JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Insurance or not, if it is his/her fault he is liable - no insurance means it is his look out. If you have legal cover on your car insurance and get the details they will take said cyclist to the cleaners.

You can get liability insurance as a cyclist for a few quid a month - it all depends on how wreckless you are as to whether or not you feel the need, I don't!

davyboy

The point was they are on the road and don't pay tax.

urban

iTrader: (1)

Get over this tax thing davyboy.

Pedrestrians don't walk on the road - They use those things to walk on just like they're supposed to

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

I do follow the rules of the road on my bike and have still knocked off 3 times in the last 2 years. Whilst I will undertake stationary traffic, I only do it if no-one is signalling for a left turn and if people move over for me, otherwise I pull out and overtake the stationary traffic.

I also run, and it grips me when I have to run on the road to avoid cyclists. I hurl abuse at cyclists who flaunt the highway code and as far as police action goes - the Met are clamping down in London. I think that clamp down is well overdue and I welcome it.

I also want the police to clamp down on car drivers who overtake me and then immediately turn left requiring me to brake suddenly; car drivers who turn right across me requiring me to brake suddenly and finally cars who cross onto the opposite side of the road to avoid obstacles and don't respect my right of way causing me to brake suddenly, etc etc.

It is all about give and take and I can rant about car drivers as much as you can rant about cyclists, but I cover the same distance each year driving, cycling and running and it is all about mutual respect.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Parked cars certainly - all the time around here, and when you pull out to pass the parked car in the cycle lane you get abuse from a car driver

davyboy

Actually, it's YOU who needs to get over it. You are moaning about something we both have the right to do.

Pedestrians DO walk in the road. Either when walking without a pavement or when crossing.

Leslie

Whether it is within the law or not, do you ever consider someone else apart from yourself?

Les

davyboy

Stop being difficult Les. Why should I make it easier for the car driver to pass? Cycling 2 abreast makes things safer for me as a driver won't try and pass with a car coming the other way.

Why shouldn't I do something I'm allowed to do?

Is that hard to slow down for a while and wait for a safe place to pass a cyclist?

computerangel

What's greases my chain is that when a carriage way is say 1 and 1/2 lanes wide, then it narrows down to a single lane with a island, why do drivers insist on overtaking you?

They tend to take you with them, as the lorry did to me.........................good job i was insured. Good job that an off duty traffic was behind me and a trainee copper going the other way. The lorry driver buggered off, however a witness said that he came out of Tesco's. Copper went and got CCTV footage, got his numberplate and went and nicked him. Suffice to say as a self employed groundworker he suffered the consequences.

I was then insured with the CTC. Bike was repaired at a cost of £2k and a payout for all the broken bits on me.

Interesting the police asked me of i wanted to prosecute him or put him on a two week driver training course. Now the guy has a couple of young un's and the rozzers indicated that he could get a 3 - 6 month ban. So i chose the 2 week driving course as that meant he lost two weeks wages.

So please bear in mind that Cars, Vans, Lorries, Motorbikes, Horses, Cyclists and walkers all have to get along.

Also as i drive a STI JDM and do 50k a year in my job i see all sorts of driving, it's not all fun you now and no-one, including me, is perfect.

Thanks.

Torquemada

Not in Weybridge, it's well away from cars and suchlike, but some still insist on cycling on the road!

But I can imagine in some places the lanes are not as well planned out.

SiPie

All cyclists should try to drive their route and all drivers should cycle their route and then we'd have a chance to gain a bit of mutual respect.

98% of drivers are considerate to cyclists

30% of cyclists are considerate to drivers as they remember the 2% of drivers that tried to kill them the previous day.

100% of taxi drivers are inconsiderate selfish ?@#*£:&s

Everyone learn the rules of the feckin road, remember them, follow them and get on with showing decency to all road users.

Worth remembering that an arsehole on a bike is an arsehole on a bike and not necessarily a cyclist. You can spot the cyclists as they tend to follow the rules of the road and stop at lights etc
End

PS didn't bother reading the thread as all cycling threads go the same way

Torquemada

Yes, but we're not talking about YOU, are we Jon? We're talking about the majority of cyclists having no respect for most of the highway code.

Drivers who cut up cyclists aren't really the greatest of road users either but that wasn't where this thread was originally aimed as far as I could see.

My point was regarding you telling us that cyclists who break the highway code are penalised for doing so. That has got to be double rare!

Give and take yes, totally agree. If only the majority of cyclists would enter into this agreement it would be lovely.....

Torquemada

lol, spot on and totally true about it being the same as every other cycling thread!

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

It was all over the local news yesterday, the only controversial bit was the threat of a £60 fine for not wearing a cycle helmet. Whilst this is common sense I am not aware of this being law. But yes, for jumping red lights and a plethora of other offences cyclists in London will now be fined £60

Torquemada

In london. Wow, that's great.

At least something is being done somewhere then

wrx-ian

I still use the roads even if there is a cycle path, As i think if i`m doing 20-25mph i`m going to fast to use cycle path.

urban

iTrader: (1)

I always thought cycling 2 abreast was illegal/frowned upon by the law?

davyboy

Well the highway code says an overtaking car should give vuneranle road users the same amount of room as if they were overtaking a car. I don't often get that!

If riding 2 abreast stops cars squeezing through then job done. Most of these side by side riding takes place on quiet roads on Sunday mornings, so I'm not really causing a great hassle.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I cycle everyday, I bloody hate it, its awful but I do it just to get in the way of motorists during their very important journeys, I get to wave my big fat Lycra clad **** at them as they sit there in their 100 mph, air conditioned boxes with the radio on, I have to get in the way as nothing else ever gets in their way does it, they never end up stopped behind other cars do they in big queues. So that 5/10 second delay I cause before they decide to skim me in their excited frenzy to sit behind their desk on the way in to be home for Egg and chips whilst watching And and Dec must be terrible for them.

I ride a about two whole feet away from the side of the road, I say side but its never a defined edge, just a huge mess off Pot Holes, Roadkill, Dog ****, Glass and bits of broken car but obviously I would rather ride further out but I just love the possibility of sliding off or going over the handlebars, the smooth bit in the middle is boring but occasionally I decide to really annoy them when I selfishly and with malice of forethought foolishy in my helmet addled brain want to make a RIGHT turn, feel free to go past anyway on the right when my arm is outstretched, thats me saying after you Mr Audi 2.0 S-line or why not just hoof it up the inside !

So, I cycle just to stick it to the man, those car driving demons, you wouldnt catch me owning three of those things and paying several hundred pounds in "Road Tax", no sir, us cyclists choose to use the roads like gatecrashers at the motorists ball, 215 quid for a ticket and we sneak in for free and eat all the Sausages on Sticks, ok we dont pay but I suppose we are only allowed on 2 ft on the left of roads we are tolerated on, some are death on a stick and some we just arent allowed on so potentially we would only pay for what we use. I suspect we cause a lot of damage, I myself am sixteen stone which is the same as luxury car and my emissions are frankly, evil and quite frequent, I emit Co2 like cars do, but no more than the driver of the car, its based on emissions so dont hate the player hate the gain, I would pay a nominal sum just to shut non cyclists up.

Threads like this just confirm that my work is appreciated !

dpb

Sustrans/every other cyclepath has been the cyclists worst best friend imo

r32

Sorry but you sound like a right ****!

So do you rank yourself against other road users who pay significantly more, likes vans, HGV's and cars with big emissions and move out of their way as they obviously have priority over you?

RuskyV

Cyclists get on my nerves at times but its usually caused buy other road users not planning far enough ahead, then slowing right down to a crawl and then having to follow the bicycle down the road before deciding weather its a good idea to overtake... if they looked past the cyclist and onto the other side of the road where they could judge the oncoming traffic and make the call further down the road as to weather they can actually overtake then there would be no hold ups,

I find this nearly always happens with people who drive the smallest cars ironically....

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, I find that, the dither for ages and then go at the most innapropriate moment nearly hitting the car coming the other way.

Lisawrx

iTrader: (1)

Here we go again...

Personally I think if everyone one the roads, pavements and so on could just show a bit more respect towards each other everyone would be happier.

This arguement will just go around in circles, but look at the other thread about being in the outside lane and you see motorists getting annoyed about other motorists, so it's not a matter of all cyclists being ***** and drivers being all wonderful, it ultimately comes down to the person/people concerned as people and their attitude regardless of mode of transport.


I'm either a pedestrian or a passenger, and some of what I see is shocking and displays a huge lack of consideration, respect or concentration at times. I honestly think regardless of how people choose to get from A to B, if they just took a step back and considered each other and that we are all trying to get somewhere instead of putting themselves first, we'd probably all get there a bit faster and more safely.

Alot of problems (not just on the roads) are simply caused by selfishness.

RuskyV

I agree with that statement all the way.

SiPie

Spot on Lisa

Lisawrx

iTrader: (1)

Aww, thanks guys.

I might just have said something sensible for once.

Leslie

If you read your post with an open mind, you might even realise how selfish your attitude actually is.

In this part of the country where we have somewhat narrower roads in places, car drivers will always slow down if there is a single cyclist or a horse or whatever. No one would think twice about doing that. By the same token, cyclists will also ride single file to avoid causing an unecessary obstruction. It really is just a matter of thinking about someone else for once. Your attitude as you relate it is unfair to others, and your reasoning for doing it also.

Why do you avoid riding side by side on an A class road, what is the difference in this case?

Its like everything else really, if you act in a reasonable manner towards people you will find that others act in the same way towards you, if you don't it very soon escalates into an impossible situation.

Les

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

No you didn't someone's hacked your account again


I do 'love' reading these threads - as said above: they all go the same way. The usual bigoted, ill-informed and inaccurate claptrap.

Just for the record:

There is no road tax. There has been no road tax since 1937. The road tax does not exist.
The roads are maintained from general and local taxation. Any adult cyclist is paying to maintain the roads just like any other adult is.
The BBC article about fining people for not wearing a helmet is utterly, utterly inaccurate. My God. The BBC getting a basic fact wrong. Who would've though.
Cyclists ARE allowed to undertake. The highway code specifically warns drivers to look for them. It's not always sensible and frankly in some cases suicidal: there have been way too many deaths from inexperienced cyclists being killed from under-taking a vehicle, but they are allowed to.
Cycle paths are a bloody nightmare. They entrench the idea (as evidenced here) that bikes should not be on the main road. This is patently absurd. They are poorly planned, poorly maintained, full of detritus (which cause punctures and injuries) and shared by pedestrians; who are even more vulnerable than the cyclist.
The recommendation is that if you are going to be exceeding 18mph (30kph) you should not use the cyclepath as you are going too fast anyway. I ain't the fastest on a bike but I exceed 18mph without trying on EVERY cycle commute into work.

The bottom line is quite simple. We are all human beings on the road and all deserve basic common courtesy. Cars / lorres / buses kill cyclists. We are extremely vulnerable on the roads.
Cyclists should also show courtesy and respect everyone else on the road - obey the law (I fecking HATE RLJ's!) and stop being flaming holier than thou when acting like a complete tosser.

Oh yeah and everyone: There is no road tax.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

I'm with Les on this one: it simply comes down to common courtesy. Okay, so it's nice to be able to natter to your mate, but you inconvenience every person you come across on the road...