Driver "educated "

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I was cycling along this single track road..

My link

When i car came the other way really fast kicking up clouds of dust, i hug the edge of the road as i can see there is no way he is going to slow down and as he passes with maybe a foot to spare i shout "slow down".

I carry on up the hill and i can see and hear a car behind me so i continue up the hill where a farm entrance is that provides a safe passing point and pull over .
The car pulls along side and a hooded man starts ranting at me so i get off the bike and proceed to ask him why he passed at such speed so close to me.

"Its a national speed limit road so i can do 60, i was doing 45 "

I ask him if he would do 45 mph if another car was coming the other way ...
"Maybe , if it is safe"
I ask him again if he would do that speed with another car coming on this road...

....Silence .....

I then ask him what is the recommended safe passing distance
" i didn't knock you off so it was safe "

I inform him about the 3 foot rule and ask him how close he thought he was...

After much niggling he admits he was certainly less than a foot but still maintains its a 60 mph road.

We get onto road tax .... shot that one down

We get onto Insurance.. shoot that one down with BCF/CTC membership

Rights on the road... check the highway code i have as much right as you , see road tax not paying for the roads.

I go on to say that it is not a car vs bike thing, it is a good road user trying to be safe and i ask him if he thinks he feels good if he knows how his driving made someone else feel unsafe ?

" I am a good driver i pay insurance "

Yes i think we covered that one and i add that most other cyclist have insurance via their household policy .


I can see he is grasping at straws here as we have gone from him threatening to run me over to rolling out the usual arguments , at no pint does he get out of the car or take his hoodie off.

At the end of our "conversation" he is looking a little confused and i have answered every retort with facts and drilled home the point that he should not go around driving at the speed limit just because it is there and should take more care .

I shake his hand to end on a positive note and he drives off .

Maybe it will not sink in , or maybe with have 1 less driver who will cut us us in the future.
 

Gerry Attrick

Lincolnshire Mountain Rescue Consultant
Great respect to you. It is very difficult to not give like for like in these circumstances, but your approach is by far the most effective. I am not naive enough to believe your hoodie type person will change his ways, but it is a start in his re-education.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Bravo to you.

I personally don't bother educating them as it takes time to initially address their prejudices and then to turn them around.

I think I'd need a good tens mins or more, but don't usually have that luxury.
 
I inform him about the 3 foot rule and ask him how close he thought he was...


Sorry, what 3 foot rule?

Also - would have been better to say that its NSL, not 60... and its only 60 because its unclassified - as in, they cannot go around posting limits on every little single track etc.


What's strange about these kinds of things, is he was in such a rush... yet had time to come around to have a rant at you.

Nice one btw ;)
 

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
"3 foot rule" is disambiguation but it is salient advice given by the IAM, the CTC, and many others. Its a bit like the 3 second "rule" when you drop food on the floor, but it sticks in people's minds and thats the point.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Bloody hell, how did you do that.... I'd have snapped...

Well done mate.

Cracking road though..lovely for bikes.
 

BSRU

A Human Being
Location
Swindon
There's quite a few drivers I would like to re-educate but I only think about it when I safe at home, not very good confrontations.
 
OP
OP
cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
"3 foot rule" is disambiguation but it is salient advice given by the IAM, the CTC, and many others.

Thanks DF !!

and to quote ..


RECOMMENDED SAFE DISTANCE FOR OVERTAKING A BICYCLE?
There seems to be much confusion regarding the optimum distance between car and cyclist when overtaking.

The 3ft rule seems to be universally accepted in the USA or UK but drivers need to consider experience of the cyclist they are about to overtake. Studies in the UK have indicated that the faster the car, then the wider the overtaking gap. For example, at 20mph, Cycling England recommend a 1.05m gap which extends to 1.5m if overtaking at 30mph.

Let's try and get this rule widely acknowledged to stop the 100 cyclist overtaking related deaths each year in the UK and dispel the confusion and ignorance of both road users.

Cyclexperience staff driver and cyclist.

....TRL research has shown that, under test conditions, nearly half the cyclists
studied felt unsafe when cars travelling at 20mph passed them with a clearance
of 0.95m. However, Dutch research has established that motorists driving at this
speed are willing to overtake cyclists leaving a clearance of only 0.85m. This
distance increases to 1.05m when passing at 30mph.
These clearances have been used to prepare the Minimum safe passing distance
table below and although some cyclists may find these recommended clearances
0.85m < 20mph
1.05m = 30mph

...
dg_070531.jpg


......
 
OP
OP
cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Sorry, what 3 foot rule?

Also - would have been better to say that its NSL, not 60... and its only 60 because its unclassified - as in, they cannot go around posting limits on every little single track etc.


Nice one btw ;)

Hehe thanks i was having enough trouble keeping calm enough to be intelligent when he was saying that the last person to take a photo of his numberplate in readiness to call the cops got a brick through their window.( this was when he was threatening to run me over ) ............

I doubt i changed his driving but i would rather have a chance at giving the facts to an irate motorist rather than just spouting obscenities, i used to go ballistic about many things and all it got me was less friends and no at the time no career advancement.Fatherhood has changed my outlook on life,sure if someone is really going to hurt me i will break their kneecaps as my preference was wing chun but i say each style is good just find the one for you.
Now i think before i act, i will not take crap but i am not going to resort to mouthing off just for the sake of it.
 

oldroadman

Veteran
Location
Ubique
Hehe thanks i was having enough trouble keeping calm enough to be intelligent when he was saying that the last person to take a photo of his numberplate in readiness to call the cops got a brick through their window.( this was when he was threatening to run me over ) ............

I doubt i changed his driving but i would rather have a chance at giving the facts to an irate motorist rather than just spouting obscenities, i used to go ballistic about many things and all it got me was less friends and no at the time no career advancement.Fatherhood has changed my outlook on life,sure if someone is really going to hurt me i will break their kneecaps as my preference was wing chun but i say each style is good just find the one for you.
Now i think before i act, i will not take crap but i am not going to resort to mouthing off just for the sake of it.

Never mind the 3 foot stuff:

Eddy Merckx - probably the greatest all round roadman - "Passing a rider always give him(her) room to fall off". Easy common sense, and on Belgian back road surfaces, essential!!
 
Top Bottom