Pr*cks on bikes

[Becs]

In the last 3 weeks I have had 4 near misses . . . All with other cyclists! Nearly got hit by a RLJer when I was on green, had 2 people try to undertake me at junctions when I was clearly signalling left and one girl ran into the back of me at a light because she "fought you was going to keep going like everyone else"! On the flip side I had a thoroughly pleasant interaction with an Addison lee taxi - wtf has happened to the world?!?!

 

[Becs]

I really think some sort of compulsory road safety test would be useful. I'm sad to say the more cyclists are on the road the more unsafe I feel, I'm sure a lot of mistakes are through ignorance, the rest just seem to be a certain breed of fixie rider that seems very abundant in Camden!

 

[Crackedheadset]

I really think some sort of compulsory road safety test would be useful. I'm sad to say the more cyclists are on the road the more unsafe I feel, I'm sure a lot of mistakes are through ignorance, the rest just seem to be a certain breed of fixie rider that seems very abundant in Camden!

It would be would be impossible to enforce.

And yeah, bad riding is mostly down to ignorance. and when you bother (politely as well) to point out a simple error, like giving way when the road markings dictate, not undertaking a bus at a red light, not being passed at speed when I'm coching on shared path turning a gear, you get abuse for it.

I'd even go as far to say as a %, cyclists are worse then other road users both in terms of trying to explain what they have just done and why it is wrong, and general ability.

And when I talk ab out general ability, I'm talking the very basics, basic checks that you can do for example.

 

[MisterStan]

I agree! I would say (not scientifcally proven) that the majority of cyclists in Cambridge are RLJers, don't use lights, undertake buses (i've even seen one do this at a bus stop - nearly gave me a heart attack) whilst the rest of us behave ourselves and get all the abuse for it. Whilst on the (ahem, cough cough) bus this morning, i noted three cyclist jump the same red light, one of them giving a driver who beeped the finger, then cut across two lanes of traffice without even looking over their shoulder, then jump a second red light, the joke was that there is a 'safe route' for cyclists to avoid this junction completely.

 

[Moodyman]

Be positive. These newbies are great for the scalp tally.

 

[Becs]

Be positive. These newbies are great for the scalp tally.

Until they swerve right with no warning!

 

[Moodyman]

Until they swerve right with no warning!

Hmmm. Yes, that is an issue, but hey ho.

 

[gaz]

I call them Silly Cyclists. I would expect to see a lot more in the upcomming months.

 

[MisterStan]

I call them Silly Cyclists. I would expect to see a lot more in the upcomming months.

Sadly i fear you are right.

 

[spen666]

This is not a purely cycling related issue. As a society we have become more and more selfish and less considerant and less tolerant of others.

People talk all the time about their rights - no one ever talks about their responsibilities.

We are quick to see bad in others - that motorist that cut us up did it deliberately, rather than accidentally.

We want to get to our destination and justify our own law breaking whilst condemning others.

 

[clarion]

Our own what?

Let's just share the roads. And give a good example to the POBs. Even if they ignore it.

 

[jonny jeez]

In the last 3 weeks I have had 4 near misses . . . All with other cyclists! Nearly got hit by a RLJer when I was on green, had 2 people try to undertake me at junctions when I was clearly signalling left and one girl ran into the back of me at a light because she "fought you was going to keep going like everyone else"! On the flip side I had a thoroughly pleasant interaction with an Addison lee taxi - wtf has happened to the world?!?!

I maintain that, by a far majority the most unskilled lawbreaking users of the road...are cyclists. we really need to get our own house in order if we want to be treated with the respect we crave.

It seems we are a long way behind other countries in understanding this.

We argue that bad cycling doesn't cause injury's or damage but this is just wrong. Aside from this it sets appalling examples for new riders, hands out precedents, as a gift for those that need little excuse to form a poor impression and generally just spoils it for the rest of us.

I really want the authorities to clamp down on this crap riding.

 

[Beebo]

I have a 12 mile commute and the last 2 miles into London in the morning and the first 2 miles out of London at night are the bits I enjoy the least, mainly due to the volume of inconsiderate cyclists. I tend to slow down and hang back for those two miles to let the idiots get on with it.

I can anticipate the actions of cars, buses and taxis, but having bikes hover rounds me, take my braking space, undertake me and half wheel me is a constant problem; but only for those 2 miles, the other 10 miles are great.

I am amazed that we have as few accidents than we do; it's often only the swift actions of drivers taking evasive action that protects these cyclists from injury.

 

[stowie]

I maintain that, by a far majority the most unskilled lawbreaking users of the road...are cyclists. we really need to get our own house in order if we want to be treated with the respect we crave.

It seems we are a long way behind other countries in understanding this.

We argue that bad cycling doesn't cause injury's or damage but this is just wrong. Aside from this it sets appalling examples for new riders, hands out precedents, as a gift for those that need little excuse to form a poor impression and generally just spoils it for the rest of us.

I really want the authorities to clamp down on this crap riding.

I am not so sure. What is the percentage of drivers that regularly speed? The issue is that much of the law-breaking by motorists is deemed socially acceptable by many people, and many motorists. So therefore it gets overlooked. Whereas the law breaking by cyclists is a convenient tool to prod cyclists with when we get uppity about things.

There is also a law of diminishing returns here. Cycling, like walking, is a right on the highways, and as such will always have very variable levels of competence. By all means have awareness campaigns for cyclists, training days and so on (in the same way that pedestrians get taught and made aware). Also make sure the worst transgressions are dealt with. But without a major change to the cyclists relationship with road use, we have to accept that there will be variable competence out there, as there are pedestrians who are alert and others who wander around in a trance.

As a motorist I feel it is right for the bar of competence to be set higher than cyclists and pedestrians and for there to be more responsibility placed on the person trained to use a vehicle.

I view transgressions such as endemic speeding (my 20mph road is an utter joke, and kids play on the street whilst vans and cars break the limits to get to the next queue in the rat-run) as more dangerous - problems which won't be resolved whilst the common perception of these transgressions is that they are minor. And that is without going into the 13% of uninsured motorists in London.

Motorists treating cyclists with care so that they don't endanger them shouldn't be predicated on all cyclists becoming law-abiding beforehand. In the same way that motorists shouldn't assume it OK to harass and endanger pedestrians because some aren't attentive to roads.

 

[stowie]

Oh, and that isn't to say I don't see some shocking cycling in London. I do. I think that the accident rate isn't higher because cycles are agile, and motorists speeds low on most of the roads in London. And most motorists know to look out for cyclists. I also see some absolutely appalling driving, which is also accommodated by other road users.