looking for bus driver/trained cyclist post

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

gambatte

Middle of the pack...
Location
S Yorks
I’m in a discussion on another forum. It reminded me of a response on here. It was in one of the many bus driver threads. Basically it put an eloquent point of many drivers thinking they wanted cyclists to be trained, but that having trained cyclists on the road would be the opposite of what they wanted, because of claiming primary position etc.

I’ve searched, but can’t find it. Anyone else recognise it/know where it is?



ta
 

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Don't know where that post is, but it sounds like something I've often said.

You know the kind of claim its in response to; "bloody cyclists, not trained, don't pay road tax, not insured...", and you know most of the responses to at leas the road tax and insurance point. But very often you hear cyclists saying "I agree, we should be trained or at least competent", and when you think about it yes, from our perspective thats great. But it is exactly what those people who complain about cyclists being on the road don't want.

A trained cyclist, someone competent in negotiating traffic, is going to be in the primary position pretty much of the time. Thats right in the middle of the lane in many city streets. They're going to be claiming their road space at junctions, roundabouts, crossings etc. They're going to be right outside of those pesky little cycle lanes, the ones that are too narrow to use (after all, the standard text that many of these cyclists follow tells you to ignore those lanes if you think that they're unsafe or inappropriate).

What all of this means is that if the hoards of gutter crawling, passive cyclists we see on our roads were all 'trained' is that no one in any city or town where there is any reasonable number of cyclists will be able to get anywhere by car. You can guarantee it. Bikes would rule the roost, all traffic in London, Cambridge, Oxford, York, Edinburgh, even central Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow would be going along at slow bike pace; we're not talking about the generous 20mph you get 'trained' cyclists doing now, we're talking about the 14mph that the gutter crawlers occasionally aspire to reaching at best.

The last thing that these moaning minnie motorists want is cyclists being trained to be in the right place on the road, they couldn't cope with it. They're angry enough now, they'd all burst blood vessels if we behaved 'properly' and took 'appropriate road positions'.
 
;):laugh:

I don't think everywhere would run slow as we should ride in the secondary where it is safe to do so, however, it certainly would have an impact. It would also make the roads safer for everyone. We can only dream of such a utopia.......:smile:
 

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
magnatom said:
;):laugh:

I don't think everywhere would run slow as we should ride in the secondary where it is safe to do so...

Absolutely. I agree that if someone wants past, if they're faster than you and there is safe space to overtake, then you should be looking for a safe overtaking spot. But thinking about all the cyclists I pass on the road every day, if they were all treating motorists to that kind of treatment then frankly I wouldn't be overtaking them on my bike because I'd be stuck in motorised traffic going at the speed of slow cyclists who move over when they think it is safe to do so :smile:

The only pace that traffic moves with a significant number of bikes and cars on very narrow streets is at that of the slower cyclists, unless those slower cyclists allow multiple close overtakings. And thats precisely what those idiots who yabber on about cyclists want, they believe that good cycling entails gutter hugging to let people past them and, generally speaking, that really ain't good cycling.
 
Top Bottom