Close overtakes seem to be increasing.

[Archie_tect]

I wouldn't normally react when a car comes a little closer than usual, but last week I had my first dangerous pass when a large black Mercedes saloon cut in close to my front wheel as he passed- it was quite deliberate and included a high revving gear change- I can only assume it was all because the car, [in front of the Mercedes] which was turning right into the junction I was waiting to exit from, let me out first. There may have been an earlier incident between the twio cars which had upset the Mercedes driver which he then took out on the next person he came across which was me.

My reaction was to hold my arm out palm up as he drove away and shake my head. He must have been watching for any reaction from me in his rear view mirror as he then abruptly pulled in to the kerb and waited for me to pass him, opened his door and shouted something at me as I passed the car leaving a large gap in case he got out. I didn't hear what he said but I didn't stop. He then passed me again but had clearly calmed down as he did so with a reasonable gap and shot off. It was quite unsettling as that had never happened to me before on a bike.

Some people do seem to get very angry these days and some take it out on the next person they meet.

 

[steve292]

I wouldn't normally react when a car comes a little closer than usual, but last week I had my first dangerous pass when a large black Mercedes saloon cut in close to my front wheel as he passed- it was quite deliberate and included a high revving gear change- I can only assume it was all because the car, [in front of the Mercedes] which was turning right into the junction I was waiting to exit from, let me out first. There may have been an earlier incident between the twio cars which had upset the Mercedes driver which he then took out on the next person he came across which was me.

My reaction was to hold my arm out palm up as he drove away and shake my head. He must have been watching for any reaction from me in his rear view mirror as he then abruptly pulled in to the kerb and waited for me to pass him, opened his door and shouted something at me as I passed the car leaving a large gap in case he got out. I didn't hear what he said but I didn't stop. He then passed me again but had clearly calmed down as he did so with a reasonable gap and shot off. It was quite unsettling as that had never happened to me before on a bike.

Some people do seem to get very angry these days and some take it out on the next person they meet.

Get a camera and dob the feckers in. If he opened the door he was seeing if he could belt you without any risk. Had you been a child or female you would probably have been attacked.

 

[Toshiba Boy]

Cycling and commuting for the last 40 years in SE London. I don't wear hi viz or have overly bright flashing torches. Perhaps that's why I don't get many close passes or smidsy's
But.. don't get me wrong. In all those years I have had a few nasty incidents. But taking into account the amount of time I've cycle commuted versus incidents count. It's miniscule.
And trust me, go back 15, 20 or 30 years when cycle commuting wasn't so popular. Todays cycle commute is a walk in the park.

Agree with this. Have commuted for 45 years this month (senior school then work, so literally man and boy) and from my (admittedly single person experience, ranging from commuting in Coventry, Birmingham and last 15 years sleepy West Somerset and into Taunton etc ) on the whole drivers more considerate nowadays than in the past.

Fully concede latter 15 years somewhat different environment to previous 30 years

Above noted with usual dollop of touching a large piece of wood, and fully acknowledging complete numpties in all walks of life / means of transportation.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Also, there is a zero police presence on the roads, and the car drivers know it!

This to me is a major problem. If idiots think they are prosecution-proof, they will push it as far as they can. I'm noticing more blatant driver mobile phone use with no attempt to hide it, and muppets slowing right down at a red light, then speeding up again and jumping it on red when they see there's no camera and enough of a gap to get away with it.

 

[Drago]

Alot of roads are now down to one lane which, along with the barrage of roadworks at present, is causing alot of gridlock.

No, the cars are causing the gridlock.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

No, the cars are causing the gridlock.

Agree to a point but vehicles will potentially always be the primary method of travel and a structured road setup will aid in easing the congestion which in Hull there no longer seems to be.
As much as I am an avid cyclist I also drive so see it from both perspectives and personally dont enjoy the 'Us and them' mentality these infrastructures create.

 

[Drago]

I wouldn't normally react when a car comes a little closer than usual, but last week I had my first dangerous pass when a large black Mercedes saloon cut in close to my front wheel as he passed- it was quite deliberate and included a high revving gear change- I can only assume it was all because the car, [in front of the Mercedes] which was turning right into the junction I was waiting to exit from, let me out first. There may have been an earlier incident between the twio cars which had upset the Mercedes driver which he then took out on the next person he came across which was me.

My reaction was to hold my arm out palm up as he drove away and shake my head. He must have been watching for any reaction from me in his rear view mirror as he then abruptly pulled in to the kerb and waited for me to pass him, opened his door and shouted something at me as I passed the car leaving a large gap in case he got out. I didn't hear what he said but I didn't stop. He then passed me again but had clearly calmed down as he did so with a reasonable gap and shot off. It was quite unsettling as that had never happened to me before on a bike.

Some people do seem to get very angry these days and some take it out on the next person they meet.

"Ooh, please don't hurt me, I don't want to fight, I'm scared..." then 4 stiff fingers in the throat the moment their guard is down.

Onenof the advantages of being large and well upholstered is that people are disinclined to get into confrontation, and the few that have invariably backed down very quickly. Shame, because sometimes - like your Mercedes driver - they desever a thumb in the eye of a flick of the knee into their lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.

But there are too mant Kenneth Noye types out there to deliberately go looking for it.

Glad you survived unscathed.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Agree to a point but vehicles will potentially always be the primary method of travel and a structured road setup will aid in easing the congestion which in Hull there no longer seems to be.
As much as I am an avid cyclist I also drive so see it from both perspectives and personally dont enjoy the 'Us and them' mentality these infrastructures create.

We are pretty much all drivers as well. The I’m a driver as well doesn’t add any sway to an argument. People using their cars for short journeys is the cause of gridlock. People parking their cars on the road when not in use, significantly narrowing the usable road space, is another factor. You can’t road build out of it. People are going to have to stop making the 95% of journeys by car that are less than 5 miles.

 

[matticus]

We are pretty much all drivers as well. The I’m a driver as well doesn’t add any sway to an argument.

👍

@speedfreak building roads creates more traffic - which then gets snarled up at wherever the next bottleneck is. If you search for it there is a TON of research backing this up.

They've even shown you can improve cities by using the effect in reverse: google "traffic evaporation"

 

[Ming the Merciless]

On Monday as rush hour arrived we were closing on Bridlington. There was an accident on the A165. The traffic ended up diverting onto the B road we were riding on our bikes. Eventually the cars came to a halt. It was stationary for roughly 2.5 miles. Now assuming 6 metres per car that translates to 600-700 car drivers that were driving on A165 towards Bridlington in evening rush hour. Just in the period we passed them all and got back into quieter lanes again. Call that 15 mins passing them as we had to stop on the pannier loaded bikes now and again for oncoming traffic. Only two likely places they were driving from; Hull or Beverley to Bridlington.

The round trip Bridlington to Hull using those main roads is 52 miles or so. Likely an hour by car in optimal conditions. Longer in rush hour. Plus they will need to find somewhere to park and possibly also pay for the parking. The direct train round trip is 1 hour 20 mins (40 mins each way) and only £10. The real cost of driving it will be higher. Just shows how car centric peoples thinking is. All those cars could be removed from the roads if they took train instead. Train is every 30 mins as well.

 

[C R]

On Monday as rush hour arrived we were closing on Bridlington. There was an accident on the A165. The traffic ended up diverting onto the B road we were riding on our bikes. Eventually the cars came to a halt. It was stationary for roughly 2.5 miles. Now assuming 6 metres per car that translates to 600-700 car drivers that were driving on A165 towards Bridlington in evening rush hour. Just in the period we passed them all and got back into quieter lanes again. Call that 15 mins passing them as we had to stop on the pannier loaded bikes now and again for oncoming traffic. Only two likely places they were driving from; Hull or Beverley to Bridlington.

The round trip Bridlington to Hull using those main roads is 52 miles or so. Likely an hour by car in optimal conditions. Longer in rush hour. Plus they will need to find somewhere to park and possibly also pay for the parking. The direct train round trip is 1 hour 20 mins (40 mins each way) and only £10. The real cost of driving it will be higher. Just shows how car centric peoples thinking is. All those cars could be removed from the roads if they took train instead. Train is every 30 mins as well.

But is there enough train capacity to absorb all those extra passengers? Just playing devil's advocate, as I agree with you. The change requires a long term strategy involving deep changes to how people organise their lives. To achieve something like that there needs to be leadership able to bring around a sufficient number of people to a new way of thinking, and holding fast against concerted campaigns designed to maintain the status quo, just see what is happening with LTNs or emergency cycle lanes.

 

[Johnno260]

I liked some of the infrastructure I saw in the Netherlands they literally had park and ride parking, and the parking was free.

I do this in T Wells, I park responsible, yet I got accused of causing congestion while using a bike… I parked on a road that isn’t busy it’s wide and I didn’t block any sight lines driveways etc, resident walked a decent distance to berate me.

I also don’t like cycling in T Wells as the main cycle path along Pembury road is just woefull, the cycle lanes near where I work everyone uses it as parking, and I have fallen off twice while avoiding cars not giving way while I’m on a roundabout.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

But is there enough train capacity to absorb all those extra passengers? Just playing devil's advocate, as I agree with you. The change requires a long term strategy involving deep changes to how people organise their lives. To achieve something like that there needs to be leadership able to bring around a sufficient number of people to a new way of thinking, and holding fast against concerted campaigns designed to maintain the status quo, just see what is happening with LTNs or emergency cycle lanes.

Plenty of spare capacity to absorb all those static single person in cars we saw.

 

[All uphill]

But is there enough train capacity to absorb all those extra passengers? Just playing devil's advocate, as I agree with you. The change requires a long term strategy involving deep changes to how people organise their lives. To achieve something like that there needs to be leadership able to bring around a sufficient number of people to a new way of thinking, and holding fast against concerted campaigns designed to maintain the status quo, just see what is happening with LTNs or emergency cycle lanes.

I lived near Groningen in the Netherlands in the 1980s. At the time the city was jammed with cars and trucks.

It took around 15 years of determined leadership by the local council to effect change. I'm ashamed to say I was one of the frustrated motorists who thought it was madness to solve traffic jams by making car travel more difficult!

Now it is a city of buses, pedestrians and cyclists, quiet and safe.

 

[sasquath]

On Monday as rush hour arrived we were closing on Bridlington. There was an accident on the A165. The traffic ended up diverting onto the B road we were riding on our bikes. Eventually the cars came to a halt. It was stationary for roughly 2.5 miles. Now assuming 6 metres per car that translates to 600-700 car drivers that were driving on A165 towards Bridlington in evening rush hour. Just in the period we passed them all and got back into quieter lanes again. Call that 15 mins passing them as we had to stop on the pannier loaded bikes now and again for oncoming traffic. Only two likely places they were driving from; Hull or Beverley to Bridlington.

The round trip Bridlington to Hull using those main roads is 52 miles or so. Likely an hour by car in optimal conditions. Longer in rush hour. Plus they will need to find somewhere to park and possibly also pay for the parking. The direct train round trip is 1 hour 20 mins (40 mins each way) and only £10. The real cost of driving it will be higher. Just shows how car centric peoples thinking is. All those cars could be removed from the roads if they took train instead. Train is every 30 mins as well.

It might be 40 minute train ride but you have to get to and from the station, by bus and walking, add half an hour each end and car journey is faster in peak times, cheaper too when you assume factory/workplace free parking into equation. And sorry but 10£ for 40 minute train ride sounds like fairy tale to me, my local cheapest Trainline charges 8.40 for otwo station, ~8 miles journey...off-peak!!!