Bad Cyclists

[GrahamG]

Those scenarios as you describe them are just being pictured in my mind - and I'm laughing my arse off! If ever there was a comedy sketch waiting to happen, then an exploration of foreign students on bicycles is it

 

[LOGAN 5]

Recently I've seen a lot of cyclists sticking rigidly to the right hand side of cycle paths, to the point of having to swerve as we approach. Bizarre. Any idea where this strange habit has come from?
('The continent!' is not a useful answer - they all seemed to be British.)

I've noticed this too. They ride on the right hand side of lanes and are very reluctant to move across the lane to pass on the left. Saw one the other day on the right hand side of a busy cycle lane looking behind him for his mate - he had no idea what he was doing. I rang my bell and said something to him and he looked bemused.

Seen some riding with no hands on busy roads or on shared cycle lanes (on the ped side) with other riders passing them, using mobiles, carrying a toddler on the handlebar (toddler with no helmet) in last week's London tube strike.

 

[Cab]

Seen some riding with no hands on busy roads or on shared cycle lanes (on the ped side) with other riders passing them, using mobiles, carrying a toddler on the handlebar (toddler with no helmet) in last week's London tube strike.

Passed one who had a mobile phone in one hand and a lit joint in the other last week.

 

[GrahamG]

Passed one who had a mobile phone in one hand and a lit joint in the other last week.

As long as they were only holding the phone then I'm down with that







(I jest)

 

[Terminator]

Cyclists prove time and time again how incompetent they are.How long is this going to go on for?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I regularly get PoBs trying to filter up the inside of my trailer at traffic lights and roundabouts. I always find that scary.
I find that far more cyclists endanger themselves around my lorry than I found lorry drivers endangering me on my bike (in the days when I commuted in the West Midlands).

 

[BentMikey]

I'm sure you're right RT, you must worry a lot about the possibility of a single slip in concentration.

I saw a bad cyclist yesterday, he jumped several red lights, and then proceeded to do the same on a pedestrian crossing, except he caused the pedestrians to bombshell in panic as he aggressively skidded his rear wheel and then rode through the middle of the group. Knob jockey.

 

[GrahamG]

An apt quote someone from another forum I frequent:

"There is no legislation that can force people to give a shoot"

 

[Arch]

I've noticed this too. They ride on the right hand side of lanes and are very reluctant to move across the lane to pass on the left. Saw one the other day on the right hand side of a busy cycle lane looking behind him for his mate - he had no idea what he was doing. I rang my bell and said something to him and he looked bemused.

Yup, it all seems to be part of the general idea that bikes aren't traffic, and so are exempt from any rules or expectations of behaviour...

See my "Dear Mrs lady" thread for an example of daftness I saw yesterday. And today I saw a lady ride up a gap between two buses (admittedly stationary), one in traffic queue, one indicating to pull out into that traffic when it moved, the gap being about an inch wider than her handlebars - she had to scoot through, and I saw the look on the indicating bus driver's face in his mirror...

 

[col]

Yup, it all seems to be part of the general idea that bikes aren't traffic, and so are exempt from any rules or expectations of behaviour...

See my "Dear Mrs lady" thread for an example of daftness I saw yesterday. And today I saw a lady ride up a gap between two buses (admittedly stationary), one in traffic queue, one indicating to pull out into that traffic when it moved, the gap being about an inch wider than her handlebars - she had to scoot through, and I saw the look on the indicating bus driver's face in his mirror...

This sort of thing is common,and RT is right in what he says too.
Just this morning,i had dropped a few people off at a stop,and as i went to pull away,a lad came up on the path on my left and hopped in front of me,he had to have come through the people who had just got off,because i didnt expect or see him till he landed on my nearside,right in front of me,it was lucky i was doing another nearside mirror check as i pulled away,or he might not have been here.

 

[John the Monkey]

I generally think it bad form to pass a bus that's indicating to move out, although I have done so when I've not had time to stop safely (I usually slow down or wait if I see the indication before I pass the back of the vehicle, but reckon I'd cause more problems by stopping once I'd passed the back, or if there was traffic close behind me).

Passing between buses would scare the bejesus out of me I think, and I've never done it.

 

[col]

I generally think it bad form to pass a bus that's indicating to move out, although I have done so when I've not had time to stop safely (I usually slow down or wait if I see the indication before I pass the back of the vehicle, but reckon I'd cause more problems by stopping once I'd passed the back, or if there was traffic close behind me).

Passing between buses would scare the bejesus out of me I think, and I've never done it.

Its actually pleasantly surprising how many cyclists will wave me on,when im indicating to pull out,instead of passing me.

 

[RPM]

pushing someone off a bike is assault, isn't it?

despite him being in the wrong.

would you feel so satisfied if the knob jockey had hit his head and died?

or got up and knifed you?

 

[RPM]

self defence then?

well, why didn't you say so

 

[TimO]

Recently I've seen a lot of cyclists sticking rigidly to the right hand side of cycle paths, to the point of having to swerve as we approach. Bizarre. Any idea where this strange habit has come from?

I've seen this a lot, and I can't work it out. I see it often on the Cycle Path across Clapham Common, and a lot of them seem to be doing it deliberately. They see you coming up behind them and move to the hard right. Most bizarre. I don't particularly like going past them on the left, since this is in effect undertaking, and I've got into the fairly strong habit of not doing this up the inside of a vehicle unless it's solidly stationary (yeah, I know it's irrational on this occasion, but it doesn't seem sensible etc).

On the other hand, it's not just cyclists who do weird stuff. I've lost count of the number of times pedestrians at South Ken underground come out of the station, look at the lights (which are green for pedestrians) and stop. The pedestrian lights go red, and the traffic lights go green very quickly after this, and they start to cross. What???? Is there some country somewhere that has the opposite colours to us? I really don't understand this one either, but I've seen it happen so many times it can't be just random 'stooopids'. It's not that the lights are badly positioned or hard to understand, so I've given up trying to understand it. You have to be pretty careful there anyway, since most pedestrians blithely walk out of the station and cross the road with little regard to any traffic.