after reading anagallis_arvensis's thread I too am both pissed off with the lack of prosecutions for cars hitting cyclists and the number of near misses I experience whislt out cycling.
we have the right to cycle on all roads except motorways and cars must be encouraged to share the road, it is useless to explain the error of their ways as, you either get verbally abused,"you dont pay road tax"(it never goes down well when i say well actually I have two vehicles and therefore probably pay more than you!) or they deliberatly drive at you/swerve towards you.
these 3 default behaviours happened on Sunday on a long road ride after I said "excuse me would you mind leaving a bit more space when overtaking cyclists" to a particular driver.Unfortunately I dont have a photograpic memory or I would have reported the driver to the police. A number of other near misses happened with other vehicles just because they could be bothered to wait a few more seconds to overtake or even when they had pleanty of space still left less than a foot.
I have had enough!
I contacted the minister for road safety today jim.fitzpatrick@dft.gsi.gov.uk and would encourage all to do so both directly and via your local MP(the official way to do things)
we need a road safety campign to encourage drivers of other vehicles to share the road and give cyclists pleanty of room
I have been riding for more than 30 years and in my experience drivers are becoming less and less considerate of cyclists
lets do something about it
I always feel unsafe on the roads, because what risk there is is out of my hands and in those of careless, well-protected numpties 🙁
At least when I'm off-road I can choose the risks
Interesting in this context that there have been TV ads about looking for [b]motor[/b]bikes...
People are becoming less considerate, full stop. And driving a car has increasingly been adopted as a means by which to vent general frustration, bully and show off.
I've given up remonstraing with the idiots in their tin boxes - I tend to use a withering look and a slow shake of the head to show my disapproval.
However, with the increasing number of people on bikes (whether fro transport, sport or whatever), perhaps an equally balanced public saftey campaign out to be launched - one which addresses the sh*tty atitude of some people in cars, and the frustraing lack of engagement with road rules by some people on bikes.
I was nearly hit by three separate cars in relatively quick succession recently, but often feel no more or less safe than usual when out on the road. For me, the benefit of exercising my body and my rights is more important than the apparent risk of idiots in cars. But, by ****, there are a lot of idiots in cars....
I occasionaly venture onto the evening standards (aka Daily Mail, The Metro - given away free on all public transport) website. Some of the comments on their are ridiculous
e.g.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23629978-details/One-way+rule+to+be+waived+for+cyclists+in+City+streets/article.do
Cyclists seem to be seen as an annoyance to everyone, despite posing virtually no danger.
Very, very rarely.
Had someone fully open a car door on me this morning meaning I had to swerve into the middle of the lane. Luckily there was no car behind me. All the idiot could do was yell "jesus"
A bit further on I was cycling in the left hand lane about 5 feet out from the kerb. A girl on the pavement was walking in the same direction I was cycling, about 20 feet ahead of me. As I approached her she stepped off the pavement without looking, and continued across the lane I was in, again paying no attention as she was constantly looking left. Had to swerve at the last minute to avoid her.
thats why we need a rolling media campaign to keep it in the spotlight
druidh Id like to live on your planet 😉
The days when cars and bikes could share the roads are long gone. Cyclists NEED cycle lanes just to be safe, it's as simple as that.
I only ride road for "pleasure" and get to stay off busy roads so don't feel in danger - or hardly ever
But every day I drive along a stretch of A-road & see cyclists at risk. Makes me wince, esp in winter when it's darkish at peak times.
Worht noting that the road's not really wide enough for 2 cars & a bike, let along car/lorry/bike and this of course is the source of danger. It's also semi-rural, floods quite a lot at the edges and has crappy ill-defined margins.
When the occasional considerate driver waits for a decent passing place to get round a bike, they tend to generate a queue of about 30 vehicles all travelling at bike pace. I can see why this might wind up drivers but there is no realistic alternative route if you have to cycle to work. I wouldn't dare ride it.
my rule of thumb is a couple of times per long (4-5 hour) ride I'll experience a close shave with a car...
I've realised its pointless getting angry with these people, which in itself can be counterproductive if we all did this..drivers would just see cyclists as easy targets.
All I can say is, its winter, everyones stressed, dark and wet- all these things combine for drivers to make mistakes.
Ps.
Off road, your life is firmly in your hands.
On the road, your life is partly in your hands but mostly in everyone elses.
I gave over riding/racing on the roads because I was getting knocked off too often. I also saw too many get killed in "accidents". In one case there was a witness who saw a lorry deliberatley swerve into, and kill a cyclist. His evidence was discounted because he too was a cyclist, and so was considered to be biased!
GnarGnar - no way! The day we start saying this is the start of the process that will end up with cyclists being banned from the roads.
From where I live there is no possible route that I could take that would be entirely cycle lane. How do I get to work then? Do I just sack the 45 people that work for me?
Going back to th OP - apart from the 15 hours last summer when everyone loved cyclists I now find that everyday I get drivers overtaking without giving me any room at all, overtaking and turning in across me, pulling across the road to deliberately scare me, just pulling out from side roads without looking, the list goes on and on.
The days when cars and bikes could share the roads are long gone. Cyclists NEED cycle lanes jsut to be safe, it's as simple as that.
you are missing the point, all vehicles have a duty to share the road with other road users, i dont agree with marginalising bikes, sure cycle paths should be available and funding should be there to improve and expand them but those who choose to cycle on the road have the right to be treated with repect by other road users
how often do I feel my life is in danger whilst road cycling?
Every time I hear a car coming up behind me.
Which thankfully isn't often mid-week in the North York Moors.
Drivers don't bother me at all these days...
MisterCrud - Im guessing you ride on NSL's? EEK!
I only have once and tbh it was probably as much my fault as theirs.
I'm not sure if I get given more room as I'm a girl? Or the drivers around Leeds are reasonably ok?
I am totally pro cycling here, dont get me wrong - but we are totally unprotected. We are largely incapabale of accelerating / keeping pace with traffic, at times we are difficult to see, and worst of all we pose no threat to other road users. When driving a car you only feel "threatened" for want of a better word by other cars, lorries etc. A cyclist or a pedestrian represents an obstacle whereas another vehicle represents danger.
Im not saying we should be stuck to meandering scenic cycle paths, Im saying there should be cycle paths designed and factored into town and road planning to allow bikes to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.
On the daily commute just avoiding getting knocked off is a fairly regular occurrence, at least a couple of times each way, but I've yet to feel as though my life was in danger. But then again if I was a bit of a drama queen maybe I would view things differently.
Generally people in cars are angry, they don’t want to give up their space and they want to get to where they’re going faster than the next person. Unfortunately that’s the way the roads are now, no amount of campaigns will change that. On my commute I also have lots of occasions where drivers are very courteous to me, which I always thank them for.
Non-commuting rides are all done on coutry roads and I've never had a near death experience yet.
What gets me (in the centre of Manc coming out)- a car will accelerate and cut back infront just to slam on his brakes 10m's later at the end of the queue of cars. You then sail by... why do they do that? 'Beat' the cyclist - so narrow-minded?!
What's an NSL?????????
I rarely, if ever, feel my life is in danger, but I get cut up, pushed into a gutter, shouted at by twunts for no reason, etc, often. I guess after a while you learn to cycle defensively and anticipate how and where drivers are likely to do bad things. Touch wood I've only been knocked off once, and it was partly my fault (frozen dynamo and dodgy brakes). I wonder what the demographics of this are? Would be interesting to see what the geographic spread of cycling safety is, e.g. north vs south (or south east vs everywhere else?), urban, suburban and countryside...
60mph limit- usual over moors etc.
Oh BTW- try wearing non-cyclist clothes; Tracksuit bottoms- no helmet. The more chav you look the more a car will give you a wide berth.
Cyclist gear = Geography Teacher to some drivers.
i have pretty much stopped riding on the road.
i tend to pick routes away from traffic.
i ride on the pavement too, unless it is in a busy pedestrian area.
rush hour when people are going home seems the works
****ing idiots trying to save seconds to get home quicker,
It seems to go from one extreme to another, after the Olympics, there was noticeable softening of attitude towards cyclist on the road.
Now its back to how it used to be, with your eyes on the road and your ears listening to what is going on behind you.
Only last week I had a 4x4 pull out on me from a side road, just smiled at me as if to say, what are you going to do about it!
As mentioned above, the don't care, I am in a hurry, get out of my way brigade is on the increase.
To be fair, the standard of cyclist I see riding on the road also seem to be getting worse too [I have been cycling to work daily for the last 6 odd years on, give or take, the same route] I have noticed more people cycling now than ever before.
I have lost count of the number of rlj, cyclist without lights at night, cycling on the wrong side of the roads, on the pavements, the list is endless.
hora thats because for many drivers it's all about beating someone to a space.
[i]Now its back to how it used to be, with your eyes on the road and your ears listing to what is going on behind you.[/i]
Is there another way?
If I was going to commute by bike I'd rig up a light bar to fit across the back of the thing. I'd extend it about a foot on nearside and 2ft on the offside & stick one of those bright leds on either end - whether dark or not
If dark, I'd also rig up lights to shine onto me, 1 from behind & 1 in front (reckon bike lights don't get properly processed by drivers & get lost amongst distant headlights etc)
Bottom line - I think I'd resign my job rather than ride that road
[i]I'd extend it about a foot on nearside and 2ft on the offside & stick one of those bright leds on either end [/i]
mm that would make negotiation through busy traffic quite 'interesting'.
Gary - I'd take the rough with the smooth. If I want to be treated as part of the traffic, I'll stay in the queue
(mind, it's not a highly congested route. mostly quite fast-moving)
Very, very rarely do I feel like my life is in danger when riding on the roads.
I think a lot of cyclists over estimate how visibale they actually are. Stand at the side of a busy road at night and try and spot cyclists as far away as possible, its pretty hard to spot some, especially those with only 'commuting lights' and your not even driving at the same time!
I commute every day, about 3 miles of it is through a small but busy town, i feel pretty safe but there are times when idiots overtake you on a corner or somthing and you just have to shake your head and watch them roar off.
ditto stato 😉
Sit in a car on a dark, wet night with raindrops on the windows and reflections off the roads and play spot the cyclist
I find that with a knog front flasher, a cateye flasher and a Dinotte 5W flasher I still get cars pulling out on me - I quite often can see the driver on the phone as they pull out of a side road. The more lights you have the closer people ride to you.
Last week I was cycling to work and a car pulled alongside of me, then booted it before slamming on the brakes and turning into a local car showroom car park, only he didn't pull all the way in but stopped completely across the cycle lane and half the regular road. I just managed to stop running into the back of him by about 150mm - when I went round the side and suggested that he might want to look before pulling in he told me that he'd seen me and that I couldn't ride a bike because what he had done was perfectly OK. oh - and that if I said anything to anyone he'd break both my arms and punch my face in. I do know where he works, and what he drives and he may find a polite response waiting for him one day.
Client of mine was run over and killed by a lorry driver who was seen looking at the mobile phone in his hand (assume texting or dialing a number)seconds before running over my client. As he didn't send the call/text the police couldn't prove anything as it was his word against the witnesses and he got away with a fine and a ban rather than a prision sentence.
My client had been a cyclist for 30yrs and was wearing a high vis top, helmet, never wore headphones etc and basically took road safety very seriously. He left a wife and 2 (adult) kids who 2 years on are still coming to terms with the loss.
I hope he feels guilt for the rest of his life as he has destroyed a family.
This is what stupidity and mindless driving can lead to 😯
I very rarely feel that my life is in danger, commuting into London and riding for fun in Surrey lanes.
I used to worry about ti more, but have largely given up fussing.
Its kinda common sense(to me)to make yourself more visable and I have 2 flashing lights at the rear and one on the front on whether its is day or night
bigsi - Member
Client of mine was run over and killed by a lorry driver who was seen looking at the mobile phone in his hand (assume texting or dialing a number)seconds before running over my client. As he didn't send the call/text the police couldn't prove anything as it was his word against the witnesses and he got away with a fine and a ban rather than a prision sentence.My client had been a cyclist for 30yrs and was wearing a high vis top, helmet, never wore headphones etc and basically took road safety very seriously. He left a wife and 2 (adult) kids who 2 years on are still coming to terms with the loss.
I hope he feels guilt for the rest of his life as he has destroyed a family.
This is what stupidity and mindless driving can lead to
And that right there is the reality of what you're up against on the road, and the reason I dont do it anymore.
And that right there is the reality of what you're up against on the road, and the reason I dont do it anymore.
How do you get to places?
Didnt you realise, people in cars are invincible!
Footpaths.miketually - MemberHow do you get to places?
righty - Member
Its kinda common sense(to me)to make yourself more visable and I have 2 flashing lights at the rear and one on the front on whether its is day or night
This is why i have 2 steady and 1 flashing light on the front and 1 stead and 1 flashing on the rear. I have been told be various people that i stand out but it doesn't stop people driving like ****s but then they don't seem to notice me in my car either so may be i just have an invisabilty cloak of some type.