Cyclists - what annoys you most about motorists?

leachyd

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Its rare to see a cyclist stop at a red light for instance. Although im sure that all the stoppers will suddenly be the members here.

I'm sorry, but that is utter boll#@ks! I cycle on my commute, and along with me, the vast majority of other cyclists stop for the bulk of red lights.

spongybobby

thelawnet wrote: »

Why does this annoy you?

because whilst i do ride out slightly further due to dangerous pinchpoints..
i see may a video's on youtube with riders cycling in the middle of the lane for almost no apparent reason.

I am one cyclist who wont inconvinience other road users because i think i am some higher being on a bike.
if there is enough room for a car to get by, i will make sure im riding appropriately..

a happy car driver behind me from me not cycling like a [EMAIL="tw@t"]!!!!!![/EMAIL] means i get home to see my family at the end of the day safely..
Road rage requires 2 to tango.. and i would say out of the ones i see there is a 50/50 share in responsability for the issue.

Example... one chap i was cycling with to work yesterday decided that instead of letting a bus out who was indicating (100m ish in front of us), he would try and speed up past the bus...
i just coasted for maximum of 5 seconds to allow the bus to move out and continue.. but mr pushy cyclist decided he wanted to be pushy and get past, so sprinted... unfortunately for him his impatience caused him to seriously annoy the bus driver, get himself wound up... and gained him a total of 10 seconds to get to the next red light on our trip.

we cyclists are fragile and us v cars or other metal objects... well i know who will win

thelawnet

spongybobby wrote: »

because whilst i do ride out slightly further due to dangerous pinchpoints..
i see may a video's on youtube with riders cycling in the middle of the lane for almost no apparent reason.

So you've only seen this on youtube, and you think it's a problem? :cool:

I am one cyclist who wont inconvinience other road users because i think i am some higher being on a bike.
if there is enough room for a car to get by, i will make sure im riding appropriately..

Not always wise.

I was cycling up this road:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Victoria+Park+Road,+London&hl=en&ll=51.544707,-0.033345&spn=0.026663,0.052314&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=13.277812,26.784668&oq=victoria+park+ro&hnear=Victoria+Park+Rd,+London,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.544655,-0.03349&panoid=yNqwyblXPEXNCwXnJ_tlvw&cbp=12,225.59,,0,-1.48

the other day.

I thought 'I'll go in the cycle lane, let that car past, this is uphill'.

Yards up the road (I'd never cycled it before), the lane ends:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Victoria+Park+Road,+London&hl=en&ll=51.544227,-0.033946&spn=0.026663,0.052314&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=13.277812,26.784668&oq=victoria+park+ro&hnear=Victoria+Park+Rd,+London,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.544167,-0.034036&panoid=clUQIj5kq4qJmg4sB-wLMw&cbp=12,224.7,,0,20.89

Note the position of the JCB btw.

A coach overtook me about where the JCB is. Unpleasant, and dangerous, because he had to cut back into me.

I overtook him half-a-mile up the road at traffic lights.

So if you're watching someone on youtube cycling in a certain place, and you admit you have no idea the reason, why are you judging, if you've never cycled that road?

If I went up that road again i would be asserting my position almost immediately. Maybe allow one car to pass, but then I'd be moving out.

I don't want to die because of some car driver's perceived convenience (note that actually the coach didn't get where he was going any quicker)/

spongybobby

Oh no.. not just seen this on YouTube.. but was using this as an example. I have seen many cases where riders ride too far out.

It must be from where some people ride.. I ride down a busy road (A27) and I find maybe 1 in 50 cars inconsiderate... but not dangerous... and maybe 1 in 500 cars that cause a danger to me.. but most of the time that's just them thinking they can beat me off the lights and turn left !

thelawnet

I think you're wrong.

This lady died last week:

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/10015791.Husband_of_cyclist_killed_by_lorry_speaks_of__indescribable__grief/

She was killed by a lorry where the Lawsons truck is here:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=St+John+The+Baptist+Church,+Wood+Street,+Barnet&hl=en&ll=51.653409,-0.201091&spn=0.005724,0.011523&sll=51.654555,-0.201613&sspn=0.011449,0.023046&oq=st+john+the+bap&hq=St+John+The+Baptist+Church,&hnear=Wood+St,+Barnet,+United+Kingdom&t=m&fll=51.653083,-0.203955&fspn=0.005725,0.011523&z=17&layer=c&cbll=51.653466,-0.201209&panoid=c_aS2-UC_jIXo_DBS7BGVQ&cbp=12,135.13,,0,8.99

No official report yet, but looking at the streetview you can see how narrow it is.

Be considerate and allow cars to passs? It could be the death of you.

Yards earlier, there's room to pass safely.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=St+John+The+Baptist+Church,+Wood+Street,+Barnet&hl=en&ll=51.653043,-0.199964&spn=0.00665,0.013078&sll=51.654555,-0.201613&sspn=0.011449,0.023046&oq=st+john+the+bap&hq=St+John+The+Baptist+Church,&hnear=Wood+St,+Barnet,+United+Kingdom&t=m&fll=51.653083,-0.203955&fspn=0.005725,0.011523&layer=c&cbll=51.653012,-0.199869&panoid=-KHdmjsRlpHBA_vUeTVHOQ&cbp=12,117.56,,0,22.28&z=17

I wouldn't put my life in the hands of random motorists, and I certainly wouldn't judge others for the same.

Mids_Costcutter

Quite sobering. Of course we don't know what happened and why, but lorries do account for a disproportionate number of cycle fatalities. A case for more lorry bans?

Billy-no-Money

spongybobby wrote: »

a few things that get me are(and yes i am a cyclist!):

6) cyclists that wear headphones (yea, nice idea that! listening to music instead of the dangers around you)

I listen to the radio in my left ear and the traffic in my right ear, a mirror and proper observations help too. I suspect my awareness is higher than that of most drivers.

Those headphone-wearing cyclists who are such a danger to themselves - watch how they ride. Do they even look behind?

On a similar point though, one thing that annoys me is that most people (myself included sometimes!) rely on their ears too much, for instance stepping into the road assuming because they can't hear anything there's nothing coming.

Marco_Panettone

spongybobby wrote: »

a few things that get me are(and yes i am a cyclist!):

1) cyclists who think its a great idea to ride in the 'primary' position to stop cars overtaking, even at the slightest hint of a 'pinch point'

Why is this get to you?

I'd rather be slightly annoying to the odd car who wants to squeeze past me in a dangerous (to me) manner to save themselves 2 seconds than to have the driver misjudge the gap and hit me with 2 tonnes of steel at 30mph.

I assume having the road blocked by an ambulance and police car, the offending vehicle that hits me and me sprawled across the road for half an hour would be preferable to you...

Mids_Costcutter

Quite a few people on the thread have raised the issue of motorists passing dangerously close. It's certainly been one of the main safety concerns for me when cycling. Does anyone have experience using a spacer arm like this on their bike:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bicycle-bike-safety-arm-Lollipop-flag-red-reflector-handlebar-cycle-road-spacer-/140769686918?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item20c686f586

If so did it help to ensure that motorists left more space when passing?

stevemcol

Mids_Costcutter wrote: »

Quite a few people on the thread have raised the issue of motorists passing dangerously close. It's certainly been one of the main safety concerns for me when cycling. Does anyone have experience using a spacer arm like this on their bike:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bicycle-bike-safety-arm-Lollipop-flag-red-reflector-handlebar-cycle-road-spacer-/140769686918?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item20c686f586

If so did it help to ensure that motorists left more space when passing?

Probably would enhance safety on the odd occasion but it's a lot of addtional drag the rest of the time. I'd rather use road position.
I hold primary road position only when it is unsafe to be overtaken but will happily move over to the left when it's safe. As a cyclist you have a better view of the road ahead and using this method gives you a bit of control over when you will be overtaken. When I'm being overtaken I always have an escape route in mind, just in case.
Unecessarily winding up car or lorry drivers behind you is in nobody's interest.