At home on my tod atm with the kids in bed. Saw a shared video on FB and had to see the comments...and it didn’t disappoint! Been giggling like a schoolgirl at some of the froth mouth comments by precious car drivers. Has made my evening!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1540325866094998&id=228134007314197
Enjoy (whoever’s side you take!)
Oh dear. Both nobs.
A bit depressing really...
That cyclist is a weapons grade bellend.
Oh my , cant be arsed to read the comments it will just be depressing
Oh my , cant be arsed to read the comments it will just be depressing
The usual fantasies about using cars as weapons to kill and maim.
Humour was lost on me.
How many of "us cyclists" would act like such an utter goon?
(Although, to be fair we don't see the beginning and maybe, just maybe, the car actually almost pushed him off the road).
Two weapons grade bellends.
Regardless of who ‘may’ have been slightly more in the right, there is nothing to be gained by standing in the middle of a road arguing. Guy with bike deliberately leans it against car, I’d guess there’s a significant percentage of drivers who would have flattened it as soon as he walked up the side of the car.
Would have been quicker (for everyone) to move over to the side of the road and continue riding.
The worrying thing for me is that a/ people lump me in with bellends like him - we're all 'cyclists'; b/ people don't lump themselves in with the idiots that claim the right way to deal with it would be to run his bike over and punch him in the face.
Question - I've had this happen to me many times, my road is actually just like this. The comments say while he technically had the clear path, she'd started her move overtaking several cars and therefore should be allowed to complete it. I'm more of the opinion that you shouldn't start the move if you can't complete it without baulking the other user, and if it had been a car coming up to the pinch point with 'right of way' she'd have stopped and waited. But because it's a bike they just carry on (and faced with an idiot in 1.5 tonnes of metal, i usually give way - because (dare i say it - much like learning to behave around dogs) i shouldn't have to but there's no comfort as you lie on the ground injured thinking 'well technically I was in the right there').
But occasionally I'm already in the narrow bit and still they plough on, which is where the fun starts, because then I will sometimes engage them just to hear their reasoning.
Reasons have been variously given as (tick your favourite or add your own)
- if you rode right up to the kerb I could squeeze past
- cyclists have no right of way
- you could easily go up on the path so i can get through
- I'm late for my gym class
- In response to 'you'd have waited if I'd been in a car' - 'I'd also respect you more if you were in a car' (which did make me wonder if I'd just been cleverly pwned by an idiot)
But because it’s a bike they just carry on
She does. Not all drivers do... As we always say on here, some drivers are dicks, some aren't and the same goes for cyclists.(I stand by my statement that we can't judge a situation we don't see the beginning of, but hey ho, that ain't how things work on the internets)
Reminded me of a video I posted yonks ago, hang on, I'll dig it out
I saw this a few days ago and thought about posting it but figured it had probably been done already. A slightly more descriptive thread title wouldn't hurt though.
theotherjonv
Question – I’ve had this happen to me many times, my road is actually just like this. The comments say while he technically had the clear path, she’d started her move overtaking several cars and therefore should be allowed to complete it. I’m more of the opinion that you shouldn’t start the move if you can’t complete it without baulking the other user, and if it had been a car coming up to the pinch point with ‘right of way’ she’d have stopped and waited. But because it’s a bike they just carry on (and faced with an idiot in 1.5 tonnes of metal, i usually give way – because (dare i say it – much like learning to behave around dogs) i shouldn’t have to but there’s no comfort as you lie on the ground injured thinking ‘well technically I was in the right there’).
Yeah in my experience many drivers will simply accelerate to close the gap if there's a cyclist coming, assuming they see you. The speed difference of a car , or ability to accelerate means they'll often take that liberty. Hard to say without seeing the preceding manouvers but my guess would be the cyclist was close to the parked cars, the red car closed in and tried to accelerate past the obstruction assuming the cyclist would move and boyo on the bike blew a fuse because it happens to him all the time.
Plenty of drivers (you can generally guess which brands) assume ROW and will shoot the gap even when I'm in a car....funny it never happens when I'm driving my old pickup. 🤔 🤔
She does. Not all drivers do…
It's a pretty high proportion that do though. The streets round here are narrowed due to parked cars. I reckon it's well over 50%, and closer to 75%, of drivers that just carry on when I approach on a bike. In a car we usually have a flash-off while each driver tries to be the one letting the other car through. It does go both ways though and I often pull in to let cars go by. Much less stressful
you can generally guess which brands
Yep always bloody people in Fords, Vauxhall’s and Citroen’s
Here we are, for balance, my old old commute video, one stretch of road, 4 courteous drivers...
It's no fun if I can't get my wide format tar brush out.... of course some motorists are reasonable although I would say in your video though you're moving at speed and they have only a tiny time to wait because there's only 1-2 cars to pass.
In my road there are parking bays on one side that allow maybe a dozen cars to park with a 1-2 car pull in half way...... it might take me a few seconds to get through. So more often than not they at the very least start so they can get to the pull in bit - but they don't realise I'm not actually moving that slowly after all, so don't get there before I have to slow down anyway (minor 'annoyance') - and then once they've started they might as well carry on anyway because (see list of reasons above) - and meanwhile as they've gone 4 other cars behind them will all do the same, and they can't all clear the obstruction before I get there and they can't all get into the halfway pull in either......
I wouldn't take it that far, it's only going to make the person in the car treat all other people on bikes poorly for the rest of time.
i do have a deal of sympathy with the guy on the bike, since cars often try to charge through against me in similar places where they wouldn't do it with an oncoming vehicle. Only with his initial reaction though, not his subsequent behaviour.
i usually stop, in a safe place but close to the end of the obstruction, and make sure there's *just* enough room for them to get through, usually means them driving at walking pace. Makes the point, doesn't cause shouting matches!
True, I am very fast, however, I think I was surprised by that day as usually drivers don't wait - because there is actually enough room. Not that I would've laid a dirty protest in the road if anyone had try to squeeze through.
Did you have a light on your bike Dezb?
you can generally guess which brands
Yep always bloody people in Fords, Vauxhall’s and Citroen’s
No no...try again.
Did you have a light on your bike Dezb?
Pretty sure not.
He needs a stick in his front wheel!
Pretty reasonable comments (as usual) on here. As I stated in the comments a few times, like a few have said here, without seeing the build up it’s impossible to know who is at fault.
He was a bit of a donut with his actions but as jimjam said, if that sort of $hit happens all the time eventually most people would get to the “I've had enough” point and do something silly.
Pretty reasonable comments (as usual) on here. As I stated in the comments a few times, like a few have said here, without seeing the build up it’s impossible to know who is at fault.
Did you actually weigh in on the Facebook comments?
"As I stated in the comments a few times, like a few have said here, without seeing the build up it’s impossible to know who is at fault"
It seems pretty fair to assume though, given how they've ended up. The bike didn't teleport there.
The bike didn’t teleport there.
But did something teleport the bike?
Yep always bloody people in Fords, Vauxhall’s and Citroen’s
Totally off topic but why did you pluralise Fords correctly then decide that the other two needed apostrophes? This genuinely fascinates me.
Back on topic I had a large Audi estate wait and flash me through a gap on my ride home last week, despite it actually being his right of way. I was riding up hill and he must have realised it was hurting from my grimace.
Totally off topic but why did you pluralise Fords correctly then decide that the other two needed apostrophes? This genuinely fascinates me.
Because that's how my iphone did it, and quite frankly on a forum a can not be arsed correcting it.
Maybe a quick email to Apple to state your frustration?
Totally off topic but why did you pluralise Fords correctly then decide that the other two needed apostrophes? This genuinely fascinates me.
My phone auto-corrected something the other day, adding an apostrophe. I only noticed when I read the post back later. It could be the phone doing it, not the user.
Genetics innit? He's 2/3rds greengrocer.Totally off topic but why did you pluralise Fords correctly then decide that the other two needed apostrophes? This genuinely fascinates me.
The bike didn’t teleport there.
He appeared out of nowhere, officer!
Based purely on the video, there are no winners there. The driver should've given way, the rider shouldn't have gone all DEFCON 1. But as others have said, we don't know how this came about. It could have been a genuine mistake - easy enough to misjudge the speed of a bike - or it could be a culmination of weeks of antagonism between the two and he'd finally snapped.
I'm all for standing up to bullies, but everyone involved there bar one is going to go away thinking "bloody cyclists, think they own the road, something something road tax."
Because that’s how my iphone did it
I can confirm that iPhones do random corrections like this (And that this forum is no longer the place to be editing to correct such trivialities)
Its not just cyclists that get this sort of bellendry from cars though.
I get it in the MG Midget when approaching those give way traffic calming chicanes. Big 4x4's like X5's (pickups are even worse) will pull out and expect you to yield, so I don't stop quite quickly enough for them and just sit there blocking the road till they reverse back.
I get it in the MG Midget when approaching those give way traffic calming chicanes. Big 4×4’s like X5’s (pickups are even worse) will pull out and expect you to yield, so I don’t stop quite quickly enough for them and just sit there blocking the road till they reverse back.
According to a few people on a thread a few weeks ago, this never happens. So you must be imagining it, as I used to in my 106.
I've a similar setup on my commute* home and agree with the above comments that say it's about 50-75% of drivers that just plough straight on. Even worse are the 4-5 drivers that just start playing follow the leader! Mind you this happens in the car also which is worrying.. Nonetheless nobody came out of that well - I think I'd have just jumped on the pavement and screamed a heartfelt **** OFF at the driver as I passed.
* I say commute but I've pretty much given up on riding to work as I just can't be arsed with the aggro. Far too many altercations with other road users to the point where I was either going to get locked up or knocked out. Probably the latter. I can't seem to back down to being bullied on the road so I've just joined the other lemmings in my metal box. Generally I think people just don't give a shit and there's still far too many people on their phones. Mountain bikes FTW.
nickewen
* I say commute but I’ve pretty much given up on riding to work as I just can’t be arsed with the aggro. Far too many altercations with other road users to the point where I was either going to get locked up or knocked out. Probably the latter. I can’t seem to back down to being bullied on the road
I took to using a route through parks and towpaths that was miles longer to avoid altercations and aggro. I can't remember the exact distances now but it was worth the extra 20-25 minutes each way for peace of mind and lower stress levels. Obviously not everyone can do that though.
Reading those comments is a window into how some drivers think. "If he's have done that to my car I would have...blah blah". No wonder riding on the roads is often such a horrible experience.
Aye, I devised a route that was mainly towpaths etc. but working in Newcastle city centre the end of my commute was always on busy roads.. the tipping point was a chap who was revving, beeping swerving etc. at me for "holding him up.." 20 seconds before he hit a wall of traffic and I had a word..
Not my finest moment going absolute bezerk and offering some bloke his gans not 50m from where I work.. and about 100m from the main police station. For completeness, he declined the offer and instead locked his gaze on the bumper of the car on front while I well and truly lost my shit.
I took to using a route through parks and towpaths that was miles longer to avoid altercations and aggro.
Me too. I've found lovely B-roads through farm land and villages I never would have discovered before. 2 mins out of the work gates and I feel like I'm in the countryside. See about 3 or 4 cars, until I get around 2 miles from home (then it gets shite, but I can handle it)(mainly cos I'm in a fairly good mood by then).
Have done something similar at those pinch points where one side has a clearly signed right of way / give way priority and a car launched directly at me while gesticulating wildly towards the side of the road. I think it was the fact that he expected me to ride in the gutter while he squeezed past that pissed me off more than misjudging the "right of way" sign.
. For completeness, he declined the offer and instead locked his gaze on the bumper of the car on front while I well and truly lost my shit.
I've given up raising to the bait and now either, sigh, blow kisses, stick my tongue out or ask the fellow coupants of the car (only works if it's their wife/mum/girlfriend) if they're proud of him. Completely failing to get a rise out of you does their blood pressure no good at all.
Being 6ft, bearded and 15st probably makes me the Drug dealer spec X5 of the roadie world though, I don't tend to get much shit and when I do they tend to decide that having been given a few seconds to contemplate their previous choice of words that actually they don't "want to make something of it".
Is it possible to ride over a quasquai on a drop bar bike?
Well that satisfies my need for insight. Not being an iPhone user I get to make my own mistakes rather than having them thrust upon me.
Back on topic - what amuses me most is those drivers who get upset because you made them wait but then have plenty of time to stop and argue with you. Idiots.
Yeah. I said the same thing on another thread a couple of days ago. Makes no sense.
Back on topic – what amuses me most is those drivers who get upset because you made them wait but then have plenty of time to stop and argue with you. Idiots.
And they fail to get riled up when they stuck behind 20 tons of "road tax" exempt tractor and trailer at 15mph. That's different though of course.
^^That is my favourite too. Had it last week with an imbecile on a blind bend. In a massive hurry, yet took time out to get out of his van and whine at me like a tired toddler.
Ive even had it as a pedestrian. That ended in stern words for me from the local constabulary and me paying for vehicular damage. As I explained to the nice officer, it was the car or the guys face. Even asked me if I wanted to press charges against the driver for almost running me over. There are massive dickheads everywhere.
bellend, I mean what kind of monster films in portrait?
Pretty reasonable comments (as usual) on here. As I stated in the comments a few times, like a few have said here, without seeing the build up it’s impossible to know who is at fault.
Did you actually weigh in on the Facebook comments?
@ JimJam, Yeah I did, trying to balance and educate and all that! Also, stirred up a few of the more "precious car" posters which was also funny!
trying to balance and educate
Hmm, yeah, that'll work.
crazyjenkins
@ JimJam, Yeah I did, trying to balance and educate and all that! Also, stirred up a few of the more “precious car” posters which was also funny!
Well, at least you tried. I skimmed the comments and it was almost like every comment was written by satirical cyclists trying to embody the most stereotypically stupid and hateful driver memes imaginable.
if facebook has taken down 500 million violent or graphic posts so far this year...... how many of them were from this particular thread of car muppets instructing people to 'run the c*** over' or 'smash his face in with his bike', etc. At least two thirds is my guess.
Kinda funny in that it was (mostly) typical 'anti-car meme' cyclists VS all cyclist are tw*ts and should not be on the road/run over/pay road tax etc.
Those threads are never funny, they're just examples of the dregs of humanity being given a soapbox. It's just depressing and sad.
And they're both almighty bell ends.
NJEE20
And they’re both almighty bell ends.
Having lashed out at my fair share of drivers I have to play devils advocate for the cyclist for just a second. When someone does something wrong, say commits a crime and goes to court, we take mitigating factors into consideration. It's not unreasonable to assume that the cyclist regularly cycles that route and gets bullied at that pinch point or another or many others as I have experienced this and I'm sure plenty of others have too.
The driver on the other hand is probably taking liberties and is in no danger. Despite being in a 1.5 ton steel box he/she continues to hold their ground and tries to push the cyclist out of the way at least once iirc.
Neither party is covering themselves in glory here and the optics of it look worse for "cyclists" but there's probably more going on.