Cycling on roads is getting worse..

[hopless500]

I saw three of those on my ride on Saturday, must have been some kind of "Norfolk-wide" event.

I have no issues with cars in my part of Norfolk. I have more issue with pheasants and free running dogs to be honest.

Over that way wasn't so bad, but that was a few years ago for me.
Over this way, there are some who will try to drive you off the road and quite happily drive past at speed flicking the v's with both hands

 

[Gixxerman]

In deepest, darkest Lincolnshire, in general it is not too bad as the pace of life is sloooow and most folks round here are not in any great hurry.
The biggest issue is not arrogance / agressive driving, but simply incompetence, ignorance and poor observation (eyesight?). We have a greater than average elderly population, and their standard of driving is quite frankly, worrying.

 

[mjr]

Over that way wasn't so bad, but that was a few years ago for me.
Over this way, there are some who will try to drive you off the road and quite happily drive past at speed flicking the v's with both hands

May I send your testimony to the Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership? I've been a cycling member of its Vulnerable Road Users Subgroup (not my choice of name) for a few months and think the leaders need more reminders of what the danger to us is IYSWIM.

 

[Mile195]

+1 for area dependent. The amount of "near misses" I have (where I genuinely didn't anticipate someone doing something unexpected) is probably at most one a year in London for me. People give far more room these days (where roadspace allows), and don't turn left straight across bus lanes without checking so much anymore.

Without wanting to start a war of words here, but I find other cyclists are more likely to do unexpected things these days than motorised traffic. I think it's absolutely superb that so many people have taken it up over the last 10 years or so. However there are a few that could really do to be checking over their shoulder before randomly swerving out for no apparent reason, and also have no comprehension about why it's not very clever to ride 30 centimeters away from the bike in front up Camberwell New Road during rush hour, just because they saw people doing it on the Tour de france!

 

[hopless500]

May I send your testimony to the Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership? I've been a cycling member of its Vulnerable Road Users Subgroup (not my choice of name) for a few months and think the leaders need more reminders of what the danger to us is IYSWIM.

I guess so, but it was last year with the charming bloke in his large car doing no-handed driving going past a group of 6 of us.
The best one (so far) this year is a pillock overtaking me with someone coming the other way. I'm still not quite sure how all three of us remained unscathed given that the *insert expletive of choice* overtook when the oncoming vehicle was nigh on passing me.

 

[Saluki]

Over that way wasn't so bad, but that was a few years ago for me.
Over this way, there are some who will try to drive you off the road and quite happily drive past at speed flicking the v's with both hands

Is was your neck of the woods where I had a few encounters with boy racers, numpties in 4x4s and tractors with huge trailers who didn't have room to overtake but did anyway. The other side of Wymondham was much calmer.

It's nice around here. Mental driving along the front at the weekends, but that's grockles for you. Once past Walton High Street, the car drivers seem to be quite bike savvy. There do seem to be a lot more cyclists around here than I saw when living just outside Norwich. Suffolk must be the place for cycling in.

 

[mjr]

There do seem to be a lot more cyclists around here than I saw when living just outside Norwich. Suffolk must be the place for cycling in.

Not really: Suffolk Coastal is the highest-cycling district of Suffolk, whereas the next-to-Norwich areas (South Norfolk and Broadland) are two of the lowest-cycling districts of Norfolk (source: Active People Survey). These two counties are so vast that there is quite a bit of variation within them.

 

[Glow worm]

I haven't noticed it getting much worse around here in recent years. There are a heck of a lot of cyclists here which can only be good (I'm only 10 miles from Cambridge) . The rare bad/ impatient/ dangerous numpties do stick in the mind more I guess, especially after a particularly close shave. But much more frequently, I am surprised at the patience and friendliness of drivers who pull over for me on narrow lanes and the like and often wait for ages for me to amble past..

Its a similar story in Norfolk where I ride a lot (mainly from King's Lynn station to near Wells - in fact I'll be doing that one on Wednesday evening). Crossing the A149 near West Newton is always fun - I'm sure they speed up when they see me about to cross, but other than that, no real issues.

Its the idiots on Twitter that worry me with all the poisonous anti-cyclist nonsense. There are a lot of half -wits out there, easily I'm sure influenced by such bile.

 

[Jimidh]

I guess I am lucky riding around Mid and East Lothian and the Scottish Borders.

The roads aren't too busy with plenty good B roads through great scenery and generally good courteous drivers.

There are a few knobber out there but I wouldn't say I have seen an increase in the last few years.

 

[srw]

Our roads are getting less safe by the year

No they're not. All the evidence (as opposed to anecdote) is that they're getting safer and safer each year, for all road users (cyclists included), and have been doing so for about 40 years.

 

[al78]

Drivers around my area (W Sussex and Surrey) are mostly fine, I rarely have to deal with anything where I genuinely feel in danger, or that I haven't been able to take avoiding action myself. The main problem I am finding is the steady increase in the levels of traffic, not helped by the rampant house building going on around the county. Horsham can sometimes be frustrating to get around, as it is feeling congested now particularly on weekends and it feels like everyone is on top of each other, and it takes ages to get from one side of the town to the other.

 

[Milkfloat]

20 years of on/off commuting (mainly off), I don't think I have seen a remarkable difference, there are nobbers now and there used to be nobbers when I started. By far the majority are just going about their business normally. I see just as much nobbery when driving as I do cycling. For non-commuting cycling all I have seen is a big increase in numbers in adults, but probably a reduction in children.

 

[fossyant]

Rush hour Manchester, forget it. If you are going into the city, be very careful, even outside it. Driver standards are shocking. I've been hit 3 times in 12 months, excluding near misses. 4 broken ribs, badly fractured spine, and 6 months off work has finished off my commuting into the city. It's much better 10 miles out, but city stuff is a mare.

There aren't that many cyclists in Manchester - just not a critical mass. I'm sticking to out of rush hour cycling for now.

 

[fossyant]

Oh and I forgot, GM Police hate cyclists - scum of the earth we are and not worth an investigation when you end up seriously injured (Leigh Day have me and another cyclist the day before, both serious injuries, no investigation).

 

[Dec66]

Yesterday I was driving home along the A232, through Hayes Common, when I drew near to a cyclist going in the same direction.

I hung back behind him until there was no oncoming traffic in the opposite lane, then pulled out and went round him, giving him six feet of room.

All the time I was hanging behind him Mrs. 66 was giving me grief for not just going past him straight away, which I could have done if I'd wanted to squeeze through, leaving him 18-24" spare room. No thought from her about him wobbling, or weaving round a pothole, or anything like that...

And that is the difference between a driver who cycles regularly, and one that doesn't. I just hope she's never in the car trying to get past me on a semi-rural road.