Passing a cyclist

[Deleted member 113659]

there are nine million bicycles in Beijing.........

That's a fact

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Surly its about being patient and waiting for the road ahead to become clear

another example

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=C...&biw=1366&bih=638&dpr=1#imgrc=AroOH_X6pSZdeM:

And a bad example at that. I'd not overtake either 'A' or 'B' with the blind corner coming up.

 

[RickyBurrows]

Whatever the obstacle!! That obstacle, is still there in front of the driver. Why then, do some drivers choose to disengage their brains when they see the obstacle and attempt overtakes that are simply dangerous, can and do, end in collisions (not accidents).

I will have a guess here.

When these fools see a cyclist in their path. They think the cyclist can/will move, when they intimidate them with their vehicle. If the cyclist doesn't yield, they will get knocked off with little damage to the driver who will blame them anyway.

When that obstacle is another vehicle, there is a recognition that a collision is the likely outcome, so they hold back, recognising that if there is a collision, they themselves may come off worse.

So (in my opinion) it is selfish in the extreme for people to bully other road users simply to enable the bully to get up the road quicker.

People leave their brains at home when hey get in their cars. Yesterday in Maidstone we have a 43 year old lady in court charged with causing death by dangerous driving and having an unsafe load on her vehicle.

Why?

Show found it acceptable to toss a mattress onto the roof of her car and set off down a main arterial dual carriageway at speed. The mattress came off causing the drivers behind to swerve in avoidance. One of the drivers lost control, hit a tree before rebounding back across the carriageway, losing his life in the process. All for somebody who could not be bothered to check that their load was properly secured or to pay a professional to move it for her. Just another example of the casual way we treat our cars and each other.

Three weeks ago where I live we had the sight of dead horses in the road with their injured teenage riders standing distraught at the roadside as the driver of an Audi R8 attempted to explain how he came to have his car embedded in their horses. The riders stated that they heard him coming (high revs) for some minutes and were attempting to get to a "safe place" when he rounded the bend at speed at drove straight into them.

I totally agree with that no matter what it is in front and how annoyed you are think of the outcome the thing that bugs me is cyclist riding in middle of the road and the ones that ride side by side and also when there's a bike path but still choose to hold up traffic by riding on the road all of that annoys me but still that's life I still wait for a safe place to overtake as I value my life and car more than a cyclist being a bit of a nob.

 

[merc85]

I've seen that argument before, as put forward by a lycra lout.

Section 66
This section explains what cyclists should and should not do when riding on the road.

You should:
Keep both hands on the handlebars except when signalling or changing gear.
Keep both feet on the pedals.
Be considerate of other road users, taking extra care around blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Use your bell when necessary to signal you are nearby.
Ride single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends

You should not:
Ride more than two abreast.
Ride close behind another vehicle.
Carry anything that will affect your balance or get tangled up in your wheels or chain.

I have no problem with section 66 either, Why a Lycra Lout? not a "cyclist" lout?

 

[John N]

Personally I think we need to go down the Dutch route of 'strict liability'

https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/...ity-made-everybody-drive-safely-and-play-nice

The rules appertaining to Cyclist in the Netherlands are excellent, but also cause problems.

I lived in Germany a few years ago and the Laws there are very similar to the Dutch, BUT:

1: The Cycling Population soon cotton on the to fact that the Car/Van/Lorry Driver WILL be Prosecuted regardless of who was or is at fault.

2: They have brilliant Cycle Paths, some constructed well away from the normal Vehicle Commuter Routes, BUT, when they have cause to Cycle on what is classed as a normal road, their brain still remains in "Cycle Path Mode" and they Cycle along without a care in the World with Number 1 above planted firmly in their mind!

I'm a Cyclist myself living in Peterborough and I often come up behind Cyclists riding on the Dual Carriageways and Ring Roads, more often than not causing havoc, on most routes in and around Peterborough you will find that there are Specially Built Cycle Paths within a Hundred Yards or so of the Main Roads! :bannana: EMPTY

 

[RonFleet]

I have just (half an hour ago) witnessed the near-demise of a cyclist, who was totally oblivious to his impending doom. I was waiting to turn right at a junction, with said cyclist approaching from my right. A car approached the cyclist from the rear and decided that it would be OK to overtake him and turn left into the road where I was waiting. Unfortunately, she was about 15 feet from the junction when she pulled out around him. There was no way she could execute the manoeuvre safely and as she drew alongside him bailed out and braked hard. As it happened, the lad on the bike turned left into the side road without signalling his intention, giving the car just enough space to stop without hitting him. The cyclist was blissfully unaware of what was happening around him - cycling with earphones in is a very dangerous habit.

 

[zipdip]

Bruce you are biased I have seen your chopper bike, but seriously it is getting difficult out there cyclists are cycling faster 20mph at least being the norm except Bruce on his chopper,Killer mentions Cambridge now that is a place where cyclists reign supreme,everybody is scared of what they will do next, I have seen a bus stop turning right at a junction with the lights in its favour because the driver knew that the oncoming cyclist was not going to stop,as regards the two metres gap most times that cannot happen,and my last point is everybody riding a cycle or taking part in any pursuit like horse riding,mountain biking and any sport should have insurance and it looks like we all need the dash cameras,because at the moment the cyclist has all the ammunition to prosecute a driver.

 

[timskemp]

I recently took up cycling in order to lose weight and improve fitness. Overall I have found most drivers are fine, but then most of my riding is quiet roads with other cyclists. As a keen driver I've always kept a lookout.

Close passes aren't a massive problem to me as such but some consideration to groups / pairs needs to go both ways. Riding two wide does shorten the overtake for cars, but we will always pull over on single track lanes and alter pace to make the passing places accessible.

It's in town where the biggest issue is, as a car driver I want to beat the lights and make my turn, as a cycle rider I want to be visible. There's a lot of self-responsibility on both sides, and both sides often fail.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

As a motorist my biggest worry when among cyclists is that I might hit one and cause injury to a fellow road user, the OP seems more concerned about getting a few points and a fine.

Some perspective required it seems.

 

[brucemillar]

Bruce you are biased I have seen your chopper bike, but seriously it is getting difficult out there cyclists are cycling faster 20mph at least being the norm except Bruce on his chopper,Killer mentions Cambridge now that is a place where cyclists reign supreme,everybody is scared of what they will do next, I have seen a bus stop turning right at a junction with the lights in its favour because the driver knew that the oncoming cyclist was not going to stop,as regards the two metres gap most times that cannot happen,and my last point is everybody riding a cycle or taking part in any pursuit like horse riding,mountain biking and any sport should have insurance and it looks like we all need the dash cameras,because at the moment the cyclist has all the ammunition to prosecute a driver.

Brian. Glad you like the Chopper. Notice it has a six foot whip aerial with flag for visibility to car drivers ;^)

I do see both sides, even three sides. I am an avid dog walker, walking eight miles a day every day with my two Siberian Husky's. That is a hazardous occupation, believe me. I also cycle (very rarely on the Chopper) and that is no better than the dog walking. Some drivers seem to want to have the argument and will approach you looking like they want the argument. That attitude being "it's my road for driving on and not yours for doing non-driving stuff on" This is often backed up with comments like: "I pay Road Tax, what do you pay?"

Well I also pay VED Tax but at this point in time I choose to cycle, walk or whatever else I happen to be doing. I also pay 4 lots of VED Tax on my Four Cars so probably pay more than the average bear. But I still do not feel the need to intimidate others who choose to use the same patch of road as me.

Sadly, with humans. There are always some, who just should stay indoors. A risk to themselves and others as soon as they get behind the wheel or handlebars or dog lead.

They should be shot.....

 

[french]

I was a witness & a unwilling participant to a road incident recently , busy inner city road, in fact a artery road of the city.
10:30 @ night & I was following a car( as you do)the car in front was stopping & going along very slowly & then pulled out & went slow again . I only then realised he was talking to a cyclist who was dressed in black top & shorts & had no lighting whatsover, all I heard as he drove off was this woman calling him all the Bleeps you would think of.
Approx 200mtres there was a traffic light on red, so I pull up behind him & then this woman goes past me on the inside & starts again & he obliged by rolling his window down & he was saying it was hard to see her as she had no lights ,which was true , but her argument was he was to close behind & earlier(before I was there) ,he had apparently stopped sharply, she said brake checked . He then went onto tell her he had not brake checked her & that a lady in a parked car had thrown open her car door & then shut it when she saw him, meanwhile the lights have gone green & people are beeping etc etc. to which this cyclist shouts some abuse at me? My Wife was furious & got out of the car & went to the cyclist & asked her not to shout obscenities at us & it was not us who beeped , by now the lights are red again & the man who was beeping came along & all hell broke lose to which the cyclist left us all at the red light & rode off through the red light...I reckon there were some very high blood pressure counts Lol

 

[brucemillar]

^ Probably Lewis Hamilton driving.

 

[brucemillar]

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/…/van-driver-filmed-forcing-cy…

 

[french]

Bruce at risk of taking this off topic, can I ask you what is the problems you have encountered with dog walking ? I have two Whippet/Lurchers & I love my two daily walks with them ...in fact I am off in a moment for a walk & a pub garden lunch with them, wife & son ,then walk it off later Lol.

Sorry Zipdip for taking off topic for a moment .

 

[bazzabear]

As always the Highway code makes a idiot of itself,by showing a photo of a car passing a cyclist on the other side of the road,as you would if you passed a horse and rider,totally forgetting you are dealing with a animal which is unpredictable and not a machine ridden by a person.

I don't see what's idiotic. Why wouldn't you give them as much space as you can?

As for those people who overtake a bike anyway when there's oncoming traffic - both crowding the poor rider and nearly hitting the oncoming car. Those people need to learn a little patience.

 

[st13phil]

My answer was, why not stay in single file but leave holding spaces between every three or four bikes so cars have the chance to leapfrog a large group?

Far too simple and logical.

The facts are that roads are a shared space, and that soft squidgy human bodies will always come off worst when they come into contact with chunks of metal.

If all road users concentrated more on what was sensible in the instant circumstances, rather than what their (real or perceived) "rights" were, then there would be much less conflict.

 

[brucemillar]

Bruce at risk of taking this off topic, can I ask you what is the problems you have encountered with dog walking ? I have two Whippet/Lurchers & I love my two daily walks with them ...in fact I am off in a moment for a walk & a pub garden lunch with them, wife & son ,then walk it off later Lol. Sorry Zipdip for taking off topic for a moment .

The pic gives a typical view on my walks around where we live 'all' the roads are like this. Impatient drivers who refuse to wait or slow down while I get myself and the dogs out of harms way, preferring to toot or rev the engine then shout abuse. Where do the expect me to go to to get out their way? Alternatively they could slow down (some do) and we all manage with a smile and a wave. I have been hit by a passing car who was unable to stop as rounded a bend (no damage to me). My dogs have also been bumped. The abuse is shocking. Sent from my iPhone using sausage fingers.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I'm a Cyclist myself living in Peterborough and I often come up behind Cyclists riding on the Dual Carriageways and Ring Roads, more often than not causing havoc, on most routes in and around Peterborough you will find that there are Specially Built Cycle Paths within a Hundred Yards or so of the Main Roads! :bannana: EMPTY

As a fellow Peterborough resident for the last ten years, I can't say I've noticed any particular issues with cyclists on the roads (on the paths is a different matter!) Perhaps I've just not spotted the two-wheel miscreants because my attention is riveted on the high percentage of motorists who have no idea how to use slip roads on the Parkways, nor have any knowledge of where their indicator stalk is!

 

[Deleted member 65149]

In the last week or so I've seen numerous instances of cyclists riding in large groups, being closely followed by many cars and motorbikes. Even when on narrow roads the motorised vehicles have taken every possible opportunity to pass the cyclists, with barely inches to spare. Even when the Lycra-clad men have been cycling at impressively high speed, cars and especially motorbikes have raced past, sometimes weaving either side of the cyclists. I really don't know how they get away with it; fortunately the dangerously close overtaking has been when there's no oncoming traffic. Nevertheless, in just a few days I've seen several cyclists seriously injured. It's put me right off cycling in France at this time of the year.

 

[ToeKnee]

Why is it that cyclists demand a large gap when you overtake them but are happy with less than a 12" gap when the undertake you?