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.

Can you expand a bit on what the road code says about “dicks” on a bike and how to identify such dicks. I don’t seem to remember seeing that description.

allow them to overtake when safe to do so

Safe for who?

Who's at fault? You are! How do you not know this?? Even emergency vehicles with sirens and blue flashing lights have to drive safely. The entitlement and ignorance (both of the law and of entry-level taxation) demonstrated by motorists on threads like this is terrifying. It needs to be easier to revoke driving licences and get dangerous drivers off the roads for good.

and this is exactly why... it does appear to be deliberate provocation by smug mamils ( and mawils)

Could you have got past a car in the space available?

On the picture posted I'd day not.

In which case it's not safe to pass cyclists either. Not even if the single up/

There is plenty of room to safely overtake in the photo op posted.

Have you read the Highway Code about passing cyclists?

Yes. Please explain how it’s not possible to overtake a cyclist safely on that road?
there is room to give the bike 1.5m
you can see a lot of road ahead

Maybe we are not looking at the same photo. I am looking at the last post from op.

Had this exact situation years ago.2 small kids at the back of the car.

4 cyclist round the corner abreast,had to do emergency stop.Did they stop? The hell they did, 2 passed on either side of the car with 2 of them banging the fists on the bonnet as they passed

Proper aggressive pricks asserting their dominance on country road.

That was before dash cams became common, if I had one I’d report them straight away.

This is the problem-when you encounter a problematic driver on the road you can take a note of the car reg.
Sadly drivers don’t have the same chance

So you (talking up whole carriageway) didn’t know there were bikes around the corner taking up the whole carriageway? Bikes didn’t know there was a car coming round.
Of course they should not have hit your car but you all have equal right to be on the road.

Unlike 99%of the time, when motor vehicles dominate our roads, as they have done for the last 100 years

@rosemarble single track road with passing places. I was going slow because I anticipated the traffic coming from opposite direction.
They could hear the car approaching and should have moved to a single line. They CHOSE to not to.
Banging their fists on the bonnet of a car was an act of uncalled aggression. Don’t try to defend them

I didn’t defend their actions.
If they could hear you and didn’t change their cycling then you’re right. Must have been scary

@rosemarble it was. I wasn’t going to leave the car with 2 small kids inside and confront 4 adult males when there was nobody else around.

I’m a cyclist as well but it was “what the hell” situation. There was literally nothing I could do in this situation.

Their behaviour was against the Highway Code.

And the thread continues to go round in circles, drivers will continue to be aggressive towards cyclists, and a small proportion of cyclists (never seen any of these in my 10k miles per year myself..) will antagonise drivers.

The aggression rate towards most/all cyclists from motorists will increase (as fed by our gutter press and those on this thread with poorly evidenced anecdotes from their experience)

And another few hundred bike riders will die per year.

A few motorists will be inconvenienced too for a matter of minutes, and here we are.

@TangerinePlate ”single track road with passing places”

Tip from a much better and more observant driver than you (don’t ride on the road as there are far too many bad drivers)

Pull into the passing place. It’s a single track road and it’s very hard to pass oncoming traffic, despite how safe you think it is in your metal box, if it’s a single track road.

Stop. Let the multiple riders pass. Carry on.

This is what you should have done.

What on earth are you doing bowling down a single track road, around a corner going so fast you need to do an emergency stop for?!?!

Bikes: 10-15mph. Huge tractor: 20-40 mph.

You'd have hit the tractor wouldn’t you- the tractor won’t be able to hear you!

You’ve got to be able to stop in the available, visable road space infront of you safely and I suggest you slow down! Or perhaps better still take a refresher driving course specialising in hazard awareness.

Its simple driving basics!

What an earth I was doing? Going home. “Bowling down the road”-where did you take it from?
You made some wrong assumptions there.

Here’s the definition of energency stop

An emergency stop is a driving maneuver where a driver rapidly brings a vehicle to a complete halt in response to an unexpected hazard or situation, such as a pedestrian stepping out unexpectedly or another vehicle pulling out in front. It's a critical safety measure in driving and is also a common requirement during practical driving tests.

My driving skills and hazard awareness are fine,thank you. I’d question the skills of the cyclists though.

At least I anticipated the oncoming traffic, they didn’t(want to)

But yeah, assume that I was going with stupid speed and what the hell I was doing on the road in a car anyway? How dare I drive on the road?

At least I anticipated the oncoming traffic, they didn’t(want to)

So what would have happened if it was a car coming or a massive suv coming round the corner at a far higher speed? Genuine question.

I regularly crawl round single track road corners with poor visibility for this reason- there is no emergency stop! I’m doing c 10mph…

It’s likely that you were going far too fast for the given road circumstances, hence they banged on your bonnet, you were speeding and put them in actual danger if your description you yourself wrote is true.

But you’re, like many drivers,
just not aware of what you’re doing

I wasn’t going too fast- I proved that by being able to stop in time as I ANTICIPATED the oncoming traffic.

Them on the other hand-they heard a car and still CHOSE to ride abreast.

I reckon them banging the fists on the bonnet was my fault 🤷‍♀️as you stated but hey,it’s always driver’s fault and not the poor lambs oops cyclists

Or maybe the bikes were going too fast / riding inappropriately given road circumstances?

Possibly/probably both sets of people were.

But remember the bikes have gone from riding abreast to then separating and going down the sides of the posters car, and also been in enough control to ride one handed so they can bang on the bonnet so I think the poster is being somewhat dramatic in her anecdote. The whole thing would have likely been avoided if she was travelling at the appropriate speed round a blind corner on a single track road; which is around 10mph like the bikes probably were doing.

Let’s face it, a bike is never going to win in a head on with a car.