uk/

The much lower number of fatalities may of course be because there's very few pedestrians or cyclists there to be mown down.

Surely all the more reason for drivers to pay attention and drive according to the road conditions.

Round here I've never seen a tractor narrower than 2 cyclists side by side, they always take up more road.

Please can you elaborate on what terrifies you, about a human being of on average say 80kg, on a bike of say 10kg, travelling at say 20mph (decent flat speed for a roadie) when you are in a 2000kg safety cage, equipped with 4 wheels and brakes that is inherently stable travelling at a speed slower than a 2 wheeled pedal cycle is. I can drive my car at 2mph but if I tried to go that slowly on my bike whilst holding a straight line it would tip over. I think you misspelled 'it makes me cross that there might be a cyclist in my way'.

I drive close to 20k miles a year, including rurally and including in a large van and I've not managed to be terrified by a cyclist yet. I'm also faster on my bike than the milk float, but I don't see daily rants about the milk float doing it's rounds on the industrial estate at rush hour with a queue of cars behind it (which it regularly does as I think it stocks up locally)

Tractors pulling over! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@JarvisIsland no, I haven't misspelt anything

They scare me because they're so incredibly vulnerable and often (in my experience) behave unpredictably. I've had cyclists veer out in front of me without looking, turn off without signalling and pull over into laybys ahead of me without any indication that they're about to do so. Not so long ago, one was cycling in the pitch black on a 60mph road - no lights, no high-vis gear, nothing. He was lucky not to get killed.

Tractors are wider, but more predictable and visible. They indicate, they pull over, they don't wobble all over the road or stop unpredictably. I feel much, much safer over-taking a tractor than a cyclist.

They do where I live 😕

OP do you mean the road has a central reservation or barrier?
And how many lanes on each side of that barrier.

Normal but not always there are at least 2 lanes going in either direction.

Can you better describe your road?