Are drivers getting better around bikes?

[Banjo]

My perception is that they are. I seem to be getting less close passes left hooks , verbal diarhoea etc etc than in years gone by.

Have I just been lucky lately?

 

[Drago]

I reckon the typical drive I encounter is pretty courteous. Plenary of arrisholes, but Defoe the minority. It helps perhaps that the number of motor vehicles is slowly falling, as is the number of road miles travelled, so maybe drivers are getting more chilled.

 

[andyfraser]

I still get a lot of close passes from vans. I had a bus this morning pass so close at speed that I almost wobbled into it due to the wind it produced. Car drivers generally seem ok. There's always the odd one or two who pass too close or try to overtake at inappropriate times (like on a single lane bridge last night).

 

[Profpointy]

I think they are getting better - but also my own cycling is more decisive (taking the lane, primary where appropriate and so on) so it might be me rather than "them". When I was younger (but still an adult) I was cycling in Hemel Hemstead area, and the aggression was pretty bad, and as a kid in Cardiff was often bullied off the road - squashed into parked cars (metaphorically) etc. Bristol by contrast seems a paragon of courtesy and calm.

 

[andyfraser]

I think they are getting better - but also my own cycling is more decisive (taking the lane, primary where appropriate and so on) so it might be me rather than "them".

That's a good point. Before I even ventured on the road I read a lot about how I should ride and that probably has an effect.

 

[Arjimlad]

Not all that bad but Captain Cockwomble in his van overtook me on a blind bend last night, presumably reasoning that no oncoming lights = no oncoming road users.

Also, Miss Yapalot on her mobile phone who can't steer her Corsa round a cyclist with one hand is still out there.

Shogun-meister similarly afflicted as well, permanent phone-in-hand-to-right-ear syndrome means he can't steer very well either.

All in the past week or so..

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

No, you're just getting more used to them

 

[jazzkat]

I still get a lot of close passes. Last week on a trip down the M6 my wife was pointing out all the drivers texting, there was a lot of them!

 

[User6179]

My perception is that they are. I seem to be getting less close passes left hooks , verbal diarhoea etc etc than in years gone by.

Have I just been lucky lately?

Are you getting slower ?
I find the faster I go the worse drivers are , they cant seem to judge how fast your going and make silly mistakes , mostly overtaking when they shouldn't .

 

[raleighnut]

No.

 

[Specialeyes]

Shogun-meister similarly afflicted as well, permanent phone-in-hand-to-right-ear syndrome means he can't steer very well either.

Japanese imported Shoguns are the worst, probably because Pajero (their original name) is Spanish for wa%nker or to$$er

 

[ianrauk]

London drivers are very aware of cyclists. They can't help but not be due to the sheer amount of cyclists on the road.
I have very few problems on my daily commute. But then again I don't have a webcam

 

[nickyboy]

I reckon the typical drive I encounter is pretty courteous. Plenary of arrisholes, but Defoe the minority. It helps perhaps that the number of motor vehicles is slowly falling, as is the number of road miles travelled, so maybe drivers are getting more chilled.

Typical footballers, thinking they own the road. He's only a little lad, I suspect he needs to sit on a cushion to see over the steering wheel

 

[paul04]

I find the majority of drivers are ok, and give you plenty of room, but I have noticed a few that can't wait, they would rather risk it with a on coming car, or a silly overtake on a bend,
If they just engage their brain, and took there foot of the accelerator,
a couple of seconds and then, the on coming car passes, then they can pass safely, and it only cost a couple of seconds out of there day.