Self preservation, are car drivers putting you off?

[sevenfourate]

The cold however....increasingly I cannot bear it so wimp out and exercise indoors...today for instance 😂

Right ! No cycling for me recently. And my Morning dog-walks have been the bare minimum. The relentless dark (I'm sure my variant of SAD get's worse the older i get) and cold means i literally get zero enjoyment from it / either. So i abstain as far as 2-wheeled motion goes.

I do have a Holiday in Tenerife coming up. Supposed to be around 23 degrees C. Hopefully thats sparks the exercise module in my brain....

 

[Drago]

Agricultural tractors are dreadful, a law to themselves

Absolutely. When I was in the dibble, up until about 2005 we had quotas. They were abolished by the government about then as it was determined they were not compatible with an officers discretion.

Anyway, if ones quotas were a bit low I'd simply head out of town and prowl robustly patrol and id tug the first agricultural vehicle I saw for a document check - not once did I stop an agricultural vehicle and not identify some kind of offence, often quite serious ones. Not once, ever.

The impression I got was that they didn't think the law applied to them and they'd be most affronted when it was suggested that actually it did.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Individual people in a car won't put me off, volume of traffic and poor quality infrastructure does - I don't just mean cycling facilities either, the absolute state of the roads is a disgrace.

 

[Badger_Boom]

The week before last it was a bit chilly so I decided to walk along the disused rail track into town. I came out of the Post Office and walked along the pavement...... next thing a car came along with its tyres scraping the kerb. I thought 'crikey, that's a bit odd'. I then found out I'd nearly been run over! A guy on a scaffold on the building opposite shouted to his colleague "ere, did you see that car was on the pavement and just turned and missed the guy walking along!"

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a slanging match with the passenger of a car that drove onto the pavement to park right next to me and the dog. When I politely but grumpily asked the driver if they though it was safe or acceptable, their buddy gave me both barrels including an offer to 'put [me] on on [my] a*se'. The irony was that they were dropping their children off outside a primary school.

 

[wiggydiggy]

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a slanging match with the passenger of a car that drove onto the pavement to park right next to me and the dog. When I politely but grumpily asked the driver if they though it was safe or acceptable, their buddy gave me both barrels including an offer to 'put [me] on on [my] a*se'. The irony was that they were dropping their children off outside a primary school.

I read that somewhere else when you posted it. You could report it to the school and the council, around here school parking issues have been making the local news headlines as people are taking the mickey.

 

[Badger_Boom]

I read that somewhere else when you posted it. You could report it to the school and the council, around here school parking issues have been making the local news headlines as people are taking the mickey.

I reported it to the school and got a reply saying that they would remind parents not to park on the pavement or abuse members of the public. It worries me that anyone should need reminding of the latter.

 

[Electric_Andy]

tug the first agricultural vehicle I saw .....The impression I got was that they didn't think the law applied to them

Yes. I drove tractors for 8 years and went to many farms. The fact that they are exempt from VED tends to make many think that all aspects of maintenance and safety can go out the window. There was one farming family who were famous for it - they'd drive round in a 30 year old tractor with the battery hanging on with a bit of bailing twine. My uncle also used to shove mud up under his landy to cover up the rotting chassis, knowing that the MOT man wouldn't scoop it out to inspect because he didn't want to make his garage floor dirty

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Like many have said I find the vast majority of drivers extremely good, with the very odd one poor. But they are so rare I don't bother with it.
That said I only cycle for pleasure and not in big cities.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Hi guys,
I have a road bike and two mtb bikes. The reason for riding mtb bikes, is to get myself off the road as much as possible, especially during the winter months.
I also have a smart trainer that I absolutely love as it’s as near to real life cycling as you can get. I’m on the fence with going back on the road this year ( except charity rides) with the cars and abuse we often have to suffer, just for enjoying a morning out. Although they say cycling is declining, I’m thinking, maybe it’s not, maybe more people are moving onto smart trainers or mtb for their own safety.

Yes, this is why I gave up cycle commuting. I was nearly wiped out about once a month; had it not been for my experience I may have joined the dozens of others that have sadly died in the last decade. Of course not all near misses might have been serious, but it was also for my mental health - I could not let some of the dangerous driving go unsaid and I was often arriving at work or at home angry and stressed. It was only a matter of time until I battered someone, or tried to and got battered myself

 

[Fastpedaller]

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a slanging match with the passenger of a car that drove onto the pavement to park right next to me and the dog. When I politely but grumpily asked the driver if they though it was safe or acceptable, their buddy gave me both barrels including an offer to 'put [me] on on [my] a*se'. The irony was that they were dropping their children off outside a primary school.

What a wonderful example they give to their children.

 

[fossyant]

It’s nothing like outdoor riding.

It's not cycling either and has few of the benefits, like scenery, getting to places, and fresh air and vitamin D.

 

[ianrauk]

What a wonderful example they give to their children.

When it comes to angry car drivers, they could have had the Queen or Mother Theresa in the passenger seat and it still wouldn't have stopped some of them mouthing off.
Once I had a mouth full of of foul verbal and spit aimed at me from a woman with a child in the car.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

When it comes to angry car drivers, they could have had the Queen or Mother Theresa in the passenger seat and it still wouldn't have stopped some of them mouthing off.
Once I had a mouth full of of foul verbal and spit aimed at me from a woman with a child in the car.

One of the things that distinguishes the British road user from others I've encountered is the level of suppressed rage barely below the surface.

Other countries (Italy comes to mind) can be far more chaotic, and probably every bit as dangerous in reality, but it's generally good natured chaos, without the aggression and frankly violence which seems to have become an inherent part of the British road experience.

I've no idea why.

 

[Dadam]

One of the things that distinguishes the British road user from others I've encountered is the level of suppressed rage barely below the surface.

Other countries (Italy comes to mind) can be far more chaotic, and probably every bit as dangerous in reality, but it's generally good natured chaos, without the aggression and frankly violence which seems to have become an inherent part of the British road experience.

I've no idea why.

We were on holiday in Sorrento last year and although the driving was mad chaos, especially the scooters zipping and weaving in and out on all sides, and frequent horn blowing, people seemed to just accept it and go with the flow. I didn't see any road rage.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

We were on holiday in Sorrento last year and although the driving was mad chaos, especially the scooters zipping and weaving in and out on all sides, and frequent horn blowing, people seemed to just accept it and go with the flow. I didn't see any road rage.

Had the same experience cycling through Genoa last year. Genoa traffic is notorious even in Italy!