Cyclists not using hand signals

rev_henry

Norman_Castle wrote: »

A while back a van tried to overtake me while I was turning right. I was riding very near to the centre line and signalling right. The driver stopped to advise me and demonstrate how I should be moving my arm up and down. The signal for motorists to say they are slowing down!. The driver was in his early twenties. I've driven a car most days for the last 20 years, but as I was cycling, what would I know?

I was actually taught that on a cycling course at primary school. Never used it (except for about a week after said course until the novelty wore off!) as I doubt anyone would know what it means these days.

Not quite sure why the van driver thought you should be doing it though!

londonTiger

probably worried about losing control on a crappy road riding one hand or worse getting they arm hit by a passing vehicle.. Ususally if you're observant you can make out when a cyclist intends to turn, they will look towards the direction of where they want to go a few times, or you can just tell from the slight movement of their bike that they are about to do something/change direction etc.

Use common sense people, it's not too difficult.

londonTiger

freakybacon wrote: »

I often find that the type of people who complain about cyclists "not paying road tax or insurance" are the same small minded type of people who would deny the disabled motability cars because "they're getting a free car and its not fair!"

true that..

If you are complaining about road tax, you probably shouldn' be driving, it's not that expensive.

Also consider road tax as a nice way to get cheapskates (like cyclists) from driivng. Imagine how worse london would be if every cyclist was driving.

londonTiger

I'm a new driver, and I've cycled quite a bit previously..

One thing I learnt about motoroists is how impatient they are, I saw a red light at maybe 30-40 meters, ago.. I happened to be driving slowly because I just got off from another traffic light.. yeah I know traffic lights that are 50meters apart.

So I didn't bother to accelerate too much and decided that I was going to coast along with minimal gas at around 10 mph because there's a red up ahead. No point accelerating hard and then braking again.

The car behind me horns at me.. then gets annoyed and overtakes, and then has to stop on the red, so now I'm sat behind him in traffic.

What was the !!!!ing point of that? What did that speeding up achieve?

This is so typical, drivers get fed up of cyclists (most of the time in residential areas) which have traffic lights everywhere of course. There's no point in racing ahead, you're going to stop again at the next lights just moments away.

Harry_Flashman

Probably better to have someone like that in front of you rather than behind?

Norman_Castle

I was actually taught that on a cycling course at primary school. Never used it (except for about a week after said course until the novelty wore off!) as I doubt anyone would know what it means these days.

Not quite sure why the van driver thought you should be doing it though!

I expect it was one of the few things he remembered from the highway code. He forgot the instruction not to overtake opposite a junction.
Sprinter van verses cyclist would chafe.

Norman_Castle

If you are complaining about road tax, you probably shouldn' be driving, it's not that expensive.

It's non existant. Read back through the thread for an explanation.

Harry_Flashman

Norman_Castle wrote: »

It's non existant. Read back through the thread for an explanation.

It certainly is for cyclists (and the odd eco-loon)

Strider590

Or the fact that "road tax" does not exist and has not existed since 1936

We pay vehicle excise duty for the pleasure of owning a car, not one penny goes toward transport infrastructure (roads).

"Road tax" is term spread by the same idiots that still go around insisting that VW Golf's are the most reliable cars, 20 odd years after the production of the car that deserved that reputation, was stopped.

Harry_Flashman

Strider590 wrote: »

We pay vehicle excise duty for the pleasure of using a car on the road

There, fixed that for you. It's all semantics anyway.

Motorists have to pay to use the road and cyclists don't - that's a fact.