Group of cyclists not letting cars past- is this legal?

[Serenity674]

Interested in whether this was legal. Was driving to my parents this morning, they live remotely so it was a single track country road, although not narrow, with wide verges on either side.

i came up behind a group of circa 20 cyclists, probably doing about 15-20mph and ended up stuck behind them for about 10 mins. Round the bends was fine and they actually went faster than I would have gone in my car but there were several very long straight stretches of road where I could have got up to 30-40 mph (it’s a NSL road) but they wouldn’t move to let me past, just rode 2 or 3 abreast taking up the whole road. They definitely knew I was there as the ones at the back kept looking behind at me.

i know the law says cyclists can ride 2 abreast and it’s actually safer as it means cars overtake them properly but surely this doesn’t apply regardless of the road? Were they just doing the safe thing or should they have let me past?

I am a horse rider so i am always on the side of passing more vulnerable road users safely but this just seemed like a bit of a dick move- or were they actually doing this for a reason I’m unaware of? If I was riding my horse on a road like this I would ride 2 abreast until the car slows down then move into single file to let them past.

Look at it this way: if you were stuck behind them for 10mins doing 20mph, when you could otherwise have done 40mph, it extended your journey by a whole 3 minutes. Just an extra 3 mins drive to make sure that everyone gets where they're going to in one piece. Not that big of a deal in the scheme of things. Compare to, say, being stuck for an hour waiting for an ambulance because someone tried to overtake when there really wasn't room.

YABU

If the road isn’t open and clear enough to overtake 6-7 groups of 3 abreast cyclists it’s definitely not safe enough to overtake 20 cyclists in a row. You still have to give a single cyclist a car room’s length of space.

I love how everyone thinks I was being inpatient and expecting to zoom past in a big hurry on my Very Important Journey.

Also good to understand that taking up the road is acceptable in this situation in the name of Safety. I always feel bad for slowing drivers down while they pass me and my horse and make a point of moving over as soon as possible to let them past. I won’t worry about doing this in future, it will make my hacks much more relaxing!

Of course they were being dicks

they know it and we know it

This just sounds like a way to definitely knock someone off their bike. There's no way that wouldn't be dangerous.

OP did the right thing by waiting.

One cyclist did this on Friday during the school run I wasnt doing a school run as i dont have DC but some of the many cars behind the cyclist and in front and behind us would have been

They were being totally selfish. Whether it's legal is beside the point.

Just sit on your horn the whole time. I cant stand these entitled dickheads so entitled imagining their leisure activity is somehow so important they can block the road. If Im in the car its because I am helping a child or a parent, not driving around for fun. Also the amount of car idling they cause far negates any positive environmental benefits, not that any of them are commuting anyway. Id love to do it one of them while they are commuting to work in their car, that would be funny.

well maybe the learned the selfish behaviour from the way some car drivers are

same goes for car drivers if your stuck in a traffic jam its no different so why should entitled car drivers get to push through ?

Rule 66:

"be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups. You can ride two abreast and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders. Be aware of drivers behind you and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so"

Cyclists always conveniently ignore this part of the highway code despite being apparent experts on the rest of it.

On rural roads, cars move over / pull in to make it safe for both cars to pass each other going in opposite directions.

Two groups of cyclists going three abreast wouldn't be able pass each other safely either... but they will always move in for other cyclists. Not drivers. It's just utterly selfish, entitled behaviour.

one car , its not like they were holding up lots of cars, even then they still have the road

Just to reiterate, it was a single lane road as in there was no white line or road marking s but it was plenty wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other easily. Most (responsibly driven- there are always some idiots who dive too fast) cars do about 40/45mph down this road as it is wide with good visibility.

If they had ridden 2 abreast but closer together I could have got past giving them 2-3m of room. But they were riding 2-3 abreast and spaced out across the whole road.

Actually there were 3 cars behind me by the time I’d turned off.

If it is a single track road, then no, they've done nothing wrong.

There is not room on a single track road for you to pass 1 cyclist. The room required to safely pass is more than the single lane allows.

It would have been nice of them if there were somewhere to pull in, to do that and allow you to pass, but if there wasn't, they can't do that.

It sounds as if you would have attempted to pass dangerously had they been single file, so they've done the right thing.

Oh god I really wish these selfish, entitled men would get another hobby or ride somewhere where they're not impacting everyone else.

if car drivers were more respectful too then maybe we would get along better with car drivers, the amount of cars that cannot even use their indicators at roundabouts and just cut across etc is crazy driving

Total straw man argument there @Flytrap01

Why are people comparing cyclists to tractors or cows?

Tractors and cows have a benefit to society. Groups of cyclists benefit no one except themselves, and cause huge inconvenience to many.

Then they claim to be environmentally friendly while ignoring all the fossil fuel they force people stuck behind them to waste. Twats.

Surely you drive at the same speed and manner on the same road wether it’s Sunday afternoon or Monday morning?

also the amount of times when i pull over to let a car pass on the roads with cars parked both sides, and dont even get a thank you, then is it any wonder why cyclists are like this etc

We get this a lot round here once the weather warms up and you find yourself stuck behind the lycra clad arses are going up and down for miles in front of you doing their Very Important Exercise.

I tend to hope that, while in their own cars, they all regularly get stuck behind big groups of cyclists themselves.

Also I wonder how, if/when they have to crawl along the miles of lanes in a car behind cyclists, they manage to convince themselves that it's really not that fucking annoying ...

it is. and im a cyclist but the amount of car drivers and their recklessness takes the piss

“Just to reiterate, it was a single lane road as in there was no white line or road marking s but it was plenty wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other easily. Most (responsibly driven- there are always some idiots who dive too fast) cars do about 40/45mph down this road as it is wide with good visibility.

If they had ridden 2 abreast but closer together I could have got past giving them 2-3m of room. But they were riding 2-3 abreast and spaced out across the whole road.”