Are people a little more polite now?

[Juliansou]

Do our bit in what way? Saying thanks to people who yield to you on the road? I do that anyway, a little nod or a wave, when I'm driving or riding or crossing a zebra. I would say I do it out of politeness, but that's not true. It's just habit.

I sometimes give big vehicles a thumbs up if they've given me plenty of space. And if I find I have vehicles behind me on a twisty road I sometimes pull over to let them pass if there's a convenient place. I don't do that out of politeness though, I do it because I don't like having people driving up my arse.

That’s exactly what I would consider ‘doing our bit’ - I think anything that reinforces good road manners, politeness, safe driving/riding etc etc should be encouraged regardless of the motivation behind it; whether it be politeness, habit or just self preservation!

 

[gavroche]

Only yesterday, a car passed me nearly touching my handlebars. I shouted at the driver and waved my arms indicating the 1.5 m rule as he sped away. I caught him up at the next set of traffic lights. It was an elderly couple inside the car and as the window was partially opened on the passenger side, I just reminded the driver to leave 1.5 m as he passes me. As the lights changed, I was well ahead of the car through filtering and as he passed me again, he did give me plenty of space. Lesson learned I hope.

 

[gbb]

When I was serious riding, I rarely ever got this 'manic drivers/ Incosiderate drivers etc etc...I generally found most drivers ok.
I used to rush hour commute in Peterborough for years, long countryside rides for hours, totalling 6k miles a year, I maybe had one stupid thing happen once a year. A good few disrespectful passes of course but not dangerous ones. I dont know if it used to be my road positioning, confidence, awareness, speed, I just dont know but generally I loved my cycling and rarely had occasions where I thought FFS, is this all worth it ?

I agree with showing respectful drivers your respect and thanks with a thumbs up or wave, done it many times...including stuff like hopping up on a path and waving lorries by if the road is narrow, then pop down behind them...I might have right of way but theres no point holding 32 tonnes of lorry up for 1/4 mile while I steadfastly claim what's mine...its about sharing the road and spreading the word we're not all zealots.

 

[pjd57]

Plenty of drivers acknowledging a wave which I like to give if they've sat behind me and passed properly.

Still some real morons about , and if anything they've got angrier.

Last weekend in Glasgow city centre a driver felt obliged to roll down his window and scream at me that I was a " f....ng a........le "

He wasn't sitting behind me but going in the opposite direction.

 

[Salad Dodger]

I can't really comment about behaviour of motorists towards me whilst cycling, because I am mostly using cycle paths when getting around locally.
But as to behaviour in the wider context, I think it's got worse. I live in a town with narrow roads and narrow pavements, and people seem to think they have a god given right of way over me and Mrs Salad. Because she has health issues, she is even more particular about observing social distancing than I am, and I am pretty careful anyway. As a result, we are having to walk in the road to avoid "non movers" who seemingly have no consideration for others..... (Rant over. Sorry).

As for distancing in shops, forget it around here. If you waited for a 2 metre gap before moving down the aisles, you would be in the shop most of the day!

 

[HLaB]

Seems to be more extreme here, more folk polite /patient and also more folk aggressive/ impatient

 

[PaulSB]

The trouble is, it only takes one angry nutter in a car to spoil your ride, or worse. 99.9% of road users I come across are fine, but if you go out and ride for a few hours, you might encounter thousands of fellow road users, so statistically you are going to have to deal with a few R soles.

Obviously you feel this is the case but I find it surprising. For me the memory of a bad driver lasts a couple of minutes - he/she doesn't deserve any more attention than that and I certainly wouldn't let it spoil my ride.

 

[Drago]

Plenty of drivers acknowledging a wave which I like to give if they've sat behind me and passed properly.

You are wise. If someone has waited patiently to get past me and then overtaken safely and considerately, I always give a cheery wave. It's a real feel good thing to do. They'll often wave, nod or even smile back, and the polite and considerate interaction with another human being makes me feel good too.

Best of all, theyll be more inclined to treat the next cyclist with respect, and less inclined to gob off in the Daily Mail about what a bunch of murderous loons we all are.

Spread the love!

The loonies, on the other hand, I just ignore. Nothing good will ever come out of gobbing off or flipping the bird, yet the potential for bad things to happen, even tragically bad things, is very high. That being the case, there's no incentive for me to play that game.

 

[Lovacott]

And if I find I have vehicles behind me on a twisty road I sometimes pull over to let them pass if there's a convenient place. I don't do that out of politeness though, I do it because I don't like having people driving up my arse.

I do it in memory of the time I had car overtake me too close on Willesden Lane 30 years ago.

His wing mirror clipped my handlebar and I ended up face planting the kerb.

I woke up the The Royal Free about four hours later with twelve stitches above my left eye, two missing teeth and a fractured cheekbone.

 

[matticus]

As for distancing in shops, forget it around here. If you waited for a 2 metre gap before moving down the aisles, you would be in the shop most of the day!

At the tills in Aldi on Sat, a VERY well-dressed fellow didn't want to Q nicely behind us. (He wasn't rude - just acting pre-COVID).

So I made a big show of putting the "toblerone" down on the conveyor for him to unload waaaaaaaaay behind where our shopping ended.

ANYWAY...
commuting traffic is still down - but then it's school hols, so who knows why?? It's not like April was, but that was a brief, golden era

 

[I like Skol]

I always give a cheery wave. It's a real feel good thing to do. They'll often wave, nod or even smile back, and the polite and considerate interaction with another human being makes me feel good too.

Best of all, theyll be more inclined to treat the next cyclist with respect, and less inclined to gob off in the Daily Mail about what a bunch of murderous loons

My 17yr old son just rang me to let me know he has passed his driving theory test this morning. I asked him how it went and he said he was really angry because they had to watch some videos as part of the test and one of the clips showed a cyclist swerving in front of a big truck and causing a bad accident!
He was angry about this because in his opinion this just portrayed cyclists as dangerous, unpredictable and a cause of accidents and was instilling this view in drivers right at the beginning of their driving career.
I kind of see where he is coming from. It's almost as if the DVLA, testing agency and other government road authorities have ingrained institutional prejudice against cyclists. This does us no favours at all and explains a lot of the hate we experience from the hard of thinking.

 

[gbb]

Obviously you feel this is the case but I find it surprising. For me the memory of a bad driver lasts a couple of minutes - he/she doesn't deserve any more attention than that and I certainly wouldn't let it spoil my ride.

Been there, done that. Got intensely aggravated on very rare occasions in the past, to the point where it made me question being out there. And then you think...nah, forget it, it's gone, it was a one off and you're not spoiling my love of cycling. Then you ride on happy.

 

[Elybazza61]

Basically this unfortunately;

No, quite the opposite in fact. Since Covid kicked off there was the initial lull in traffic levels but this was all to soon replaced by a surge of impatient, intolerant and aggressive poor driving. At first people just seemed to be driving around in a daze, distracted by the Covid hysteria and making silly mistakes, but then a new level of selfishness crept in and drivers now just don't appear to care about anyone except themselves. Speeds, close passes and abuse has all increased.

It's rubbish

 

[Juliansou]

You are wise. If someone has waited patiently to get past me and then overtaken safely and considerately, I always give a cheery wave. It's a real feel good thing to do. They'll often wave, nod or even smile back, and the polite and considerate interaction with another human being makes me feel good too.

Best of all, theyll be more inclined to treat the next cyclist with respect, and less inclined to gob off in the Daily Mail about what a bunch of murderous loons we all are.

Spread the love!

The loonies, on the other hand, I just ignore. Nothing good will ever come out of gobbing off or flipping the bird, yet the potential for bad things to happen, even tragically bad things, is very high. That being the case, there's no incentive for me to play that game.

You‘ve articulated my thoughts exactly!

 

[Johnno260]

meh I’m sticking to my morning rides, like it’s been said before one moron can ruin a ride, and it’s transit drivers atm, that’s the 2nd time in as many weeks I have had a serious issue with one.

Being so close I could rest on the van, then him squeezing me more while the passenger shouts abuse was enough to make me head home.

No livery on the van for me to complain to, and I didn’t catch the plate.