Myths and Rebuttals

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J1888

Über Member
Moped riders going into ASLs while traffic stopped at red...at dangerous junctions...'we're allowed to be here' - no, you aren't.

Funny enough, rarely (if ever) motorcyclists, just moped riders.
 

andrewsdad

Well-Known Member
Location
carrickfergus
Myth: You don't pay road tax
Rebuttal: F off lard arse
Right, I'm going for the 'same-level' rebuttal that is not confrontational and might appease the average Sun reader:

Cyclists don't pay road tax - "Don't worry mate - I still get fisted by Brown on everything else, believe me"

Cyclists should use cycle lanes - "You know the council can't do a f**king thing right - those lanes included"

Get out the middle of the road - "F**king council don't sweep the roads enough to be riding in the guttter - it's a disgrace I tell you"

Get out the middle of the road - "Could you smell my fart? I was trying to share it with you!"
Im going to use these lol
 

LeonBlack

New Member
Location
Cheshire
If you can keep your cool in a situation and get into an argument with a driver the best thing to do is tell ask them, "Are you a bit thick" or "You're not very bright, are you".

I went past a stopped van at the lights once and he had his window down. He shouted at me, "You shouldn't be f%*kin' overtakin' me here". I just said, "woah, have you brushed your teeth this morning; you're breath smells like do sh!t"

The look on his face was a picture, I thought he was going to explode with rage.

The one caveat for all of the above is make sure you end up going a different way to the driver as they do get very angry.


It's not just cyclist who get abuse though. I used to ride a scooter. It was a 125cc, so was capable of going around 65mph and easily cruised around the streets at 30-35mph. An old man once overtook me, cut me up and forced me across to the pavement. I caught up with him at the lights, pulled alongside and knocked on the window. I realised it was an old man and thought I'd just tell him to be careful as he nearly knocked me off.

Before I had chance, he wound down the window, gave me a load of abuse and told me I shouldn't be riding in the middle of the lane. I should be riding by the pavement.
 

andrewsdad

Well-Known Member
Location
carrickfergus
If you can keep your cool in a situation and get into an argument with a driver the best thing to do is tell ask them, "Are you a bit thick" or "You're not very bright, are you".

I went past a stopped van at the lights once and he had his window down. He shouted at me, "You shouldn't be f%*kin' overtakin' me here". I just said, "woah, have you brushed your teeth this morning; you're breath smells like do sh!t"

The look on his face was a picture, I thought he was going to explode with rage.

The one caveat for all of the above is make sure you end up going a different way to the driver as they do get very angry.


It's not just cyclist who get abuse though. I used to ride a scooter. It was a 125cc, so was capable of going around 65mph and easily cruised around the streets at 30-35mph. An old man once overtook me, cut me up and forced me across to the pavement. I caught up with him at the lights, pulled alongside and knocked on the window. I realised it was an old man and thought I'd just tell him to be careful as he nearly knocked me off.

Before I had chance, he wound down the window, gave me a load of abuse and told me I shouldn't be riding in the middle of the lane. I should be riding by the pavement.
Hahahaha takes allsorts I suppose. My own put down is " I'll say this very slowly so you can understand ......."
Works every time, or if I get abuse I respond with, do you kiss your kids with that mouth. Shuts them up instantly.
 

mustang1

Guru
Location
London, UK
Moped riders going into ASLs while traffic stopped at red...at dangerous junctions...'we're allowed to be here' - no, you aren't.

Funny enough, rarely (if ever) motorcyclists, just moped riders.

Iirc road users other than cyclists arent allowed to be inside asl but are not breaking the law if they are. (Don't ask me idk how the law works either).
 

w00hoo_kent

One of the 64K
When the light goes red the line at the beginning of the ASL is the stop line for all traffic, cycles can enter the ASL after that point, but must use the dotted line to enter. So if you are in slow moving traffic and the light turns red after you've crossed in to the ASL but before you've reached the far stop line of the ASL then you can stop inside the ASL legally no matter what you are. This happens in something like 0.005% of cases of non-bicycles being stopped in ASL's. This may be a made up statistic based on personal observation.
 
Well yes, but people in glass houses really ought to make sure their lights are BS marked. And fit their pedal reflectors.
Mine are German B&M so probably better than BS and EU legal, yeah have those too. What else?
 

bozmandb9

Insert witty title here
How about....don't rise to it?

Does seem to me as a "newbie" that there is a strong element in cycling of "wanting to be pissed off at drivers". It's a shame because as a "car driver" I had heard that cyclists hate motorists and loved any exscuse to scream and argue with them but didn't really believe it. From what I have seen though, cyclists hate motorists far more than the other way round.

I say live and let live, if someone insults you, grow up and stop memorising certain portions of the highway code for goodness sake...

The only way cyclists/motorists/horses/pedestrians will be able to use the roads in harmony is by not being aggressive, either in the start, or in rebuttal.

Believe me, there's no element of wanting to be pissed off at drivers. There is sadly though a gap in understanding. As a driver myself, who I must confess, before I got back into cycling, I was almost certainly inconsiderate towards cyclists. I would have passed too close, and too fast. I think a lot of drivers think 'well I can hardly stop behind every cyclist I encounter and wait for space to overtake. I can squeeze past and so long as I don't hit them what's the problem'.

Maybe not quite that bad, but that was much more my mentality, and I think it's extremely common. Drivers tend to see the road as being theirs, and really do resent being held up by those using the roads for recreation (or even commuting by bike).

Then there are some drivers who are just idiots, who thinks it's funny to assault cyclists, either verbally, or physically, whether by throwing things, or using fists out of their window. It's not just cyclists either. A mate of mine got beaten up whilst out running, by a bunch of lads, for no reason other than the fact that he was out running (this is in South Oxfordshire, so hardly a rough area).

So, I'm afraid I disagree with your post beany_bot. I believe that once enough motorists realise that they cannot get away with dangerous driving, or abuse of cyclists, the incidences will start to plummet. Whether it's because their car doors get dented at traffic lights, they get a visit from the Police as a result of reports of dangerous driving, they get named and shamed, or they just get a facefull of righteous rage and anger on the road, whatever it takes to make them realise that we will not be passive victims, not be bullied or abused, that is what we should do.

Each of us can find our own way to deal with each incident. But I don't believe in tolerance of abuse, or people putting my life (or those of my children), in danger.
 

RoubaixCube

~Tribanese~
Location
London, UK
Believe me, there's no element of wanting to be pissed off at drivers. There is sadly though a gap in understanding. As a driver myself, who I must confess, before I got back into cycling, I was almost certainly inconsiderate towards cyclists. I would have passed too close, and too fast. I think a lot of drivers think 'well I can hardly stop behind every cyclist I encounter and wait for space to overtake. I can squeeze past and so long as I don't hit them what's the problem'.

Maybe not quite that bad, but that was much more my mentality, and I think it's extremely common. Drivers tend to see the road as being theirs, and really do resent being held up by those using the roads for recreation (or even commuting by bike).

Then there are some drivers who are just idiots, who thinks it's funny to assault cyclists, either verbally, or physically, whether by throwing things, or using fists out of their window. It's not just cyclists either. A mate of mine got beaten up whilst out running, by a bunch of lads, for no reason other than the fact that he was out running (this is in South Oxfordshire, so hardly a rough area).

So, I'm afraid I disagree with your post beany_bot. I believe that once enough motorists realise that they cannot get away with dangerous driving, or abuse of cyclists, the incidences will start to plummet. Whether it's because their car doors get dented at traffic lights, they get a visit from the Police as a result of reports of dangerous driving, they get named and shamed, or they just get a facefull of righteous rage and anger on the road, whatever it takes to make them realise that we will not be passive victims, not be bullied or abused, that is what we should do.

Each of us can find our own way to deal with each incident. But I don't believe in tolerance of abuse, or people putting my life (or those of my children), in danger.


Some people are just angry regardless of how polite you address them. Maybe it was your fault, Maybe it was theirs. They are just going to get all up in your face to intimidate you, even going as far as pushing/punching you etc etc. People who generally have a poor attitude is who we want to 'educate' or failing that, be banned from the road.
As PEOPLE we have every right as each other to be on the road, So why cant we respect each other as fellow human beings then drag things down by labeling people as 'cyclists' or 'drivers' as such - sure, you might ride a bike and you might drive a car but all that does is give people a reason to discriminate.

I class everyone who uses the road as a 'fellow road user' and it dont matter if youre on a scooter you bought from argos pushing yourself in the cycle lane or one of them new two wheeled electric things that Usain Bolt got run over by. I could not care less - everyone has a right to be there though maybe not the scooters and such, but im still courteous to those who are trying to make it to their destination in the bus or cycle lane because we are share it.

There is honestly no need for any sort of animosity or prejudice. Why cant we just share, and be most awesome to one another?

I do think that people who choose to commute should sit some sort of crash course on road safety and the Green Cross Code because Its not just drivers that need edumacating, Cyclists need some slaps on the wrists too to curb their bad behaviour. Just as there are bad drivers, there are bad cyclists but lets not forget who is the one driving a two tonne steel cage with wheels.

Im not saying cyclists need to be licensed to be on the road, but at least have a certain knowledge or understanding of how to obey the rules of the road. I was lucky, when I first started cycling on roads a few years back I had a friend who pretty much commuted to work all day erryday and he took me under his wing and gave me guidance.

My local council here runs cycle courses for free quite regularly. If you are a new to commuting via roads then I do recommend that you contact your local council and see what they have to offer you. Even If it costs a little money its still worth it.
 
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