Do motorists respect cyclists?

[deptfordmarmoset]

The TRL549 paper that Origamist has linked to is likely to be a very useful starting point for the overall picture, though I tend to think in terms of scapegoat and the Other, rather than out-group.

One thing that strikes me but which I have absolutely no ''formal'' evidence for, is that drivers' frustrations with other road traffic become transferred onto cyclists very easily. Some drivers sitting in a traffic jam when a cyclist breezes past can feel that cyclists are cheating by getting around the car in front of them instead of sitting in the queue. I think that such drivers are most likely to display anger towards cyclists when they themselves are dreaming of being able to do what that ''out-group'' is doing. The angriest drivers would be far happier if they could be on a bike: but cyclists are the outsiders compared to the (quite literally) insiders, the determined tortoises compared to the stop-start hares of heavy traffic.

As a London cyclist, I very often feel jealous of cyclists on the few occasions when I have to drive. The non-cyclists who can't quite understand that jealousy can quite often feel anger instead.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Nah...at least 4 /10 of them would kill you and laugh as they reversed over you.

 

[BluesDave]

Our status is frequently judged solely by the worth of our possessions, and even riding a lovely £5,000 carbon confection will label a cyclist as a pauper in the eyes of most motorists. We are seen as not having a right to be on the roads and inconvenience drivers, because we do not pay anything for the privilege. We will always be second-class citizens as most people are raised in a society that uses only monetary wealth as a measure of our value..

Actually we do pay to be on the roads. We pay council tax and income tax. That money is used to pay for the upkeep of the roads. Vehicle Excise duty or Car/ Road Tax is used to pay for the DVLA which is how drivers get parking tickets.

Vehicle Excise duty or Car/ Road Tax has not been used to pay for the upkeep of the roads since 1937. That said I do think we should pay insurance in the sum of £20 a year except for under 16s. The reason is that we can cause slight damage to paintwork on cars (which can be expensive things to get re-done) if we crash into them. There are other reasons for this gone into by other people on other posts so I have no need to elaborate here.

Getting back to the question most do and some don't.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I have the utmost respect for anyone driving or riding something that can do me damage while cycling.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

...I ride safe and claim my space..no point in arguing with a truck from my coffin...but I have zero respect for any driver who in anyway puts me in danger.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

I've driven 10k miles a year, for the last 21 years, 16 of those in powerful rear wheel drive cars.
No accidents, no collisions, no convictions and no damage to tyres/wheels due to driving incorrectly in icy conditions.
Two lots of advance driver training may or may not be the cause of my "good luck".

As i see it the types of driver that cyclists should be wary of are:

Those under the influence of drink (from the night before), painkillers, anti-depressants, blood pressure tablets, lack of sleep, kids
in the back, boss on their back because their running late on a delivery, the boy racer whose fitted wheel spacers but not replaced the
wheel studs with longer ones, the boy racer who'se lowered his corsa so much its riding on the bump stops and is inherantly unstable,
the boy racer on his moped racing his mate ... and on and on and on.

You can't avoid poor human responses and vehicle failures, nor those having a bad day that see the cyclist in front holding them up
as an excuse to have a good rage.

I have had one motorist clip my shoulder with his mirror, then pull up sharply and get out to have a rant saying i was riding too far out in
the lane and he nearly hit the traffic island.
Not nice, but the way i dealt with it caught him waaay off guard.
Mountain bike over my head, and used the words "f^%$ off or this bike goes through your windscreen".

Probably not wise to do, and a bit out of character for me ... but it worked.

 

[cyclegeek]

I’ve been swerved at, spat at and had an empty plastic bottle thrown at my front wheel. They are car drivers but most probably d*ck heads in everything they do. And I have had plenty of car drivers pass far too close for comfort, one with a dog in the back with the window down that tried snapping at my face.
I have also come across some very considerate drivers as well. The most surprising of which was on a very busy road that I was waiting to get across. Not single car stopped to let me pass except for a white van man who stopped the traffic and shouted that it was clear for me to go. That made my day when it happened.

 

[TheDoctor]

In all fairness, 99% of drivers I come across are perfectly fine. It's the one percent that you remember, though.
Even most of those aren't deliberately targeting me - they just haven't even noticed me.
I've very, very rarely encountered deliberate aggression.

 

[400bhp]

Hello,

I'm doing a University project and would really appreciate some responses.

I'm an advertising student, and was given the brief 'find a problem, and then solve it'. I decided to go with the problem 'motorists don't respect cyclists'.

If you have any insights or experiences where you feel motorists haven't respected you, or any stories you could tell about your experiences it's be great.

- Do you feel motorists drive aggressively towards cyclists?

- Do you feel cyclists and motorists respect each other?

I've been doing a lot of research into this, trying to find some insights into what I could do to gain more respect for cyclists. Other campaigns don't seem to be working, so I'm trying to take it a lot further and get a lot of people on board with the idea.

Any responses would be greatly appreciated and taken on board.

Thank you.

Have you asked a similar question on a car forum?

 

[Old Plodder]

I would estimate that around 90% of car owner drivers think cyclists should not even be on the roads!
No, motorists don't respect anything more vulnerable than themselves. (Neither cyclist nor pedestrian)
Majority of lorry drivers also think cyclists should stay off the roads.
But I'm still going to ride my bikes, no matter what they think.

 

[Linford]

People by and large respect that which they either empathise with through their own experiences, or fear that they might spoil their day and so give a wider berth too.

 

[Enid Agnus Dei]

In a word NO! the only ones that are aware of cyclists are the car drivers that cycle, most of the others don't see us until the last minute, cut us up, open their doors on us etc, etc.

I always thought it was young drivers that seemed the worst but now think most drivers are as bad, in too much of a rush to get from A to B, and as long as they are safe in their tin can sod us cyclists, and don't get me started on bus/taxi drivers!

 

[Wardy]

You have to appreciate that driving a car is a bit like drinking alcohol; it's a character-changing "drug" and a lot of normally perfectly decent, considerate people undergo some sort of drastic mental change when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. One of the ways this manifests itself is the inability to accept any sort of delay in the progress of their tin chariot, whether or not they actually have a bona fide, highly important need to get from A to B as fast as possible. Many drivers have no respect for other drivers, so why should they have the least bit of respect for a slow-moving cyclist?

 

[NickJ95GB]

if they're older females, i find they leave space, but other people tend to consistantly try and push past, when i can i get out of the way to let a few cars past, and signal properly, and try to maintain at least 20 in built up areas to keep up, but it's not enough for some, almost scraping cars as they get by, but some are lovely, and leave you lots of room.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

As a motorist and a cyclist I totally respect cyclists - and I'm even a BMW driver!!
The problem is that nowadays the roads are populated with masturbatory shoot-for-brains neanderthals bred by the certainty and belief that they can do what they please without any fear of repercussion or consequence.
The roads are 100% law and rule free, it's just that most haven't realised it yet.

The greatest carnage is yet to come, but don't worry - the authorities are saving money!