Cyclists

[Deleted member 37751]

Ll this talk of bus lanes, bike lanes, horse and trap lanes- when are they going to lay some CAR LANES???

 

[trapperjohn]

^Roger post 43. Missed that one. Agreed.

 

[Smatt]

Yawn

Nothing wrong with riding two abreast...

But, when traffic wishes to pass, the cyclists should fall back into single file.

Motorists should allow one cars width when passing cyclists, so theoretically it should not really matter whether they are one or two abreast.

All of the people on here who are supporting the cyclists are also motorists.

Re: taxation of cyclists: get real!?

Cycle paths are generally useless. They might be ok for little children & grannies.
Even if one ignores the litter/debris on them, most 'off the main highway' paths are made to a much poorer quality than roads so the surfaces are very bumpy and can not comfortably be cycled along at more than a snails pace. City centre paths may be different and smoother.

Living on a farm(no longer working) in Norfolk, I have more patience & appreciation of tractors, but they still annoy me when there is a massive queue behind & they sail pass lots of laybys that they could pull into.

Why should tractors have an agricultural rfd when they cause so much disruption & muck on the roads?

Don't start me on the newer 'electrically assisted bicycles' or on the pensioners electric buggies whirring down the middle of the roads.

As road users we are all supposed to anticipate & be considerate of other road users, no matter what vehicle we are in/on or whether we are 'just' a pedestrian.
Some pedestrians are idiots & step out into roads & cause accidents. Maybe they should pay road tax too & be licensed with registration plates?

 

[st4]

So should cyclists pay for the upkeep of cycle lanes. I think so.

There was a policeman using his pushbike on the A82 dual carriageway today. Its a 70 zone. Quite why he wasn't in plod van etc but his jacket said police and was one of those hi vis things

Mercifully his hi vis coat made him visible a mile off and it struck a chord, when abroad you need these hi vis vests to make you more visible if out of the car on their motorways. It works.

Perhaps hi vis licra/cycling gear should be made manditory for cyclists on the road.

 

[trapperjohn]

Agreed with that Steve. Its all they can do to have lights on their bikes round here.

 

[st4]

The pair I mentioned at the start did not have lights, but it was day light anyway, I just did not see the need for them to be two abreast and they could be seen a fair bit back, and the queue of brake lights and cars then passing showed up, but a hi vis for when it is not so clear would be a nice thing

 

[219]

Like this? Admittedly, this one's only really segregated because it's a contraflow, but it does make sense where there's space (and funds) to do it. However, the reason raised kerbs are not more prevalent is that they are usually only viable for short stetches, where there is no requirement for car parking, bus stops or vehicular access to premises.

Placing cycle lanes within the roadspace is always going to be a compromise, particularly at junctions where sometime the only available solution is to place the cycle lane between a left-hand filter lane and the one for traffic going straight ahead. A few cyclists in have met their maker trying to out-manoeuvre trucks and buses as they transition from the kerb-side lane to the middle-of-the-road one. And I truly pity any cyclist who tries to negotiate one of the larger gyratory systems. Hyde Park Corner used to be nigthmare for them, until the option of cycling across rather than around it was introduced.

Sadly, there is also something of a "cycle lanes are for wimps" attitude amongst some of the more gung-ho cyclists. I know of a few suburban areas where local authorities have gone to great expense to install substantial lengths of cycle lane that is compleletly separated from the roadway, sometimes by grass verges or by using part of an extra-wide pavement. However, because these lanes are often an attractive option for less confindent cyclists, others who are looking to press on end up getting impatient with their path being blocked by 'dawdlers' and resort to using the roads.

Yes , the one in your link is a good example , although I do appreciate space is the limiting factor in cities .

Here is an example of one on the A77 , South of Glasgow , which is well used - although a small minority of cyclists still insist on using the road ??

LINK

I have cycled this one myself and can attest to the fine cycling surface .

 

[219]

Owning a classic car is a hobby. Perhaps classic car owners should be paying full car tax too?

A fair point , and I did pay RFL on my car last time I had it on the road , although it would now be exempt .

In principle I would not object to paying a reduced VED in keeping with the reduced use a Classic Car gets . Remember I am only advocating that cyclists pay a proportionate amount of duty - primarily to fund a registration scheme so that the cloak of anonymity is removed from the bad bike-riders who wantonly flout every traffic law in existence .

 

[LTD]

There was a policeman using his pushbike on the A82 dual carriageway today. Its a 70 zone.

Only for vehicles allowed to drive at 70mph under National Speed Limit application.

It's also not a motorway and all classes of road vehicle (including learner drivers) are allowed to use it in some form. The permission also allows cyclists and horse riders.

As I have said before, drivers have as much, if not more, responsibility to drive with due care and attention for all road users - especially as cyclists do not have eyes in the back of their head to see cars appearing from behind.

As the advert about motorcycles said - 'THINK BIKE'

 

[st4]

I wasn't say he should not be using it, athough on a pushbike it is quicker to cycle the "old" route through renton than it is to take the longer bypass.

 

[219]

Perhaps hi vis licra/cycling gear should be made manditory for cyclists on the road.

It is certainly highly effective and , if we ever get to the stage where cycling is subject to further regulation then compulsion of items like hi-viz , lights after dark and helmets being worn would seem like common sense .

I wear both hi-viz and a helmet if on the road with other traffic , but tend not to bother if on an isolated cycle path .

 

[st4]

I used to have lights for my push bike

Ironically you are not allowed the flashing ones, but these give the best visibility.

I dare say with LEDs etc they are brighter than when i lasted used a bike, which was 10 years ago.

Actually thats a lie, my mate had thought up this scheme to hire mountain bikes and going biking. The vibrations of the saddle near my bum....

I imagine buggery is probably less sore!!!

I waddled into work on monday and they all thought I had shared a cell with a bloke who did bad things to me.

Heated seats for me from now on.

 

[LTD]

Ironically you are not allowed the flashing ones, but these give the best visibility.

You are if it is in ADDITION to a fixed red light at the rear. A combination I use on my road bike.

 

[219]

The law was changed in recent years to allow the use of flashing LED lamps on their own : while these are highly effective at allowing you to be seen , they do nothing at all to let you see where you're going on a dark road or path . Because I live out in the country , I need lights that let me see where I am going if I cycle a country lane after dark , which I do every so often .

Flashing LED's have always been legal as a supplement to constant illumination .

I myself use a set of halogen front and rear lamps plus a flashing LED backup light , front & rear , just in case the primary lamp fails ( it never has ) .

 

[blue gnome123]

Cycling lights are amazing now. Even very cheap LEDs are legal and give good light to be seen by. The MTBing lights I use are up there with car headlights (1300-1500lumens or about 55-60W) each, last many hours and too bright to use at full power on the road. Really there are no excuses for cyclists not to have good lights these days. Reflectives and hi-Viz are also cheap/very effective.

 

[snoop51]

Yes... but how will it be enfrced? Cameras? that won't help as they have no registration marks... Perhaps mad chases of cyclists by police cars? Cyclists are realisticly immune to any type of enforcement, and this is not likely to change. The best that can be done is 'suggest' that they should use cycling lanes where provided, and hope that (some) would.

You could enforce by use a large stick through the front wheel.

 

[gkerr4]

You could enforce by use a large stick through the front wheel.

well I guess it would help in that you would be prosecuted and might think twice before thinking a half-baked idea again.
half-wit.

 

[kwakdonut]

Now now ladies - be nice or be told off!!

 

[219]

You could enforce by use a large stick through the front wheel.

I have , in the past , considered this as a response to a reckless bike rider who almost knocked me down on a pedestrian crossing as he ran the red light .

While there might be such a thing as poetic justice , two wrongs do not make a right , alas .

 

[gkerr4]

Now now ladies - be nice or be told off!!

fair enough - but you can't have comments which deliberatly promote the concept of causing physical harm to vulnerable road users. What next - we accept using our cars to knock them off?

I'm a keen cyclist - and driver - and motorcyclist - roads are for sharing and we all have different needs from them. it isn't right to consider that jamming a stick in the front wheel is an acceptable course of action in retaliation for holding a car up for a few seconds - and in addition to my post, one of my road bikes cost over £5000 to put together - the wheels alonbe being over £1000 so other than the chance of physical injury i'd be pretty ****** at the outcome this would provide!