Beeping advice for motorists.

[Cab]

I fairly certain that cabs honk was something along these lines

Not so far off, except that this was a long, straight, narrow road. Mill Road, for those who know Cambridge. So even if you pass a bike there it won't do you any good, you'll be stuck at the lights in a moment, or at a zebra crossing, or behind a delivery van or another set of lights, etc. No point at all.

The guy was too close behind, I was in primary, I was passing other bikes in sub-secondary (i.e. any closer to the kerb and their pedal would be scraping). I was going as fast as was appropriate for the conditions, any faster and the assorted pedestrians and cars coming out from side roads would have been too hard to judge. Guy behind in his car wanted past, for no gain.

 

[col]

I would pull over and stop,so a faster vehicle can make progress,or move to secondary so it can pass when oncoming traffic allow.I also thought ,that purposely delaying or slowing faster vehicles wasnt allowed?

The horn is a device for warning others of your presence,i dont see a problem with a little toot,if a cyclist is in primary while your behind.

 

[John Ponting]

If there is a car behind a cyclist, then unless the cyclist has earplugs in and music turned up full, or is actually deaf, the cyclist knows that the car is there.

I agreed completely with you on impatient road users but you really are burying your head in the sand if you believe that others know what you are thinking. Most of them don't even know what they themselves are thinking.

However, it is never black and white. If I can move inwards a bit to allow faster traffic to pass without endangering or inveniencing me then I will. It's worked for the past 50 years or so, since I was first allowed out on my own.

 

[John Ponting]

I would pull over and stop,so a faster vehicle can make progress,or move to secondary so it can pass when oncoming traffic allow.I also thought ,that purposely delaying or slowing faster vehicles wasnt allowed?

The horn is a device for warning others of your presence,i dont see a problem with a little toot,if a cyclist is in primary while your behind.

As you say col, that is the only purpose for a horn in any vehicle - to warn of your presence. It is not for 'get out of my way' or any outher purpose.

 

[Cab]

I would pull over and stop,so a faster vehicle can make progress,or move to secondary so it can pass when oncoming traffic allow.I also thought ,that purposely delaying or slowing faster vehicles wasnt allowed?

As soon as it is safe to allow the vehicle behind to pass, you should of course do so. If theres someone motoring right up behind you and sounding his horn, you've got less time and space to let them pass you, you can easily end up going past gaps you'd feel safe letting a more patient road user pass at.

The horn is a device for warning others of your presence,i dont see a problem with a little toot,if a cyclist is in primary while your behind.

The cyclist in front knows you're there. If you're stuck behind him for a long time and its apparent he doesn't know you're there, especially if theres a big advantage to going past, you have a point. If you're on a busy road with little avantage to overtaking, and if there just isn't room for him to move aside and let you pass, then you should definitely not sound your horn.

 

[Cab]

I agreed completely with you on impatient road users but you really are burying your head in the sand if you believe that others know what you are thinking. Most of them don't even know what they themselves are thinking.

However, it is never black and white. If I can move inwards a bit to allow faster traffic to pass without endangering or inveniencing me then I will. It's worked for the past 50 years or so, since I was first allowed out on my own.

Absolutely, if I can move in to allow someone to pass safely I'll do so. Only polite. I'll usually try to make eye contact with the person behind when theres a gap in front, then move aside to let them go. I like to communicate 'its safe to let you pass, I'm letting you pass'.

But if it ain't safe to pass, it really is black and white; you can lean on your horn all you like, I ain't moving aside if doing so would be unsafe.

As for whether or not the other road user knows what I'm thinking, its not really relevant. I don't choose to move aside to a position where he could only pass me dangerously then tough luck - if he hasn't got enough understanding on what is a safe overtaking distance then all the more reason for me to be out in the middle and not move over.

 

[HJ]

I can remember seeing a bumper sticker when I was traveling in Africa which read No need to honk, I can smell that you are there...

 

[ejls2]

I'm with Cab on this one. Mill Road is evil. Mill Road in in rush hour is hell on earth! A single, narrow lane in each direction, lots of traffic (inc lots of very slow bikes), narrow pavements and lots of busy and popular shops => not a good place to be!

If you pull in, you'll never get back out again and traffic never moves faster than 15-20mph so your best bet is to stick in primary.

Oh yeah, the weirdness of people in Cambridge bit is right too!

 

[col]

As you say col, that is the only purpose for a horn in any vehicle - to warn of your presence. It is not for 'get out of my way' or any outher purpose.

I doubt all cyclists will know there is a vehicle behind them all the time,so its aceptable to let them know your there.I dont have a horn that says "get out of the way" when i sound it.

 

[John Ponting]

I think it's almost never necessary or even good driving to beep a cyclist. They almost certainly already know you're there because they can hear much better than you can. Often even with earphones in.

Tie it to the hitching rail and try again - I'm a US not a YOU. And it is ALWAYS good road usage to let somebody know where you are - if you think there is any doubt.

If somebody beeps at me then I acknowledge them. If they blast at me then I acknowledge them vehemently. I know where they are and they know where I am.

 

[John Ponting]

Doesn't happen, I assure you. You simply don't have to embellish posts about the wierdness of people in Cambridge.

cab

I've never cycled in Cambridge but have done in North London and (occaisionally) around Marble Arch and Hyde Park area. Time I paid Cambridge a visit perhaps? May have to be on a Sunday for the next few months so I probably won't meet your fellow 'wierd' commuters.

I've said before cab - you were there and I wasn't. But it is supposed to be a discussion forum.

 

[Cab]

If somebody beeps at me then I acknowledge them. If they blast at me then I acknowledge them vehemently. I know where they are and they know where I am.

It is more or less unthinkable that a cyclist not know that theres a car behind; if you've been behind a bike and gone past several good passing places then maybe, otherwise assuming that the cyclist needs alerting to the presence of a car by sounding a horn from behind is completely inexcusable.

 

[BentMikey]

There's no need to misinterpret a generic "you" as a specific one.

 

[Cab]

cab

I've never cycled in Cambridge but have done in North London and (occaisionally) around Marble Arch and Hyde Park area. Time I paid Cambridge a visit perhaps? May have to be on a Sunday for the next few months so I probably won't meet your fellow 'wierd' commuters.

Week days are better for wierdos.

 

[Cab]

There's no need to misinterpret a generic "you" as a specific one.

I had assumed that the entire discussion was generic.