What goes through the mind of a driver when they see a cyclist?

[Wightdragon]

At the top of my road is the village shop. There is no parking provision for cars. There is a 300 yd stretch that is usually a bloody nightmare around going to work/come home time. You can be in a queue of 10 cars waiting to get through.

There are cyclists who will ride through this stretch with a crocodile of cars behind them and their pace is between glacial and funereal. If I'm on my bike and have a car(s) up my arse I will pick up the pace, then give a wave of thanks for holding back.

Just dawdling along will get motorists frustrated.

Bloody cyclists.

For a whole 300 yards! More patience needed I think.

 

[glenn forger]

So, there are ten cars on the road and a line of parked cars, and drivers get annoyed cos the cyclist holds them up. Gotcha.

 

[mjr]

"Pick up the pace" is not always an option... if you've got 25l of shopping on board, or health problems, for example.

 

[Dave 123]

For a whole 300 yards! More patience needed I think.

From whom?
I get impatient with all sorts of road users.

The shop traffic jam has reduced people to punch ups round here.

 

[ayceejay]

I am not sure some drivers do see us either that or they see but what it is they see does not register.

 

[glenn forger]

They see a lightening rod. Many are not particularly bad people who have been conditioned to hate, they have been force-fed the notion of a scapegoat upon whom they can heap the blame for all sorts of things.

 

[growingvegetables]

From whom?

Kind of you to offer an answer!

I get impatient with all sorts of road users.

Same as for the people here ...

The shop traffic jam has reduced people to punch ups round here.

 

[Lonestar]

I do drive, and have done for about 38 years. I always take extra care around cyclists.

Everyone says that.

 

[growingvegetables]

Then, a pick up truck comes behinds me a squeezes past between me and the bus, forcing me in to the gutter and almost scraping my arm. ......

Ah - the old 4x4 driven by a 2x4.

 

[Tin Pot]

What goes through the mind of a driver when they see a cyclist?

Absolutely nothing.

And a few moments later... "The lunatic came out of nowhere!"

 

[claudbutler]

So what goes through a drivers mind ?The same as mine i would guess when im riding my bike, can i get through there? whats that bus doing? whats for tea tonight? wish it would stop raining, non of us are perfect riders or drivers we all just have to be careful and aware of our surroundings.

 

[boydj]

I was cycling along yesterday afternoon in daylight on a stretch of road that was narrower than standard width in both directions. A bus is approaching on the opposite side, and taking up almost all his side of the road as expected under the circumstance. Then, a pick up truck comes behinds me a squeezes past between me and the bus, forcing me in to the gutter and almost scraping my arm.

With all the cyclist there are, it makes me think that there must be hundreds of near miss incidents every week. Are these drivers a minority or is it actually more common than that?

You're just proving the point that the most important factor in safe cycling is the cyclist's position on the road. Leave just enough room to squeeze past and lots of drivers will do just that.

 

[HLaB]

What goes through their mind, nothing; that's the big problem they just don't think

 

[slowmotion]

They see a lightening rod. Many are not particularly bad people who have been conditioned to hate, they have been force-fed the notion of a scapegoat upon whom they can heap the blame for all sorts of things.

To be fair, you seem pretty keen to blame motorists for all sorts of things. Mote...beam??

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Yes, we need less of

and more of