Has cycling changed the way you drive?

[Goonerobes]

Most of my cycling is in or around the New Forest where speed limits are typically just 30 or 40mph. I now find myself forever indicating or telling people to slow down when out cycling & to this end it has made me slow down when I'm driving.

I'm now considering trading in my 3.2 litre car for a more sedate 2.0 litre next year!

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Not really, at least not the way you mean. I have always been an advanced level driver...

That must have been uncomfortable for your mother, you having driving lessons in her womb

 

[mustang1]

Op maybe you are getting old and has nothing to do with cycling

I am also petrol head but have always been a considerate driver of all road users for at least a decade. I would like to drive faster on a.clear motorway but value my license too much so that's the main reason I keep things slow.

Passengers in my car usually comment about how slow I drive or how much space I leave between the car in front, its not normal for them. I think I'll go back to some track days one day and I've never driven The Ring.

 

[Deleted member 18052]

I've been thinking of selling my hot hatch and getting a dedicated track car hmmmm

 

[snorri]

I noticed a change in my driving after a 4 week holiday in western Canada, although I didn't drive there the difference in driver attitude to other drivers and to other road users was noticeably better than I was used to in the UK. For a month after getting home I found myself driving on the open road about 10mph slower than pre-holiday.
The change could have been brought on by the driver attitude observed in Canada or just a more relaxed attitude to life in general after a four week holiday, it certainly had nothing to do with cycling.

 

[Piemaster]

On balance, yes. Since I re-discovered my love of the bike I think I am more patient, especially with cyclists and it's rubbed off on my wife, but other factors are an influence too, a little more patience has come with age and I don't have to commute and drive in heavy traffic generally.
Having said that I hated going into town last week a few times and being stuck in traffic in the car as we had to go as a family, so I couldn't take the bike.

I have usually had more interesting cars (apart from a Nissan Bluebird, but I don't want to talk about that). The current family car, Alfa 156, will probably go next year sometime and it will be back to whatever a new equivalent of the Bluebird is.
The other car, an Alfa Spider still makes driving fun.When the suns out and top down finding somewhere I 'need' to go isn't difficult.

 

[slowmotion]

The only difference it has made is that I drive a lot less. I'm not a particularly dedicated eco-warrior, and I don't dislike cars per se. It's simply that I can make trips from A to B in cities so much more pleasurably on a bike than in a car, and usually more quickly, so I tend to favour my bike. I enjoy driving less and less actually and increasingly avoid it.

Edit: I drive van with a solid back doors and no rear view mirror, so I have always used the door mirrors a lot. I probably use them a bit more since taking up cycling, but not much. I have always passed cyclists wide BTW, even though the van is white.

 

[Cuchilo]

Ive always driven vans for work so pretty road aware but cycling has made me give cyclists more room . Sometimes I notice I make them wary of me though as I dont overtake when they expect me too . I hate drivers hanging around behind me when I think it is safe for them to pass and I'm now the one hanging around because I cant see a safe very wide pass .
I do enjoy holding up the traffic when a roadie is on a downhill though Cars may have a go at over taking a bike but they wont try it with my van

 

[NorvernRob]

It was the other way around for me, driving for years before road cycling makes me a much safer cyclist. I've been out with a few non-driving cyclists and sometimes their hazard perception is terrible.

It's like those videos cyclists post up of them flying along past a junction then getting knocked off by a turning car or one that pulls out. No it's not the cyclists fault but it's easily avoidable, I'm always prepared to stop or slow when passing junctions even in the car.

 

[jarlrmai]

I don't drive generally, I have the license but no car, used to but got rid of it.

I've really come to see the way that being a driver changes people i'm in cars with.

Being in a new luxury car with someone and they are doing 40 mph and it feels like we are crawling the car is so smooth and quiet, there's no noise, nothing is so bizarre to me as a cyclist you can see where the disconnect from other road users comes from.

I also laugh at the way car drivers waste energy, accelerating to red lights etc they wouldnt be doing that if it was coming out of their legs.

 

[400bhp]

Interesting question.

I was used to riding 70 odd miles regularly with a club at the age of 14. Lots of good stuff must have rubbed off on me as I've always been very aware of cyclists when driving.

I was a petrolhead like the OP - racing for a couple of years and owned a couple of extremely fast cars. These days I have no interest in driving. I'd much rather be on the bike.

 

[AndyWilliams]

I used to be a massive petrol head. At one point, I went through 6 cars in two years and I attended a track day at least once a month.

I LOVED cars - they were my life.

But then I got a cycle... And I've only had my cycle for 3 months and I've forgotten all about cars. I've even sold my 2L hot hatch and all I have now is a 1.3 diesel Ford. I sold my hot hatch with the intention of buying another big car - but now I've no intention of even getting another car.

Why? Because I've lost all interest since cycling - it's consuming me!

Honestly, like many petrol heads I was a little bit inconsiderate or impatient at times. But ultimately, I was safe. I've never had a crash, been pulled over or even caught speeding.

Then, since cycling, I've hardly stepped foot in either of my cars. Today, I drove for about 50 miles - the longest I've driven in 3 months and I felt like I was WAY more relaxed. I wasn't in and out of lanes on the M6, driving at 70+ like I would have been before - in fact, I sat there for 20 miles doing 60 on the inside lane without budging.

I didn't even notice - my missus did. Apparently, I've been like it for over a month now!... And now she mentions it, I guess that she's right.

I've found my drives a lot more relaxing and quite honestly, I guess it's because it's just nice to travel at 20+ mph without breaking a sweat!...

The whole thing feels odd - but I'm really happy that I've made or am making this transition into becoming a healthier and more relaxed road user.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced this?...

Blimey, could have been me that typed this. I have been a huge petrol head since I can remember. 29 cars since 1995, own 3 now. Since getting my road bike about a months a go I hardly use the car.
2 sorn, 1 ready to use. I am thinking of selling all but my 1973 VW Camper, more practical to get bikes in and camp/tour etc.
I have slowed down, I now like to see how high I can get the MPG in the TDi Golf, 50mpg round town 62mpg on motorways. I'm have much more consideration for cyclist and others than I already had.

It feels better.

 

[_aD]

The replies haven't surprised me and it's always good to see that we can change our ways...but these three words sums up a lot of the sentiment:

It feels better.

Perfect.

Any mention of "Preparation H" and it's an immediate detention.

 

[RichK]

Cycling has changed me when driving too. I'm now much more grumpy when stuck in traffic

 

[theclaud]

I reckon I was a pretty lousy driver when young - too fast and fairly reckless. Just as well I only had a really poxy car, and nothing powerful. I'm just thankful I was lucky enough not to have hurt anyone during a short phase of driving like a t**t. It was idiocy and immaturity rather than impatience. I've only ever owned the one car and I don't intend to own another, now that I've grown up enough to realize what a plague they are and how they enslave us. The only thing I drive these days is a big Transit/Sprinter for work now and again. As a cyclist who mixes it with traffic a lot, and a somewhat militant pedestrian, I'm very conscious of how big it is and how easily it could hurt someone, so I drive it very sedately and patiently, and give everyone lots of space. I don't dislike driving but I find the level of concentration required to drive carefully very tiring, so I'm not really happy driving for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. I do, however, dislike being a passenger, because I find so many people's driving almost unbearable and I hate the powerlessness. In a car is generally the last place I want to be, and I have found that this upsets people.