Really interesting article!

a key problem is the majority of road users not understanding the needs and behaviours of a minority with whom they have to share resources; as soon as you take a group of drivers who do know what it is to be in that minority, behaviour improves

in my data we saw riskier behaviour from drivers when they passed a cyclist who was wearing a helmet, which fits the idea they saw the rider as more capable

http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeID=25&editionID=217&ArticleID=2136

I wondered about the ‘helmet wearing = more capable’ idea, and then went to read the article. That second quote is preceeded with this line

both found that non-cyclists view bicycle helmets as an indicator of an experienced rider

Note that it says AN indicator. I was wondering what would happen if I set off home tonight riding swiftly on a decent bike, wearing lycra, but without a helmet. Would I be perceived as any less capable?

I’m sure it’s the general appearance and actions of a rider that determines the assessment of capability, rather than specifically the helmet. It is likely imo that instances of non-helmet wearing overlap significantly with less experienced riders, so the relationship between helmet wearing and assessment of capability could very well be a correlation rather than a causal link.

A good article, thanks for sharing it.

Im going to go have a think & a chat down the pub on this one..

go have a think & a chat down the pub on this one..

they won’t be interested. keep it stw

as soon as you take a group of drivers who do know what it is to be in that minority, behaviour improves

I like the idea of making everybody cycle (or ride a 20mph moped) through a city/suburban route at rush hour every now & then – at least before receiving a full licence, or maybe it could be a consequence of getting points or being involved in a crash or something like that

expensive, mind 😐

Wearing a helmet IS a sign of a more capable rider. Or at least, a rider who isn’t a moron.

I like the idea of making everybody cycle (or ride a 20mph moped) through a city/suburban route at rush hour every now & then – at least before receiving a full licence, or maybe it could be a consequence of getting points or being involved in a crash or something like that
expensive, mind

This and I think skid pan training should be part of learning to drive. The amount of people you see who obviously have no control over a car is scary. If you can’t handle a car you shouldn’t be able to drive

i agree with making new drivers gain some experience on other modes of transport, also with the skid pan thing.
i had a motorbike for 3 years before i passed a car test, im convinced it makes me a better driver. (either that, or im a better driver because i give a shit about other humans)

This and I think skid pan training should be part of learning to drive. The amount of people you see who obviously have no control over a car is scary. If you can’t handle a car you shouldn’t be able to drive

The only problem with that is, if you understeer, which is what all road cars are set up to do by default, there’s really fek all you can do about it other than lift off a bit and wait for grip to return.

Oversteer, which is unlikely unless you’re trying for it in a RWD car, is corrected by lifting off a bit and steering into the skid. But then that assumes you’ve got road left to steer into and run wide on, not generally the case on a public road, so you end up in the hedge/barrier/garden/ditch anyway.

Which leads onto point 3, which is more dangerous, a driver who doesn’t entirely know what to do in the event of a skid, or a driver who thinks that they know what to do in the event of a skid, and therefore drives closer to the limit with a newfound sense of invulnerability? If you’ve reached the point where, as you put it, you have to ‘handle a car’ then by my definition you are already well into the realms of being a crap driver and scare me by being on the road more than the average nervous newly passed 17 year old girl who takes every corner at walking pace.

Having said the above, there’s nothing more fun than a big empty roundabout, the rain and the MG running in fine fettle.

taxi drivers in london learn ‘the knowledge’ on mopeds, does that make them more ‘aware’ ?

the helmet thing is purely perception, more important by far is body language, and a degree of control that shows your intent, sixth sense is handy too 😉

I performed a similar (non-scientific) test whereby I rode the same stretch of local roads first in full riding gear followed immediately with jeans and t-shirt and no helmet. The space given when wearing the latter was very significant.

Having wrote that, I tried the ‘wobble’ technique as advised by Obree recently. Mixed results with that one.

Today, however, I experienced (once again) the full terror of having an angry coach driver use his vehicle to attempt to run me off the road simply because he could’t pass me whilst traversing a roundabout. His college (another Heyfordian coach driver) some minutes later gave me about an inch more space on a climb resulting in an unavoidable interface with a rogue stick that shattered my second-time-used Crud mudguards -gutted.

For once, had the opportunity presented itself to come face-to-face with the former, I wouldn’t have hestitated to thump him, thereby relieving other road users of his insanity.

I’d write that words fail me, but the above dictates otherwise…

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