Drivers' courtesy towards cyclists

[totallyfixed]

Yes well, you don't want to come to my neck of the woods, you need the skill of Danny MacAskill, nerves of steel and and the bravery of a unicyclist on the M25. Sometimes we even get as much as one incident a year, usually the terrifying experience of a car coming within 6 feet or believe it or not even closer! A tractor once cut a hawthorn hedge in front of us!!!
Yes sir, dangerous here.

 

[Kookas]

I live in Birmingham (not a particularly nice part of it either) but go to college in Solihull, which is more or less the poshest area in at least a 30-mile radius. The difference in drivers isn't remarkable, but you definitely get waved into queues a lot more in Solihull. I've never been let into a right turn in Birmingham, but I have in Solihull.

I do find that cars will move to let me filter past easier on occasion, and that's happened in pretty much every city/town that I frequent. That shows just how much some drivers must look in their mirrors.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I and my teen children (both sexes) are keen cyclists. I ride regularly in London and The Sticks and see no particular gender bias in the behaviour of other road users.

My daughter (19 and a novice driver) reports none. Like me, she finds most other road users courteous and the odd one or two slightly silly, rude, careless or inattentive

I think there is an extent to which aggressive, spiky riding will attract aggressive, spiky behaviour from other road users.

I base this in part on my slightly aggressive, spiky cycling when I was a callow youth.

Now that I am grey and serene, other road users seem to have lost their aggressive edge too.

 

[Little My]

Yep, I certainly agree about getting back what's being given out. In my case it seems to work quite well with London buses. I often hang back if I can see a bus is about to pull out of the stop, even if I could push it at stretch. (Anyway highway code says to give them priority if it's safe, also often overtaking means the same malarkey on every stop). So far I have always been overtaken in an exemplary, safe manner.

I'm not sure if riding a folding bike makes motorist see cyclists differently. Small doesn't mean slow or ridden by someone clueless. I've been riding mine for a while (over 2 years), so I know how to handle myself on the road and on a good day I can be reasonably quick.

Again, maybe the issue is not who is riding and what, but how. In my first post I mentioned cars moving slightly towards the middle of the road to make it safer for me.They were not so much moving out of my way because I didn't seem to have a clue, but rather (I believe) because I was prepared to wait to pass till it was safe.They did after I hanged back a bit, because I wasn't sure if they saw me in their mirrors. Given the chance, they have, hence gave me more space.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Thank you for you replies so far.
Biggs - I think most of the time it's fairly easy to tell the difference between male and female cyclists, as they dress and move differently

I think @Biggs is spot on.
Well, in my neck of the woods anyway (don't know about London) once you got your standard yellow hiviz, helmet, buff or cycling cap on, lights flashing left, right and centre, in the dark (it's always dark here ) most cyclist look the same.
As a matter of fact, a non cycling colleague pointed this out to me a while back, her meaning it should be safer for a woman if a prospective attacker thinks she's a man.
Ime, taxi drivers and wv men believe in equal opportunities cyclist harassment

 

[summerdays]

how many drivers can tell the difference between male & female cyclists once helmets are on etc etc

Depends on what you are wearing ... on the whole I think pink jacket, boots are a bit of a give away at this time of year, and come summer I'm sure that it is more obvious if you are wearing a strappy top or skirt .

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Depends on what you are wearing ... on the whole I think pink jacket, boots are a bit of a give away at this time of year, and come summer I'm sure that it is more obvious if you are wearing a strappy top or skirt .

Aye, but never on the commute to work

 

[summerdays]

Aye, but never on the commute to work

Yes on the commute - not very often for skirts as I find they ride up and I spend half my time readjusting them!!!

 

[Sandra6]

My daughters take great joy in telling me I look like a man when I'm on my bike.
I find when I'm on my "old lady's" bike with the shopping basket cars are in more of a hurry to pass me and seem to get more irritated when I don't hug the kerb. But if I'm riding the "proper" bike they are more accepting of me being there.
I still get close passes and the like but things like that happen when you're in a car too.

 

[Lanzecki]

As Drago said, It's not car's V Cyclists or any variation of, it's Good V's bad road users.

I'll go on to say that if you perceive that car passing you to be too close he is too close regardless of law's and other people opinions. Getting passed by a cyclist with 6 inches probably wouldn't be considered a close pass, if it was a truck that did it we'd all be screaming for his head.

It's all about you own safety zone.

 

[Kookas]

I think @Biggs is spot on.
Well, in my neck of the woods anyway (don't know about London) once you got your standard yellow hiviz, helmet, buff or cycling cap on, lights flashing left, right and centre, in the dark (it's always dark here ) most cyclist look the same.
As a matter of fact, a non cycling colleague pointed this out to me a while back, her meaning it should be safer for a woman if a prospective attacker thinks she's a man.
Ime, taxi drivers and wv men believe in equal opportunities cyclist harassment

Even so, it's usually still possible to tell from the body shape. Lady boys dress like women, but you wouldn't have an issue noticing that she was a he.

 

[Lanzecki]

Even so, it's usually still possible to tell from the body shape. Lady boys dress like women, but you wouldn't have an issue noticing that she was a he.

You've been looking too hard

 

[Kookas]

You've been looking too hard

I reserve that for the mirror.

Seriously though, men and women's bodies are hugely different in shape. Watch a video with a female cyclist donning the full gear and compare it to a guy in the same kit if you don't believe me.

 

[Psycolist]

I reserve that for the mirror.

Seriously though, men and women's bodies are hugely different in shape. Watch a video with a female cyclist donning the full gear and compare it to a guy in the same kit if you don't believe me.

Yeah, I agree, its almost as easy to tell the gender of a cyclist as it is a runner. However, back to the thread, I am of the opinion that there are as big a percentage of ar%$*&les behind steering wheels as there are on 2 wheels, and as with life in general, you tend to get back what you give out. Ride carefully, and courteously and drivers will give you respect and room, ride like a pillock and you will feel like the world is out to get you. THIS IS A MASSIVE GENERALISATION, and of course there will be a multitude of examples to the opposite, but its as I find things. Treat others as you would like them to treat your mum, and they will reciprocate. I ride in country lanes alot of the time, often without passing places, I have no hesitation in pulling over into verges or turn offs to allow motor vehicles to pass, I wouldnt expect a motor to have to stay behind me for any further than can be avoided, other cyclists stance can often be, 'I was here first' and they will just carry on riding in the prime position until THEY feel its ok for the car to pass. This is a typical situation leading to dangerous overtakes or even a bit of road rage. Again a generalisation, but i'm a lover not a fighter.......lifes too short !

 

[totallyfixed]

I would very much like to see a numpty driver map with a mark of some kind to denote an incident using different colours to show the varying types of numptiness [I feel this word should be in the dictionary], like say yellow for a close pass, blue for pulling out in front of you, black for being knocked off and red for road rage etc. I'm thinking the Commuting thread might take over a bit but at least we could all look at it and see where it is best to avoid. How about it Shaun?