What's the point of "behaving"? We still won't be seen in a better light

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All this "don't RLJ, don't do this, don't do that..motorists will respect cyclists"

Is there really a point? We wil ALWAYS be in the wrong.


Primary position, approaching a junction (only a few yards from it), car overtakes on the right hand side of the road with no time to pull back in without barging me out of the way, so does just that, flicks an indicator on then swings left and turns left.

Loud "OI" and I see and take a chance to put myself across the road and block to have a word, since the turn is tight the car had to slow RIGHT down.

"I indicated" was the indignant response

then

"You shouldn't have been up my inside"

So there you have it. By riding in the middle of the lane being in front of a car I still managed to undertake the car and be in the wrong.


Same journey this morning I "behaved myself" and waited at a clear toucan until the cycle lights were green.

To the left is the exit of a road with a "no right turn".

As I set off across the toucan, crossed the centre reservation and suddenly there is an impatient car blasting horn at me for crossing in front of him - I doubt he could see his red light as it's not positioned for illegal right-turners to see anyway.

If I'd not waited and gone across on red when there was no traffic at all, that would have been one altercation less.

No, I'm not about to start riding courier-style as some kind of "revenge" but sometimes you can do everything "right" and still end up being the devil in the blinkered eyes of the average motorist
 

karan733

New Member
Same as any walk of life though surely? An arse is an arse whatever the circumstances. Even when I drive, I treat every other motorist as a lunatic ready to kill me without looking/thinking. I feel I should have the same attitude when on a bike as well.

Still sucks though :laugh:
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
karan733 said:
Same as any walk of life though surely? An arse is an arse whatever the circumstances. Even when I drive, I treat every other motorist as a lunatic ready to kill me without looking/thinking. I feel I should have the same attitude when on a bike as well.

Still sucks though :laugh:

But is that really the right way ?
Personally, i assume most drivers will respect my space (and generally they do)...but always being acutely aware there will be the occasional prat.
Unfortunately, its the occasional prats you meet that you remember. It can easily taint your view of motorists.
Just my view on things :laugh:

Look at it another way....on my ride, lets say 500 cars may pass me. Perhaps..perhaps one or two may cause me a problem. Its a very small percentage...which tells me most drivers are not lunatics.

Op is right of course...sometimes you cant win. I dont let it bother me. Its a small minority that behave that way.
 

karan733

New Member
gbb said:
But is that really the right way ?
Personally, i assume most drivers will respect my space (and generally they do)...but always being acutely aware there will be the occasional prat.
Unfortunately, its the occasional prats you meet that you remember. It can easily taint your view of motorists.
Just my view on things :tongue:

Look at it another way....on my ride, lets say 500 cars may pass me. Perhaps..perhaps one or two may cause me a problem. Its a very small percentage...which tells me most drivers are not lunatics.

Op is right of course...sometimes you cant win. I dont let it bother me. Its a small minority that behave that way.


I suppose I am trying to say I err on the side of caution. Id rather think everyone was going to move into me without looking, than be unaware when it actually does happen. But of course it doesnt matter if im in a car or on my bike, I take the same approach at all times :smile:
 
OP
OP
Sheffield_Tiger
Oh bloody hell - it's just "one of those days" today!

Just been out in the white van (!) on a work errand, coming back, one way street, 2 lanes, approaching the lights in the outside lane, suddenly a BMW swings around the hard 90 degree kerb and ends up facing me, waving his hands around like a loon for driving on the "wrong side of the road"

Guess it's not the bike - it's just a day for it whatever my mode of transport
 

Kestevan

Last of the Summer Winos
Location
Holmfirth.
I've drummed into both of my kids that all road users are blind idiots who want to kill you.

I always ride, drive and walk with that attitude. In 99.99% of cases it's overly cautious and cynical. But it only takes 1 driver to screw up and you're dead or injured.
 
It's not going to change me whatever way those idiots behave out there.
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
Two wrongs do not make a right. It is hard being the under dogs, but that is just way things are. What we really need is a zero tolerance of bad behaviour on the roads, will we ever get it? How knows, but a change in the law to one of "Strict Liability" would be a good start.
 

Dan B

Disengaged member
Kestevan said:
I've drummed into both of my kids that all road users are blind idiots who want to kill you.
Not really wishing to start a fight, because I understand your point of view, but I wonder if this and similar teachings are the cause of the belief in 90% of drivers that they are above-average. If all road users other than me are blind idiots, naturally I must be better than them
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
coruskate said:
Not really wishing to start a fight, because I understand your point of view, but I wonder if this and similar teachings are the cause of the belief in 90% of drivers that they are above-average. If all road users other than me are blind idiots, naturally I must be better than them

I'd say the basis of much of this is simply that we're never retested so people can make as silly statements as they like without ever modifying them until around the age of 70 where the state says oi you've got to renew it every 3 years now. Add in to that that the average motorist is never ever likely to get told that they weren't supposed to jump that light or it was unsafe to do so there and the cult of ego starts to build. Add in a society and friends all behaving in a similar way and it gets reinforced.
 

JamesAC

Senior Member
Location
London
On my regular commute to work I found it was a matter of training. Me training the motorists on my route, that is! The first few weeks were quite hard going. But over the months (and years) I found that I would see the same other motorists (bus drivers, WVM, commuters and so on) and they would (often) see me, and know why I was in primary position at that particular point and so on. One or twice I had a word (and I mean just that) with one or two really crap drivers, and reaped excellent results - to the extent that previous crap drivers would subsequently overtake me with care and consideration, and a "toot toot" and a wave.

Of course, there was still the odd lunatic around.

As to the OP: two wrongs don't make a right. If everyone breaks the rules, it's anarchy .. and the most vulnerable will suffer most.
 

Kestevan

Last of the Summer Winos
Location
Holmfirth.
Not really wishing to start a fight, because I understand your point of view, but I wonder if this and similar teachings are the cause of the belief in 90% of drivers that they are above-average. If all road users other than me are blind idiots, naturally I must be better than them
__________________

I'm not claiming to be better than anyone :evil: I make mistakes when driving and cycling just like all other people, and that's exactly my point. If everyone expects all other road users to something stupid at any time then there's a good chance that when it happens no-one gets squished.

I'd much rather teach my kids to take more responsibility for their own road safety, rather than relying on the skills/awareness/sobriety of someone in 2 tonnes of metal and glass.
 
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