Biggest Threats to Cyclists?

andydiysaver

there are four types of cyclist - stupid, regular, aggressive, and militant


the stupid ones have no idea of their own personal safety - they're not hostile or aggressive, they just have no idea how dangerous a road is and take risks most of us would not take - over time they develop a false sense of immortality -which just goes to show how many great defensive drivers there out there because it is no mean feat to delude someone who is rubbish at something that they're the next tour de france champion!


regular cyclists are my favourite group - they know and observe the highway code -especially at traffic lights. unlike most posts above (from cyclists) my experience is most cyclists go straight through a red and often intermingle pavement and road where they see fit. they have a death wish and it is all our fault


aggressive cyclists redefine perception of this death wish and take it to a new level. everything on road and quite possibly things off road are all the motorists fault


finally militant cyclists, invariably dressed from head to toe in "rad" designer lycra gear. these people believe the road is only for them and motorists should wait behind them for the entire distance of the journey they are making. often they double up to try and enforce this, and drive in the middle of the road. their one saving grace is that generally cause they're so into cycling they can go a little bit faster and reach 2 mph in some places and not 1mph. What defines this group is bad attitude, blaming of others and that cyclists are part of some master race, with motorists at the opposite end of the spectrum.


...and there are plenty within that last group. why am I about to make post no 672 on this thread is only because cyclists are notorious for a bad attitude and blaming of others. Simple physics points towards their need to learn and be cautious on the roads as on light transport vehicles they are far from king of the jungle, just like we drivers in turn need to respect the HGV's etc, so to come at it from the opposite angle full of attitude is asking for it.


and no I can confirm I never have or will drive into a cyclist, but I have swerved to avoid braining several of them! The reason they still exist is because I saw them coming, they didn't see me coming!

custardy

good to see we have gone from homogeneous to a sub group of four............

andydiysaver

...thinking it through there should be a compulsory cycling test with the same sort of standards as the driving test, theory and practice, and they should be forced to buy insurance. This is the road we're talking about and every other vehicle on there has to do it, why are the most vulnerable of them all excluded from the enforced training when they need it the most?

Retrogamer

andydiysaver wrote: »

...thinking it through there should be a compulsory cycling test with the same sort of standards as the driving test, theory and practice, and they should be forced to buy insurance. This is the road we're talking about and every other vehicle on there has to do it, why are the most vulnerable of them all excluded from the enforced training when they need it the most?

The main cause of death and serious on the roads is due to motorised vehicles. This is why insurance is mandatory for them.
Some people like yourself seem more concerned that bicycles aren't insured than the thousands of vehicles that are uninsured on the roads.
There are dozens of reasons against cyclings needing insurance but to make it easier, since pedestrians like joggers sometimes use roads should they have insurance as well?

I passed my cycling proficiency test when i was 10. I wouldn't say it should be a requirement before using the road, but it helped me a lot.
It's worth mentioning there's a lot of people out there who passed their driving test but still drive terrible. I usually meet a few hundred a week on my way to or from work.

Horseunderwater

Having been a professionally trained bus driver in Cambridge - I am glad to say I never hit one or knocked one off in a bus. How I have no idea. These are some of the things I saw that stick in my mind: female cyclist going round a major traffic lighted island the wrong way, so she hit a car who was on coming, who had stopped at a red light, so she was very lucky that day. Many riding down one way streets wrong way. Best one I saw was the one who when I touch ed horn lightly to warn them of my presence was the man who stopped got off his bike & threw it at my bus in temper, then he picked it up threw it down & started jumping up & down on it. Bent a wheel too! Then he called the cops & told them I had hit him & knocked him off. During all this, I had H brake on, had not said a word to this biker at all. Policeman gets on bus & starts accusing me of all sorts. Passengers shouted at the copper that none of it was true & they told copper what had really happened. He asked me to confirm & I agreed with passengers, so he goes back to cyclist - books him for wasting police time & obstructing the traffic flow in a major route around the city. Makes him pick up his ruined bike & I go on my way. When I later told my inspector about it all, he knew the whole tale already & told me I had showed my true professionalism that day. Coming out of side roads & not seeing what might be approaching on the major road. Many a collision seen from the cab with all vehicle types incl other cyclists hitting each other. Many seen going through red lights. Not all were students, many were commuters on way 2 work.

custardy

Horseunderwater wrote: »

Having been a professionally trained bus driver in Cambridge - I am glad to say I never hit one or knocked one off in a bus. How I have no idea. These are some of the things I saw that stick in my mind: female cyclist going round a major traffic lighted island the wrong way, so she hit a car who was on coming, who had stopped at a red light, so she was very lucky that day. Many riding down one way streets wrong way. Best one I saw was the one who when I touch ed horn lightly to warn them of my presence was the man who stopped got off his bike & threw it at my bus in temper, then he picked it up threw it down & started jumping up & down on it. Bent a wheel too! Then he called the cops & told them I had hit him & knocked him off. During all this, I had H brake on, had not said a word to this biker at all. Policeman gets on bus & starts accusing me of all sorts. Passengers shouted at the copper that none of it was true & they told copper what had really happened. He asked me to confirm & I agreed with passengers, so he goes back to cyclist - books him for wasting police time & obstructing the traffic flow in a major route around the city. Makes him pick up his ruined bike & I go on my way. When I later told my inspector about it all, he knew the whole tale already & told me I had showed my true professionalism that day. Coming out of side roads & not seeing what might be approaching on the major road. Many a collision seen from the cab with all vehicle types incl other cyclists hitting each other. Many seen going through red lights. Not all were students, many were commuters on way 2 work.

but look what all these bus drivers do!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-17066798

andydiysaver

Retrogamer wrote: »

The main cause of death and serious on the roads is due to motorised vehicles. This is why insurance is mandatory for them.
Some people like yourself seem more concerned that bicycles aren't insured than the thousands of vehicles that are uninsured on the roads.
There are dozens of reasons against cyclings needing insurance but to make it easier, since pedestrians like joggers sometimes use roads should they have insurance as well?

I passed my cycling proficiency test when i was 10. I wouldn't say it should be a requirement before using the road, but it helped me a lot.
It's worth mentioning there's a lot of people out there who passed their driving test but still drive terrible. I usually meet a few hundred a week on my way to or from work.

that's because if even one car is insured on the roads, that's one more than the cyclists have. I can only speak for myself and how I insure my car, thousands are honest like me. yes you get the idiots but there is a penalty if you get caught.


I'm also a runner, I'd never run like I see some cyclists cycle because I'm about as protected as a cyclist is and if I went toe to toe with a car I could expect to lose badly, as a none cyclist I get the notion that 1 tonne of metal packs a heavier punch and I can and I respect it accordingly, I don't try and take it on!


that bus driver story was incredible, and I can believe it too. you would think all that cardio grabbed from cycling would flush some of that anger and stress out of the system, apparently not - what a psycho!

andydiysaver

Horseunderwater wrote: »

Having been a professionally trained bus driver in Cambridge - I am glad to say I never hit one or knocked one off in a bus. How I have no idea. These are some of the things I saw that stick in my mind: female cyclist going round a major traffic lighted island the wrong way, so she hit a car who was on coming, who had stopped at a red light, so she was very lucky that day. Many riding down one way streets wrong way. Best one I saw was the one who when I touch ed horn lightly to warn them of my presence was the man who stopped got off his bike & threw it at my bus in temper, then he picked it up threw it down & started jumping up & down on it. Bent a wheel too! Then he called the cops & told them I had hit him & knocked him off. During all this, I had H brake on, had not said a word to this biker at all. Policeman gets on bus & starts accusing me of all sorts. Passengers shouted at the copper that none of it was true & they told copper what had really happened. He asked me to confirm & I agreed with passengers, so he goes back to cyclist - books him for wasting police time & obstructing the traffic flow in a major route around the city. Makes him pick up his ruined bike & I go on my way. When I later told my inspector about it all, he knew the whole tale already & told me I had showed my true professionalism that day. Coming out of side roads & not seeing what might be approaching on the major road. Many a collision seen from the cab with all vehicle types incl other cyclists hitting each other. Many seen going through red lights. Not all were students, many were commuters on way 2 work.

thank goodness for your passengers, hybrid cyclist - stupid and miltant, sounds like the strategy was pre thought out, wonder how many solitary motorists he/she did before he met you and your witnesses and how many thousands in false claims he racked up - that very bike he had was probably on the proceeds, and he was probably thinking once he'd done you, he could claim his way up to an even better one! paperclip to house scenario done cyclist style. .....

PintAndAPie

andydiysaver wrote: »

that's because if even one car is insured on the roads, that's one more than the cyclists have.

I, and at least 70,000 other CTC members, have £10 million of third party cover but that's irrelevant. If cyclists were causing millions of pounds of damage every day then cycle insurance might be required, but they don't, so it's not.

custardy

PintAndAPie wrote: »

I, and at least 70,000 other CTC members, have £10 million of third party cover but that's irrelevant. If cyclists were causing millions of pounds of damage every day then cycle insurance might be required, but they don't, so it's not.

Then add on British cycling
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/scotland/article/20130618-scottish-cycling-news-British-membership-reaches-75-000-members-milestone-0
Another 70+k members