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.

I'm sure you are right that some car drivers are reckless but that is still a straw man argument as I already said. We are not discussing the poor behaviour of some cyclists, not some drivers. Even if we were discussing both, you cannot justify one because the other is poor.

Yes it’s legal, but it’s a dick move. I’m a horse rider too and will always pull off the road of possible to let cars past, as do vehicles such as tractors. The majority of cyclists don’t seem to though.

fair points, ill agree on that

Exactly this…….and there is a rule now that states drivers must leave a specific distance between their vehicle and a bicycle when overtaking.

1.5 metres i believe it is

You know farmers don’t stop on Sundays right?
Plenty of people in the countryside need to work and get from A to B. They are the ones making the countryside look nice with fields and animals in it.
It’s not a velodrome or gym just because it’s the weekend.

Bit easier to hop onto the verge and carry on with your ride on a horse than a bike @Serenity674

Yes, thankyou for that. Next time you fancy being patronising, check the post times - OP clarified the road width whilst I was writing my post, theres a 1 minute difference between post times which you can see... you know if you're not stumbling over yourself in your rush to be smug.

sadly it’s legal but unpleasant and rude. Even more sad and rude is the number of cyclists who leave their brains at home with their car keys when they don their Lycra.
They cause mayhem and simply don’t care. It’s generally men (but not exclusively) so presumably another example (usually) of them exerting their dominance over others 🤬

even 3 cars its not like a long tail back that ive seen with tractors and they are ment to pull over every so often to let traffic past as far as i understand

I only overtake if I can get into the opposite lane as a rule. Unless they are wobbly in which case I might pull right back then floor it to get past them with as much of a wide berth as I possibly can. A lot of cyclists aren't predictable and there are pot holes they could come off on.

I'm rural so packs of 30 cyclists taking up the entire four three abreast at the weekend is pretty normal. The only time I get pissed is when they do 40 downhill in the middle of the road then try to pull right over when it's uphill but unsafe for me to overtake. I guess they don't like the fact that there is a massive queue by that point but I'm not risking passing if it's not a clear metre. If you was following for ten minutes very slowly I find the pull over in clumps as laybys appear on hills.

It's not just their safety. It's also about oncoming traffic. A cyclist died locally hitting a pot hole. I don't want to run over and kill someone who hits a pothole at speed. Wide berth. Always.

Have you read the highway code? The bit about cyclists and being considerate to other road users and letting people pass? This would have been perfectly possible. They were being tw@ts. Keeping drivers behind you for ten minutes when cycling and forcing them to drive slowly is selfish and unnecessary. It also winds people up, which doesn’t help anyone
Perfectly possible for all to be safe and to share the road, with consideration

I had this yesterday, and before we got on to the country lane, they were chatting and bloody plodding along four across for ages on an A road and a normal street. They were being dicks, and it infuriated me. The line of cars behind us was about ten long. It was an incredibly slow convoy.

strictly speaking drivers choose to let themselves get wound up, they need better emotional control

As a horse rider, I am utterly respectful of vehicles and will pull over out of common courtesy.
Cyclists seem the complete antithesis of this, whether they are on roads or bridleways.

Yes we have bastard Lycra louts who do this, complete with yelling at each other as they cycle

They know full well they can let us pass but don’t, then they wonder why people don’t like cyclists

Personally it’s time they had to pay road tax and have insurance

Yes it’s legal OP and learn to relax a bit in life. A few minutes delay (which is all it comes down to ) isn’t going to be the end of the world.

yea but no, to road tax and insurance etc, besides if car drivers were perfect then i agree cyclists are omg.

but lets be honest half or 3/4 of drivers need to go back to traffic school and relearn how to drive.
and especially those drivers using the phones when driving,

@CopperWhiteI agree. Whoever thought up this 'law'?

There's a difference between what you can legally do and what is the considerate, social thing to.

If it was me cycling I'd have tried my best to give you every opportunity to pass safely. I don't need to hold someone else up without reason, you could be headed to a hospital appointment or going to work.

I think cyclists get off on knowing they have a row of cars behind them that can't get past.

Selfish cunts.

You were delayed 3 minutes. YABU.

"Cycling UK believes that the Highway Code's rules on overtaking cyclists should be made clearer and include a minimum distance guideline."

i believe it came from them

If it was a single track road then there wouldn't have been room to get past them safely anyway. It might have been polite for them to pull over and let you past but they have as much right to be on the road as you do.

To a pp however there is no road tax in the uk. There is vehicle excise duty, it's a tax on cars.