Something I'll never understand..

[mattybain]

I had a great one yesterday, bus just had to get past me (it got narked that I didn't slam on the brakes to let him out). So he decided to overtake. Problem was that it was on a bend and there was already a bendy bus stopped on the left.

Still he went for it, must have been going 30 mph around a blind bend, in rush hour on the wrong side of the carriageway. Bearing in mind they were both bendy buses so it took a while for him to overtake me and the bus.

How there wasn't an accident is beyond me (it was close though a car had to mount the pavement to avoid him), talk about stupidity, the worst thing was I caught and overtook it again within about 50m as the traffic always backs up at this spot.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

One of these estates I go through on my commute has speed humps every few hundred yards or so. If conditions are right, I can quite comfortably keep up with the traffic - what little of it there is - but there's often somebody that must.get.past.bike and will pretty much destroy the bottom of the car trying to cane it past me over one of the (rather large) bumps.

I tend to catch up with them at the (inevitably) red light half a mile on: it's a smallish road coming off an estate onto a junction between two trunk A roads so the lights are heavily biased against it. One day I hope to be able to give someone a bit of their car back at that junction after it's fallen off over one of the bumps.

It really annoys me - they pass really really fast, milimetres past you to then stop dead at a queue often 10/20 cars long?!

There is just a must overtake mentality isn't there. This morning cyling in it was unusually quite on a downhill run and I was going for it - got overtaken close by a car - looked at my speedo and I was doing 38 mph ( ) anyway - in a 30 mph zone! I should be more careful actually I was really shocked to be going that fast! Slowed down to the limit straight away anyway.

I presume you can be done for speeding on a bike the same as in a car?

Wasn't there a thread ages ago about someone who'd had a shouty bloke in a car stomp into a pub after him 'cos the car driver had needed to break the limit in order to overtake him. And got Gatso'd for his troubles.

 

[trsleigh]

Is it because when they took driving lessons they were never taught to regard cycles as traffic?
This will obviously cause confusion when they see a bike as manifestly it is not traffic so can be passed in the same manner as a dustbin at the side of the road. But, the curious thing is, this thing they're overtaking is actually moving, thus causing further confusion. Luckily once it has been overtaken, it then reverts to the status of a stationary dustbin, so he/she can immediately pull back in without further ado or thought.

 

[thomas]

I recall looking at the varios sections of the Road Traffic Acts that covered cycling a few years ago. I may be wrong, but I think the furious thing is no more, but you can be done for cycling without due care & attention.

Possibly...though there was a chap who was done for something and furious cycling the other year I thought.

She only stopped when my frantic hammering on her roof got her attention, by which time I'd been pushed most of the way off my bike.
Stupid cow wouldn't even look at me after.

Had something similar ... the bus drivers didn't seem to appreciative of it .

 

[HLaB]

I never get those overtakes people do when there is a que of traffic they have to stop for, the second their bumper gets slightly past. Not dangerous, but completely pointless. It just shows a complete lack of anticpation imo.

'Must Overtake Cyclist' Ive had a lot of that in the past. Recently when I've been coasting towards the traffic lights they wait behind me. However if its a traffic jam or a large queue they have to get past. What's the difference

 

[semislickstick]

I've had this on the bike as well as the motorbike, rarer on the motorbike though!
I think most people are on auto pilot when they drive so get to something like bike it must be going slower, auto must over take kicks in and also a bit of 'only look for bigger dangerous vehicles'.

 

[grhm]

Wasn't there a thread ages ago about someone who'd had a shouty bloke in a car stomp into a pub after him 'cos the car driver had needed to break the limit in order to overtake him. And got Gatso'd for his troubles.

Yep, over here

 

[mm101]

Just read that thread re the chap with the BMW! Words fail me. Should someone that complete lack of personal responsibility be in charge of a car?! Amused me no end

On topic - same as above. Auto pilot must get in front syndrome. Bad manners coupled with lack of anticipation. Saw seven cars pass a bus that was indicating to pull away on saturday. Usually you get one, but seven?

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Yep, over here

That's the one, thanks. Not "ages ago", I guess after all .. demonstrates the "logic" that's applied in these cases quite nicely though.

And semislick is right, thinking about it I used to get it sometimes on my motorbike .. generally in 30 limits. The thought* process seems to go "it's only small and it's going slow, I can must nip past that".

* the word "thought" used here with its meaning "not thought about at all", obviously.

 

[D4VOW]

What I find the strangest is that it only seems to happen during rush hour traffic.

When the roads are less busy IME they take their time and don't mind waiting behind you for those 1 or 2 car lengths. Yet as soon as the roads are busy they all have to get past the cyclist at any cost even though you go riding straight past them again 5 seconds later when they have to stop for traffic.

 

[Molecule Man]

I had a great one yesterday, bus just had to get past me (it got narked that I didn't slam on the brakes to let him out). So he decided to overtake. Problem was that it was on a bend and there was already a bendy bus stopped on the left.

Still he went for it, must have been going 30 mph around a blind bend, in rush hour on the wrong side of the carriageway. Bearing in mind they were both bendy buses so it took a while for him to overtake me and the bus.

How there wasn't an accident is beyond me (it was close though a car had to mount the pavement to avoid him), talk about stupidity, the worst thing was I caught and overtook it again within about 50m as the traffic always backs up at this spot.

I've had bus drivers so desperate to overtake me that they've missed their next stop, with would-be passengers frantically waving at them to stop.

 

[Arch]

Wasn't there a thread ages ago about someone who'd had a shouty bloke in a car stomp into a pub after him 'cos the car driver had needed to break the limit in order to overtake him. And got Gatso'd for his troubles.

I seem to remember another where a driver just had to overtake a cyclist, and promptly ran into the back of the queue, tried to blame the cyclist and got a right bollocking from the bloke she'd run into...

 

[thomas]

I seem to remember another where a driver just had to overtake a cyclist, and promptly ran into the back of the queue, tried to blame the cyclist and got a right bollocking from the bloke she'd run into...

oh yeah, I remember that...I've seen people nearly do that when overtaking me...it's quite funny until you realise that a non-moron is in the car they'd hit.

I guess from a car drivers POV it is probably similar to a cyclist filtering to the front of the que every time. I try to leave a few cars at lights and things so I don't look like I'm taking the piss...but if people are slow pulling away I'm not waiting for them

 

[cyberknight]

Come and try country stylee ......

Single track road with stop "bays " ie entrances to fields and of course WVM has to overtake you with about 6 inches ( i jest not ) to spare between your handlebars and his van

Then we have the proverbial old bmw drivers who are just as bad in the last week i have been cut up turning right at 2 different roundabouts by this type of car.

I think the problem is 90 % of cyclists they see are on the footpath and they are not used to some one actually moving at a decent pace, heck i was doing cough the speed limit cough down a hill and a bus promptly overtakes me doing at least 10 mph over the speed limit then pulls into the stop at the bottom of the hill i wizz past and shout got you !!

then there`s the bollards in the middle of the road that they have to squeeze past

So a normal commute for me with 3-4 close shaves

 

[campbellab]

Lots of drivers have no sense of anticipation, it's not just cycles, they'll carry on at 40mph to a queue of traffic and brake rather than lift off the accelerator and decellerate naturally.