Cycling / driving standards

[Lien Sdrawde]

Man, i'm so enjoying my road bike. Over the last couple of months I've really been trying to ride to a certain standard - with advice taken from here and a few of the guys Youtube vids. Wow, they have really helped but....

Now I think i'm cycling well, I cant help but notice how many others aren't - at a rough top of me head kind of guess, i'd say i've seen only 1 from every 10 cyclists who arent either on the pavement, skipping through red lights etc etc etc.

It seems standards are bad out there.

I know there are bad vehicle drivers out there but i'm glad its not the same percentage of bad cyclists who just dont seem to understand the highway code.

I know I was fairly ignorant before joining here and may have been one of the many i'm moaning about now, but its just amazed me now i'm a bit better informed, how bad it is out there.

 

[Jaguar]

I cant help but notice how many others aren't - ... on the pavement, skipping through red lights etc etc etc.

I hear that all the time, but I can honestly, hand on heart, say that I see 10 times more bad motorists than bad cyclists. Honest. (and tbh, I can't blame the inexperienced or nervous for riding on pavements - respectfully and cautiously - because of how dangerous the driving is round here).

Mind you, some drivers still try and get you when you're on the bike lane! (ffwd to 00:45)

 

[StuartG]

Really good when you observe your technique is better than most other road users.
Its bad when you don't see someone with better technique that you could learn form (are you really the best?)
Its good when you see someone doing something wrong and ask - do I ever do that?

If the answer's no - get someone to follow you with a webcam ... riding/driving is always a work in progress.

 

[swee'pea99]

Glad you're enjoying your riding!

FWIW, illegal riding does not necessarily = bad riding...unless you choose to define it that way. As a London commuter, I see pretty-much ubiquitous law-breaking - RLJ-ing being the classic example - but the vast majority of it is perfectly safe. Bad riding, at least as I define it - ie, riding that causes risk/stress/inconvenience - is actually pretty rare. And certainly the risk of injury or death to innocent people is absolutely negligible compared with that caused by bad driving.

 

[BSRU]

The problem with selective law breaking is the bad example it sets to other cyclists of poorer ability/road craft, they will think it is fine to break laws that do not suit them because they see other cyclists doing it and they understand there is little chance of being caught.

 

[Chutzpah]

Devil's advocate view - maybe you spot cyclists because there's so much bad driving it just all blends in and becomes the norm?

 

[400bhp]

The problem with selective law breaking is the bad example it sets to other cyclists of poorer ability/road craft, they will think it is fine to break laws that do not suit them because they see other cyclists doing it and they understand there is little chance of being caught.

You have a low opinion of every other individual on the planet.

Most can think for themselves.

 

[campbellab]

Some people can think for themselves, but many are driven by innate social psychology