What on earth?

[Deleted member 126251]

'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.

Sadly cyclists & bikers do themselves no favours with their pack mentality - we were travelling along yesterday and came across a pack of cyclists -they were riding 3 abreast on a narrow country road, holding up half a dozen cars .....and making it dangerous for both themselves and motorists trying to get past - selfish bunch of a$$holes. I live in the countryside and we have loads of cyclists around on weekends and they're all pretty much the same.

They need to lean the Highway Code - take a look at the 3rd & last dot points - they never move to single file to let traffic pass...

Rule 66
You should

• keep both hands on the handlebars except when signalling or changing gear
• keep both feet on the pedals
• never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends
• not ride close behind another vehicle
• not carry anything which will affect your balance or may get tangled up with your wheels or chain
• be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Let them know you are there when necessary, for example, by ringing your bell if you have one. It is recommended that a bell be fitted.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

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 .

At least the tractor is doing something useful.....cyclists add no value .....

 

[Deleted member 126251]

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.

Charge cyclists to use the road, make all bikes registered with registration plate and must be insured for when they smash your car. Use funds raised to build cycle paths.....

 

[Alex]

'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.

Have you done your Ironman?

 

[c63chris]

Have you done your Ironman?

Yes I have! Just back from Austria. 13hrs6mins really pleased! Tried to post some pics but this forum seems stuck in the dark ages and keeps saying the pics are too big no matter how much I seem to crop them

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I always feel there’s a certain amount of martyrdom with cyclists that you don’t get with say motorcyclists (might be a petrolhead thing whereas cyclists tend to be a sour)

Look at these incidents metaphorically speaking; if you were walking in the street and bumped into someone three times bigger and five times stronger would you antagonise said person by following him and giving him a load of lip? What would you expect to happen? Yet certain cyclists think they can do this on a bike to big metal cars and have no repercussions - the bloke has already just cut you up, do you really think he’s going to see the light and say sorry?

Of course it’s just out and out wrong but this is about self preservation not about who is “right” or “wrong” - I’m sure “He had right of way” on the headstone will be cold comfort...

 

[c63chris]

I always feel there’s a certain amount of martyrdom with cyclists that you don’t get with say motorcyclists (might be a petrolhead thing whereas cyclists tend to be a sour)

Look at these incidents metaphorically speaking; if you were walking in the street and bumped into someone three times bigger and five times stronger would you antagonise said person by following him and giving him a load of lip? What would you expect to happen? Yet certain cyclists think they can do this on a bike to big metal cars and have no repercussions - the bloke has already just cut you up, do you really think he’s going to see the light and say sorry?

Of course it’s just out and out wrong but this is about self preservation not about who is “right” or “wrong” - I’m sure “He had right of way” on the headstone will be cold comfort...

You only need to look at some of the responses here to see what the problem is. For some reason 'cyclist' is a generic term by which anyone on a bike gets branded. We see people in cars behaving like d**ks everyday but accept some are good and some are bad but cyclists........... I agree there are camera warriors who want to take the moral high ground but you get dashcam warriors the same. As for the not picking a fight, I had exactly this with a van driver who pulled in front and braked hard on me. Asked him where he thougth his approach would lead! My point in sharing this was trying to show that road rage in itself is bad enough but when you take it out on a cyclist they will invariably end up in hospital and for what?

 

[markmifsud]

I have said this many a time but will repeat, my personal experience is:-
Rarely do I see a car jump a red light, but I can almost guarantee that every day I will see a cyclist ignore the light and just cycle as though it doesn't affect cyclists. Quite often this happens whilst I, as a pedestrian am using the Traffic lights as an indication that it "should" be safe for me to cross the road.

This in no way means any of them deserve to be targeted by idiots who chase them down in their cars, but they do need to to be more considerate to both Pedestrians and Cars. Most Saturdays I will be driving from our Village to Chelmsford on the A414 which is a 60 limit (parts are reduced to 50), and yet for many miles I am held back in a queue of cars waiting for the opportunity to safely overtake cyclists who are riding without a care in the world.

 

[Alex]

Yes I have! Just back from Austria. 13hrs6mins really pleased! Tried to post some pics but this forum seems stuck in the dark ages and keeps saying the pics are too big no matter how much I seem to crop them

Well done! I take it was a full distance one?

 

[c63chris]

Well done! I take it was a full distance one?

Thanks yes full fat 140.6

 

[kid-jensen]

I used to bike to work, but the multinational I work for (with an high-profile "green" policy) chose to move me 30 miles away, making cycling a non-starter for total-length-of-working-day and other reasons.

Now I enjoy the (relative) comfort of my Mercedes commute.

When I am stuck behind a cyclist or two, I simply remind myself that they are much easier to overtake than any car/van they would otherwise be in....

Hence I manage to retain a Zen-like calm.

 

[219]

I , too , some 20 years ago when I was in my early 40s , used to cycle to work some 20 miles into the outskirts of Edinburgh ; thankfully there were quiet roads which had been bypassed by the m9 , so little other traffic and it was quite a pleasant experience . There were also dedicated cycle lanes , separated from the dual carriageway past Ingliston and Edinburgh Airport which I used every time , and I could never understand the morons who insisted on cycling in the roadway where they just made nuisances of themselves and endangered themselves ; ingratitude was my main thought as the cycle lanes cost money to create . What put my off , was after the Gyle roundabout there were no more cycle lanes and I had to mix it with traffic .

As traffic got worse over the last couple of decades I cycled less and less on busy roads , although the cycleway to my current place of work ( when not travelling the country ) is an easy 10 mile run , and I do this on days when I don't need to carry any kit with me .

I have no problem with considerate drivers , as a cyclist , and no problem with considerate drivers , as a cyclist ; but the ones of both groups who seem to go out of their way to cause confrontation do wind me up .

And there are a minority of both out there , unfortunately .

 

[Deleted member 37751]

My point in sharing this was trying to show that road rage in itself is bad enough but when you take it out on a cyclist they will invariably end up in hospital and for what?

That was sort of my point really but more from the cyclists perspective - it’s all well and good having the high ground if you’re buried 6 feet under - don’t take things too personal and let it wither.

There seems to be a fair amount of road rage on offer from cyclists too to be frank and, as shown by the article you linked to, the only problem is that it’s them that ends up paying.

I’ve got no dog in this fight by the way, the cyclists I encounter tend to be on Yorkshire B Roads in the summer and 90% ride single file; I can imagine the relationship between motorist and cyclist to be more tense living in a big city though.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

..... be on Yorkshire B Roads in the summer and 90% ride single file; I can imagine the relationship between motorist and cyclist to be more tense living in a big city though.

I live between Selby and York and notice it is not the "recreational cyclist" (hubby and wife out for a Sunday ride) that is a problem but the packs of club cyclists (someone referred to them as road lice) and a$$holes that think they are the next Lance Armstrong that because, they are in a big group have a pack mentality and flout the road rules and are aggressive to motorists.

 

[219]

That was sort of my point really but more from the cyclists perspective - it’s all well and good having the high ground if you’re buried 6 feet under - don’t take things too personal and let it wither.

There seems to be a fair amount of road rage on offer from cyclists too to be frank and, as shown by the article you linked to, the only problem is that it’s them that ends up paying.

I’ve got no dog in this fight by the way, the cyclists I encounter tend to be on Yorkshire B Roads in the summer and 90% ride single file; I can imagine the relationship between motorist and cyclist to be more tense living in a big city though.

I don’t so much have problems with cyclists in built up areas , usually the roads are wider and in any case the speed differential is less or non existent ; it really is just on out of town A roads where traffic would otherwise be doing 50/60 and there isn’t space to pass safely between a bike and oncoming traffic , so everything is slowed to pedalling speed , which for many is sub
20 mph , and over a distance.

I still wouldn’t crowd any cyclist, even the worst sort , despite once being stuck for about three miles behind two Lycra clad morons who flatly refused to move into single file to let me past on a narrow unclassified country road ; despite doing so for oncoming traffic ; the road just wasn’t wide enough to pass them safely. Quite infuriating really , and no need for what was just pure badness on their parts .

 

[John]

The cyclist in the clip really did have to try to get themselves into a position where they attempted to make it look like the motorist had inconvenienced them.

If the motorist had cut the cyclist up or knocked them off as a result - different story.

The motorist deserves way more punishment than that for their ultimate actions in all this but the motorist didn't appear cause the cyclist any inconvenience at all - regardless of the motorist's motivations for doing so (e.g. not wanting to wait / arrogant / just genuinely trying to get ahead thinking they could do so etc.).

As a cyclist, you shouldn't bow or cower, but at the same time - you are the most vulnerable and as said, is it really worth it to prove a point?

Ar****les exists on and in all modes of transport and you take your life into your own hands when you wind up someone in a safer metal box - not everyone has something to lose or cares about the impact of their actions.

 

[Flyinspanner]

The driver in the clip should have been charged with attempted murder, there was malice and forethought.
He turned in on him once and probably scared the cyclist, (who carried on) he then went after him a second time, using the car to intentionally cause injury.
A cyclist head striking the kerb could easily cause death or life changing injuries, (which may then be a cost to the NHS & tax payers for the rest of a life) not to mention the cost on the family of the injured.

That said, some cyclists are stupid, selfish, and disobey the Highway Code. They should have to do some kind of training -at school maybe? Part of PHSE? .... as for the idiot teens who’s current penchant is for riding on only the rear wheel down the centre of the street, one can only hope for loose front wheel nuts......

 

[MrRight]

it is simply unacceptable for that sort of behaviour. random idiots have driven my brother while cycling off the road out of spite, and he has had a couple of people actually not see him coming out of junctions and hit him causing him to fall off his bike and end up in hospital once as a result.

I have the opposite problem and it is driving me nuts if I'm in the m3. the exhaust is really loud and my rule of thumb is never to overtake a cyclist unless I can leave a minimum 1 metre width gap between the handle of their bike and the car , preferably overtake while driving completely in the oncoming lane. the big problem with that is I have to accelerate faster to get past in good time to prevent any braking action from the oncoming cars up ahead , in this car it means driving in gear 1 or 2 and revving reasonably high and then feeling a bit embarrassed after the car makes a huge racket. i dont want to be in too high a gear as the smg takes a while to shift down which is potentially risky ! I dont have the problem in the merc at all which can handle higher gears and makes far less noise. I never ride a bike on the road so I dont know how much that is likely to annoy cyclists, it certainly isnt my intention to do so, but unless it freaks them out , I assume it is the lesser of two evils , the latter of which is leave a narrower gap of say a foot but accelerate slower. Any cyclists on here care to chime in?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

............... random idiots have driven my brother while cycling off the road out of spite, and he has had a couple of people actually not see him coming out of junctions and hit him causing him to fall off his bike and end up in hospital once as a result.

.....if I was involved in many incidents, I'd be wondering about my own behaviour on the road.......and perhaps not blaming others

 

[markjay]

.....if I was involved in many incidents, I'd be wondering about my own behaviour on the road.......and perhaps not blaming others

This is exactly the rationale behind the reasom why insurance companies increase the premium for drivers involved in no-fault accidents.