Are drivers more hostile to cyclists lately and is a helmet camera worthwhile?

[tartanhaggis7]

have car drivers HATED cyclist's more dan ever? cycling along main rd 3pm car infront signaled left normally i would check my mirror and take them on the right but thankfully i stayed behind for the arsehole to do a uturn! sped off 😃 lets hope the prick would be on camera and prosecuted seems to be once i'm badly injured or worse something might be done. i'm now considering buying a helmet camera is it worth doing??

I’ve been debating this, so here’s a shameless bump.

The number of people driving while also looking at their phone is terrifying.

You have a mirror on your pedal cycle? Like a wing mirror?

I am a cyclist and have often debated a helmet cam as quite often drivers take huge risks around me- pulling out of a parking space into oncoming traffic, overtaking on a hill, simply not leaving enough room. Then there’s the ones who don’t indicate at junctions so you don’t know which way they’re turning, you position yourself and they get arsey because they wanted to go that way.

not to mention the pedestrians that don’t look for cycles, and the “hilarious” blokes in cars who think they’re extremely clever beeping loudly immediately behind me to scare me, if they aren’t shouting out sexual comments.

100% get a helmet cam, I’d think any cyclist who doesn’t have one these days to be silly. Given how irresponsible drivers are these days, it’s worth having one.

As a driver I do feel more frustrated nowadays by many cyclists in our (touristy) area. The bizarre fashion seems to be to wear really dark clothes, and have a really dark bicycle…lots of black, navy and even dark green clothes and panniers and helmets.
I’m trying to keep everyone, me, the cyclists, other road users, my children, safe whilst driving but a cyclist in these clothes etc in dappled countryside vegetation/trees, poor lighting and on very bendy roads is very, very difficult to see. I don’t understand the logic at all, I wouldn’t dream of showing that frustration, but I feel it yes.

I think that there is a push to 'normalise' hatred of cyclists in certain parts of the media.

May I suggest

www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/albert_bacon_pratts_helmet_gun/

totally agree with you but don't be put off by cycling! there are more cycle lanes being built the goerment currently has a pro cycling agenda as for the mirror i reccomend a company called cat's eye ( ebay) but there are many diffent types out there you can even get a wrist mirror ideal if your riding a racer the mirror saves you having to look back taking your eyes off the road and if youve got a haversack its a godsend! + you can see any potential risks coming normally tanks freewheeling @ 30mph who give you about a foot's clearance😣 be safe

Several areas have had roads closed for months and spent a fortune on cycle lanes that are hardly used, so obviously lots of people complain, but actual hatred? Not really seen that. Some envy, watching one solitary cyclist privileged enough to be able to cycle to work without kids to transport/lots to carry, but not hatred. Always made my kids wear helmets, apart from the balaclava lot, doesn't everyone wear them now (as I say, very few cyclists so can't say)?

I am a lifelong cyclist. I used to compete a bit, but now It's just for getting around. Most rides, I will smell weed coming from one car or another. Wrist mirrors? My sister sent me one last year as part of my birthday parcel. I have been wondering what I was meant to do with it.

its mainly for use when you can't fit a conventional mirror to the bike for eg i have a vintage trek and i could'nt scource a mirror to attach to the handle bars. it does the job especially when on the drops but you have to tweak your wrist when riding on top bar

Issue is they spend a fortune on cycle lanes that aren’t fit for purpose.

they look great to drivers, but they should try cycling on them before passing judgement.

usually full of debris, dump you out in traffic at regular intervals, require you to stop at every side road, bus stop or junction. Ones that are combined with pavements are a risk of wandering pedestrians or dogs on extendable leads taking you out. we have one near us that motorists find very convenient to park up on while they “just nip into the shop/into this house quickly”

if you’ve ever tried using a cycle lanes you’d realise it’s usually quicker, and safer, to use the road.

This. Where I live someone has deliberately been putting tacks and nails on the cycle lane. FOR TEN YEARS!!

hasn’t stopped cyclists - in fact the numbers have quadrupled I think: but it does mean many ride on the road.

I think many drivers get upset at money for cycling being spent on cycling infrastructure rather than mending potholes, then because cycle lanes are rarely congested they declare cycle lanes aren’t used.

often the cycle counters tell a very different story - West Midlands counters has some lanes being used 6000/7000 times per week, yet locals don’t see this in the same way they see congestion on roads

drivers also get upset with rising fuel prices and think cycling is freeloading. Which it’s not as council tax and general taxation pays for roads - not specifically fuel duty, VAT or emissions tax

with a cost of living crisis and taxes rising people become annoyed and frustrated, then the media pushes the scapegoat agenda

Absolutely get a helmet camera.

I have a dash cam in my car - front and back - because where I live the cyclists have a death wish (no lights, all in black, cycling wrong way down roads, the list goes on) so I have it to protect myself.

if I were a cyclist ( used to be) I would definitely get one. Also if I was a motorcyclist ( used to be one of those too) I would.

In fact sometimes having one as a pedestrian would be useful!

“More dan” what kind of English is this?

Drivers are more hostile to everyone lately.
The smell of weed coming from cars driving along country lanes or even parked in a supermarket car park is a scary prospect.
It is difficult buying bright cycling gear. I queried this with a manufacturer and was told there are reflective stripes on the clothing. Not much use on a dull day.

I cycle as well as drive. I have a hi-viz yellow helmet and hi-viz yellow rucksack. I can't understand why most cyclists are clad entirely in black. Round here it seems to be cyclists hating drivers.

Attitudes to cyclists are so awful. My husband’s friend was killed recently by a driver and another cyclist in the bunch had a broken spine. I don’t know why drivers feel the roads belong to them alone.

And cycle lanes are all very well for pootling around ie the kind of cycling I do but road cyclists need to go on the road

I see cyclists jumping red lights, going down one way street sections and disobeying the no cycling signs daily. I think the feeling is mutual when it comes to drivers v cyclists. I do think cameras are a good idea but so is sticking to the actual road laws

I cycle in north London every day with my 2 year old on the back - i mostly use a cycle super highway so it’s pretty safe lots on cycling on cycle lanes on the path and on quiet roads - there’s 2 parts of my cycle I cross a busy road and am on one for a few mins - but tbh I mostly find the drivers fine - I’ve not had a lot of issues over the last year which I was surprised about

I feel I’m given a lot of space and haven’t felt in danger at all - maybe sometimes I feel some cars come around corners too fast - but that’s about it!

I wonder if it’s because we have decent cycle tracks and there are a lot of people cycling so drivers are more tolerant/used to it?

Drivers on their phones, drivers who don’t indicate their intentions, I would say the standard of driving is poorer than it was twenty years ago.

I used to cycle to work so I know what it's like being a cyclist - how some drivers just don't see you, or cut across you.

However, please, all of you, cycle carefully on rural roads. This is especially important on the lanes, which have a lot of blind bends? Twice this summer I've almost hit cyclists cornering on my side of a lane (both times wide enough for two cars to pass). Both times I've been driving below the speed limit, travelling cautiously well over on my own side, and both times I've had to do an emergency stop as someone swerves out of the way. The second time I used my horn and the last cyclist in the group (who hadn't seen what had happened) wanted to know why. I told him. 'Well,' he said, 'I find that hard to believe, and there's no need for such aggression!'

I've also had cyclists flag me to slow down when I've already dropped to c15mph, and jab a finger demanding that I move over, when I've already got my wheels into the gravel on the edge of the lane. Mate, I'm not hauling my little old hatchback up onto a grassy verge that could be hiding a drainage gully. Just no.

I never, ever have issues with horses and riders - just cyclists, usually in groups, mostly men. We're contemplating dashcams, because of the dangerous cycling that we've encountered. It's bloody terrifying, frankly.

we've got alot of cycle paths now in glasgow . What gets me is a zebra crossing every 300 yards what is the rule regarding zebra's do cyclists stop or NOT??? 😎👀😨

@tartanhaggis7Yes. Wheeled transport gives way to pedestrians at zebra crossings and cyclist should not use them as crossings.

I see your comment earlier about cycle paths. We have had an expensive one installed near where I live. It’s parallel to the railway line. Lots of footpaths are dual use and cycleways are costing a lot of money - £ millions. My big issue is - they are not used!!!! The Lycra clad louts are still causing problems on the roads. If there’s been £millions spent, there should be NO option - they must be used. It’s appalling the money that’s wasted.