Abusive motorists

[boydj]

Assume drivers have either not seen you, seen you and not registered your presence, or are actively anti-cyclist and will ignore your presence. Most drivers are ok, but a minority will fit one or the other of these groups.

You need to ride assertively, but defensively, when riding in traffic to control the space around you. Big hand signals, taking the lane when required and reading the traffic are all skills you'll have to develop. Roundabouts are the most problematic area for cyclists. Read up on Bikeability and vehicular cycling for some formal guidance. You'll soon develop a sixth sense for when a situation is developing.

Above all, enjoy your cycling - it can become addictive.

 

[Adjunct Satyr]

That’s been the biggest learning curve... taking command to control the space (ie right turns at a roundabout).

 

[steveindenmark]

I never get this. I feel as though I am missing out on some of cycling best bits

 

[si_c]

I've had far fewer problems with motorists since I started to behave more like a car, I ride fairly centrally most of the time, which means I have space to move left if I need to and still allows drivers to pass on the outside. I can go weeks without any problems - and I ride most days - but sometimes you just have a particularly bad ride where everyone seems completely oblivious to your presence.

 

[Arjimlad]

I did 18 miles yesterday on a mix of mainly country roads, there were loads of cyclists out enjoying the sunshine, and I had nothing to report to the police the whole ride. It was lovely ! Maybe it could've been different riding in town - luck of the draw whether you cross paths with a knobber, as always. Hope you can enjoy your rides regardless.

 

[snorri]

Just recived a torrent of abuse for following the HC from 3 different motorists and a one guy

that was over a 2 hour ride ,

I'm fascinated, you've had more abuse in two hours than I have had in 30 years. How was this abuse delivered?
I'm not denying I may have annoyed some drivers in that period but due to the speed they were travelling at they they only responded with a 'beep' on the horn which I would not describe as a torrent of abuse.

 

[Milkfloat]

I very rarely have a problem at all and when I do it due to the driver feeling that I am either slowing them down my a second or two or that I am getting an advantage by overtaking them in a queue of traffic. Sunday morning was different, it was just for existing at all. I was waiting to join a roundabout, around the roundabout came a knackered Peugeot with the driver simultaneously shouting something about an anchor and shaking his wrist. He then proceeded to get stuck in a queue of traffic exactly the way I was going.

It is not often you get a chance to have a reasoned debate over the merits of cycling and a chance to change someone's mind and this was not one of those times, but I tried. We had a fairly fruitless discussion over why cyclists exist at all, including his opinion that cycling is dangerous because he is driving a 2 ton car and I am just on a bicycle. We also had a short debate over his opinion that I was poor because I was cycling, that ended fairly quickly when I told him my bike was worth about twice as much as his car and is considerably prettier. Unfortunately we did not have time to talk about the road tax he pays, how cyclists block the road and the merits of cycle lanes but at least he was able to teach his young boy in his child seat some new words that would make a sailor blush. Maybe in a future encounter we can cover the missing topics in the game of peanut driver bingo.

 

[Faratid]

Remember, you're not suppose to exist on the road. You don't pay road tax, Insurance and neither do you have an MOT. How very dare you! Move aside peasant and get a job!

....and if you do get into any discussion about 'road tax', feel free to point out that there is no such thing as road tax. All roads, except motorways and some trunk roads, are funded by council tax. Vehicle tax does not fund the roads specifically, and does not confer a divine right for motorists to use the roads exclusively. The roads are there for all of us to use.

 

[GuyBoden]

My wife informs me that 'angry bald man in a convertible*' has once again been spotted back in his natural habitat. A sure sign of spring and it'll certainly brighten things up as we queue in turn for the single lane entrance** to our road.


*I mean a specific ABMiaC, although I'm sure they exist as a genre.
**It's actually a fairly broad double lane but you know, parked cars and shoot.

Unfortunately, I had the displeasure of meeting 'angry bald man in a convertible*' yesterday, I was stopped at the traffic lights, the ABMiaC was in a BMW that squeezed through a small gap to be at the front of the queue, about an inch from my bike, I asked him did he think it was a good idea to squeeze past and he called me a W**ker. He then drove on and was extremely close to another cyclist, who understandably shouted abuse at him. Luckily, it's only a small minority of drivers who behave badly in my experience, but maybe a sunny day must make them jealous, when they are stuck in their metal boxes and we're out on our bikes enjoying the sun.

 

[Profpointy]

....and if you do get into any discussion about 'road tax', feel free to point out that there is no such thing as road tax. All roads, except motorways and some trunk roads, are funded by council tax. Vehicle tax does not fund the roads specifically, and does not confer a divine right for motorists to use the roads exclusively. The roads are there for all of us to use.

Yebbut it's a pretty specious argument that the tax paid on motoroised road vehicles is not road tax.

No such thing as beer tax, it's been alcohol excise duty since 1066

 

[Johnno260]

Time of day can be a factor, it's why I go out early before rush hour and it's bliss.

There will always be some idiots, but those people are idiots regardless of what you're using.

Best one I had recently was an abused looking Fiesta ST driven by a kid, he did a close pass and pulled in and brake tested the cyclist in front of me, that guy then gave him a universal greeting hand signal, the other cyclist turned off, I then saw the same ST stopped on the side of the road with a turning behind him, so spidey sense was tingling, he shouted wtf did you say to me, I had stopped behind him and said it was the other guy sorry, he said come here and say that as my reverse doesn't work, so I turned up the side road, then watched him drop the car in a ditch trying to do a U turn! haha priceless

 

[mustang1]

Attack them before they attack you: just ride around with a finger stuck up at various drivers at random.

 

[swee'pea99]

I got abuse from a car driver yesterday because I stopped at lights that had changed to red at least 15 metres before I got to them.

I was also driving a car, but nobber motorists don't worry too much about who they abuse. Cyclists, pedestrians, car drivers, lorries, caravans; they're all fair game.

I stopped to let people cross at a zebra crossing, got beeped from behind. Ignored it, thinking someone had just stumbled - it happens. But no - got another, longer beep from behind. I remonstrated with him - "There are people on the zebra crossing!", but he wasn't impressed. He was in a hurry, and I was holding him up. Beeeeeeep!

 

[ren531]

I think its a symptom of an overloaded road network and a frenzied live style most people live, result is bearly contained anger, us cyclist in the meantime are blissfully unaware what troubles them.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I stopped to let people cross at a zebra crossing, got beeped from behind. Ignored it, thinking someone had just stumbled - it happens. But no - got another, longer beep from behind. I remonstrated with him - "There are people on the zebra crossing!", but he wasn't impressed. He was in a hurry, and I was holding him up. Beeeeeeep!

Incredible isn't it! I got a sarcastic shout from a motorist while walking across a zebra crossing once, as I got just over halfway across he shouted "Yeah you're welcome!" I'm guessing my crime was not saying thank you to him for stopping. I asked if he should need to be thanked for performing a mandatory stop. He called me a rude name. Self-entitled cook.

Back to cyclist abuse... My own cycling's actually been really pleasant and incident free lately, just about everyone seems to be giving a wide berth (car width at least). I have to go back to last summer to recall my last truly close pass, which escalated quite badly when I had the temerity to raise a palm to the sky (in a questioning "EH? Really mate?") kind of gesture... clearly a questioning gesture is the world's most offensive thing ever, and definitely worth getting into a fight over where you use your vehicle as a weapon. The silly old fart.