7 cyclist....3 wide no wonder we are hated.

[snorri]

BUT, cyclists say "Give as much room to overtake a cyclist as a car, use the next lane'. But with a car you're actually only giving it maybe 3 or 4ft of space in the next lane due to it's width.

It's actually the Highway Code that says 'Give cyclists as much room as.....' but this wording has been criticised for lack of clarity for some time for just the reasons you state. We are ever hopeful that the next HC revision will be an improvement.

 

[mjr]

Some choose not to do so and annoy motorists who then hold a minor grudge against all cyclists, either justifiably or not.

Why pretend that this doesn't happen?

Why are you pretending that's why some bad motorists abuse cyclists, instead of the simpler explanation that they're just not nice people and go into a frothy Clarkson at the mere sight of two wheeled road users, the same people who try to block motorcycles from filtering?

 

[slowmotion]

Why are you pretending that's why some bad motorists abuse cyclists, instead of the simpler explanation that they're just not nice people and go into a frothy Clarkson at the mere sight of two wheeled road users, the same people who try to block motorcycles from filtering?

I said "either justifiably or not".
It happens. Recognise that fact. It won't do any harm.

 

[Tin Pot]

I give up!!! 3 wide on a standard road is a piss take and thats my view...if you think different thats fine.

Good. Give up. Go away.

 

[ufkacbln]

A tractor is unable to modify its shape or size on the road. A group of cyclists are able to do this if it is safe and not inconvenient for them to do so to accommodate other road users. Some choose not to do so and annoy motorists who then hold a minor grudge against all cyclists, either justifiably or not.

Why pretend that this doesn't happen? We all suffer the consequences.

Who is?

You are aware that single file cyclists are also unacceptable in most of these cases

The point that is in denial is that the majority of those who rant about it will hypocritically accept a similar delay from other sources.

It is the driver attitude that is often the issue

 

[Markymark]

I raised an opinion which has raised quite a hefty discussion.
I will not be called just because my opinion is different than yours.
I am old school and i really do wish this discussion was made in person without the power of internet and computer screens....oh i wish

No. The grown ups came along and the discussion started by people who managed to explain their views. Something in 10 pages you still didn't manage to do.

 

[DRHysted]

If it stopped this

View: https://vimeo.com/161510668

Then I can easily understand why they'd ride like that.

 

[Bollo]

Do you know who really pishes me off. Right turners. Selfish feckers. I must have lost several minutes this week waiting for people who just must turn right without any consideration for others. What so good that's on the right only? Can't they find what they need on the left. I blame the EU.

 

[hatler]

It's actually the Highway Code that says 'Give cyclists as much room as.....' but this wording has been criticised for lack of clarity for some time for just the reasons you state. We are ever hopeful that the next HC revision will be an improvement.

Yes. Badly worded in the HC but the clarification is provided by the picture accompanying the rule. The clear intent of the wording and the picture combined is that an overtaking driver should pass a cyclist as though the cyclist were occupying as much space as a car. I struggle to understand why this is such a difficult concept for people, especially cyclists, to take onboard.

 

[RichK]

Yesterday I was travelling through Surrey, and there was a tractor.... far wider than three cyclist

Should I hate Tractors

...

A couple of years back, I was on holiday in Devon. The local radio phone in was about farmers in tractors "holding up traffic." It was the same debate as the cyclist one we're all used to & yes people were calling in with suggestions like "they should only be allowed out at night because they hold me up" etc etc

 

[nickyboy]

I really try to avoid threads like this as it seems my opinion is not in the majority. But I'm drawn inexorably like a moth to a flame......

FWIW, here's what I think. Forget about what the Highway Code says for a minute, I'm just considering the reality of how car drivers drive.

When I'm cycling along on my own I get passed by cars. Practically none of them overtake me in the way they would another car. What they actually do is give me (in my opinion) enough room and that leads to them straddling the white line a bit. Some more than others. I'm happy with that, doesn't feel too close to me. Presumably they feel happy with that too. What this does do on quite a lot of roads is still give enough room for a car coming the other way at the same time.

Now of course some folk will say that's not safe. But that's the reality. When I'm driving I see this all the time; car coming the other way overtakes cyclist, straddling the white line. I see him and make sure he and I have enough room to continue driving safely.

Fast forward to three abreast. The driver wanting to overtake can't do the above. By overtaking he feels that he has compromised the space on the other side of the road to the extent that a car coming the other way hasn't got enough space. So he doesn't overtake

Of course I understand the argument that a car driver should give as much room to a cyclist in overtaking as they would any other vehicle. But that just isn't the reality and that's from where this difference of opinion is derived

 

[nickyboy]

This is all about an expectation, which then rapidly gets translated into a right, that nothing should hold people up when they are in a car.

As a cyclist I just try to rub along with other road users as much as possible. My general premise is that slower "occupiers of the highway" should try to let faster ones pass. No problem if others don't agree with this, it's just the way I ride

 

[ChrisV]

I agree with @nickyboy. I can understand why drivers would get annoyed with 3 abreast. I don't get the need for it but then I've never rode in a big group.

Also, watching that clip, most cyclists being overtaken closely seem to have incredibly high pitched voices!

 

[Markymark]

As a cyclist I just try to rub along with other road users as much as possible. My general premise is that slower "occupiers of the highway" should try to let faster ones pass. No problem if others don't agree with this, it's just the way I ride

I always let faster road users pass. But only once I've made my safety the priority.

 

[nickyboy]

I always let faster road users pass. But only once I've made my safety the priority.

As I mentioned, an overtake when I'm cycling on my own where the driver straddles the white line is fine from a safety perspective in my view. As such, three abreast seems over the top and unnecessarily assertive

I suspect a lot of this difference of opinion stems from the type of cycling one does. I dare say urban commuting is quite fraught at times and being assertive is the way to stay safe. Viewing this situation through the lens of this experience leads to the opinion that what they did was fine. I cycle in the main on country roads out of rush hour. No need to be assertive and as such I struggle to come to terms with things like riding tree abreast