Steve Berry on bus lanes

[LLB]

Why do you ride in the primary position ?

I do to stop 4 wheeled vehicles from overtaking me on corners where they are likely to cut back in and force me into the gutter. A motorcycle when overtaking doesn't usually need to use the other lane when you ride in the primary position, and can still retain a safe distance.

I've sat behind cyclists before now in my 4x4 as I've been waiting to find a safe place to pass them on the roads around here, and I can see them getting edgy as they know I'm there. I have no doubt they thought I was buzzing them whilst sitting there, but this is their perception of the situation as they don't have eyes in the back of their heads, and no idea how slow my 4x4 is at overtaking.

That said, I've had impatient buses force their way past me on my cycle and cut me up ducking back in.

 

[zimzum42]

How do we deal with the idiots?

Ignore them?

You'll die young and frustrated if you worry this much about idiots all day.....

No matter what you do, there will always be idiots. There are idiots on bikes too, sometimes they do something so stupid a car swerves and runs down a little girl, probably. So we should probably ban bikes from the road cos of these idiots.....

 

[zimzum42]

MisterP, where do you ride?

I'm guessing not in London or any other big city, cos if you get this wound up about being passed you'd not be riding anymore by now.....

 

[LLB]

To stop vehicles overtaking me dangerously. Easier in a bus lane than a normal road.

Yes, a motorbike can overtake safely and maintain a safe distance. But the idiots don't. The speed differential within the limits and the potential proximity bring added risk.

How do we deal with the idiots?

All the roads around here are narrow (well they seem to be anyway)

You get idiots on cycles, in taxis and buses. Would you want to block the progress of a roadie doing 25mph in a bus lane if you were doing 10mph on a MTB ?

I don't see the problem if the law is enforced/obeyed

 

[zimzum42]

MP, I know noone is talking about banning stuff, yet. But it never seems far off.

And as for 'it's the stats that count', well, I have a healthy disrespect for stats, they can be misleading.

You do not how how the stats might alter if a variable is changed until you change that variable. Most stats are worthless, it's all hypothesis. What matters is reality, and for me, the reality is I have never had and do not forsee having any problem with bikers in bus lanes

 

[snorri]

At the end of the programme, I was just glad that Steve Berry fellow is at the other end of the country from me. He didn't appear to have the mental aptitude for driving a powered vehicle on public roads.

 

[BentMikey]

He does sound like a bit of a knuckle-dragger!!!

 

[Terminator]

I find some motorcyclsts have a disregard for cyclists the prime example is when they use the cycle lane on Lower/Upper Thames street with no regard to cyclists.So there are idiots everywhere.