LCpl Boiled Egg
Three word soundbite
She's not a cyclist if she doesn't understand what she did wrong. You would have only have had to wobble at the wrong time and that would have been it. Please report her before she hits someone else.
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She's not a cyclist if she doesn't understand what she did wrong. You would have only have had to wobble at the wrong time and that would have been it. Please report her before she hits someone else.
It was absolutely unnecessary - for the sake of lifting off for a second or two the 4x4 could have been past.
Up here in the frozen north I fairly regularly drive and ride on single-track roads. They have passing places at regular intervals and it it is the norm for slower vehicles to pull in if they are holding up traffic behind them - at least for local users of these roads (the tourists haven't always got the message).
On a more general point it seems to me to be pretty selfish and inconsiderate to expect motors to sit behind a cyclist on a single-track road when it would be easy and cost the cyclist very little to allow them to pass. This is a completely different situation to urban commuting where a cyclist is often faster from A to B than a motorist and overtakes are frequently pointless.
There are passing places and passing places, a proper tarmac layby/pull-in is fair enough, but that looked like loose gravel/mud to me, why should a cyclist run the risk of going over just to let an impatient driver get by? Change the bike for a tractor and the speeds would probably have been fairly similar on such a narrow lane and I would say, judging from my experience living in the countryside, the chances of the tractor pulling over would have been minimal.
Why would the cyclists journey not have been as "important" as the car drivers? I regularly commuted on country lanes, so should I pull over to allow a driver to get passed because he hasn't allowed sufficient time to get to where he has to be, meanwhile I run the risk of being late, because I have pulled over a dozen times?
I've lost count of the number of close passes I've been subjected to, just to see the occupants going into the supermarket car park, it really was important to get in front of the cyclist!
Why would the cyclists journey not have been as "important" as the car drivers? I regularly commuted on country lanes, so should I pull over to allow a driver to get passed because he hasn't allowed sufficient time to get to where he has to be, meanwhile I run the risk of being late, because I have pulled over a dozen times?
I've lost count of the number of close passes I've been subjected to, just to see the occupants going into the supermarket car park, it really was important to get in front of the cyclist!
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Similarly, why should a cyclist not pull over simply because the tractors odds of doing so are 'minimal'? You use the behaviour of one lot of road users to argue against the behaviour of another - life doesn't work like that. You either ride/drive safely and obey the rules and conventions of the road, or you dont . we can't morally pick and choose which we'd like.
I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
Is it just me or have i got a long-standing misunderstanding of the purpose of a 'passing place'?
I thought they were intended as a point where you could 'get past' oncoming traffic on a single track road. Not to be used as an extremely short overtaking lane?
I thought they were intended as a point where you could 'get past' oncoming traffic on a single track road. Not to be used as an extremely short overtaking lane?
Mr Celine
Discordian
- Location
- Waxing my moustache
Unfortunately it isn't just you, such misunderstandings seem common despite road signs, the highway code (section 155) and even leaflets for tourists.
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Passing places are often used by bikes, tractors, cars towing caravans etc to allow faster vehicles to pass. On busier single-track roads tail-backs will build up behind slow-moving vehicles, which are expected to pull over to allow traffic behind them to clear. This is an increasing problem in the likes of the 'Northern 500' which has a lot of single-track and a lot of tourists that don't understand the protocol, to the annoyance of locals trying to go about their business rather than take in the scenery.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
I don't think the road was wide enough for a safe overtake if the cyclist remained on the tarmac.
That's lovely and we have passing places on the narrow roads in the fens too, but that was a gravel field entrance, not a passing place.
Apollonius
Guru
- Location
- South Staffordshire
Personally, I would have taken the first opportunity to let the car past. Not in my interests to have it behind me.
Will Spin
Über Member
I cycle a lot on roads like this. If I have a car behind I will cycle in a strong primary position until I see it is safe for me to pull over and let them past, this seems to avoid close passes. I am conscious of the fact that most driver's patience runs out after about 20 secs though!
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Like the dingbat today who seemed completely oblivious as to why I might be in primary position going into a blind right hander with a junction beyond it, whirred past shouting and then came face to face with another motorist...
classic33
Leg End Member
Using that logic, can I expect the four wheel drive tractor, travelling slower than me(holding me up) to get out of my way. Often they're aware I'm there, just behind them. Often it can be head on, I'm travelling downhill, they're headed uphill.
Roadhump
Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
- Location
- The flatlands of South West Lancs
It might be interesting to have a thread about the names we have been called and things that have been shouted at us as a result of riding in Primary Position - would certainly keep the mods busyLike the dingbat today who seemed completely oblivious as to why I might be in primary position going into a blind right hander with a junction beyond it, whirred past shouting and then came face to face with another motorist...
Randy Butternubs
Über Member
This.
I used to pull over to the side of country lanes to let drivers pass easily and had a few scruttock-clenching moments sliding on the muddy shoulder. The last time, I half-fell off and bent my front wheel. I don't do that anymore. The last place you want to fall off is on a very narrow road with a vehicle behind that is in the process of overtaking. Some surfaces are ok but even a thin layer of mud can be very dangerous for a two-wheel vehicle without offroad tyres.
The question of whether the OP/cyclists in general should pull over on narrow lanes is a massive red herring though. If someone decides to slalom infront of you, blocking the whole lane while gurning smugly over their shoulder and giving you the finger you might reasonably be a bit annoyed. It is not reasonable however to risk their life by overtaking within inches.
I do help cars past when I easily and safely can - that's just common courtesy. It is not an act I'm required to perform in exchange for my saftey.
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