Driving so close...........

[ray316]

l'm a motorist and always leave plenty of room when overtaking a cyclist. So when l'm out cycling l cannot believe how many motorist don't leave enough room when overtaking and some even give you dirty looks or give mouth from inside there cars as they go by....... Do you think alot of motorists do this on purpose or are alot just not aware of the dangers as they more than likey don't cycle themselfs.. l've had some close shave's with motorists just missing me as they overtake , and most of the time they have the other side of the road to use as no traffic is in site.....

 

[photography27]

i'm like you, when i'm in the works van and come to a cyclist, i indicate to pull out and leave loads of room. but as for close overtakes, i dunno why ppl have to get so close, my own personal theory is that the car drivers are jealous of us, and we are an inconvienence for them....its all rush rush rush these days

 

[Gerry Attrick]

There is something in the psychological make up of some drivers which causes them to overtake far too closely. I sincerely believe that in most cases it is not deliberate, but the sight of a very narrow bike appears to switch off their usually cautious approach to slow moving vehicles.

The reason I maintain this is that I almost never experience a close overtake when on my trike. Quite the opposite, in that some drivers hold back unnecessarily.

 

[Glover Fan]

None of the above. Just poorly educated and oblivious to the dangers and other people. Unfortunately it will never change. Just keep your chin up and look forward to a better days worth of cycling.

 

[HLaB]

I think that with 90% of poor overtakes, its poor anticipation on the driver's side. About 5% of folk don't understand the actual effects of it (if I'm safe in my tin box the cyclist will be too ). About 4% of folk simply don't care enough to make an effort (again the tin box mentality) . Only about 1% or less are vindictive enough to actually do it on purpose but unfortunately that element exists

 

[corshamjim]

My experience is that when I'm on my wide-handlebarred cruiser with a bar end mirror too, cars very rarely come too close. I do think it's a psychological thing as Gerry said, and it's the wide profile which makes the main difference.

Regardless there are always going to be a minority of drivers who don't give a stuff. The mirror comes in useful for (hopefully) spotting those in advance too.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I'm always curious about the ones, that on a road with good visibility and nothing coming in the opposite direction, they make a very close pass then continue moving outwards onto the opposite side of the road before indicating and coming back onto the left. Its as if they tried to leave you a lot of space but just got the timing dreadfully wrong.

There are always those who are merely incompetent!

 

[Night Train]

Sometimes all it takes is one one good example so I reckon it is down to better training for drivers

I have on occasions been in the car, in a queue, behind a slower cyclist. I've watched the cars ahead pass a little too close. When it is my turn I wait until it is safe, indicate and move to the next or opposing lane to pass and then move back in.
The following cars then start doing like wise but the passing gap gradually diminishes as more cars pass.

I notice the same effect when passing horses.

 

[JonnyBlade]

4 months ago I was out cycling with a friend giving it some. A car in front indicated to turn right and moved to the centre of the road accordingly leaving plenty enough room to go past on is left................. or there was until the complete nob jockey behind us over took us, saw the car waiting to turn right and promptly braked hard whilst blocking our way to the left.
Unfortunately I couldn't stop quick enough ending up with cuts, bruises and a busted helmet. I've still got the gravel rash scar! As he drove off oblivious to the chaos behind him I was left to reflect a few cycle repairs

I too am a car driver and give cyclists as much respect as possible but there are some real asses on the road.

 

[ray316]

None of the above. Just poorly educated and oblivious to the dangers and other people. Unfortunately it will never change. Just keep your chin up and look forward to a better days worth of cycling.

You only have to go on you tube to see some unbelievable examples of bad motorists not giving enough room/ cutting you up...
Only the other day l was cycling along and this idiot overtakes me and turns left into a supermarket 10 yards in front why could'nt they wait behind me for a few seconds before doing this. l could have gone into the side of them as they were turning if l had not have braked sharply and anticipated there move, and they were completely oblivious to what they had just done...

 

[Brandane]

Around here, old drivers (usually male) seem to be the worst offenders for passing too close. I think they were brought up driving in the days when "roads were built for cars" and the car was king.

The ones that really piss me off are when you are cycling on a quiet road, then you see a car coming towards you. As always with sods law, that is the time when you also have a car coming up behind you. Why can't the driver of the car coming up behind you use a bit of anticipation and slow down so that he passes when the other car has already passed; rather than try to squeeze into the gap between the cyclist and oncoming car? Not much fun when they try to do it at 60 mph....

 

[Davidc]

My observation on this, years ago and it's never changed, is that the greater the gap between me and the edge of the road / kerb the greater the gap on my right hand side left by motor vehicles.

I suspect this goes with Corshamjim's observation about bike and bar width, and has a lot to do with perceived width of the bike. If you look thin you don't need as much room as if you're fat. Do you?

Passing too close is just bad driving. So is not leaving the maximum possible room. Fortunately the proportion of drivers who get too close is small but that still means too many do it, and education by example must be a good start.

 

[teletext45]

I got driven off the road onto the pavement by a bus just the other night. Fortunatly i wasen't hurt or damaged my bike, but i did make a note of the time, bus number and reg and wrote to the bus service, i doubt they will do anything but hey ho.


andy

 

[pshore]

.... the greater the gap between me and the edge of the road / kerb the greater the gap on my right hand side left by motor vehicles.

There is definitely something in this. My experiments have led me to thinking that the white line provides a phychological barrier that people do not want to cross. The other side of the line is for overtaking and is a danger zone.

If you leave enough room between you and the white line, drivers will try to squeeze between to avoid using the oncoming lane. In general the cyclecraft secondary position (the left wheel track) puts you in the way and forces people to start crossing the line, and once their seat is over the line, the more likely they are to move right over.

Caveats:
1) A minority of drivers will not move over, so will actually be closer the further right you are.
2) Some drivers take offence if you ride in the very centre of the lane. I think this is equivalent to riding two abreast in their minds. It's also a bit pointless as you are now riding closer to cars in the oncoming lane.
3) On wider lanes where there is room for a car and you, it is counter productive to get in the way. This really depends on speed limits and local situations.


There is no way to prevent all close overtakes - you can only reduce the amount of them.

 

[tyred]

My observation on this, years ago and it's never changed, is that the greater the gap between me and the edge of the road / kerb the greater the gap on my right hand side left by motor vehicles.

That is my observation also.

I have also noted that when I ride a road bike, the overtakes tend to be a bit on the close side yet if I ride one of my vintage roadsters (at slower speed usually), people overtaking leave far more space. I'm not sure why that is. Do they see an old bike and assume an old guy riding it?