Latest Moan From You and Me 2024

They're not in the minority around here, and they should have more consideration for people who are unable to use bikes ... many people are elderly or unwell or disabled and therefore have to rely on a car, they have no option, but most of the cyclists I've encountered seem to think they own the world

 

Poor motorists. We get such the rough end of the stick. I mean we only get about 90% of the total width of the highway.

As you know all your local cyclists and have clearly had one to one discussions with them all to understand their point of view, this isn't aimed at you. But for others that might be reading this, and might have jumped to their own conclusions without ever having had a genuine open-minded discussion, I'm going to throw an idea out there for consideration. I'm not saying it's right, just that it's to be considered. Here goes.

What if, the cyclists, knowing that many drivers hate them for no other reason than that they've judged them as inferior, decide they are going to exercise their rights regardless of what others think? What if, after umpteen close passes, having been yelled at and in some cases threatened, what if after all that they have naturally started to get a little bit defensive? And what if sometimes that defensive attitude sometimes, in the minds of people that have already decided what their attitude is, presents itself as a bad attitude?

Just a few things to consider.

Final thought. I'm sure there's at least one cyclist somewhere that would like to take away our driving privileges. But in general terms, cyclists don't have any interest in stopping you or me or anyone else from driving our cars. They'd just prefer it if we considered them as human beings while doing so.

 

I passed my driving test in 2002 when we moved to a house and office with no public transport connections. I don't remember anyone ever mentioning cyclists during lessons or the test.

Since then, road users have changed in both numbers and complexity and the driving test system has changed to include a written section asw ell as proving one can manage a metal box on wheels.

Having spent most of my driving life in Belgium and France I am well used to the phenomenon of individual cyclists as well as pelletons of riding clubs on outings or doing road races so am used to giving them space, just as I do for horses and pedestrians and even motorbikes, bendy buses and trucks transporting holiday cabins and even catamarans as "convois exceptionnels" on narrow country roads.

It's really not difficult to be courteous or even just sensible in the face of other road users.

 

My bit of iuput is, would you keep your driving licence for very long if you drove every day in the manner that around 50% of cyclists do, that is on the footpath one minute and then dropping back down into the road the next, without even a backward glance.

The other good one is either totally ignoring traffic lights if nothing is coming or mounting the pavement, negotiating the pedestrian crossing and then coming back onto the road, thereby avoiding the traffic lights.

I see that happen most times I'm out, but not seen a vehicle driver do it once yet.

They seem to think they are halfway between a pedestrian and a car, but it changes from minute to minute and everyone else is expected to look out for them.

The local park has a 9mph speed limit, but although the sign says it applies to bikes none of them stick to it.
Any cars that enter the park are restricted by speed humps, but they leave gaps in them for speeding bikes.

All I want is a level playing field, just taken out my new dog insurance and it covers 2 million for third party accidents my dog might cause.
Its about time cyclists got insurance.

 

The overwhelming evidence would seem to suggest that yes, you can drive your car pretty much however and wherever you like, including on pavements, without losing your licence.

 

I dont think so,
Parking on the pavement, yes I agree is wrong, but as to going around traffic lights by going on the pavement and then going back into the flow of traffic is not something a car driver would get away with for very long.

 

Those that use the argument that are least drivers have passed a test. I've already explained my counter to that. No need to do so again. My text is still there.

There's a lot of generalisation there.

I guess so. But it's in the text I was replying to.

Let's not kid ourselves. This isn't Facebook. We're all fairly intelligent here. It's not about reckless endangerment of road users in general. If it was about that that most of the criticism would be directed at several posters who have publicly demonstrated their lack of knowledge or total disregard of the rules of the road. This is about categorising anyone who ever uses a bike as a 'cyclist' for the sole purpose of pouring hate and prejudice.

We can agree on that point. Did you know that lots of cyclists have actually got such insurance and/or have completed formal training? Not all of course, but that doesn't matter, because to some, all cyclists are the same. Did you know that some drivers don't have a licence or insurance?

 

If there were more bike tracks then the confrontation wouldn't exist.
Bikes need their own space on modern roads, but we cant even fix potholes let alone build modern roads, probably lorry drivers hate car drivers and motor cyclists are fairly critical of other traffic.
Its an age old problem, and its getting worse as the roads get more overcrowded.

 

On another matter ... that's my TV switched off till 5 July!

 

Quite ! ... not that I switch it on much anyway

 

The problem I have with cyclists are the few who, despite Cycle tracks installed at great cost, refuse to use them and instead prefer to put themselves, and possibly others, at risk on busy roads with lots of "heavy traffc".
I used to cycle but unable to nowadays so wouldn't decry those who do. Much the same as motorists, there are good and bad/dangerous ones.
I could be wrong but I find it surprising that cyclists, as road users, are still not liable to pay a road tax ( ? ) It would seem only fair given the state of our roads these days. What's that slogan........Every Little Helps