Do cyclists learn to drive faster than non-cyclists?

[Riverman]

We all know this to be the case but does anyone here know of any research done on this?

Bit of a saving if true.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I spent twenty years as a driving instructor and taught many cyclists through my connections with the sport and the answer is no, they don't.

The quickest learners are motorcyclists who already understand what the controls do and know how to use them at driving speeds.

 

[Arch]

I imagine a lot would depend on the experience of the cyclist - a 17 year old keen cyclist has less road experience than a cyclist learning in later life.

I'd suggest that it's not necessarily a question of learning quicker, but of having better appreciation of others. So a cyclist passing their test may well be of a higher, more considerate standard when they pass, than someone who's merely learned enough to pass the test.

User9609 - I don't jump red lights or ride on the pavement, on my bike, why would I do it learning to drive?

 

[Smokin Joe]

I imagine a lot would depend on the experience of the cyclist - a 17 year old keen cyclist has less road experience than a cyclist learning in later life.

I'd suggest that it's not necessarily a question of learning quicker, but of having better appreciation of others. So a cyclist passing their test may well be of a higher, more considerate standard when they pass, than someone who's merely learned enough to pass the test.

User9609 - I don't jump red lights or ride on the pavement, on my bike, why would I do it learning to drive?

I'm afraid not in my experience.

 

[Arch]

I'm afraid not in my experience.

I suppose not, judging by the number of close passes one gets from cars with bikes on the back...

 

[Twenty Inch]

Took me 4 goes to pass my test - I only passed when I realised that I needed to anticipate at car distances, not cycling distances.

 

[Archie_tect]

I suppose not, judging by the number of close passes one gets from cars with bikes on the back...

True Arch!

I thought the OP meant cyclists learn to drive faster... not learn to drive faster... oops.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Cycling certainly affected my way of driving. I managed to shock my instructor a couple of times - when changing lanes and turning on a particularly dangerous roundabout - because I took them swiftly and positively and he wasn't used to that kind of driving from a learner. And when he questioned me about them, he fully accepted my reasons.

 

[Archie_tect]

... perhaps taking the roundabout below 60 next time?

... well, that was my fault, you see you were in the left hand lane, you were signalling left, so I more or less assumed you were going to turn left. [I..I'm sorry, how fast were you going when your last instructor jumped from the car?] *I love Bob Newhart!*

 

[subaqua]

I tend to think cycling is very different to driving and don't see how it would help at all, would guess a non driver would learn more being a passenger in a car. In any case if you jump a red light in a car or drove along the pavement you would fail the test.

LOL

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

... perhaps taking the roundabout below 60 next time?

''But I'm used to taking roundabouts on 2 wheels!...''

 

[growingvegetables]

Do cyclists learn to drive faster than non-cyclists?

Don't see it myself - how many learners didn't have bikes as teenagers, right up to the moment they get their provisional?

I can see the motor-cycling link. How many drivers drive like their windscreen is just another computer game? Motor bike riders lose that syndrome REAL fast - they have to. Their spacial awareness, speed awareness, reaction times, looking for escape routes, and eyes in the back of their head to spot dingbats will stand them in good stead in a car.

And I can see learning to drive, and the more experience we have of driving, the better our cycling?

 

[Stephenite]

Riding a bike for a year or so in a foreign country before driving motor vehicles certainly helped me.

You get used to the roadsigns, and painted on the road signs/instructions and, generally, the road layout. Oh, and certain rules different to the UK.

But, i could already drive. (Just not on the wrong side of the road!)

I would assume that an experienced road-user would learn how to operate a motor vehicle safely in the public space quicker. But, whether this is true in practice..?? There are many factors at play.

 

[Globalti]

Absolutely; I cycled everywhere from the earliest age. Living in a quiet village in Oxfordshire meant I could ride for miles without fear and in later life I cycled to holiday jobs and to school, so making the transition into a car seemed completely natural. I actually taught myself to drive on the M40 motorway between Thame and Stokenchurch when I was working for Gleeson's civil engineers who built the road. One day my boss, a surveyor, threw me the keys to the red Escort Mk1 van and told me to nip to the compound to collect some bits and pieces. I became a regular driver but drove everywhere in first gear for the first week before plucking up the courage to change to second!

 

[summerdays]

I would assume that for a teenager learning to drive that if they have been cycling (on the road as opposed to pavements or cycle paths), that they will have an advantage over their non cycling contemporaries because they will understand how things like roundabouts work, that you need to look and signal before manoeuvring, and at least used to judging whether a gap is big enough (even if they have to relearn car sized gaps vs bike size ones). They should also be aware of how road conditions such as rain or ice should affect your driving.

They still are going to have to learn how to control the car and various other things but I'd like to think there was an advantage.