Something needs to be done about the British mentality towards us cyclists!

[Crankarm]

Bumgravy. Every day you see thousands of unlit cyclists texting?

Also, unicorns with golden horns and naked elves dancing to Marillion.

Motorists are of course a far lesser nuisance than cyclists, despite killing two and a half thousand more people every year. Don't argue with me, if what you're saying is true then film it and post it here, he asked, with diminished expectations.

Your response just proves my point. Cyclists as a group cannot step back and see the wider picture. There are many many motorists who are careful and if it was not for these motons then many many more cyclists would be killed because of cyclists' lack of anticipation, care, road sense, adherence to traffic laws and the HWC. You walk around Cambridge for a day and you too should reach the same conclusion. I'm not saying that there aren't careless or dangerous drivers of course there are, but compared to most cyclists most motorists are far more careful as a group of road users. Period.

 

[snailracer]

Your response just proves my point. Cyclists as a group cannot step back and see the wider picture. There are many many motorists who are careful and if it was not for these motons then many many more cyclists would be killed because of cyclists' lack of anticipation, care, road sense, adherence to traffic laws and the HWC. You walk around Cambridge for a day and you too should reach the same conclusion. I'm not saying that there aren't careless or dangerous drivers of course there are, but compared to most cyclists most motorists are far more careful as a group of road users. Period.

As posted previously:

For collisions involving adult cyclists:

- Motorists wholly to blame in about 70%
- Both cyclist and motorist blamed in roughly 10%
- Cyclist wholly to blame in roughly 20%.

"PPR445: Collisions Involving Cyclists on Britain's Roads: Establishing the Causes"
Transport Research Laboratory, published 2009,
Page 34.

 

[BentMikey]

There was an RAC study that put the proportion of motorists to blame even higher, around the 80% IIRC, and a Canadian one that was on the 90%.

So Crankarm, are you riding to work again, or are all those homicidal motorists still out to kill you?

 

[Glow worm]

In Spain I understand in law that the cyclist is always right! and the result of this is that the roads are much safer as the motorist fears the cyclist....

Not cycling related, but I have just come back from a week in Spain and I saw some fairly awful and impatient driving. It was a local fiesta all last weekend or saints day or something (Fuengirolla) and the streets were packed with folk on hoses everywhere. I saw drivers beeping at the horses, close passes and the bus we were on at once stage seemed to deliverately aim at a bloke on a horse on a roundabout . The same bus driver then antagonised a young lad on a horse who gave him the finger.

On another occasion, a taxi stopped to drop off a guy in a wheelchair. Naturally, this takes a little time, cue beeping and hissy fits from the drivers held up behind by all of - 10 seconds! Maybe we look at Europe with rose tinted specs sometimes as perhaps Holland aside, it's not always that great.

I'm not sure the cyclists in Spain get that much better treatment from drivers than we do here, as many in the town we were in preferred to use the busy prom to cycle along instead of the adjacent road. They often went quite fast which could be a little disconcerting for peds.

 

[dawesome]

compared to most cyclists most motorists are far more careful as a group of road users. Period.

Source? Accident stats/injuries caused? Deaths caused? Fines imposed?

There are around a million regular cycle commuters in this country. There are 1.2 million uninsured drivers on our roads, the annual insurance bill to cover the damage and misery caused by uninsured drivers is £400m and rising. Insurance for cyclists is given away by many cycling bodies for free because the claims are negligible. What you are claiming has no basis in reality.

 

[Dan B]

compared to most cyclists most motorists are far more careful as a group of road users. Period.

I don't know if this is actually true or not, but it bloody well ought to be: most motorists are in charge of a tonne and a half of metal which can easily be propelled at speeds of up to 80mph. Airline pilots are even more careful yet.

Who'da thunk?

 

[snailracer]

I don't know if this is actually true or not, but it bloody well ought to be: most motorists are in charge of a tonne and a half of metal which can easily be propelled at speeds of up to 80mph. Airline pilots are even more careful yet.

Who'da thunk?

In absolute terms, motorists may or may not be more careful than cyclists. However, the study shows that motorists are not careful enough, because they are at fault in the majority of bike-motor collisions.

 

[400bhp]

TRL PPR445 if you want to re-read it. It was 50:50 overall but only because 75% of accidents involving a child were put down by police to the child's fault. For adults it was 60-75% solely the drivers fault and about 17-25% the cyclists fault as cited by the Guardian.

[attachment=5643:Screen Shot 2011-10-10 at 10.00.08.png]

Thanks-pretty sure that was it-might have a read if i find a spare hour.

 

[semislickstick]

Bumgravy.

Also, unicorns with golden horns and naked elves dancing to Marillion.

By slickstickss at 2011-10-11


....Cambridge guided bus route does have those....if Stagecoach haven't run them over already for being on their tracks.

 

[ufkacbln]

The sad point is that we do not need new regulations and laws

What we need is for the ones we have to be applied



Look at the number of cases where a driver kills a cyclist or pedestrian through negligence or deliberate aggression, yet gets off with a slapped wrist


Let's forget new laws and issue appropriate censure for the ones in existence

 

[pshore]

In recent weeks ive seen some bad examples of cycling,recently on the A66 i had to overtake a cyclist hogging the middle of the road when theres a perfectly good cycle lane all the way along it and cyclists riding two abreast on a 50 road and they showed no intention of pulling in gggrrrr it wound me up no end.

Those are statements we see a lot on non cycling internet forums. Some people really do get angry when cyclists get in their way.

With the A66 cycle lane. I don't know this road, but it could be that the cycle path makes their journey more dangerous and/or inconvenient. Post a Streetview link if you would like further diagnosis. You could be right though.

Two abreast. I have never seen this inconvenience a motorist more than one cyclist would, yet, this action more than anything is guaranteed to get you hooted as a cyclist.

I am convinced that those drivers who hoot in this situation do it because they have been told by other motorists that its a bad thing to do rather than come to their own conclusion. It is a minority bashing thing and is one of the worst traits of our society.

 

[BentMikey]

If another road user winds you up, the problem is with you, not them!!

 

[gbb]

Those are statements we see a lot on non cycling internet forums. Some people really do get angry when cyclists get in their way.

With the A66 cycle lane. I don't know this road, but it could be that the cycle path makes their journey more dangerous and/or inconvenient. Post a Streetview link if you would like further diagnosis. You could be right though.

Two abreast. I have never seen this inconvenience a motorist more than one cyclist would, yet, this action more than anything is guaranteed to get you hooted as a cyclist.

I am convinced that those drivers who hoot in this situation do it because they have been told by other motorists that its a bad thing to do rather than come to their own conclusion. It is a minority bashing thing and is one of the worst traits of our society.

I'm really not sure that's right (generally speaking)
We've had similar discussions re drivers attitude to cyclists many times here in the past, and i've heard this said in those discussions.
Of course, occasionally, perhaps rarely, it may be true, but in nearly 40 years of sitting in canteens at work, when discussions cover anything and everything, ive never (that i remember) heard people talk derogatively about cyclists, let alone goading people into the supposed same behaviour...never.
Hundred of hours sitting, talking about life in general with hundreds of different people, cycling's been mentioned, but never do i remember anything bad being said.

I really think some cyclists are convinced drivers are out to get them, are colluding with each other against 'us'...IMO that's bollox (nothing personal pshore JMO)

 

[Tommi]

The sad point is that we do not need new regulations and laws

What we need is for the ones we have to be applied

But isn't that precisely the problem? Under the current laws you must prove the other party was negligent - the fact you got seriously injured or killed is not proof the other party was negligent, just that you somehow ended up under the wheel or something - and failing to provide solid proof and witnesses the courts will err on not guilty. As both parties suffer roughly equally it's all still rather fair; you're hospitalised for months, they have a scratch on paint job.

 

[pshore]

You've never in a conversation mentioned that you cycle and then have to listen to the I hate cyclists tirade, gbb ?

In group face to face conversations, most people will only say what they think is acceptable with that audience, and one of those things is cyclist bashing in my experience.

The only group of people who receive such venom in my local area are travellers.