Biggest Threats to Cyclists?

consumers_revenge

Anyone know if theres anywhere you can video drivers on their mobiles and send them direct to the police?


Would they prosecute?

ceredigion

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Anyone know if theres anywhere you can video drivers on their mobiles and send them direct to the police?


Would they prosecute?

by the side of a road



no

MEM62

The biggest threat to cyclist is...... themselves.

As a motorcyclist, cyclist and car driver I regularly see individuals using all of these methods of transportation that really should take a long hard look at their roadcraft skills.

Marco_Panettone

MEM62 wrote: »

The biggest threat to cyclist is...... themselves.

As a motorcyclist, cyclist and car driver I regularly see individuals using all of these methods of transportation that really should take a long hard look at their roadcraft skills.

As a vulnerable road user you can do absolutely everything correctly and still be killed or injured because of someone else's behaviour on the roads - that's what makes you 'vulnerable'. Cyclists are very rarely a risk to anyone else - pedestrians are not regularly being killed by people on bikes, and people aren't regularly being injured in bike vs bike crashes. 5 people a day ARE dying on the roads because of motor traffic, both inside and outside of the vehicles. This is without factoring in pollution levels leading to early deaths.


The biggest 'threat' to cyclists is a lack of quality cycle infrastructure that provides protection from motor vehicles without mixing with pedestrians.

esuhl

MEM62 wrote: »

The biggest threat to cyclist is...... themselves.

As a motorcyclist, cyclist and car driver I regularly see individuals using all of these methods of transportation that really should take a long hard look at their roadcraft skills.

Cyclists are rarely a risk to themselves or anyone else (from what I've seen).

It's car/van/lorry drivers in their metal box insulated from the real world that are the most danger to everyone on the roads.

Impatient drivers are the worst, as they will happily overtake on blind bends, or gamble that oncoming traffic will brake for them before they cut in ahead of you. I find it hard to believe that many drivers have actually taken a driving test.

I'm finding that on more and more roads I'm having to cycle in the centre of the lane to prevent dangerous overtaking. Of course, the problem is only with about 5% to 10% of drivers, but that's still an awful lot of drivers. Why can't they ALL be trusted to behave responsibly?

I think it's time that cycling should be a required component of the driving test, so at least drivers can see things from their prey's perspective. And crimes such as speeding should result in an instant loss of licence -- a 12 point limit just encourages reckless behaviour in anyone with fewer than 9 points.

moxter

I see cycling that makes me wince about 5 times as often as driving that makes me wince.

I love cycling and although there's a constant undercurrent of danger, by minimising the risks involved it's possible to feel pretty safe. All the basics are true: stay visible, don't hide in a corner of the road, try and keep in a relatively straight line at a relatively constant speed, make eye contact, CLEAR arm signals, don't do stupid things like jump lights, consider hazards that are 50m away not just 5m away, don't cycle when exhausted/drunk, and above all have some respect for lorries, buses, speeders and anything else which is an obvious danger.

Seeing cyclists nipping up the inside of lorries sometimes makes me feel faint. If there's one thing as a cyclist which will scare you, it's sitting in the driver's seat of a big lorry cab and realising how enormous their blind spot is. There's an easy solution for a cyclist: stay out of their way.

As a pedestrian you don't do stupid things - you respect your position as a vulnerable road user and act accordingly (crossing on green men, zebra crossings or when the road is clear). Why not have similar patience when on a bike?

Marco_Panettone

moxter wrote: »

I see cycling that makes me wince about 5 times as often as driving that makes me wince.

I love cycling and although there's a constant undercurrent of danger, by minimising the risks involved it's possible to feel pretty safe. All the basics are true: stay visible, don't hide in a corner of the road, try and keep in a relatively straight line at a relatively constant speed, make eye contact, CLEAR arm signals, don't do stupid things like jump lights, consider hazards that are 50m away not just 5m away, don't cycle when exhausted/drunk, and above all have some respect for lorries, buses, speeders and anything else which is an obvious danger.

Seeing cyclists nipping up the inside of lorries sometimes makes me feel faint. If there's one thing as a cyclist which will scare you, it's sitting in the driver's seat of a big lorry cab and realising how enormous their blind spot is. There's an easy solution for a cyclist: stay out of their way.

As a pedestrian you don't do stupid things - you respect your position as a vulnerable road user and act accordingly (crossing on green men, zebra crossings or when the road is clear). Why not have similar patience when on a bike?

Pedestrians do stupid things all the time - stepping out without looking, walking in cycle lanes, crossing the road while texting, crossing in non-designated places, and you know what - this is absolutely fine. It's MY responsibility to expect this sort of thing and to avoid causing harm to those in a more vulnerable position (whether I'm on a bike or driving). That's why I keep further away from the kerb, and slow down when there are people nearby who look like they might step out at any time.


On a more general point, people should not be put in danger because of their mistakes. It's more than possible to create a safe travelling environment focussed on vulnerable road users. However, this country has decided that someone else's convenience is more important than my (and everyone else's)safety.

Si_Clist

moxter wrote: »

As a pedestrian you don't do stupid things

You might not and I might not, but alas many pedestrians do.

All the time.

All over the place.

Never had a muppet gazing at their smartphone walk straight off the pavement into the road ahead of you?

Or a young mother push a kiddie in a stroller into the road because her brain cell hasn't registered that she needs to stop before she gets to the kerb?

RichardD1970

moxter wrote: »

As a pedestrian you don't do stupid things

That's one of the stupidest statements I have seen on these threads.

The amount of people who find it too much effort to walk an extra 10 yards to use a crossing, usually with kid in tow, who are then dragged across when the adult thinks there is a big enough gap, is amazing.

As I have said before, idiots are idiots, regardless of mode of transport and they will try to get away with transgressing as many rules as they can if they think it will save then a few seconds.

Cycrow

RichardD1970 wrote: »

The amount of people who find it too much effort to walk an extra 10 yards to use a crossing, usually with kid in tow, who are then dragged across when the adult thinks there is a big enough gap, is amazing.

The worst ones are the ones that cross before they reach the crossing, even thou they are traveling towards it.

So they jump out infront of traffic to cross, then walk past the crossing on the other side of the road