Dealing with anti cyclists

[Psamathe]

Reminds me of a few "sayings" (I've no idea who to attribute them to but they are not mine)

* Never wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty and the pig likes it

* Never argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference

* Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig

ian

 

[Jenkins]

Smile and wave boys - never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and win by experience

Very much this

Failing that a deep sigh followed by a resigned shake of the head. Some people just aren't worth the effort of getting angry with.

 

[Drago]

I can confirm that the above really winds them up and confuses them in equal measure.

Sh****g on their bonnet winds them up even more.

 

[tyred]

It's difficult sometimes, but it's best not to engage with them. You won't change anyone's opinion and you really do never know what kind of nutter you are dealing with.

 

[mjr]

Ok thanks everyone I feel better today i have to admit I was in the wrong for cycling across I should have got off and pushed as has been pointed out.

It is legal to ride across a zebra as long as you give way to walkers, even older ones without a cycle lane. As for what you 'should' do, that's between you and your conscience!

 

[mjr]

Very much this
View attachment 780234
Failing that a deep sigh followed by a resigned shake of the head. Some people just aren't worth the effort of getting angry with.

We smiled and waved to a passing driver who was honking wildly a few weeks ago. As the car passed us, a very rude word was said in a very frustrated way! I think they had hoped to startle us and make us crash off the cycleway or similar.

 

[PK99]

It is legal to ride across a zebra as long as you give way to walkers, even older ones without a cycle lane. As for what you 'should' do, that's between you and your conscience!

HWC 79 of the Highway Code states that cyclists should dismount and walk across zebra crossings. Although not a legal offense in itself, failing to dismount could be used as evidence of dangerous or careless cycling if an accident occurs.
.....

Plus, motorists must give way to a pedestrian on a zebra crossing , but are not required to give way to a cyclist.....

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

HWC 79 of the Highway Code states that cyclists should dismount and walk across zebra crossings. Although not a legal offense in itself, failing to dismount could be used as evidence of dangerous or careless cycling if an accident occurs.
.....

Plus, motorists must give way to a pedestrian on a zebra crossing , but are not required to give way to a cyclist.....

True - but they are not allowed to actively cause a collision of refuse to take whatever measure necessary to avoid one

same with bikes

 

[mjr]

HWC 79 of the Highway Code states that cyclists should dismount and walk across zebra crossings.
.....

Rule 79 of the current highway code is about roundabouts. If you are a driver, keeping up to date with changes in the highway code is a requirement of the national standards and your driving licence. You can find the real UK highway code at https://gov.uk/highway-code - don't be taken in by internet fakes trying to either cause conflict or sell driving aids.

Rule 81 includes "Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across" but this is not a MUST (so there's no law requiring it) and the code authors haven't thought through the consequences of that instruction. Pedestrians will not appreciate having cyclists high-kicking to dismount and mount in the usually-limited space at either side of a crossing, or them taking up more space on the crossing for longer. Also, many puffin crossings have cycle symbols on their green signals, so the above instruction is simply wrong in those cases. That rule needs rewriting, but nobody at DfT cares enough about cycling to do so.

Although not a legal offense in itself, failing to dismount could be used as evidence of dangerous or careless cycling if an accident occurs.
.....

It could, although it's unlikely, but it's really better not to collide with anyone if you can avoid it. The act of trying to avoid a collision is likely to suggest you're not being dangerous or careless.

Plus, motorists must give way to a pedestrian on a zebra crossing , but are not required to give way to a cyclist.....

In general, no. This is almost certainly the real reason why the instruction not to ride across remains in the rule. It's the same sort of bottom-covering that resulted in "CYCLISTS DISMOUNT" at every side road and driveway until the highway code was clarified: drivers used to be told explicitly to give way to pedestrians crossing side roads, but not cyclists.

However, the current highway code does actually say drivers MUST give way to cyclists on zebra as well as parallel crossings (rule 206) but I think that may be an editing error or misleading simplification. And if the zebra is across the mouth of a side road (as seen in parts of London and elsewhere), any turning driver should give way to cyclists as if the zebra wasn't there (rule H3).