What on the roads has annoyed you today?

[taupe]

My point really was only that you've maybe seen the results of an 'accident', how vulnerable a cyclist is in comparison to the car driver and could perhaps understand why a cyclist might want to be the one to decide when an overtake is safe or not and ride accordingly and defensively.

 

 

Edited 19 October 2022 by taupe

[Otis]

1 hour ago, taupe said:

...and the cyclist pays the price for when the driver can't judge when it's safe?

 

Is it you that's the ambulance driver or am I confusing you with someone else on here?

Which I find baffling as to why the cyclist wouldn't put themselves in the safest environment. i.e a cycle path. 

[Daggers]

2 hours ago, Parafox said:

My views are not aggressive in the least and if you read my post properly you will see that it is borne of frustration at cyclists putting themselves at risk, not out of malice or anything else. I ALWAYS take care passing cyclist on any road and will always allow them room and not put them at risk, largely because I've had to deal with the outcomes of cyclists v motor vehicle. I never judged any blame, I just dealt with the incident, but it certainly sharpened my awareness.

My point is cycle lanes are there for the safety of cyclists. Not using them is putting yourself at risk. You cannot possibly know what any driver is like as a driver. Some are very considerate; many are not and are idiots on the road. 

I am not and never have been "anti-cyclist". I just think they'd be safer to use a cycle lane on a busy main A road. 

I thought my gif would give away that I’m only using a big wooden spoon

[ALC Fox]

11 hours ago, Otis said:

Which I find baffling as to why the cyclist wouldn't put themselves in the safest environment. i.e a cycle path. 

Why do drivers speed? Why do they undertake on motorways? Why do they cut corners? Why do they run red lights? Why do they race each other on public roads? Why do they drive the wrong way down one-way streets? Why do they open their doors on the road side without looking behind them? Why do they overtake other drivers who are driving at the speed limit? Why do they tailgate? Why do they use their phones at the wheel?

 

I'm a driver by the way and haven't cycled on the road for years. I get the irritation when cyclists use the road when a cycle lane is available. But I also get that those cycle lanes can be even more poorly maintained than the roads and may also have pedestrians and pushchairs to weave around, so I understand why using the road would be preferable.

 

As someone controlling at least a ton of moving metal, I do think the responsibility of helping to keep vulnerable road users safe rests with a driver. People probably just need to calm down a bit. If you're stuck behind a cyclist, it may seem like an interminable delay, but in reality it's rarely going to be more than a minute or two at the longest.

 

If a cyclist is delaying an emergency vehicle, that is on the cyclist though. They can easily divert onto the pavement in most cases, I'd say.

Edited 20 October 2022 by ALC Fox

[taupe]

30 minutes ago, ALC Fox said:

As someone controlling at least a ton of moving metal, I do think the responsibility of helping to keep vulnerable road users safe rests with a driver

Agree 100%

 

I've often wondered if car drivers (and I include myself) feel a little - and I don't know the right word here - apprehensive perhaps about having that responsibility placed upon them. Resentful maybe. I mean, you don't ask for that duty of care, yet there you are having to exercise it anyway. You feel the cyclist should be responsible for their own safety yet it's the driver that has to take part in that too. I'm suggesting this is at a subconscious level btw.

 

I cycle too but here in rural France I really have no (or incredibly rare) interactions with vehicular traffic. Sometimes I'll get a close pass at too quick a speed but that's about it. But then, I have loads of quiet roads to choose from and avoid quicker A road type roads because they are just not pleasant places to be, safe or otherwise.

[Otis]

1 hour ago, ALC Fox said:

As someone controlling at least a ton of moving metal, I do think the responsibility of helping to keep vulnerable road users safe rests with a driver. People probably just need to calm down a bit. If you're stuck behind a cyclist, it may seem like an interminable delay, but in reality it's rarely going to be more than a minute or two at the longest.

Of course those driving a vehicle have a responsibility, but my point still stands. As a cyclist, Why would you want to put yourself in a more dangerous environment when there is a perfectly good cycle path 1 metre to your left? 

As a cyclist/car driver I struggle to understand the mentality. 

[taupe]

1 minute ago, Otis said:

As a cyclist/car driver I struggle to understand the mentality. 

With all due respect, you don't need to understand it.

 

I mean, I get your point and, if indeed there is an adequate cycle path, then I'd probably share that pov (and that's without getting into the debate of what is safe or adequate) Nonetheless, if the cyclist has chosen not to use it, for whatever reason, then situation is as it is, and it's one for you to deal with.

[Otis]

1 hour ago, taupe said:

With all due respect, you don't need to understand it.

 

I mean, I get your point and, if indeed there is an adequate cycle path, then I'd probably share that pov (and that's without getting into the debate of what is safe or adequate) Nonetheless, if the cyclist has chosen not to use it, for whatever reason, then situation is as it is, and it's one for you to deal with.

That doesn't mean I can't have an opinion. All I'm saying is that as a cyclist I do everything I can to protect myself including - having lights/reflectors & using cycle paths where available. 

[taupe]

38 minutes ago, Otis said:

That doesn't mean I can't have an opinion. All I'm saying is that as a cyclist I do everything I can to protect myself including - having lights/reflectors & using cycle paths where available. 

Of course you can have an opinion! And I get it too, believe me.  

 

My only point is that you have to deal with people (cyclists) that don't do things the way you would. They might not use the cycle path, but then they don't have to. You might not agree, or even understand why not, but nonetheless there it is. You don't get to run them down just because they don't share your attitudes to safety! (That's a joke, I'm not suggesting for a moment you would run them down, I'm just making the point)  

[Trumpet]

Middle lane hoggers, of which there must be a fair few on here given how many I encounter day to day - why?

 

Why not use the safer left lane? Safer in a sense that if you have a blowout you’re into the hard shoulder much easier than if you were in the middle or right hand lane. You may be confused with what I call the right hand lane, this is usually the third lane on most motorways. You probably refer to it as the fast lane.

[Otis]

9 minutes ago, taupe said:

Of course you can have an opinion! And I get it too, believe me.  

 

My only point is that you have to deal with people (cyclists) that don't do things the way you would. They might not use the cycle path, but then they don't have to. You might not agree, or even understand why not, but nonetheless there it is. You don't get to run them down just because they don't share your attitudes to safety! (That's a joke, I'm not suggesting for a moment you would run them down, I'm just making the point)  

I would never run them down....

 

Deliberately 🤣🤣

[SpacedX]

2 hours ago, taupe said:

I mean

 

[adam1]

On 18/10/2022 at 23:40, Parafox said:

It doesn't.

If it's unsafe to overtake, then it's unsafe regardless of the hazard. If a driver can't judge when it's safe, then they lack awareness, competency and driving skill.

When over taking one cyclist you ought to be going partially into the next lane. Unfortunately there are impatient drivers who will attempt an overtake of the cyclist when there are other vehicles within the adjacent lane. This requires those vehicles to take evasive action (moving over) and/or for the overtaking vehicle to squeeze past the cyclist, often at speed. That close proximity is dangerous.

 

When riding two/three abreast the overtaking driver cannot squeeze between the cyclist and any potential oncoming traffic. This means they have to consider hitting another vehicle (risking significant damage to their own vehicle and themselves), something which they would not be prepared to do. In contrast with the risk of clipping a cyclist - there is no general regard to this as the driver or their vehicle is not at risk.

[Royston.]

Was emerging but could see oncoming traffic from what was already a tight road with parked cars on either side so I waited while some dumb fvuk in a black van impatiently overtakes me and gets about 100 yards before blocking the road with said oncoming traffic.

 

How much of an inconsiderate twat do you have to be to overtake someone at a junction when you have no way of seeing what's happening on the road ahead.

[Tuna]

Lorries overtaking other lorries on the A1!

[tom27111]

This thread escalated quickly!

 

Cyclists can be a pain in the arse. But so can pedestrians.

 

Although mainly other people in vehicles are the main problem.

 

Everyone slates each other depending on which category they're in.

 

Northamptonshire now has those scooters that you can hire through an app, not sure if you have the same in Leicester, but they are a bloody menace. Especially when kids are riding them and multiple people are on them. (God knows how, you need to be over 18 and have a licence. I'd ban the people letting these kids use their licence)

 

But @Parafox makes some valid points.

 

You know why I say that? He's probably attended multiple scenes where cyclists have been injured, or even worse, died.

 

In an ideal world, all road users would respect each other. 

 

But it must wind you up having to go to work in the morning and try to save someone's life for an incident that could have been preventable.

[The Blur]

On 19/10/2022 at 16:52, Footballwipe said:

The problem is that the cyclist v car user argument will remain the same cycle of extreme views forever. you get your militant drivers and your militant cyclists and it creates a divide that'll never be healed. Add in a dash of dash cam footage, plus social media, and the extreme examples of indiscretion on both sides stokes the fire of the view which you hold.

 

You have pretty much described the society in the general mate.   Right, now where is my pitchfork for these pesky Tories?

[FoyleFox]

I am going to rant, and it does involve cyclists but not proper cyclists but yoofs!

 

Turning right last night at a cross roads in town, plenty of vehicle traffic to be cautious of. Pull out, reasonable acceleration to get on the main road in-between traffic and 3 yoof cyclists come flying from the pavement directly across the road - dark clothes, no lights. Uncertain how we missed them all. How stupid can you be?

 

And then further to home, dark country lane, another yoof on a bike, again, dark clothes and no lights, in the middle of the road.

[Thefox81]

1 hour ago, FoyleFox said:

I am going to rant, and it does involve cyclists but not proper cyclists but yoofs!

 

Turning right last night at a cross roads in town, plenty of vehicle traffic to be cautious of. Pull out, reasonable acceleration to get on the main road in-between traffic and 3 yoof cyclists come flying from the pavement directly across the road - dark clothes, no lights. Uncertain how we missed them all. How stupid can you be?

 

And then further to home, dark country lane, another yoof on a bike, again, dark clothes and no lights, in the middle of the road.

Don't you know they're invincible. What is a 1 tonne piece of metal going to do to their immortality?

[Parafox]

5 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

I am going to rant, and it does involve cyclists but not proper cyclists but yoofs!

 

Turning right last night at a cross roads in town, plenty of vehicle traffic to be cautious of. Pull out, reasonable acceleration to get on the main road in-between traffic and 3 yoof cyclists come flying from the pavement directly across the road - dark clothes, no lights. Uncertain how we missed them all. How stupid can you be?

 

And then further to home, dark country lane, another yoof on a bike, again, dark clothes and no lights, in the middle of the road.

Coincidentally I was thinking and recalling some of the collisions involving cyclists that I have attended. Yoofs were among them but the one that sticks in my mind was a middle-aged guy. 

Hinckley Road/Brauny Lane junction, just near that over-priced second-hand car sales place. City side of the traffic lights. It's November, it's cold and raining hard and it's dark.

We arrive to find this man in the gutter unresponsive, his bike a twisted mess on the pavement. There's blood running down the drain and when we put lights on him, we see he has an open fracture to his skull exposing brain tissue. 

He's essentially dead but we still try. It's a mess. Wet through, kneeling in grime and blood on the road, using all we had to try to get some response. Nothing. Eventually we lift him onto the ambulance and take him to the mortuary. 

He'd been riding home from work. He too wasn't wearing any reflective or hi-vis clothing, no helmet and no lights and was, according to witnesses, riding in the road and was hit by a vehicle. The driver was understandably distraught. She simply hadn't seen him because of the weather conditions. she wasn't travelling fast, having been in a queue waiting for the lights to change. She clipped him and he came off. It seemed he hit his head on the kerb.

There was a cycle lane adjacent to him. 

Sadly, people make conscious decisions to take risks, and this is sometimes the outcome.

This incident is just one that I recall every time I go past that spot or see a cyclist not keeping themselves safe.

 

Edited 21 October 2022 by Parafox

[Parafox]

I also attended the fatality on Braunstone Way that resulted in the pedestrian crossings being replaced by the underpasses that we know today.

 

She was only 9. She tried to cross as a driver jumped a red signal. In a car that was TWOC. (nicked)

 

Stupidity and risk taking as well as criminal behaviour.

[HighPeakFox]

I have noticed the phenomenon of what looks like headlights in use at the front but rear lights not working - do some cars allow such isolation?

[ALC Fox]

1 hour ago, HighPeakFox said:

I have noticed the phenomenon of what looks like headlights in use at the front but rear lights not working - do some cars allow such isolation?

I see that every now and again. I can only assume that people just forget to check if their rear lights work.

Edited 21 October 2022 by ALC Fox

[Otis]

1 hour ago, HighPeakFox said:

I have noticed the phenomenon of what looks like headlights in use at the front but rear lights not working - do some cars allow such isolation?

They are Daytime running lights.

Some makes/models only have front lights, which also lights up your dashboard so as it gets dark you forget the rear lights are off.

[The Bear]

31 minutes ago, Otis said:

They are Daytime running lights.

Some makes/models only have front lights, which also lights up your dashboard so as it gets dark you forget the rear lights are off.

DRLs have been mandatory in European law for a few years now on all new cars. 

 

Edit - Just checked, 2011.

Edited 21 October 2022 by The Bear