Car drivers = grrr!

momoyama

Remember there's two sides to every story. Somewhere around here (I'm struggling to find), there's a thread slating cyclists.

pavlovs_dog

scotsman4th wrote: »

It's called filtering and perfectly legal. If car drivers would understand this, the world would be a better place.

there is however a world of difference between safe filtering/overtaking and carving up traffic. unfortunately it's the reckless idiots who have seem to have little/no regard for their own safety that give other bike users a bad name

Rolandtheroadie

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

there is however a world of difference between safe filtering/overtaking and carving up traffic. unfortunately it's the reckless idiots who have seem to have little/no regard for their own safety that give other bike users a bad name

I agree totally.

ElkyElky

Oh I'm not angry at all car drivers. Don't get me wrong, many car drivers are very good who follow the laws and exercise caution on the roads etc etc. Respect to those drivers.

Then you get those idiots who don't care about anyone and endanger the lifes of other road users.

Bikers aren't entirely innocent either BUT saying that, they are the ones who will come out worse off if they crash because of their own fault or someone elses.

Altarf

ElkyElky wrote: »

Car drivers need to remember though that bikers don't have the same protection as car drivers.

An alternative point of view is that bikers should remember that they don't have the same protection as car drivers.

You are never going to educate 100% of car drivers, and you only need one car driver to kill you. So bikers have two choices. Being dead, but right / Being alive by choosing not doing things that are legal.

If as a biker you experience car drivers pulling out in front of you without looking, ask yourself, is that ever going to change. If the answer is no, then wouldn't the sensible thing to do be slow down and give yourself a bit more of a chance when the inevitable happens.

Filtering, legal but do 100% of car drivers allow for it. Again if the answer is no, then wouldn't the sensible thing to do be to consider whether the time you might save is worth the risk.

Now I am sure that I will be shouted down for this point of view, but the simple fact is whatever you do you won't change car drivers, and if the bikers won't change, well as the OP said "bikers don't have the same protection as car drivers".

I will get my coat...

Rolandtheroadie

Altarf wrote: »

An alternative point of view is that bikers should remember that they don't have the same protection as car drivers.

You are never going to educate 100% of car drivers, and you only need one car driver to kill you. So bikers have two choices. Being dead, but right / Being alive by choosing not doing things that are legal.

If as a biker you experience car drivers pulling out in front of you without looking, ask yourself, is that ever going to change. If the answer is no, then wouldn't the sensible thing to do be slow down and give yourself a bit more of a chance when the inevitable happens.

Filtering, legal but do 100% of car drivers allow for it. Again if the answer is no, then wouldn't the sensible thing to do be to consider whether the time you might save is worth the risk.

Now I am sure that I will be shouted down for this point of view, but the simple fact is whatever you do you won't change car drivers, and if the bikers won't change, well as the OP said "bikers don't have the same protection as car drivers".

I will get my coat...

Luckily a big part of motorbike training is about assessing what other drivers are going to do, anticipation, exit strategies (braking is not always the best option).
I dont want to shoot you down, your points are valid. I might die crossing the street though (or in a house fire if I'm scared to leave my house).
Biking is all about attitude to risk. Do i wear jeans or leathers. Boots or trainers. Filter or not.
I cant live my life scared of the inadequecys of others.

cyclonebri1

Altarf wrote: »

An alternative point of view is that bikers should remember that they don't have the same protection as car drivers.

You are never going to educate 100% of car drivers, and you only need one car driver to kill you. So bikers have two choices. Being dead, but right / Being alive by choosing not doing things that are legal.

If as a biker you experience car drivers pulling out in front of you without looking, ask yourself, is that ever going to change. If the answer is no, then wouldn't the sensible thing to do be slow down and give yourself a bit more of a chance when the inevitable happens.

Filtering, legal but do 100% of car drivers allow for it. Again if the answer is no, then wouldn't the sensible thing to do be to consider whether the time you might save is worth the risk.

Now I am sure that I will be shouted down for this point of view, but the simple fact is whatever you do you won't change car drivers, and if the bikers won't change, well as the OP said "bikers don't have the same protection as car drivers".

I will get my coat...

No, it's a sound post, I was about to post something similar.
I was a little confused as to what the OPs rant was actually about as he said nothing other that what everybiker on the road knows, that driving/riding a bike is a darn sight more dangerous than being on 4 wheels.
But then he posted the bit about only having been riding for a couple of months, which now makes a little more sense.
Welcome to the real world of the biker, not the idyllic freedom of cross country cruising on the open roads but how to survive todays road conditions and less than perfect road users.
Your problems will be worse as you will be riding a puny, small low cc bike or scooter which has much less "road presense" than a bigger bike. You have less performance which should make you more likely to keep out of trouble, but also makes it more difficult to drive away from trouble.

You need to dress for max visibility, treat every road users as a potential killer, and finally decide if 2 wheels is the right mode of transport for you

Take care.

vikingaero

I find there are confusing attitudes from even the authorities regarding bikers. In Hastings there are signs telling you to Think Bike, check your mirrors before turning - hang on, if you are indicating and about to make a turn then what the hell is a stupid biker doing overtaking you? I fully agree that car drivers need to double check before pulling out at junctions where most moto/car accidents happen. My best friend has been in traction twice over his riding career.

But to play devils advocate, my firefighter friend says that 85-90% of bike accident are solo vehicle accidents involving only themselves.

redsclubbedup

i doubt a week goes by whereby if i didnt slow down / alter my riding becasue of a car user I would have been in an accident

in an ideal world it would be compulsory for everyone to pass a bike test, before they were allowed to move onto a car, that way people would think more about what they are doing.

a mate of mine was very lucky the other week, he was filtering past stationary traffic, when one of the drivers in it decided she wasn't waiting anymore, and just pulled right out, without even checking her mirrors to do a u turn - wrote of the car, and his bike - luckily only a couple of broken bones for him

and is it just me or does it tend to be audi / bmw drivers that are the worst for it !!!

xxlaurissaxx

I am a car driver and cyclist really p**s me of around town. They think its ok, to just cycle up infront of your car when the traffic is moving, or go right in the middle of the lane and motorcyclist are the same. The amount of times I have been sitting at traffic lights or slowing down coming up to a traffic light and a motorcyclist just decides he see a gap and just goes right in frony of my car where there is a gap and I have to slow right down or quickly brake:mad: That really bugs me. I know car drivers are just as bad and there are motorcyclists and cyclists that are good but as someone said before, you will always get your good and your bad.

One thing I have noticed, why does only a handful or cyclist and motorcyclist wear reflective clothing??? No wonder people cant see them, if they have no reflective clothing on.

xx