Cyclist gesticulating wildly at me

[FrankyGoesToBollywood]

On the school run this morning which involves driving down a narrow winding lane which is always very busy at school run time. The lane is wide enough for two cars but it’s tight. There are three schools on this route and at school drop off and pick ups times it’s busy and congested. It’s 30mph. This morning I was driving along at about 25mph and a man dressed in serious looking cycling gear was cycling. I overtook him with quite a bit of space, definitely more than the 1.5m minimum, and as I was overtaking I could see a car coming towards me so nipped in in front of him- again definitely more than 1.5m from him. My windows were closed but I could then hear him shouting wildly “what the F was that!!” Over and over again and gesticulating. I didn’t indicate. I’m worried he will report me he was going wild, I genuinely thought I was driving quite considerately until I saw his reaction!

I’m now second guessing how close I was to him when I pulled in in front of him, and thinking he will report me and upload footage. If so how likely is it I will hear about it or be prosecuted?

Those pesky peds!

Its also a really good way to get to work

Who are you going to report them too?

Is it? Feels like a challenge according to this thread.

As is driving with other road users for the OP.

Don’t worry op. In the words of Malcolm Tucker - even cyclists hate cyclists.

They do seem rather an unhappy bunch, don't they

Not angry though, like some….

Er… maybe because they are cycling to work? Or maybe because they have jsut as much right to be on the roads as anyone else.

And, if it wasn’t safe to overtake, yes you do have to wait behind them.

Thank you for all the replies and sorry it’s taken me all day to respond!

Firstly we do live semi rurally- the lane I described has no footpaths and as mentioned is narrow- if someone is walking their dog on it and a car comes along they have to sink into the hedge so it’s not a route suitable for walking to school with a child. We also live three miles away and this is the nearest school.

I do accept on reflection I should have waited to overtake until I could see further ahead and wasn’t as near to a bend, but I’m not lying when I say I was considerate to the cyclist and felt I left plenty of room. Like I say it was definitely over the minimum, I’m not saying it was that amount exactly, but he was certainly never in danger of being hit by the car and nor did I slam on my brakes after passing him as some have suggested.

The reason I mentioned his clothing is because he seemed it me to be out for a hobby ride, not cycling to work, plus there’s nothing around there unless he’s a teacher at one of the schools! I know cyclists have the same rights to use roads as everyone else but you’d think people would exercise common sense and not choose to cycle on narrow country lanes when there are lots of cars trying to get to school for a specific time. I know I’ll be flamed for saying that but come on it’s common sense!

I know cyclists have the same rights to use roads as everyone else but you’d think people would exercise common sense and not choose to cycle on narrow country lanes when there are lots of cars trying to get to school for a specific time. I know I’ll be flamed for saying that but come on it’s common sense!

Have you thought of contacting your local council and getting them to set restrictions so that only parents can use these roads during school run times? Given that no-one else has a legitimate reason to get in your way, that seems entirely reasonable...

Glad you've managed to overcome your fear of being reported for dangerous driving, it'll make it easier next time you pull in front of a cyclist / pedestrian with 1.5m clearance to ignore them getting upset!

You're on shaky ground accusing someone of a lack of common sense when you overtook near a bend on a busy road....

You decided that it’s a hobby ride, you’ve no idea and are just assuming nonsense!

And so what if it was?

Get up earlier, get your children in the car earlier so you don’t have to make rash decisions when over taking and you can wait behind cyclists. You know the specific time you need to get to school as you say. So leave earlier.

You sound quite honestly that you think that you own the road, you don’t. Drivers, cyclists, walkers are all using the same road.

Common sense means don’t have overtake on a bend…. use some.

Oh OP you’ve not covered yourself in glory here.

The road is narrow but has enough space for two cars to pass by but if a person walking their dog is on it and a car comes along the person has to sink into the hedge. Why can’t the car give space, there is space for two cars apparently. If there are two cars one should wait behind the pedestrian to overtake wide and slow,

Even if the cyclist is out for a hobby - which you decided purely on attire - he is entitled to be in the road and you are obligated - by law - to act in accordance with the code which says you should have overtaken with care and in the hierarchy of road users he trumps you. I wore full Lycra when I commuted 26 miles a day per bike. It’s more comfortable. For short rides I don’t. You’ve no idea what his journey was and it’s irrelevant,

What if it were a person on a horse? Same applies. We all pay for the roads and actually subsidise your use of them.

You don’t sound like a good or safe driver tbh. You sound like you think you and your car are going on more important journeys than anyone else and you are more important. You are not. Everyone deserves to be safe and the onus is on you in the large and powerful vehicle to act accordingly. The cyclist clearly did nothing wrong. You did. Your actions could have been catastrophic but here you are justifying them,

"People should use common sense and refrain from doing things that inconvenience me"

Just because you made it back on to the correct side of the road this time without hitting the cyclist doesn't mean that you always will. That is probably why he was annoyed. He knew you couldn't see if a car was coming yet you chose to overtake. Next time the car coming the other way might be even closer, you will automatically swerve back to the left lane and knock the cyclist off the road. Please be more considerate. It doesn't matter why he was cycling along the road, if you kill him he will still be dead and it would be your fault.

I don’t think the cyclist is the one who lacks common sense 😒

Yoi shouldn’t overtake a cyclist unless you can do the whole manoeuvre safely, pulling out, passing and pulling back in, and having to nip back in doesn’t sound like that was the case.

but I’m not lying when I say I was considerate to the cyclist and felt I left plenty of room. Like I say it was definitely over the minimum,

Considering you think the minimum is 1.5m, that assurance means fuck all.

I know cyclists have the same rights to use roads as everyone else but you’d think people would exercise common sense and not choose to cycle on narrow country lanes when there are lots of cars trying to get to school for a specific time.

You do not own the fucking road! Your sense of entitlement is off the scale. Having a child does mean having a license to intimidate cyclists.

“I know cyclists have the same rights to use roads as everyone else but you’d think people would exercise common sense and not choose to cycle on narrow country lanes when there are lots of cars trying to get to school for a specific time. I know I’ll be flamed for saying that but come on it’s common sense!”

There’s entitled drivers and there’s entitled drivers on the school run that are entitled above all else.

Your usecase of the roads doesn’t trump anyone elses. Just drive considerately.

The 1.5m minimum is width; you have to give them that much space to their side when you overtake. That is not enough space when you pull back in front of them. He was very much as risk of hitting you.

The fact that you’re still saying 1.5meters is all you think you need to give when pulling in front of a cyclist or pedestrian shows that you are not a safe driver. How about you just listen to what you’re being told and realise that your judgement is wrong and you need to learn.

You overtook when approaching a bend and couldn’t see the road but you thought that was safe. It wasn’t.

You pulled in front of a cyclist when only 1.5 meters in front and you think that was a safe amount of space. It wasn’t.

You had your kids in the car. You risked them, the oncoming car and the cyclist yet you still think each move you made was safe. That s problem.

If you had to pull back in because a car was coming, you overtook at the wrong moment. You must wait until the other side is clear and that you have visibility (ie don’t overtake before a bend where a car might suddenly appear around it).

Sounds like the cyclist witnessed this poor judgement from you and got understandably annoyed by it.

And so what if he was a ‘hobby cyclist’?
You don’t get superior road rights because you are a driver doing the school run!

You sound like a dangerous and inconsiderate driver who has no sense of spacial awareness.

I'm not quite sure what you did wrong - if it was a close pass or dangerous overtaking or if your driving caused him to swerve or stop & he has a helmet cam then he may well report that to nextbase dash cam portal.

They follow up accordingly from no action if it does not meet criteria to a warning letter & even a court summons.

I send in alot to nextbase as ride my horse on the road & every submission has resulted in positive action either warning letter or points/fine

Some people are just nutters & will shout & swear at anything but please remember that cyclists (and horse riders, carriage drivers, pedestrians etc) are extremely vulnerable on the road & also have as much right to be there as you do.

Helmet cams are dual camera front & rear so if he did have one on it definitely would have covered the whole incident.