Must. Calm. Down.

[Angelfishsolo]

+1

What frustrates me even more is car drivers who take it upon themselves to perform dangerous manoevers to pass a car which has slowed or stopped to give way to a vulnerable road user, either a pedestrian or a cyclist. Something I experienced only last week, blind bend and me (on my bike) on a road not wide enough for two vehicles and a cyclist to pass safely, a car had slowed because he could not pass safely, yet another following driver puts the foot to the floor and speeds past a car and me, and narrowly avoids a collision with an oncoming car. The more patient driver waitied until he could see the road ahead and then indicated, passed safely and indicated to return to the left of the road.

 

[Bicycle]

I believe we have all been there. It is very honest of you to write that OP.

There is much to be gained from calming down... but it's not always easy at the time.

Sometimes these adrenaline-based ding-dongs end well.

I had a very good and positive lesson in Central London in the 80s.

I was motorised (V50 Guzzi) and it was raining heavily.

A Cavalier passed me way too close and I thought I'd teach him a lesson..... in the wet... still not sure why.

Lots of close passing (both ways) ensued until I knew I absolutely had him at the south end of the Angel one-way system.

I did get past him, but then lost the front with no grace or balletic poise and clattered along the tarmac, sulking as I slid.

Cavalier quickly stops, driver hops out and comes over and says "I say, that looked terribly painful. Are you alright?"

It was a wet evening, we were both in a hurry and I got hot & bothered. It turns out he was a thoroughly nice chap who just came a little too close to me on one occasion and thereby lit my fuse.

Everything else came from me.

I still giggle about that prang... and spent the whole night sorting the bike out as I'd agreed to trade it in the next day.

 

[ammwhite]

Being a car driver myself, I wouldn't identify the people carrying out these manouvres as being in any way what you might call archetypal nutters. No Imprezas or EVOs, more likely to be what Top Gear calls a Reasonably Priced Car.

I am a car enthusiast as well as a cyclist, and in my experience some of the worst driving comes from those in non-descript 'Reasonably Priced Cars'. Keen drivers (which is usually those driving Imprezas, Evos etc...) usually take pride in their driving and are paying attention to the road. The kind of people who buy the Kias, Hyundias etc.. usually view cars as white goods which just get them from A-to-B. These are the people who are often oblivious to what's going on around them on the road, as they have no interest in driving. I'd compare them to the people who buy BSOs from Tesco or Asda.

 

[Bicycle]

Therein lies the problem...we are led to believe there are loads of them, but where are they?

Almost every driver I see on the road is competent.

If there really were so few competent drivers, every cyclist would have been splatted years ago.

It can be annoying (indeed painful and expensive) when someone doesn't see a bike or fails to be considerate, but it really isn't all that bad.

 

[Bicycle]

I am a car enthusiast as well as a cyclist, and in my experience some of the worst driving comes from those in non-descript 'Reasonably Priced Cars'. Keen drivers (which is usually those driving Imprezas, Evos etc...) usually take pride in their driving and are paying attention to the road. The kind of people who buy the Kias, Hyundias etc.. usually view cars as white goods which just get them from A-to-B. These are the people who are often oblivious to what's going on around them on the road, as they have no interest in driving. I'd compare them to the people who buy BSOs from Tesco or Asda.

I adore cars too and love to drive, but sadly I see lots and lots and lots of poor driving from Imprezas, Evos and the like.

Similarly, they are not unlikely to be selfishly or illegally parked.

They are lovely cars (honourable successors to the quattro and the Delta integrale) so I have no idea why so many (but not all) of them are driven as they are.

But they are.

 

[exbfb]

I'm a fan of the quick stuff too, but the modern, accessible stuff, can be poorly driven.
Points to you for mentioning the Quattro (with a capital Q for the anoraks) and Integrale.

I helped built this Rotor JT7C
It's a scratch built car which runs in a class called Sports 2000. I remember the first chassis tube being cut.
I also have my own toy car in a similar vein, but since I've discovered cycling, I haven't been in the garage for a while.

 

[abo]

Therein lies the problem...we are led to believe there are loads of them, but where are they?

<raises hand>

But then I *would* say that wouldn't I? The only person I know who admits to being a crap driver is my mother-in-law...

 

[markharry66]

I dont know about the above but at the end of my road there is a mini roundabout I get passed within 50 foot by cars who then break, there have even been three point turns in the middle of the roundabout, cars pulling out that have been more than aware of me etc. I hate bad driving i used to drive but choose not to.

 

[Mad at urage]

Have had this tale on my mind for a few days, feel now is the time to tell it..........

I am a driving instructor, and was out with a pupil last Saturday in Cheltenham.
We overtook 2 cyclists about 100metres before a double roundabout, where we were turning left at the first one. Indicated left on the approach.

Had to wait for a car already on the roundabout, Were just about to move off safely, with a final glance in left door mirror, and would you believe it, lycra clad superhero on his white Spech comes through on our nearside, taking the road ahead.............

Luckily, we were more aware than he was, so the weekend warrior went on to fight another day.

I think what the criticism of you (as an instructor in this tale) comes from, is the difficulty we see in reconciling the bolded text above with

DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example

• approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road
• where the road narrows
• when approaching a school crossing patrol
• between the kerb and a bus or tram when it is at a stop
• where traffic is queuing at junctions or road works
• when you would force another road user to swerve or slow down
• at a level crossing
• when a road user is indicating right, even if you believe the signal should have been cancelled. Do not take a risk; wait for the signal to be cancelled
• stay behind if you are following a cyclist approaching a roundabout or junction, and you intend to turn left
• when a tram is standing at a kerbside tram stop and there is no clearly marked passing lane for other traffic

Particularly the penultimate bullet: How do you reconcile the two?

 

[Wankelschrauben]

I hate it when people do this sort of thing, it angers me more so if it is a learner with a driving instructer teaching them that this sort of thing is ok.

There are three biggies from that list above where the learner in jackm's story proved incomepetant. Two of which apply when overtaking any road user in that situation.




The one that affect me most often however, is when driver who thrash their engines to overtake then suddenly stop and turn left immediately after.

This is often followed by either a very near miss and some cursing from both sides.

The most dangerous I've encountered was some old todger who tried and failed to overtake me as I was travelling at pace through a 40 zone. He merely pulled out, sped up a little bit and pulled back in leaving me just inches of space between the front wing of his car and a 6ft high park wall as he chased me down with his wing mirror behind me.

 

[HLaB]

I don't know if it maliciousness (I doubt it) or whether folk can't judge the speed of a bicycle (more likely) but its infuriating sometimes, the overtake just before a rbt when (at a guess) 90% or more I'd go through the roundabout faster than than a car. There's one series of rbts near me in amongst a long straight where I can build up quite a speed, 25-30mph by the penultimate one (street view doesnt show it well) but quite often somebody overtakes me there and has to slam their brakes on (there a busy supermarket, etc to the right). I hate who ever designed these rbts (all but the last one were built recently) :-( as they have two lane entries which seems to increase the likely hood of muppets.

 

[Mad at urage]

It probably isn't malicious, but with people like jackm teaching new drivers to overtake cyclists 100m before a roundabout at which he intends to turn left, it is hardly surprising that such manoevres are seen as correct. I don't see it as the learner that was incompetent, rather the instructor (who sees so little wrong with contravening the HC that he posts it, and defends it here).

To be clear, a cyclist will cover that 100m in 14 seconds riding at a relatively slow 16mph, 12 1/2 seconds at 18mph or 9 seconds at 25 mph; which is of course why the HC is so emphatic with "DO NOT overtake..."!

Of course the "lycra clad superhero on his white Spech" took a silly risk overtaking on the nearside (I'd have taken the offside line), but the (no doubt 'highly qualified') DI who allowed (encouraged?) his pupil in the initial impatient overtake was most at fault.

 

[4F]

Therein lies the problem...we are led to believe there are loads of them, but where are they?

All riding our bikes