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?

Cycling has become a protest against climate change. Wake up, have breakfast, put your helmet on and hope one those b*d cars or vans comes near enough to get them on camera. One less car off the road, done my bit for climate change.

Come within two metres of me when I'm cycling, I dare you!!

All hail King Jeremy!!

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?

What's a bit worrying here is your reaction. Your second guessing is about what might happen to you. Things to think about:

1. What if it had been 1m instead of 1.5m so he went into the back of your car and was killed or severely maimed?
2. What if the accident happened in front of all the kids?
3. Why did you overtake at all when it was clearly unsafe to do so?
4. What if a child had run into the road when your reactions are all over the place like this?
5. What if he had had a kid riding a bike in front of his who you couldn't see until you started overtaking?
6. What if the driver on the other side was going faster?

Which might lead to more constructive thoughts like these for the future:

• Try to drive at 20mph or below, as recommended by most local authorities for school roads, given that you know the area is always congested and full of kids.
• Do some deep breaths, calm down, and travel slower until you reach safe passing places, rather than execute dangerous manoeuvres.

😆 🤣 I wonder if Jezza's team are behind this one and the car ownership thread 🤔

Running on pavement (at speed), going through red lights, not stoppping at stop signs. Just some examples. Someone in my family was actually injured by a cyclist on the pavement - and they didn’t even stop!

I hope he wasn't the cyclist in question. Then again...

Yes i agree! And I stand by my original post 'entitled' possibly back down on moron!!!! It's all Boris's fault!!

Cutting in when you’re just a couple of metres ahead of a cyclist is insanity.

He would have had to brake to avoid you crashing into him from behind.

Badly done, OP.

😂

Who says the cyclist in question was partaking in a “hobby”. At that time in the morning it’s far more likely it was simply transport. So it’s as silly as me saying that a car driver is doing their hobby of driving cars on a public road and we should ban that! 🤣🤣

Cycling in the middle of the road, Cycling alongside friends chatting, they think they rule the roads which will anger some road users (not me!!) And cause stress/accidents.

Honestly the anti cyclist feeling on mn never fails to amaze me.

cyclists are entitled to ride side by side, they are entitled to talk to each other and they can cycle in the middle of their side of the road too (and sometimes it’s safer to do so to prevent dangerous overtakes).

but all of this is irrelevant to the OPs situation as the cyclist in question was doing none of those things. So your post does nothing apart from demonstrating your general dislike of cyclists and your willingness to slag them off over imaginary transgressions.

How many people are killed by cars each year vs how many are killed cyclists?

I don’t even own a cycle but the posts here are crazy.

Ok I admit I find the majority of them a nuisance. For instance it annoys me when cyclists are on a busy dangerous road holding up traffic when there is a clear cycle path alongside.

Probably full of broken glass n dog sh1t.

While I can kind of understand you being annoyed have you ever thought there may be a valid reason why they’re not using the cycle path? Cyclists don’t have a death wish…if there is a safe option they’ll normally take it. Some cycle paths are awful, either due to design or debris…and it’s not always apparent to a motorist.

i was cycling once down a hill, clear straight road. I was in the middle of the left hand lane because the inner third had an awful crack/rut running the length of the hill as well as numerous potholes. No cars coming up the hill and you could see for a mile. A car coming behind me overtakes, slows to my pace and winds the window down and the woman driver proceeds to berate me for being in the middle of the lane not at the left. I wasn’t in her way, I caused her no issue at all, she had plenty of space to pass me, I didn’t affect her in anyway shape or form. I was so fucking cross. But in her big 4x4 bubble she had no idea at all and I guess just thought I was being “entitled”.

Im talking about the ones I have seen! Lovely cycle paths with beautiful scenery.

Why is it baffling to you? People haven’t get to work. They can’t walk for an hour or cycle and get kids to different schools and then to work. Hardly rocket science

That is fair, but why not also ask: how many times do you witness dangerous/illegal behaviour from cyclist on an average 15min spent walking outside vs from car drivers?

Today, just 1h ago on the school run, literally when leaving my house there was a cyclist on the pavement. More pavement-riders were encountered. Some also crossed red lights. Nothing to report from drivers, they all indicated when turning into the side roads I was crossing and left me cross before turning. And none of them drove at a red light. Anecdotical of course, but this is a fair representation of what happens in urban areas.

Just to raise a point on the anger thing, I really don’t like being called “a fat c*” by a man in a clapped out old Alfa Romeo but that’s exactly what happened to me when I was riding home from work last Tuesday evening. He overtook me so closely I thought he was going to knock me off and he screamed that phrase at me with utter hatred in his eyes for daring to ask him nicely to give me a bit more space next time.

But have you tried actually cycling along them? Because seeing them does not always mean you see the actual issues. Sometimes they are also more dangerous because they end abruptly in a dangerous location, there’s one near me which ends with a massive kerb/drop down. I’m not using that with 25mm tyre carbon wheels. It’s like a 30cm drop.

Other ones i don’t use have loads of driveways and side roads which the cycle path crosses, so puts me at risk of a collision with every crossing.

Then the fact they aren’t swept of debris so I get more punctures….the thorns and glass aren’t going to be noticeable to a motorist driving alongside.

I see dangerous driving far more

😆 🤣

Cars have form for that too

Yes. I must be lucky in my area.

My cycle path gripe is they don’t go from A to B without going via C and D first. Or there are shared with oblivious pedestrians with headphones in. So while it’s legal to do so I’ll use the road thanks.