Cyclists and car drivers, a deadly mix

Let's put ourselves in each others' shoes.  Hoping this site is mostly read by thoughtful, fair-minded people, my gripe is an attempt to persuade some people who drive cars to think about one particular issue.  I should quickly start by accepting that many cyclists (drivers, bikers etc.) are thoughtless, selfish and take too many risks.  I am not trying to defend all cyclists.  However, having been hooted at and almost knocked off by a sober-looking middle-aged lady in a sedate family car, I realised that this is an issue that goes way beyond white vans and boy racers.  I really don't think this lady in any other circumstance would be keen to risk my life.

This often leads to driver frustration

Drivers tend not to realise that cyclists are instructed to leave enough space when passing parked cars to allow for a door to be opened suddenly.  This, of course, may mean that a cyclist will end up "in the middle of the road" in a narrow road.  This often leads to driver frustration.  Please please be patient.  (If the road is long a slower, thoughtful cyclist will hopefully pull over and let frustrated drivers through).

The irony of my particular situation is that I was cycling at 22 in a 20mph area and this lady was still trying to squeeze past me over speed bumps, round blind corners etc.  I managed not to swear at her, but just pointed out the limit was 20, and have to hope that she would later realise how her childishness made her dangerous.  It's all part of the inability to empathise with others.  So cyclists in a group who swamp an elderly driver at a traffic light by riding to the right, left and in front are being unkind.  Drivers who don't think about the possibility that a group of cyclists might be safer riding 2 abreast than single file and therefore hoot and, much worse, side swipe as they overtake "to send a message" are being unkind, and you will note the power relationship makes drivers 'unkindness' much more dangerous.  Thanks for reading.  By: Pedestrian

Drivers overtaking cyclists

I cycle a lot on narrow minor roads, as the Department of Transport recommends.  As every cyclist knows, the highway code gives little useful advice to drivers about overtaking cyclists, even police drivers show no consensus about how it should be done.  It should give clearer and more specific advice.  I can now say the the way most drivers decide when it is 'safe' to overtake is simple.

a) Arrive at the back the cyclist.  Is it safe to pass?  No, so wait.
b) 3 seconds have passed and I cannot see that I'll definitely hit something, so just go anyway.

As a result of this I have so far given my witness details to two oncoming drivers who were hit by drivers overtaking me, a third driver just couldn't wait to get away (something naughty!), and the fourth car that got hit was a police car.  That one resulted in a conviction for dangerous driving - well he hit a police car with two on board when overtaking on a blind bend, open and shut case. 

The funny thing is that all these drivers, when they get out of the car do the same thing.  They turn to me and say "This was your fault!".  By: RodgerTheDodger

Impatient car drivers

I cycle to work each day and it's approximately a six mile round trip.  During my journey I have to make use of a filter lane to turn right and frequently find myself amazed at the sheer selfishness displayed by many car drivers. 

I know that quite a few cyclists manoeuvre without indicating but I'm not one of them.  Well before I move into the filter lane I will put my arm out to indicate and at least several times a week some idiot driver behind me will still rush up and overtake whilst I am in the process of moving across into the lane.  If I were less aware of what was going on I would surely have been involved in a serious accident by now.  Are they in that much of a hurry to get where they are going that they can't wait an extra few seconds?

Another annoyance happens quite frequently at roundabouts.  I've actually moved onto the roundabout and a car (or lorry) approaches an exit that I am about to pass.  They don't bother stopping and are completely unaware of the speed that a bicycle can navigate around a roundabout.  It's as if they think "Oh, another cyclist, I'll just pull out in front of them because they're always slow".  By: Moth