What on earth?

[c63chris]

'Smirking' motorist who deliberately drove into cyclist jailed for two years (+ video)

See too much of this on the road nowadays. People losing their temper and using their vehicle as a weapon. It would be good if we could not have the usual “they should have insurance, they should obey the rules”. The guy got broken ribs and a punctured lung. For what? I had a van pull out in front of me the other week then brake test me while on my bike. Same mentality. Just give cyclists a bit of space and time.

 

[zipdip]

Should be a mandatory 5 years,but we seem to be in a era now and for the last 10 years where jail time has been cut back,some of the sentences handed out now are crazy,for all sorts crimes.

 

[kianok]

No excuse for such actions however cyclists don’t do themselves any favours sometimes.

 

[RSTurbo50]

Cyclists at a set of traffic lights pulling forward in front of the bus rather than sensibly waiting behind it. They get in front of it knowing all very well that the bus will struggle to get past them. A sensible cyclist would think I’ll hang behind the bus and let him go rather than deliberately being awkward and being a hazard....see it all too often.

 

[Fununcle]

Cycling behind a bus with the fumes coming out of the back of it is not a good thing to do. Most will also go faster than the bus and also not have to pull out into traffic when the bus stops.

 

[kianok]

^ Surely that’s to be expected when you choose to ride a bike?

 

[190]

The problem is bicycles and other powered vehicles don't coexist well on busy roads. It's not even environmentally friendly to cycle on busy roads. It's now very rare for me to undertake a commute in the car without cyclists causing me to use more fuel and emit more pollution. Multiply that with the many hundreds of cars that have to queue up to get past them over my 10 mile commute and cyclists are producing more pollution than they save. The problem will only get worse as cycling gets more popular. We desperately need dedicated cycle routes for their safety and our sanity.

 

[219]

No excuse for such actions however cyclists don’t do themselves any favours sometimes.

Yep , just saw the below on Yahoo homepage , no doubt it will be the fault of the parked car ...

Cyclist fighting for life in hospital after crashing into parked car in east London

 

[markjay]

Yep , just saw the below on Yahoo homepage , no doubt it will be the fault of the parked car ...

Cyclist fighting for life in hospital after crashing into parked car in east London

Kingsland Road in Hackney? At 2am in the morning? It's a bit of a zoo at that time, lots of illegal activity and gang violence. Still, this could be an unrelated incident.

 

[markjay]

'Smirking' motorist who deliberately drove into cyclist jailed for two years (+ video)

See too much of this on the road nowadays. People losing their temper and using their vehicle as a weapon. It would be good if we could not have the usual “they should have insurance, they should obey the rules”. The guy got broken ribs and a punctured lung. For what? I had a van pull out in front of me the other week then brake test me while on my bike. Same mentality. Just give cyclists a bit of space and time.

This is typical behaviour of some people, who see 'red mist' and don't think about the consequences of their actions.

Stabbing or glassing or just punching someone in broad daylight and in front of witnesses and cameras is another example, no Hercule Poirot is required to solve these crimes and the perpetrators are bound to be caught and punished, but these people live in the moment and are unable to control or manage their rage.

 

[Fununcle]

The problem is bicycles and other powered vehicles don't coexist well on busy roads. It's not even environmentally friendly to cycle on busy roads. It's now very rare for me to undertake a commute in the car without cyclists causing me to use more fuel and emit more pollution. Multiply that with the many hundreds of cars that have to queue up to get past them over my 10 mile commute and cyclists are producing more pollution than they save. The problem will only get worse as cycling gets more popular. We desperately need dedicated cycle routes for their safety and our sanity.

Do you really use 100% more fuel for every cyclists you encounter, if not then the cyclists are still helping to reduce emissions compared to driving.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Cyclists at a set of traffic lights pulling forward in front of the bus rather than sensibly waiting behind it. They get in front of it knowing all very well that the bus will struggle to get past them. A sensible cyclist would think I’ll hang behind the bus and let him go rather than deliberately being awkward and being a hazard....see it all too often.

Sorry I find this hard to believe

You’re saying a cyclist, adhered to some traffic lights and actually stayed put... when the lights were red, and didn’t just cycle straight through as if they were king of the road?

No chance

One simply does not stop for a red light upon ones bicycle, one carries on through as the lights are beneath me

 

[190]

Do you really use 100% more fuel for every cyclists you encounter, if not then the cyclists are still helping to reduce emissions compared to driving.

No of course not and that isn't what I suggested; what I said was hundreds of cars. The cumulative effect of hundreds of cars slowing to pass the same cyclist on my 10 mile commute would negate the emissions saving made by the that person choosing to cycle rather than drive.

I'm not anti cyclists but a busy narrow road with a 50mph speed limit is not a sensible place for them to mix with other traffic. They need dedicated cycle lanes.

 

[219]

Do you really use 100% more fuel for every cyclists you encounter, if not then the cyclists are still helping to reduce emissions compared to driving.

I rather think what 190 is saying is that all the additional fuel a cyclist causes all drivers of motor vehicles to use , due to slowing the traffic flow in general, and by causing other traffic to slow , use lower gears and then accelerate to pass them , will be more than the fuel that cyclist would have used in a motor vehicle and with all vehicles on that road then flowing freely . I see this quite regularly on A roads which , without cyclists , will flow freely at 50 or 60 mph , but with even one cyclist , a queue of 20 or 30 vehicles can be slowed to 20 or 30 mph , all waiting for a gap In oncoming traffic in order to pass safely . Over a 10 mile journey, that cyclist will hold up literally hundreds of vehicles .

I see this regularly on the A737 , a road I would not consider safe for cycling on , and where I know there have been fatalities; especially when there is an alternative route along a disused railway line ( which I use when cycling ) running parallel , ( and linking the former railway stations in the same towns linked by the road ) which has been turned into a cycling/walking route ( part of the National Cycle Network) and which , because of its former use , does not have the steep gradients the road has which further slow cyclists to not much more than walking pace and further inconveniences the majority of road users .

 

[Fununcle]

You make a very good point pontoneer, but what is the alternative, as we all know nothing like enough money is spent on roads as it is without trying to also massively increase the amount of cycle paths.
Surely we just have to all get along together and try to not get so uptight at small inconveniences ie being stuck behind a cyclist for a matter of seconds.

 

[c63chris]

I rather think what 190 is saying is that all the additional fuel a cyclist causes all drivers of motor vehicles to use , due to slowing the traffic flow in general, and by causing other traffic to slow , use lower gears and then accelerate to pass them , will be more than the fuel that cyclist would have used in a motor vehicle and with all vehicles on that road then flowing freely . I see this quite regularly on A roads which , without cyclists , will flow freely at 50 or 60 mph , but with even one cyclist , a queue of 20 or 30 vehicles can be slowed to 20 or 30 mph , all waiting for a gap In oncoming traffic in order to pass safely . Over a 10 mile journey, that cyclist will hold up literally hundreds of vehicles .

I see this regularly on the A737 , a road I would not consider safe for cycling on , and where I know there have been fatalities; especially when there is an alternative route along a disused railway line ( which I use when cycling ) running parallel , ( and linking the former railway stations in the same towns linked by the road ) which has been turned into a cycling/walking route ( part of the National Cycle Network) and which , because of its former use , does not have the steep gradients the road has which further slow cyclists to not much more than walking pace and further inconveniences the majority of road users .

Really? One cyclist holds up 20-30 vehicles. This is where it’s all gone wrong. My OP showed a car deliberately forcing someone off the road. 4 cracked ribs and a punctured lungs. Look at the replies. Cyclists shouldn’t follow buses FFS. Sorry yours is no better. Roads are for all users. Cars, cycles, horses, whatever. A car seriously injures someone and the the replies here are saying what is wrong with cyclists and how “they” shouldn’t use the road. Think about it the other way round. If this video showed a cyclist it fault you would be saying “I told you so, they shouldn’t be on the road”. You are avoiding the obvious here which is why people have lost the ability to accommodate others. No one has a right to the road. We need to share with everyone. My car is considerably faster than yours so you should get out of my way. It’s the same level logic. Think about it.

 

[jdrrco]

But the car was considerably faster. It turned right well ahead of, cleanly and safely before the (presumably, signalling correctly) cyclist and yet the cyclist felt the need to issue a condescending and deliberately antagonising head shake just because the motorist had the gall to turn before him.

Don't get me wrong, I am not condoning the subsequent actions of the motorist and he has got what he deserved, but the cyclist clearly also has questions to answer. Was he indicating a left turn? If not, why not? If so, what's the problem? Why did he feel the need to scold the motorist who turned safely and quickly ahead of him?

I am both a cyclist and a motorist and I abhor the actions of motorists who think they own the road, but I equally abhor the current brand of militant cyclists who think that they can ignore all roadsense rules and then post on YouTube to get their revenge.

 

[219]

You make a very good point pontoneer, but what is the alternative, as we all know nothing like enough money is spent on roads as it is without trying to also massively increase the amount of cycle paths.
Surely we just have to all get along together and try to not get so uptight at small inconveniences ie being stuck behind a cyclist for a matter of seconds.

I'm not talking about a matter of seconds : even one cyclist will have that queue of 20 or 30 cars behind for all of his journey , and on a road with hills we are talking for half an hour or more for him to pedal along ; during that time , because of oncoming traffic , one vehicle may manage to pass every minute or two , but just as soon as one escapes past the front another takes its place at the back of the queue . It is anything but a matter of seconds , and really is a huge inconvenience . Oh , and if not a cyclist causing the hold up , it is a tractor , which is every bit as bad .

 

[219]

Really? One cyclist holds up 20-30 vehicles. This is where it’s all gone wrong. My OP showed a car deliberately forcing someone off the road. 4 cracked ribs and a punctured lungs. Look at the replies. Cyclists shouldn’t follow buses FFS. Sorry yours is no better. Roads are for all users. Cars, cycles, horses, whatever. A car seriously injures someone and the the replies here are saying what is wrong with cyclists and how “they” shouldn’t use the road. Think about it the other way round. If this video showed a cyclist it fault you would be saying “I told you so, they shouldn’t be on the road”. You are avoiding the obvious here which is why people have lost the ability to accommodate others. No one has a right to the road. We need to share with everyone. My car is considerably faster than yours so you should get out of my way. It’s the same level logic. Think about it.

If you take the time to read my post properly , you will see that I was responding to 190's post ( stating that the two methods of transport don't share roads terribly well together ) and not yours ; I was also referring to an A road commute on which even one cycle will hold up 20 or 30 vehicles at any given moment , in a queue half a mile long , something I encounter regularly and which I have no doubt happens every day whether I happen to see it or not , causing them to halve their speed , or lower , for several minutes , and over the course of his one journey , he will hold up hundreds of other road users in this way ( from the time that they join the back of his slow moving queue , with one at a time being able to pass him in gaps between oncoming vehicles , at a rate of one every minute or two , and work their way up to the front ) - thankfully most drivers are considerate enough to wait until there IS a gap in oncoming traffic , so that they can move far enough over to pass safely - hence the delay - but of course there are some that won't , and that's why I'm aware of several pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on the road . I have tried cycling along it , yes I cycle too , and even one Artic or tanker whizzing by at 50 mph with a foot's clearance is absolutely terrifying , which is why I only did it a couple of times before deciding to use the cycleway along the disused railway line , which is a couple of miles longer but infinitely safer . Most of the time , alas , I need to carry equipment with me so the car is my only option .

The person who commented about buses was asserting that cycles SHOULD remain behind them - in order to avoid the risk of being caught between the bus and the kerb , or being run over if the bus is turning left ; I didn't comment on that ; I also happen to agree with the poster above who felt that the car in your OP didn't do anything particularly wrong in turning BEFORE the cyclist reached the junction , although what he subsequently did was entirely wrong .

As for your assertion that roads are for all users , not entirely - there are many roads where certain users are excluded : motorways are the most obvious example with pedestrians , cyclists , motorcycles under 50cc and horses prohibited . Some routes are for pedestrians and cyclists only , with all motor vehicles prohibited , and it is unfortunate that horses aren't prohibited from busy and fast A roads and dual carriageways , because on such roads the riders would take their and their animals lives in their hands by venturing forth ; country lanes and 30 mph roads , just about fine , but other roads they are a danger to themselves and everyone else . Thankfully it isn't something one sees too often .

 

[markjay]

This is not the fault of cyclists... in London, at least.

The Congestion Charge could have been used to ease congestion by reducing the number of car journeys into the city, but instead it was used to allow more cyclists into the city.

Road space in central London was converted to cyclist lanes, keeping congestion for cars (and polution...) at the same level. This is by design.

So in this case it's a matter of municipal policy, rather than an issue with the behaviour of the individual cyclist.