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I went from seeing zero riders on my local route to seeing about 30 so many more cyclists out than usual and results cannot be compared to the last average
Can only agree with so many other comments on here about the rise in inexperienced cyclists on the roads. Recently I saw a family out riding and a bus approached from behind. Rather than keeping their speed up and letting the bus decide when it was safe to overtake, they started slowing down (which then led to them wobble and swerve around the road) which simply put them more at risk. And that's just one example of the several events I have witnessed 🙁
Local police have been drafted in to help enforce stupid rules in a hoity toity country park. This morning I was awoken by what sounded like a drag race up our road in the 30mph limit.
Two posts on said police FB page.
Post A = cyclist killed in RTA. Comments = 2.
Post B = someone was a bit rude to one of the rangers in the aforementioned park. Comments = 157.
The focus is all to cock, but the NIMBY curtain twitchers are practically creaming themselves with all this new found 'legitimacy'.
I've been wanting to go out for a spin, not been out for months, but the standard of driving here is worse than the p*ss poor standard it is usually and perhaps I'm more nervous than I should be about getting back out. Also so many families out on bikes, which is great to see, but some of their bike handling and awareness is worrying, eg the mum and daughter in the middle of the road then on the wrong side of the road head on to traffic yesterday.
I went out over the weekend on the road bike and what I found particularly perplexing was the one driver who buzzed me despite being on a wide and straight road with absolutely no traffic coming in the other direction so they had plenty of space and time to overtake safely. I guess they assume they 'told me' suitably for having the audacity to be out on my bike.
The people going out just driving and ignoring lockdown guidance are more likely to be the ****ers in society who usually drive like arseholes and treat cyclist like shit.
My partner is still driving to work daily and says the driving is a s bad as she has ever seen it. She reckons she's been overtaken more in the last month on this commute than in the entire 4 years of doing it previously.
People pulling out without looking, speeding, getting right up the arse of the car in front.
Absolute bellends
Overtaking a slower moving car last week, to have someone overtake me mid-manoeuvre!
Definitely higher speeds and some crazy decision making.
to have someone overtake me mid-manoeuvre!
Ohh yes, I had that on my ride too - I was overtaken by an idiot on his little 125 motorbike (with L plates on obviously) as I was about to turn right (I was cycling up the marked out right turn lane and even had my arm out to signal as he flew by me).
The people going out just driving and ignoring lockdown guidance are more likely to be the **** in society who usually drive like arseholes and treat cyclist like shit.
Exactly, the rules and laws are not for them.
Literally every time I go out a car pulls out in front of me, usually on a round about but not always.
Exactly this.
Not exactly, but often. Yet on my first ride out during lockdown I had someone not even pull out on me, instead they simply slowed a little then accelerated out using the T junction as a corner in their real-life race fantasy. They only looked left (if that), and ignored me descending the hill to their right. Of course they cut the ‘corner’ as they carried on out of the junction and I luckily pre-emoted idiocy by dabbing brakes as a precaution. If I hadn’t been in the fortunate position to have had full view of them as I approached then I don’t know what. Only just missed me (by a foot) as it was. ****ing ****ers. On the nights I go out I often hear the roar and rush of some **** or other up on the Wells Road before I even get there. I now avoid and have taken to bridleways at night and patchy connecting-routes, stopping and/or mounting the pavement at the sound of cars
So, yes, the roads here have much less motorised traffic. But of the ones on the road there seems to be a much higher incidence of utterly self-absorbed shitbags who have decided that it’s now a racetrack and take this ‘opportunity’ to indulge their fantasies.
Extra-annoying thing is while cycling for exercise this last week I’ve had the police-car pass me slowly and closely a couple of times down side roads, at the exact same time as I can hear the pops and roars of hatchback-exhausts only half a mile away.
RIP those 15. Tragic.
There seems to be a higher % of uncool drivers making up the remaining driving population at te moment.
The other day I had close pass after close pass when there wasn't anything on the other side of the long straight road, just totally no need!
Even if there are lots of new/rubbish cyclists on the roads, cars still shouldn't hit into them and kill them!!!
The other day I had close pass after close pass when there wasn’t anything on the other side of the long straight road, just totally no need!
- Maybe they felt the ‘need” to ‘punish’ a more vulnerable road-user because ‘(insert Daily Heilism’)?
- Maybe they are really unaware of how to drive safely? Driving standards have been falling year on year (anecdotal observation, based upon near-misses and fashionably increasing redundancy of indicator-lights).
- Maybe they are aware yet don’t now care because, you know, ‘lockdown’ throws all the ‘rules’ out of the window, dunnit?’
A few possibilities.
In response to the original post “you would have thought it would be safer out there...”....it is isn’t it? Every death on our roads is tragic and regrettable, but usually about 100 cyclists die on British roads each year (not all as a result of collisions with cars). Not sure what the seasonal variation is, but you might say that would be about 25 deaths each quarter so it does seem the case it is significantly safer out there than usual despite the significant increase in cyclists and alleged higher proportion of speeding motorists.
Heading downhill 40 zone into a 30 a bus and car passed me perfectly. In the 30 they were holding me up with the bus somewhere in the mid 20s. Car behind me overtakes without enough room to pull in safely so sits beside me gradually moving over until I brake and let him in. Proper stupid move. Was still right behind him at the traffic lights (avoided the temptation to nip back past) and still behind him where he turned off at the bottom of the hill. I'd not have held him up in the slightest yet he just had to pass the cyclist.
Got to agree there does seem to be a massive split of people who have kicked back and tried to be as safe and courteous as possible to ones who are rebelling and angry at everything and every one.
Best one yet - Merc with private plate (JP 98) ran the red light at speed into a narrow road (restricted width bridge) as I was riding towards him. Obviously looked for oncoming cars but a bike is fine as they can be squashed to the side.
he just had to pass the cyclist
I honestly believe that some people don't think that they need to pass the cyclist as such, they simply don't process the thought properly and just see a bike and assume it will be slower than them and don't actually consider that the cyclist may well as quick as them and be travelling at the speed limit.
@johndoh couldnt disagree more. (warning anecdotal evidence coming...)
I haven't had to for a while, obvious reasons, but I drive a lot for work/union meetings all over the country. I drive a Transit, so not the fastest vehicle in the world, but on motorways limit is the same as everyone else. I have barely left the county (Devon) before I lose track of the number of vehicles that do this, in this order, every. damn. time.
1.Quite happily stay behind me in the left lane
2. Pull out to over take as I do
3. Sit as close to my rear bumper as they can even though the right hand lane is empty
4. Once I've moved back left, stay in the middle lane
5. Decide they want to pass me and do so by speeding up
6. Pull back left and SLOW DOWN meaning I either have to slow down too, or over take.
7. 5 miles down the motorway, go back to step 1 and repeat.
Moral of the story? (Some of? A lot of?) Drivers want to overtake any and all traffic in front of them, whether they "need" to or not.
The vast majority of drivers are actually being OK - maybe speeds have increased a bit but because the roads are quiet, there's less of the traffic jam / road rage stress and the huge majority of passes I've experienced have all been fine.
But it's offset by a minority of complete dickheads - racing, taking the inside line on corners like they're Lewis Hamilton, the Must-Get-In-Front'ers and people simply not looking at junctions because they assume nothing else is coming.
Wish there was more police enforcement and more overall acceptance of what "lockdown" actually means - namely that flooring your sports car around the roads is not an acceptable reason for being outside.
yet he just had to pass the cyclist.
Yep; as soon as they see a cyclist anything in front of the cyclist ceases to exist. Over the years I've had them all - overtake to then turn off 50 yards later (sometimes with added left hook thrown in); overtake to immediately have to slam on because of a set of red traffic lights clearly visible ahead; or a queue of traffic; or a width restriction.....or.....
If quizzed I'm sure no-one could come up with a valid explanation why, other than MUST......GET........PAST!!
Observations from yesterday's travel - much less traffic on the roads, still. It was like a very quiet Ne'er Day (with Tesco trucks). Quiet country roads were very easy to drive, good visibility which did lead to a sustained increase in usual speed I'm afraid to admit. There are more other road users out though, happened upon a lady walking two dogs along the roadside (seen in good time so slowed right down) and then a dad out with lad on little bike, with dog in tow as well - again saw in good time so no problem but just a lot of unexpected stuff around at the moment. Oh and a couple of big SUVs parked up, with bike racks, at entrance to an off-road moor path / access road, personalised plates (matching) as well.
I have seen a few more idiot drivers. I do hope something can be done about them
But I think the road.cc article says roughly double the number of deaths compared to the same period in previous year
But everything I see around me (Strava and my own eyes) says that the amount of cycling has more than doubled. I have friends who friends who didn't ride at all last year doing 60km a week. I have friends who road 20km now and again last riding over 100km a week. So if the total amount of cycling has doubled in every meaningful sense cycling has got safer.
As the evidence is that the more cycling an urban area has the safer cycling is we would say that the national picture is now doing the same?
Does anyone think that the amount of cycling hasn't more than doubled?
Quiet country roads were very easy to drive, good visibility which did lead to a sustained increase in usual speed I’m afraid to admit.
So even though you know that there are loads of inexperienced and vulnerable road users out there at the moment your solution is to SPEED UP?
I honestly believe that some people don’t think that they need to pass the cyclist as such, they simply don’t process the thought properly and just see a bike and assume it will be slower than them and don’t actually consider that the cyclist may well as quick as them and be travelling at the speed limit.
Some maybe, but the vast majority are just "see cyclist, must pass cyclist", so I'll have to disagree.
There are a few particular road junctions on my regular rides where it is very common that I get passed in the last 50 yards, often by someone who will have to pull in pretty damn quick should anyone come around the corner. What usually then happens is that they brake harder than they would really have to and be forced to wait until there is no traffic coming either way. Most times I end up catching up in about 5-10 seconds.
The vast majority of drivers who do this just subconsciously process 'cyclist' as 'must get past'.
Some maybe, but the vast majority are just “see cyclist, must pass cyclist”, so I’ll have to disagree.
But that is essentially what I am saying - they just see the cyclist as something they must pass without considering what speed the cyclist is moving at. So you are disagreeing with yourself 😉
I think @ampthill has a good point. If we want to understand the relative 'safety' of cycling then we need to know how the rate of cycling has changed as well - I have no idea how that is measured.
This, of course, does not take away from the importance of enforcing the traffic law appropriately and treating other road users with care.
So you are disagreeing with yourself
That's STW for you, I guess.
My point isn't about the driver getting caught out by the speed of the cyclist specially, though. I don't think the average driver has any real concept, they just perceive the cyclist as 'someone slower than me who is easy to squeeze if I need to pull back in' so must be overtaken whatever the situation.
When driving myself I often get other cars tailgating me whilst I am waiting for a safe place to overtake a cyclist.
they just perceive the cyclist as ‘someone slower than me
That's what I said!
just see a bike and assume it will be slower than them
You see, you are arguing with yourself. I'll put it down to Lockdown Fever.
You see, you are arguing with yourself.
How dare you accuse me of arguing with myself. Take it back immediately or it will cause an argu.......
Oh, I see. Lockdown fever probably explains it...
🤔
🙂
When driving myself I often get other cars tailgating me whilst I am waiting for a safe place to overtake a cyclist.
The indicator of a weapons grade moron is the lack of use there of at any time and beeping the horn because you have the bare faced cheek to hold them up whilst waiting for a safe overtake.
Always funny if this happens to slow down more!
Always funny if this happens to slow down more!
I find just gently taking the foot off of the accelerator a couple of times usually gets the message across.
^^^
Should have said, that's the thing about being in a two tonne metal box on wheels. I am ok if some tailgating twunt goes into the back of my car. It'll be their fault and I'll get have the dink I put in the back of it reversing into a gate post on a farm sorted at the same time. FOC. My car is a piece of shit anyway.
But on a bike they'll more than likely leave you for dead if they think they'll get away with it.
I find just gently taking the foot off of the accelerator a couple of times usually gets the message across.
While yes, I do tend to brake (slowly and controlled) as well a lot of the time as they still don't get the message. I hate impatience in a vehicle with a passion.
Mr Overshoot, old mersey tunnel now open to cyclists 24 hours a day.
But as its free to use by cars and vans probably a lot more idiots driving fast through there
project
MemberMr Overshoot, old Mersey tunnel now open to cyclists 24 hours a day.
But as its free to use by cars and vans probably a lot more idiots driving fast through there
There is no way I would ride through the tunnel at any time (apart from the L-C-L ride when its closed to traffic).
Yes there are some prize idiots in the tunnel at the moment, going to work at lunch time I had a van rocket up behind me & try to make me speed up, then switched lanes (forbidden) sound his horn (forbidden) as he accelerated away then switched back.
Best bit was me rolling up behind him at the dock road exit just as the lights changed 🙂
I posted this on the "can I ride my bike in the countryside" thread
So if the lock down lasts 3 months we could normally expect about 25 deaths and 930 serious injuries in that period. However 90% of killed or seriously injured cyclists were involved in an accident with a motor vehicle so say road traffic has reduced by 70% because of corona virus we could expect about 9 deaths and 345 serious injuries during a three month lock down.
I predicted 3 deaths a month based on the usual 100 deaths a year so I'm very surprised its as high as 15 as that's almost twice the usual average but as usual almost 90% involving a motor vehicle. Same idiot drivers on the road with less traffic to slow them down or more inexperienced cyclists about perhaps.
Same idiot drivers on the road with less traffic to slow them down or more
inexperiencedhelmetless cyclists about perhaps.
*quickly runs away*
After posting earlier - 6mile commute home consisted of slagmum driving straight towards me and right hooking even though i had right of way, Roadman overtaking on a zebra crossing on the wrong side of the road/traffic island and AMG C63 with c standing for...... front on right hook.
😔 am driving again till this is all over.
Bit late to the thread. This is an extremely sad and depressing situation. I think scandal42 on the previous page is spot on:
"The people going out just driving and ignoring lockdown guidance are more likely to be the **** in society who usually drive like arseholes and treat cyclist like shit."
Take the utter bellend who lives 5 doors down from me, chief of the pops and bangs dickhead brigade, I'd say he goes out on average 3 times a day for between 5-20 mins a time. Presumably to the tesco along the road or the corner shop (both less than a mile away) to buy vape shit. I know this because he has an outrageous exhaust on his car and rinses it from cold every time he leaves his drive while I'm trying to WFH/look after my daughter in the house.
He has driven like an utter arsehole for the past 5 years (we live in a 20 zone and he comes past my house at 40ish most days) and low and behold he's out and about constantly, ignoring lockdown rules. It's so predictable and depressing but it's not just him, plenty of them about.
I went out for a spin on my CX bike yesterday and whilst I probably only encountered 20 or so cars, at least 5 overtook me poorly and I had 1 tosser shouting abuse at me for having the cheek to go out on my bike. There's some reet horrible arseholes out there. Stay safe all.
PS LOL @ "slagmum"!!
I wonder how many of these killed are deliveroo / just eat delivery bikers? Been a big increase in them on the roads and boy are they generally awful cyclists
also loads of folk wobbling about on the just eat share bike scheme bikes around edinburgh - again no road sense at all
Somebody commented on a thread that people just have to overtake bikes. One of my neighbours drove past us when she could have waited another 20 secs until we were past her junction. Whilst indicating left for her turn she had to accelerate hard to get around Mini and me and then brake hard as she cut accros me (in the lead) so that she could make the left turn.
There’s some reet horrible arseholes out there.
Saw a fellow mtb rider that I haven't met before yesterday evening. Had a quick chat (at a distance) and he said a old woman appeared from out of the bushes taking photos of him and screaming 'footpath, footpath' at him. At 6.30 am.
Not really 'horrible' so much as pathological dislike...
outrageous exhaust on his car
Even if there are lots of new/rubbish cyclists on the roads, cars still shouldn’t hit into them and kill them!!!
This. It's astounding that those that normally, quite rightly, abhor victim blaming are turning round on page 2 onwards here saying "oh well, lots of wobbly cyclists". So what? Does that make it impossible not to literally kill them? I like driving like a nob end far more than the next man, but I'll slow down to make sure my nobbishness isn't going to harm walkers and cyclists.
I've found much as others that there are a lot more cyclists out, and walkers, any reasonable driver could adapt to that. Most are, but there are a significant minority driving like absolute tits everywhere, regardless of vulnerable road users nearby, and they deserve to be shot.
Cycling and walking on the roads quite rightly has no required qualification, it's up to the people introducing the danger, the drivers and motorcyclists basically, to keep things safe.