article on how we are treated by motorists

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kayakerles

Have a nice ride.
... Colleagues who drive to work say that people are in more of a hurry than before, having left less time for their commutes expecting the roads to be quieter than previously. There's more tailgating & more reckless overtaking.
That certainly sounds understandable, we all need to adjust to the new norms developing. Bike riders and motorized vehicle drivers alike.
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
My experience resemble those of the commenter " matthewn5 ".

I get the odd close pass but it's quite rare. Most of the time the drivers are courteous. Granted, that one close pass is more dangerous for a cyclist than if that driver passed closely to another car but all in all, the benefits of cycling outweigh these things. Having said that, I stay clear of country roads where the posted speed limit is 40mph or over (of course, it depends on the roads/conditions; I'm talking about the roads where I ride.
 

Tail End Charlie

Well, write it down boy ......
I find drivers better since lockdown. I think the message about close passes might slowly be getting through, I think the police are doing a sterling job in this respect, I regularly get updates on my Facebook feed about enforcement and education measures they're taking. Just making people aware will have a huge effect.
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
I've noticed much more speed and aggression on the roads. As for close passes, I get the idea that many motorists believe that as long as you don't actually make physical contact, it doesn't matter how close you come.

A belief best challenged by an effective police third party reporting system, and recording & reporting such deluded drivers. Or a rocket propelled grenade..
 

biking_fox

Guru
Location
Manchester
Commuting in Manchester. I've been riding in since pretty much summer last year. Roads are steadily getting busier, especially after 17th May, but still not at the levels they were pre-lockdown. I haven't noticed an increase in poor driving. It's always patchy, sometimes you get better days than other, but the frequency of idiots seems to me to be very similar to before - I guess if I'm still seeing fewer drivers, then maybe the rate /car is up, but the important bit rate/ride is unchanged.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
The country has the same size of population and the same proportion of idiots as before lockdown, so why is anyone expecting things to be that much different this time round?
FWIW, I'd say driver behaviour has improved marginally, maybe because more drivers have been out on their old bikes during the lockdowns.
It does vary though; some days I'm shocked that everybody I've encountered has been super-polite, some even giving way when they actually have right of way, and other days you can experience two or three total numpties on one ride. Cycling is a game of chance.
 
The country has the same size of population and the same proportion of idiots as before lockdown, so why is anyone expecting things to be that much different this time round?
FWIW, I'd say driver behaviour has improved marginally, maybe because more drivers have been out on their old bikes during the lockdowns.
It does vary though; some days I'm shocked that everybody I've encountered has been super-polite, some even giving way when they actually have right of way, and other days you can experience two or three total numpties on one ride. Cycling is a game of chance.

I think that most drivers are not actually aware that passing close to a cyclist is dangerous to the cyclist. As a previous poster said, they think that as long as they don’t clip you, they’ve driven safely. The campaign in Scotland is raising awareness, though, and I’m finding that many drivers are giving a decent berth.
 
And I do enjoy driving along at the speed limit in my Disco and causing a hold up to the BMW peanuts behind me, then slowing down to give a cyclist lots of room.
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
Funnily enough, I was talking with a non cycling colleague today and he remarked how he was seeing lots of poor driving since things have opened up, uncertainty from drivers at roundabouts, poor perception etc...which you could argue is just people being out of practice as you say.
Me too, yesterday’s cretin of note was a pensioner in a BMW X3 playing at lorry drivers, doing just over 55mph, then slowing down and flashing the headlights to let them overtake, eventually they get past each other , then dozy pensioner is staying in lane 2 (dual carriageway A1M) with a queue a mile long behind him, all the while an ambulance on a blues and twos run is trying to get through the huge tail back this idiot has caused , then when the ambulance got behind him he had no idea what to do, and pulled in front of a truck and slowed down even more causing the lorry driver to brake
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Discipline is poor on the A1M, I commute regularly on it. Lane 3 of 4 hoggers are regular...nowadays you see more and more lane 2 hoggers....which are lorry drivers.
Driving standards seem to be in freefall.

S
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
Discipline is poor on the A1M, I commute regularly on it. Lane 3 of 4 hoggers are regular...nowadays you see more and more lane 2 hoggers....which are lorry drivers.
Driving standards seem to be in freefall.

S
I agree, it's really wide cross section of vehicles, there's a section of A1(M), dual carriageway in County Durham with a 7.5 tonne weight limit on lane 2, yet artics are always in there overtaking each other, there's the busy bit's where you always get the slip road to outside lane in one move, without a solitary glance to see if there's anything already alongside them, causing the wave of emergency braking, the A1(M) is bad enough round West/North Yorkshire where it's mainly 3 lanes, but the 2 lane bits from the south of County Durham right up to the Western Bypass are a total free for all, plus BMW/Audi and for some weird reason Nissan Qashqai's drivers think the national speed limit is anywhere between 85 to 100 mph
 
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