Do drivers make better cyclists?

[User269]

Cyclists make better drivers.

 

[col]

Cyclists make better drivers.

No no no, drivers make better cyclists.

 

[Nosaj]

I drive a car but my main passion was motorbikes. It actually got to the point that I felt safer riding on my motorbike than I did in my car. I know that sounds weird. I was undertaking observer training for the IAM for a while but then litle uns came along and this changed my perspective on the biking. I can honestly say that being on a motorbike changes your perspective of driving totally. You learn how to anticipate and react to hazards well in advance and actually look way beyond where you normally would in a tin box. What can be seen what can't be seen and what may reasonably be expected to happen. How many car drivers have to look for a gap in the hedgerows on a windy day to anticipate side winds. A lorry driver might. How many drivers have to position their vehicle correctly on approach to a side road so as not to become invisible to said traffic wanting to turn out of sideroad. How many car drivers understand vanishing points. How many car drivers would know where to look for a clue as to where the road goes in the dark, if the vanishing point is coming towards you what do you do, likewise if it is moving away from you what can you do? I have not drove a truck I would understand the intricacies of that however if you do drive many vehicles then it can only be beneficial in making a better all round road user whatever the mode of transport.

 

[User269]

No no no, drivers make better cyclists.

Yes yes yes, cyclists make better drivers. As do pedestrians, horse riders, and people who don't post on internet forums.

 

[col]

Yes yes yes, cyclists make better drivers. As do pedestrians, horse riders, and people who don't post on internet forums.

Nooooooo , drivers keep cyclists on their toes, so making them better at avoiding injury

 

[growingvegetables]

So... Here's the hypothesis: Being an experienced driver improves my cycling.

In the gentlest possible way .... bollox. A 30,000 mile-a-year pillock in a grey BMW is a danger - to him/herself, and everybody else in his/her way. Sorry!

Being an experienced, SAFE, COURTEOUS, ROAD-USER AWARE driver .... when the basic human courtesies and skills get transferred from one set of wheels to another? Aye now that's very different - but then it's about the person's attitudes, not the number of wheels or "experience".

 

[screenman]

I think some are missing the point of the OP. As usual.

 

[mattobrien]

Would it be sensible to define exactly what a driver is?

I would suggest that the 30,000 miles a year BMW driver is little trouble to the average cyclist as they will be spending the vast majority of their time on the motorway, not encountering anything close to pedal powered.

I would wager that the 40mph brigade is probably much more harm. Just to be clear they driver at 40mph everywhere as it is a safe speed. 40mph on the national speed limit road and 40 mph in the 30 limits too. They do it as they have decided that this is a safe speed and are not on the look out for hazards (including the odd cyclist) or prepared in anyway to adapt their driving to conditions that prevail.

Realistically I suspect that using the road on another for of transport will give you great insight / empathy to road users of that transportation form and probably make you a better road user.

I wonder if car pilots aren't great for other non car road users, and possibly that bike pilots could be the same. If we all realised that we were just trying to get somewhere safely and if we all worked together rather than against each other is would be a calmer and nicer place to be.

As ever, all IMHO.

Matt

P.S. I am an enthusiast road user in multiple forms of transport and have been know to use said forms of transport off the road too;
MTB on the trails
Track car on the racing track
Sports car on the road
Road bike on the road

Hazard awareness, whatever you are doing is key!!

 

[theclaud]

This has been illuminating.

Broad agreement from drivers, mentioning the extent to which guiding more than one vehicle type might have improved their knowledge, ability and awareness of the likely actions of other road users. Also a strong suggestion that cycling improved their driving.

One strongly dissenting voice from a poster who doesn't drive but is in no doubt that some experience driving a car would be of no benefit in terms of cycling on the Highway.

Cripes! That's a tough one.

Read through the thread again, paying more careful attention. I'm with Tillyflop - your hypothesis is cobblers.

 

[Brandane]

My path through road use has taken me from bicycle to motorbike; to car then van (including being a Police driver for 15 years and briefly a driving instructor), and onwards to class 2 HGV (non artic) then lastly class 1 HGV (artic). Only PCV (bus) is missing from my licence but I don't think I will bother with that one! Obviously, it is useful to be able to see the different perspectives of those types of road users and I would like to think that I have learned from it and that it has made me a better road user.

Just one example is drivers not indicating (or wrongly indicating) on roundabouts. To a cyclist this is a minor inconvenience; to a car driver/biker it is mildly annoying; to an HGV driver with 44 tonnes of weight to get moving, it is infuriating!

There is no doubt that cyclists make better drivers IMHO, but do drivers make better cyclists? Not so sure about that one; but it can't do any harm. An experienced, non-driving cyclist will know what winds car drivers up, just as much as a qualified driver does; and will hopefully use that knowledge to avoid conflict.

 

[Norm]

I think that the OP seems to have been misunderstood, with a few reading their preconceptions rather than what was written.

So... Here's the hypothesis: Being an experienced driver improves my cycling.

I daren't say it makes me a good cyclist, just a less bad one. How do people feel about this notion?

The suggestion is that people who drive cars are better cyclists than they would be if they didn't drive cars.

It is not that person A is a better cyclist than person B who doesn't drive. It is that person A is a better cyclist than person A would be if they didn't drive.

I agree with this, I think that getting experience on other vehicle types (I have spent a lot of time on motorbikes and agricultural machinery and I have some experience on rigids and artics) gives a perspective that you wouldn't otherwise have. None of it makes me a better cyclist (or driver or biker) than anyone else, just a better cyclist (or driver or biker) than I would be if I didn't have that experience.

As a non-driver, I would say this is bollocks.

I have a brain and I know how I am supposed to behave and I try not to hold anyone up or inconvenience other road users where possible, but I am also assertive (without being aggressive).

Sorry, Miss TF but I think that you have misunderstood the hypothesis. As a non-driver, you don't know what you would be like as a cyclist if you were a driver. It doesn't mean that you aren't an excellent cyclist.

In the gentlest possible way .... bollox. A 30,000 mile-a-year pillock in a grey BMW is a danger - to him/herself, and everybody else in his/her way. Sorry!

I think you've also misread the OP, unless you think that someone who drivers 30,000 miles a year would not bring any of that experience to cycling - if nothing else, they might understand the innate wariness that many cyclists seem to have of people who drive grey BMWs.

Before you fight someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. If they still want to fight after that, you are a mile away and you have their shoes

 

[brokenflipflop]

Yes yes yes, cyclists make better drivers. As do pedestrians, horse riders, and people who don't post on internet forums.

Horse riders ? You cannot be serious dude !!

 

[Bicycle]

Reading through again, the consensus seems to be pretty much where it was. Of those who've replied, most support my hypothesis. Some interesting additions and caveats also...

I agree completely with the notion that it works similarly (or more powerfully) the other way around: Cycling helps driving. I recall being amused as a teenager that my peers who were learning to drive had no road sense. I'm sure that came from not having been cast to the lions as a child by being put on the roads on a bicycle. I think (on reflection) that I saw that in my daughter as well. Her fast acquisition of driving skills was due in part to already being an experienced road user.

As Norm says, I was explicit in my OP not to say that driving makes me better as a cyclist than a non-driver. It makes me better than I would be were I a non-driver. I'm pretty open about my lack of skill and I have the scars to prove it.

I do regret the slightly catty tone of my comments about MissTillyFlop's response. I believe the observation was accurate, but the tone was more a function of two glasses of Rioja than of a functioning mind.

All in all (the occasional slightly tart response notwithstanding) I'm really pleased to have dropped that pinless grenade in a Cycling Forum and received such balanced responses.

Thank you to everyone who gave a view. I take my BSI-approved cycling helmet off to you all.

Apologies for the verbosity; I'm getting help for it.

 

[400bhp]

Would it be sensible to define exactly what a driver is?

I would suggest that the 30,000 miles a year BMW driver is little trouble to the average cyclist as they will be spending the vast majority of their time on the motorway, not encountering anything close to pedal powered.

I would wager that the 40mph brigade is probably much more harm. Just to be clear they driver at 40mph everywhere as it is a safe speed. 40mph on the national speed limit road and 40 mph in the 30 limits too. They do it as they have decided that this is a safe speed and are not on the look out for hazards (including the odd cyclist) or prepared in anyway to adapt their driving to conditions that prevail.

Realistically I suspect that using the road on another for of transport will give you great insight / empathy to road users of that transportation form and probably make you a better road user.

I wonder if car pilots aren't great for other non car road users, and possibly that bike pilots could be the same. If we all realised that we were just trying to get somewhere safely and if we all worked together rather than against each other is would be a calmer and nicer place to be.

As ever, all IMHO.

Matt

P.S. I am an enthusiast road user in multiple forms of transport and have been know to use said forms of transport off the road too;
MTB on the trails
Track car on the racing track
Sports car on the road
Road bike on the road

Hazard awareness, whatever you are doing is key!!

A well thought out post

FWIW

I believe cycling made me a better driver. I started (serious) cycling before I got behind the wheel. Personally, has driving made me a better cyclist-not sure on that one. The IAM course I did, and track.race driving has possibly helped in some way i.r.o hazard perception and understanding the dynamics/handling characteristics of cars (potentially meaning I anticipate things a little sooner).

 

[MattHB]

Motorcyclists defo make better cyclists, but I guess that's pretty obvious