The hatred towards cyclists/horse riders etc

[RH1234]

Following on from a conversation on another thread; AIBU to think that the hatred towards all cyclists/other road users I.e. horses is completely atrocious and unjustified.

Lots of people will make comments about “I bet they were in Lycra”, “I dislike road cyclists”, “they don’t even pay road tax”.

My question is not; do you hate cyclists. My question is why do you hate me someone you have not met) as a cyclist?

For perspective:

1. I pay VED (Road tax doesn’t exist) on 3 vehicles.
2. I have insurance for my bikes - which includes public liability etc. My cycle insurance is genuinely more expensive than my car, I also have free insurance through British Cycling.
3. I don’t run red lights (for transparency, I have been through one red light, floor sensors don’t pick up carbon fibre, it was 5am, after waiting a few minutes, with no cars I went through)
4. I cycle an average of 19-23mph, I can overtake tractors near me, I’m smaller than a tractor surely you can pass me.
5. I do ride two abreast if in a group, but if passing is difficult, as per the Highway Code we ensure you can pass when safe.
6. When riding on my own, I wave cars past so they can often go before they can see.
7. Yes I wear Lycra - but you try cycling 100 miles without decent chamois in place. I won’t mention leg hair as that’s a whole different subject for you.
8. My wife use to love cycling, but won’t ride on the road now due to the drivers attitudes.

AIBU to be annoyed that I don’t do any of the things people moan about, yet people will hate me, some people will hurl abuse, some people will literally try and drive me off the road (luckily not that often for the last one)

All I want is, to enjoy the sport I’m love, get fit and then spend the time with my family. Yet my wife has said to me, she is anxious when I’m out and follows me on find my iPhone, because she’s terrified someone will one day leave me for dead in a ditch.

Surely a two minute delay is not unreasonable? I don’t judge based on hobbies or backgrounds, why am I judged?

AIBU in thinking that those who state they hate cyclists clearly are either media influenced or just plain horrible people.

Apologies, this has turned into more of a rant than a AIBU, but I’m sure you get the gist.

I’ve ridden, ran and cycled on the roads and I definitely feel most vulnerable on a bike.

What I don’t really understand is why anyone thinks it’s ok to intimidate and compromise the safety of another road user on the basis they don’t think they should be there. How is that ok? They might not like it, or agree with it, but that doesn’t mean you can just run people off the road or whatever!

You are being ridiculous - safety measures are sensible but insurance? Are you also going to require pedestrians to have insurance? Or how old does a child need to be before they need insurance to ride their bike to their friends house?

There aren’t as many bad cyclists as there are bad car drivers. You are far more likely to have a serious accident involving a car than a cyclist.

This is my point, I probably am nuts, but it’s not contagious… I hope.

I'm asking why people treat others with hate based on the actions of others that isn’t necessarily something that other person does.

I don't hate either group.

I used to ride horses so I know what it's like when car drivers get uncomfortably close to the rear of the horse or too close to the side of the horse when they drive past. They seem unaware of how dangerous a horse can be when it spooks or kicks. On one occasion I lost my cool with an idiot - who was repeatedly revving his engine at the rear of my horse as we crossed a narrow bridge wide enough for one horse or one car but not both - that unless he wanted an imprint of my horse's substantial arse on his bonnet, he should back off. He did.

I drive carefully around horse riders, cyclists and motor cyclists because all are vulnerable to substantial injuries, or even death, if hit by a car.

I think what you've encountered is a minority of idiotic, entitled drivers who think they own the roads. They behave that way with everyone including other drivers. I'd try not to take it personally.

Some cycle paths use pedestrian crossings - many of the ones near me do.

Go to a velo. The local road is not a bloody race track

That's just life 🤷‍♀️ most will simply see a cyclist ahead and think oh no a cyclist, oh no im going to get held up. A bit of frustration nothing more. Anyone who gets angry at you is likely an angry driver in general and would get annoyed at other road users. Dont take it that they hate you personally!

Well who would have thought a car would cause you more serious harm than a push bike.

I've recently started cycling more and the way car drivers treat cyclists is literally insane

Overtaking on blind corners, near head on collisions. Overtaking with a tiny gap I.e not even pulling over across the line. It's really opened my eyes to how dangerous and impatient a large proportion of drivers are. And I understand a bit more why cyclists can get irate

Generally the cyclists and horse riders round me are fine, I see very little poor behaviour. And I don't see how you can say someone who you don't interact with, barely see the face of is arrogant.

Our planet is burning, half our country is overweight. People still take their cars for 3-4 mile commutes, and we criticise people getting outside, doing excercise. Cycling is good for you and good for the planet and I don't think its fair to criticise that or make it harder for people

I would highly recommend a helmet camera. I have a Techalogic mainly for horse riding & occasional cycling.

Also operation Snap/nextbase dash cam portal (called different things in different police force areas)

Submit all unsafe passes & other careless, dangerous & inconsiderate behaviour.

About 8 in 10 of my submissions result in positive action from police (warning letter, course, points, fine, court)

They can raise their silly arguments condoning dangerous behaviour with the police & courts.

YANBU at all, @RH1234. It's utterly depressing how many drivers are willing to endanger the lives of others in order to shave a minute off their arrival time, if that.

The few cycle lanes (near me, at least) are frequently poorly maintained, overhung by branches and littered with thorns. Then they join a road at a horrible position and vanish. You're safer on the road from the start.

I love cycling as a mode of transport and a spectator sport, and I wish more of my fellow drivers would exercise a bit of caution. Vitriolic comments aimed at other road users don't help anyone. We're all people, let's try and keep each other alive.

The Tour of Britain (men's race) is happening in early September: I, DH, and our daughters will be going to cheer on our favourite teams and hopefully see some of our favourite riders. We went to cheer on the roadside last year and had such a fun time among other cycling fans.

London cyclists are anti-social scum. Aggressive, violent, weird.

Exceptions as always exist, but on the whole they’re riding into paid licensing, ID and increased prosecution. Should have happened already.

And if you ride in the grazing fields you wreck the fields 🙄
All fields are privately owned so it's trespassing if you ride on one without permission.

You are completely and willingly ignorant

The enforceable rules for motorists are all to frequently ignored. Mobile devices, speeding, MOT, vehicle registration/insurance, parking offences, dangerous driving, driving whilst intoxicated/drugged, driver without a license. I can open any newspaper or do a Google search anytime and I'll find reports of all those offences and more.

Yes I think all road users should have a minimum of 3rd party insurance.
I do for my horses both in their own right and myself as a rider.
My dogs are insured which also covers any damage they could ever do.
I am insured for all the vehicles I drive

And your right you are far more likely to be injured as a cyclist than a car driver in the even of a collision so why wouldn’t you insure yourself in case you are the one at fault.
in the last 12 months I have witnessed 3 incidents where the cyclist was at least in part responsible for an accident occurring. I have attended court in the past year to defend a driver who was accused of being at fault in an accident. CCTV and dash cam footage proved the driver completely innocent and the cyclist fully responsible.

Not unless it's mandated and funded

Also if you hate one group of people doing an activity because it mildly inconveniences you, or insist that the road is only for cars, I would argue it is you who's arrogant, not cyclists

Yes same here. Not in Cornwall but somewhere else with winding 60mph roads. When you get stuck behind a cyclist, it's quite tricky to pass. It's also dangerous if you come round a bend and there's either a slow cyclist, or a car on the other side overtaking a slow cyclist. Of course everyone should wait for a straight stretch to overtake, and go slow on bends, but realistically you can go miles and it's all just bends.

I appreciate the cyclists have every right to be there, but overall it's not a particularly safe situation.

Exactly. How utterly bizarre (and narcissistic).

I write as an ex -cyclist. Literally run off the road by impatient, aggressive and arrogant driving.
Firstly, there are good and bad riders and drivers on the roads. No one sector has the monopoly on thoughtless road use.

It seems very sad to me that there is an atttitude among some drivers that roads should be for the exclusive use of cars, vans and lorries.
They are not, like it or not.

Sitting comfortably, protected from the weather in air-conditioned comfort, able to travel at up to 70mph, yet lacking any patience or consideration.
How unutterably selfish some motor vehicle drivers are.
Shame on you!

Regardless of people’s opinions on cyclists and horse riders, they have every right to use the road. They are also vulnerable road users and people should be aware of that.
You pass your test, you agree to the Highway Code. If you are too arrogant to stick to the Highway Code because you believe only car drivers should be entitled to use roads, then you really shouldn’t be in charge of a vehicle.

Don’t want to deal with cyclists and riders on roads? Ditch the car and take public transport.
Or grow up and accept that other road users have every right to be there and that the world doesn’t revolve around you and your car.

You need to take your own advise. "Sometimes in life we don't get to do as we like".

Roads are for all road users bikes, horses, cars and even pedestrians. By far the most dangerous thing on roads, and by far the biggest hazard is cars. You may not like cyclists or horses on roads, but they have just as much right to exist there as you, and that's something you need to learn to accept. If you can't you are in fact the one who needs to get off the road. Sometimes we don't get to do as we like

The reason you can't ride go karts on the street is because cars make it unsafe. Not the go karts.

And it’s not always a minor inconvenience. This morning I got stuck behind a group of cyclists for almost 15 minutes. I live in a very hilly part of the country with narrow lanes. We were going up hill. The hill in question is 5 miles from bottom to top and one of the steepest roads in the country. It’s a second gear hill at most in parts in the car anyway. The cyclist were going so slowly you could have walked faster. It was really really difficult keeping the car going so slow and absolute agony on my crumbling hip and knee. No way to get past as the lane is narrow and they cyclist were swerving across the road to try to keep moving.

This is a daily occurrence round here particularly in summer as we are unfortunate enough to live on the lands end to John o groats route

Nobody that is reasonable is going to hate you OP if you are not behaving like an idiot.
IME though horse riders and cyclists are two very different things. Horse riders don't tend to be entitled arseholes, they don't ride along narrow, windy, 50mph roads either.

the problem is they do not teach you how to practice overtaking a cyclist of your driving test. So you just have to guess.
Drivers who don’t ride, also don’t understand that you have to swerve out to avoid a drain or pothole. So when driving to overtake a cyclist they might randomly swerve. as a driver and a cyclist, I do think it can be quite difficult attempting to overtake a cyclist.