Is it worth reporting dangerous driving to the police ?

[growingvegetables]

.... To clarity i mean hug the kerb even with the left foot unclipped to balance yourself if you should wobble. Do anything to avoid the dangerous driver hitting or clipping you. Even if it means losing your balance and falling onto the kerb. A bruised elbow or shoulder is better than being hit.

No.

Never.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Your interpretation is too generous. Accy said exactly what other people interpreted it as meaning, and confirms it here.

For the absence of any doubt whatsoever, do not follow this advice.

Ok, ride 6 feet away from the kerb showing that you wont be bullied or accept close passes. Good luck with that!

 

[growingvegetables]

Ok, ride 6 feet away from the kerb showing that you wont be bullied or accept close passes. Good luck with that!

You're being daft. And worse - deeply, foolishly dangerous.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Just the other day, amazing.

You didn't reply to my question. I'm still waiting.

 

[Accy cyclist]

You're being daft. And worse - deeply, foolishly dangerous.

What, in questioning someone who says riding 6ft from the kerb is safe?

 

[martint235]

What, in questioning someone who says riding 6ft from the kerb is safe?

It's a damn sight safer than riding next to the kerb. I ride between 4 and 6 feet from the kerb (or parked cars) for most of my commute. People on here will know I don't like cycle paths much so I'll often be outside them although there's not many on my commute. I don't weave between parked cars, if I pass one and its 25 yards to the next one I hold my line. What a good driver is looking for is prominence (he/she actually wants to be able to see you) and consistency (they want, as much as possible to be able to second guess what you're going to do next). You can't provide these things from next to the kerb.

Have I been beeped at? Yes but then I've been beeped at for being in the correct lane at a roundabout. Have I been knocked off or hit as a result of being further out? Not in over 23 years commuting in London. I've had collisions but none would have had a different outcome if I was next to the kerb and I would have had more hugging the kerb (and I think I've only had about 5 in total)

 

[Globalti]

I'm sure it's more about body language than your distance from the kerb. Drivers who do spot you will make a quick assessment of your style and look, even though they know nothing about cycling. If you look look a womble and are weaving and bobbing nervously they will dismiss you as no threat to their status on the road or their important journey. If you look fit and competent, are moving in a straight line at a good pace with purpose and more importantly, are giving off a look of dominating your area of the road while being aware of their presence they will treat you with more respect. When driving I certainly carry out this instant assessment although of course, being a cyclist, I treat all my fellow cyclists with the same respect.

My own belief comes from 12 years as a motorcyclist, commuting in London and touring 24,000 miles a year all over Britain. You may only have two wheels but you have to assert your right to use the road in the same way as any other user. This doesn't mean recklessly putting yourself in danger but it means treating other users in the same way as you expect to be treated.

 

[ianrauk]

It's simple really.
Hugging the kerb and you risk hitting it and getting thrown from the bike. It also invites close passes from motorists.
Just don't do it.

 

[r04DiE]

I'm sure it's more about body language than your distance from the kerb. Drivers who do spot you will make a quick assessment of your style and look, even though they know nothing about cycling. If you look look a womble and are weaving and bobbing nervously they will dismiss you as no threat to their status on the road or their important journey. If you look fit and competent, are moving in a straight line at a good pace with purpose and more importantly, are giving off a look of dominating your area of the road while being aware of their presence they will treat you with more respect. When driving I certainly carry out this instant assessment although of course, being a cyclist, I treat all my fellow cyclists with the same respect.

Absolutely agree with everything you say here. Assertiveness is key.

 

[Globalti]

I would go further and suggest that driving, especially on Britain's crowded roads, is actually far more competitive than any of us realise. The brand and "face" of your car, your assertiveness, speed, positioning, all contribute to your place in the pecking order. Think about the bullying BMW driver who races up and brakes hard behind you, the minicab driver in a beaten up saloon who shoots up to that junction hoping to intimidate you into waving him out, the elderly drivers in economy hatches who bumble out after commuting time, the nervous driver who seems to have no spatial awareness, they are all types and we assess how much every driver threatens our road space by their car and driving style. Cyclists are low down in the pecking order and thanks to the minority who jump lights and ride on pavements we are sometimes even reviled. But cyclists who assert their right in a polite, non-aggressive manner are more likely to be tolerated for a few moments.

 

[r04DiE]

You can imagine a connection between those things but you have no knowledge whatsoever that, should there be no pavement riding or RLJing whatsoever, cyclists would be any better regarded.

I think he's saying that it probably doesn't help. And it probably doesn't.

 

[r04DiE]

I understand what he is saying perfectly well thanks. People often repeat this stuff about some cyclists giving us all a bad name. I suspect that the antipathy is there anyway and the stuff about red lights and pavements is given as a justification for that antipathy.

So what is your understanding of what he is saying then? The same as mine, or a justification for that antipathy of which you note?

 

[martint235]

I understand what he is saying perfectly well thanks. People often repeat this stuff about some cyclists giving us all a bad name. I suspect that the antipathy is there anyway and the stuff about red lights and pavements is given as a justification for that antipathy.

The antipathy is indeed there but if you take away one justification, you can at least reason with some people. You'll never persuade the nobber in his 4x4 that cyclists deserve more space but if you take away the "they all jump red lights" nonsense you might just persuade the school mum or the shopper. I don't think it could cause any damage if people stopped thinking all cyclists jump red lights

 

[glenn forger]

Every cyclist could ride like Mother Teresa and it wouldn't make a scrap of difference. We are just annoying to a large section of the motoring public. Whatever we do will annoy them. It becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, these people drive around with a belligerent mindset so they naturally become enraged at perfectly normal cyclist behavior. Stop offering excuses for these drivers, they don't need any.

 

[martint235]

Yeah but we could stop all RLJing but that wouldn't stop the phrase bring repeated.

It would eventually. However if the nobbers carry on doing it then it will never stop