400bhp
Guru
So what.
Statements like that are in effect similar statements we whinge and bitch about motorists. "the cyclist was in my way, should be in the cycle lane/path/off the road" etc.
car drivers that dont like the fact your getting somewhere faster.
- Thread starter monkeylc
- Start date
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So what.
Statements like that are in effect similar statements we whinge and bitch about motorists. "the cyclist was in my way, should be in the cycle lane/path/off the road" etc.
PedalCat
I like sandwiches
I disagree. There are good reasons for a cyclist to ride in primary position (or on the road at all), whereas "should be in the cycle lane/path/off the road " is just an ill-informed opinion. I have simply observed that many drivers veer off to the right, effectively teaming-up with bollards, when they could easily continue their line, not veering away from the near-side kerb .
If i was bitching/whinging i would complain that cars at rush-hour take up most of the lane and are too slow to be on the roads and therefore should not be in my way, but i'm not bitching/whinging because i don't mind sharing my road with motor vehicles.
The problem I have with being on the outside rather than the inside is, in heavy conditions, the motorist who does a quick unexpected right probably to beat oncoming traffic. No time to check their mirrors properly and they know no car or motorbike is to their right (no space, no sound). I can anticipate them in time stop/slow and avoid a collision through it still leaves you stranded in the middle of the road with no escape, traffic now moving faster than yourself to the left, oncoming fast traffic and you are no longer in control of your positioning.
Getting back into control can be challenging. On the inside and an equivelent 'fast left' as long as you can stop you are safe. You can restart in your own time.
Which means inside/outside is usually a function of knowing which is the greater hazard for a particular stretch of road.
Getting back into control can be challenging. On the inside and an equivelent 'fast left' as long as you can stop you are safe. You can restart in your own time.
Which means inside/outside is usually a function of knowing which is the greater hazard for a particular stretch of road.
MarkyMark292
Active Member
This happens to me quite frequently. I smile and simply go round them on the outside! :-)
Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
It's kerb unless you are suggesting drivers deliberately pull right over to watch Larry David?
In fact how can a driver pull right toward the KERB, nearside? Surely you mean pull LEFT into the KERB?
(back when I commuted
), the reason I didn't like the right was that when the traffic set off again, it wouldn't give me any chance to get back, so I felt very vulnerable being on the right with people flying down my left hand side..So I'd almost exclusively filter slowish on the left... I'd also had a stupid woman give me no room at a bollard due to her being more bothered about her texting than driving
mind you, watching cyclists do this to me(filter past at 15mph as I'm crawling along at 10), was why I bought a new bike in the first place!!
Andrew_Culture
Internet Marketing bod
- Location
- The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
Every time I read a thread like this I think how nice it would be to commute a few days in a row with folk who have been doing so for years, I'm sure something like the buddy system scooba divers use would be great!
henshaw11
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Walton-On-Thames
Nope - it's simply good road manners, such as leaving a gap from traffic to get in and out of an adjacent junctions, and not sitting across roundabouts blocking other people's entry and/or exit. And it's not just for the benefit of bikes but motorcycles too (well, ok, their riders..)
fenlandpsychocyclist
Guest
Bearing in mind the a.c.p.o guidelines to their bods on the beat that "cyclists should only be prosecuted for riding on a pavement IF they are causing a danger to other pavement users" i have no problem banging
my mountain bike up a kerb onto an empty pavement to avoid pinch-points, etc.
I will stay on the road if there are any pedestrians on the pavement.
Some will say i'm giving all cyclists a bad name.
Really?
Is it bad that the actions of one person can tarnish the entire cycling reputation of the world?
Damn, so that guy i saw jumping a red light this morning in his car has also given me a bad name
as a fellow driver!
my mountain bike up a kerb onto an empty pavement to avoid pinch-points, etc.
I will stay on the road if there are any pedestrians on the pavement.
Some will say i'm giving all cyclists a bad name.
Really?
Is it bad that the actions of one person can tarnish the entire cycling reputation of the world?
Damn, so that guy i saw jumping a red light this morning in his car has also given me a bad name
as a fellow driver!
LCpl Boiled Egg
Three word soundbite
Yes, you're giving cyclists a bad name. Empty pavement or not, you should stay on the road.
fenlandpsychocyclist
Guest
A road i commute along splits from one lane to two, just before some traffic lights.
Often cars wanting the left lane "bump up the kerb" to get past the queue in the right lane.
Have these few motorists given all drivers a bad name? No.
Forget about riding as per the highway code, trying to set a perfect example to others and thinking that
everybody you pass is watching you like a hawk ready to hold up some score cards ... nowadays
its about personal safety.
As i said, if i have a situation where i could come into conflict with traffic and an empty pavement that
can be used for a few meters, i will choose the pavement.
(Stopping and looking before re-joining the road i must add).
Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
I don't think so.
If a pavement is empty I use it. Most pavements in Cambridge are shared use anyway cyclists and peds.
I don't wait to be given a chance, I make the decision about when to rejoin the flow of traffic. When the queue starts moving again, wait until the car 2 or 3 ahead starts moving and pick the gap you are going to take. Slow down and get into a good gear to accelerate again, take position next to 'your' gap as the traffic moves off then move left when your speeds are matched. It is not the driver's choice.(back when I commuted
This does, as Andrew Culture alludes to, need confidence and practice, but I use it three or four times daily, even on my relatively short commute, and it works well. I think it helps that many now recognise that I'll get into town faster than them anyway, although that does loop back in a geometrically pleasing fashion to the subject of this thread.
MissTillyFlop
Evil communist dictator, lover of gerbils & Pope.
Actually, they are much more likely to check their right hand wing mirror than their left.
