Why do drivers hate cyclists?

[al-fresco]

I'm a driver and a cyclist, sometimes I hate myself...

 

[Red Light]

cyclist aren't the only one who get it in the neck, i drive a traction engine and we get so much abuse

You can add caravaners in there too. In fact anyone who either slows Mr Toad in his progress or gains an advantage on him in traffic.

 

[Wankelschrauben]

Cycling Scum

Ahaha, I read a few pages, soon they will meet Wankelschrauben, and soon they will rage.

 

[Jezston]

+1Go to just about any European country, France, Italy, Spain or Holland etc and its a completely different attitude, is it because they emphasise with cyclist more, as they are more likely to know somebody who cycles or cycle themself. Contrast that to the the not so good ol USA the hatred seems worse the UK, Portland exempted.

USA is far worse - standards of driving outside of concentrated urban areas are very poor due to long distances driven, cruise control, laws like jaywalking making the roads very much a car-only space and few controls on things like using mobile phones, drinking etc. Heard several stories of drivers that have just run straight into the back of people cycling or jogging along the side of the road and read myriad responses of "well what was he doing on the road anyway? How was the driver expected to see them?" as if they genuinely believe it's not the drivers responsibility to look out for unexpected things in front of them.

Australia is worse than the UK too with increasing restrictions on cycling like mandatory helmet use. A friend of mine works in Perth and tried commuting by bike for a while and gave up because of the relentless abuse he got from drivers.


Its weird though from the impression I get from older cyclists, i.e. those 60+ that attitudes towards cyclists were much more continental in the past.

 

[tyred]

Are French drivers really so well behaved around cyclists or is this a myth?

I have never been to France personally but the reason I ask is because I have a French friend who is perfectly happy to cycle in Ireland when she's here but says she refuses to cycle on the roads at home in France (Reims area) because French drivers are total maniacs. It's a very different opinion to the one I read here and elsewhere.

 

[WychwoodTrev]

British drivers seem to hate motorcyclist I have worked with atleast 3 who pull out to stop them filtering in trafic, yet in the rest of europe they seem to love bikers whether with a engine or not

 

[al-fresco]

Its weird though from the impression I get from older cyclists, i.e. those 60+ that attitudes towards cyclists were much more continental in the past.

Back then most drivers had ridden bikes before they got their first car, so they understood the vulnerability of a cyclist. And there was less traffic and less congestion.

To be honest I still meet with many more examples of unexpectedly courteous and patient drivers than I do with dickheads.

 

[Jezston]

Are French drivers really so well behaved around cyclists or is this a myth?

I have never been to France personally but the reason I ask is because I have a French friend who is perfectly happy to cycle in Ireland when she's here but says she refuses to cycle on the roads at home in France (Reims area) because French drivers are total maniacs. It's a very different opinion to the one I read here and elsewhere.

They are all total maniacs, but they don't hate cyclists.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

They are all total maniacs, but they don't hate cyclists.

Who was it who said "I'm not racist; I hate every F*ck3r"?

 

[Bicycle]

I've driven, cycled and ridden a motorcycle quite a lot in the UK, France and the Westen Balkans. My general impression is that drivers on the whole are thoughtful, courteous and polite towards cyclists. As bicycle-friendly environments I'd rate France above the UK and the UK above most of the W Balkans.

However, none provided an environment that would dissuade me from riding.

I wonder sometimes whether we might be looking for an idealised 'Mary Poppins' driver in every vehicle.

People have off days; we are all prone to lapses in concentration.

I can't help observing that the vast majority of other road users are thoroughly nice to me at all times, whatever means of transport I'm using.

Those who are (very) occasionally horrid are probably not so because they are in a car. They may just be horrid people.

I was riding in London with a friend a few days ago. He is a 'shouter' and took issue with quite a few pieces of poor driving. Although he enjoyed the ride, he got a bit hot and bothered at times. He was yelling the sort of helpful advice one sometimes hears in Helmetcammery footage.

Never further than 20 feet from him, I had a much lovelier ride. I was cut up a few times, but there was no constructive comment to be made. I said nothing and made no unhelpful hand signals.

Nothing my friend yelled at any of the malefactors is likely to have caused a sort of Damascene conversion in them. It is more likely to have made them cross and a little bit anti-cyclist.

He made a lot of noise and irritated more road users than the ones who had driven badly.

We are both drivers as well as cyclists. I had the nicer ride by far, but he probably felt a lot better for all his justified shouting and anger.

Car drivers are generally nice, thoughtful considerate people. As are most other road users.

Nobody hates anybody. I exclude the footballer Lee Bowyer from this essay. I suspect he may be prone to hatred.

 

[Mad at urage]

To be honest I still meet with many more examples of unexpectedly courteous and patient drivers than I do with dickheads.

This.

 

[cd365]

Car drivers do not hate cyclists. What some drivers don't like is being held up, especially if they are in a rush and perceive a cyclist as someone who will hold them up so just try to get past as quickly and as safely as they perceives it to be, but to a cyclist it wasn't safe, cyclist shouts, car driver shouts. You then get other drivers who are complete morons, they find it funny to drive past close, shout abuse, throw things etc. just because to them it is funny, not because of hate, they probably would do the same thing to an OAP ped.

I have a lot of very good overtakes but tend to only remember or comment on the bad ones. Yesterday I made a comment to afellow cyclist how on my previous evening's run out I was overtaken by quite a few vans and every overtake was a good one. Some WVM are less than considerate, but not that night, lsat night was a different matter!

 

[lulubel]

That is unfortunately an inevitable consequence of modern life and trying to (or being forced to) squeeze more and more things into the day. Time is valuable and so when someone gets held up, it can feel to them like a theft of their limited time.

And this, I think, is the answer to the question of why British drivers "hate" cyclists while other nationalities (such as French and Spanish) don't. Over here, people have a much more laid back attitude, and don't try to fit so much into their day. Everything still gets done eventually, but people very rarely get stressed over it.

That attitude translates to being OK with waiting in a queue for 15 minutes - or longer - and waiting patiently behind a cyclist until there's an opportunity to pass safely. Like in France, driving styles here are very "continental", and different to what those of us from the UK are used to. People are much less precious about their metal boxes here, and most cars have dents and scrapes from low speed knocks, but serious accidents don't seem to be any more common, and drivers are much more likely to be careful around vulnerable road users, and to be happy to take a bit of extra time.

My OH was riding in primary (almost on the white line) this morning to avoid the terrible surface at the side of the road, and a car first tried to squeeze down the wrong side to get past her, then the driver hurled abuse at her when she moved back over because the road surface improved, effectively closing the gap. The driver was British.

 

[Moodyman]

Having an impatient, inconsiderate driver behind you ain't nice, but being stuck behind a sanctimonious pedaller is equally as annoying.

I'm a driver and a cyclist. I'm considerate of both viewpoints and have never had run ins with drivers. Perhaps I cycle in a friendly area, perhaps I'm a friendly guy, or maybe a bit of both. Make your own mind up.

 

[The Dwaff Family]

Most we witness are jus too impatient and can't possibly wait for a safe place to overtake. Even when some idiot in a car saw my tiny son on the road it didn't stop him, over took soo closely to him and then had to pull right back in to avoid oncoming car. Was only my son's ability to react very fast and drop back that stopped an accident. It's a sad, sad world when someone can not even try to be a little more careful when seeing a tiny person.

But these drivers are the one's who are likely to drive up your backside, no use of indicator's, they're just an idiot to anyone else on the road regardless of whether be a cyclist, car, etc etc.