Most annoying riding behaviour of motorcyclists

SnowyOwl_2

I don't think motorcyclists have a monopoly on causing misery for others on our roads.

Hi Daytona...yes, I can only agree with your comments about anyone, not just motorcyclists, who are negligent/dangerous drivers. I used to drive a big chunk of the M25 every day and have witnessed there more than one serious accident involving cars only - even though motorways are apparently the safest roads to be on.

Bikers to a certain extent are the victims of how the media likes to portray them, the media love to report on biking accidents & generally like to reinforce rather dated & narrow minded public opinion

As for being influenced by the media, I don't think I am as I don't possess a telly so I do all my own thinking;) ! It's more personal experience, and the comments of members of my parents generation which have helped form my opinion. Being a bit older means that their reactions etc aren't as sharp as they used to be. They are from an age when everything was slower; now they are even slower themselves when the rest of the world has speeded up. They are though still entitled to be on the roads and to their safety - they are uncomfortable with speed so they go slowly because they believe it to be safer (and it is, let's face it). I think it's this perception of danger that is fundamental to their being intimidated by biker groups. My parents do a bit of tut-tutting in front of the telly so their opinions may be influenced by the media. But when they report an actual experience with a biker group which frightened them then that is a genuine, spontaneous response to a real occurance. The bikers themselves will probably not have realised they caused distress to someone but sometimes they have done so. Like someone mentioned earlier it's a bit of a shock when a biker "comes out of nowhere". When it's a big group it scares me half to death :eek: especially when it's on one of our narrower country roads here in NI, and I am closer to your age than to my parents age. (BTW my ex's best friend was a biker bloke in his 60's...so obviously not all older people are the same!!)

As for bikers, its a case of they are far more wary of you than you are of them,

As mentioned before I used to go out with a biker and I learnt lots from him - he was responsible for himself and for other road users, and I am more biker aware as a result. I think that while your comment will apply to most bikers it certainly doesn't apply to all bikers - there are some who are just plain reckless, just as there are reckless drivers. When the two meet it's unfortunately more likely to be head on.

Daytona_nev

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They are though still entitled to be on the roads and to their safety - they are uncomfortable with speed so they go slowly because they believe it to be safer (and it is, let's face it).
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Quite right, anyone who pays road tax has a right to be on the road. Going slowly though unfortunately impedes the progress of anyone unfortunate enough to be stuck behind them. It may be safe for them, but it can also cause accidents when people are forced with the option of either sitting at 30mph on a national speed limit or trying to overtake to make good time on their journey.

How often do these people pull over to let the 50 car queue behind them get past ? In my experience almost never, often because they are completely oblivious to it. I appreciate they may have all the time in the world to get where they want, but unfortunately, not everyone else has & it would be nice for them to acknowledge the fact sometimes.