Cycling campaigners welcome 'close pass' ruling

As a driver and cyclist I see both sides of the coin. I get far more iconsiderate and occasionally dangerous incidents from motorists when on my bike than I do from cyclists when I'm driving. A lot of it seems to come down to motorists using the knowledge that they are safe in their metal box and using it's size and accelartion to bully vulnerable cyclists.

A week ago I had some dumb bint in a car pass me on my bike from behind, then suddenly cut in, in front of me because she wanted to turn left into a narrow road. She couldn't wait behind me for a few secs for me to pass the turning so she could turn left into it. Unfortunately for her, as she cut in and tried to turn left into the narrow road right in front of me, there was a car coming out so she had to slam on her brakes in front of me as she couldn't enter the turning. I just manged to avoid running into the moron by braking very hard. She received a boot to her back door and I fired a few expletives into her.

Incidents like this are common for me when cycling, but not when driving. It's so common to get cut up, forced to give way when it's my right of way, passed dangerously close, tailed a few feet from behind, etc, etc that you're expecting it to happen every time you go out. Any motorists who think all vulnerable cyclists go about with a kamikaze attitude and all motorists are paragons of virtue are deluded and have not been on a bike for a very long time, if ever.
 
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Munroist said:
yes it is about time they lowered urban speed limits to 20mph. we now have such a thing here, everything that was 30 was reduced to 20, it seemed a bit slow at first but now just feels so much more sensible, when I go down into england now 30 just seems stupidly fast.
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why not 10mph or even 5?

If you are coming up on a cyclist who is coming up on a parked car, it doesn't take mastermind to work out that he has to either move out or ride in to the back of the parked car. The slower we drive, the less cognitive load, the more likely we are to be switched off at the wheel.
 
motorbiking said:
why not 10mph or even 5?
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Travelling regularly from Slough to St Albans the highest average speed for the journey I could achieve was 32mph, when working in London, St Johns Wood, highest average speed I could achieve was 11 mph.
 
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motorbiking said:
If you are coming up on a cyclist who is coming up on a parked car, it doesn't take mastermind to work out that he has to either move out or ride in to the back of the parked car. The slower we drive, the less cognitive load, the more likely we are to be switched off at the wheel.
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What I notice on the road is that few drivers (and riders) fail miserably to see well ahead and plan adequately, everything takes them by surprise at the last second.
 
ReganAndCarter said:
A week ago I had some dumb bint in a car pass me on my bike from behind, then suddenly cut in, in front of me because she wanted to turn left into a narrow road. She couldn't wait behind me for a few secs for me to pass the turning so she could turn left into it. Unfortunately for her, as she cut in and tried to turn left into the narrow road right in front of me, there was a car coming out so she had to slam on her brakes in front of me as she couldn't enter the turning. I just manged to avoid running into the moron by braking very hard. She received a boot to her back door and a mouthfull
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I had very similar this week too.

Silly cow overtook me on a thirty urban road, then pulled right back in front of me and slammed on the anchors (so that she could make the right turn she wanted to).
Except she couldn't make the turn because there was an obvious and easily - visible stream of cars coming towards us.


To be honest, this sort of thing happens frequently, and just demonstrates driver impatience, lack of observation, and lack of hazard awareness.
 
Brigadier said:
I had very similar this week too.

Silly cow overtook me on a thirty urban road, then pulled right back in front of me and slammed on the anchors (so that she could make the right turn she wanted to).
Except she couldn't make the turn because there was an obvious and easily - visible stream of cars coming towards us.


To be honest, this sort of thing happens frequently, and just demonstrates driver impatience, lack of observation, and lack of hazard awareness.
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Yes, these idiots just can't wait a few seconds. The thing about me saying I have far more negative experiences on my bike than I do from other drivers when driving is particularly worrying because I only spend 10% of my time on the road cycling, compared to 90% driving.

Be careful out there! (y)
 
ReganAndCarter said:
Yes, these idiots just can't wait a few seconds.
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That's the worst bit : I didn't hold her up at all, it was her that held me up!
If she'd opened her eyes or had a brain, she'd have realised that the oncoming cars would stop her turning right for a while, regardless of anything else.
All she did was plonk herself in front of me, stopping my progress , and she still couldn't go anywhere.
 
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Brigadier said:
That's the worst bit : I didn't hold her up at all, it was her that held me up!
If she'd opened her eyes or had a brain, she'd have realised that the oncoming cares would stop her turning right for a while, regardless of anything else.
All she did was plonk herself in front of me, stopping my progress , and she still couldn't go anywhere.
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Women drivers, no survivors! :rolleyes:
 
Munroist said:
yes it is about time they lowered urban speed limits to 20mph. we now have such a thing here, everything that was 30 was reduced to 20, it seemed a bit slow at first but now just feels so much more sensible, when I go down into england now 30 just seems stupidly fast.
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It has been 20mph for several years now, throughout the (extensive) village. There seems to be a split between the drivers who following the limit and those who think - might as well get done for 40 as 30mph - including buses. I have three speedos, two spot on and I can easily hold 20mph when in the restricted zones, it is rediculous how many drivers think it is absolutely fine to risk overtaking on narrow estate roads.
 
diy_fun_uk said:
To be fair, it's not got anything to do with feeling important. I assert it's a relatively normal human reaction to be frustrated (to whatever degree) if you're being delayed. In my earlier post I suggested trundling along at 35-40 is fine, whereas 20-25 can be frustrating. I'm sure some cyclists would be frustrated if stuck behind a slow moving vehicle doing 5-10 mph for a few miles with no opportunity to overtake ;)
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Nothing rational or normal about some car drivers who will not even tolerate 1second delay and would rather place a cyclist in a very dangerous place rather than touch the brakes
 
durhamplumber said:
Nothing rational or normal about some car drivers who will not even tolerate 1second delay and would rather place a cyclist in a very dangerous place rather than touch the brakes
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That is very true of so many drivers today, sadly they do not even value their own self or the risks the take on the road. It's a complete reversal of what it was just 50 years ago. Back then if you were stopped at the side of the road with the bonnet up, or similar, you wouldn't be there long, before someone stopped to offer you help. That has mostly long gone, everyone drives past - except I stopped at the roadside around 10 years ago for a leg stretch on my VFR750. I had only been stopped a couple of minutes when another biker, a female stopped to ask if I was stuck. It kind of retores your faith :)
 
Munroist said:
yes it is about time they lowered urban speed limits to 20mph. we now have such a thing here, everything that was 30 was reduced to 20, it seemed a bit slow at first but now just feels so much more sensible, when I go down into england now 30 just seems stupidly fast.
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I think it'll increasingly go this way e.g. much of Edinburgh is now 20 zones. The issue I have is, in some cases, where they're applied. e.g. you suggest urban areas should be 20 zones, however for me it depends how 'urban' is being defined. In my town, there are streets currently 30 that I can see logic reducing to 20. Equally, there are other streets that are more open, less built-up that 30 still seems perfectly reasonable for. It's the idea of an almost blanket 20 that concerns me. However as per earlier posts, this simply forms part of a wider agenda/strategy to change the manner in which we move ourselves around.
 
Ye , went through Fleetwood the other day, and there were plenty of twenties which really have no need to be.
 
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