Time to come clean

[apollo179]

It's the single biggest cause of complaints that I've personally heard when people are spouting off about cyclists

Really - take your word for it but ive never heard it myself other than on this forum and common sense would imho dictate that anyone with any sense would complain about being held up in their progress not about some stupid cyclist pinching a couple of seconds by jumping a red light - and all my contact with motorists and my own personal feelings when driving confirm this.

 

[Origamist]

Really - take your word for it but ive never heard it myself other than on this forum and common sense would imho dictate that anyone with any sense would complain about being held up in their progress not about some stupid cyclist pinching a couple of seconds by jumping a red light - and all my contact with motorists and my own personal feelings when driving confirm this.

Ever been to a local neighbourhood or parish meeting (I'd hope not, they're often dispirting affairs)? If you have, two points often get raised when anti-social issues and cyclists are concerned:

1. The "menace" of pavement cyclists
2. The "menace" of cyclists jumping lights and ploughing through zebra crossings.

These issues are often given as much weight as dealing with speeding, rat-runs etc.

 

[apollo179]

Ever been to a local neighbourhood or parish meeting (I'd hope not, they're often dispirting affairs)? If you have, two points often get raised when anti-social issues and cyclists are concerned:

1. The "menace" of pavement cyclists
2. The "menace" of cyclists jumping lights and ploughing through zebra crossings.

These issues are often given as much weight as dealing with speeding, rat-runs etc.

Interesting point Origamist, no ,ive yet to attend a parsih council meeting - i think youve just pin pointed the kind of self important busy body with nothing better to do than critiscise others that were talking about here.
Logic would say to me that motorists would object to anything getting in their way and holding them up, - not rljing. Those complaining about rljing and cycling on pavements are more likely to be petty jobsworth interfering dogooders - not generally motorists.
The op was asking about other road users not the local W.i.

 

[Origamist]

Interesting point Origamist, no ,ive yet to attend a parsih council meeting - i think youve just pin pointed the kind of self important busy body with nothing better to do than critiscise others that were talking about here.
Logic would say to me that motorists would object to anything getting in their way and holding them up, - not rljing. Those complaining about rljing and cycling on pavements are more likely to be petty jobsworth interfering dogooders - not generally motorists.
The op was asking about other road users not the local W.i.

Don't be so hard on parish or neighbourhood/community meetings - a lot of time, they do mundane things that make a measurable difference to the quality of life in the area.

The people who attend these meetings are members of the public and road users! Be it mainly as pedestrians, motorists, and to a much lesser extent cyclists. When the police attend these meetings they then do sporadic clamp downs on RLJ and pavement cyclists a few weeks later, because it has been flagged up as a problem!

 

[apollo179]

Don't be so hard on parish or neighbourhood/community meetings - a lot of time, they do mundane things that make a measurable difference to the quality of life in the area.

The people who attend these meetings are members of the public and road users! Be it mainly as pedestrians, motorists, and to a much lesser extent cyclists. When the police attend these meetings they then do sporadic clamp downs on RLJ and pavement cyclists a few weeks later, because it has been flagged up as a problem!

Yes i know i shoudnt be to harsh on these people as they do actually do alot of good and generally are a force for good. The world needs these people - i know this.

 

[gary in derby]

Think the fact we can get from a to b without having to pour our hard earned cash into the tank and the governments coffers .

 

[snorri]

what do you think is the biggest sin we can commit that is guranteed to upset other road users.

Failing to stop at petrol stations...ever. Bunch of freeloaders.

 

[Smokin Joe]

The idea that drivers get upset by cyclists rljing is a myth put about by busy body cyclists as a vent for there own feelings of outrage at the actions of their fellow cyclists. No-one is disputing that rljing is wrong (its against the law - therefore its wrong ) but please this idea that motorists generally are upset by it is nonsense. Motorists dont generally care about cyclists rljing. - the minority who do are the anal busy body dogooder type that just has a critiscise based agenda towards everyone and everything.
Motorists main gripe is being held up in their progress from a to b . Whatever the circumstances and be it cyclist , milk float , tractor , road works or sheep motorists main gripe is being impeded on their journey - not rljing.

Is it feck.

It infuriates other road users and unfortunately makes them believe that cyclists are just a bunch of lawless pricks who don't need to be taken seriously or treated with respect.

 

[apollo179]

Is it feck.

It infuriates other road users and unfortunately makes them believe that cyclists are just a bunch of lawless pricks who don't need to be taken seriously or treated with respect.

Thats just it - why would it infuriate a motorist to see some soppy cyclists pinching a couple of seconds by rljing on his commute home. It woudnt. Hes unnaffected. He dosnt care. He does care if hes stuck behind a slow moving obstacle however.
Would it "unfortunately makes them believe that cyclists are just a bunch of lawless pricks who don't need to be taken seriously or treated with respect." I dont know , it woudnt make me think that but i appreciate there are other people who are just inclined to judge other people more negatively.

 

[skudupnorth]

I've unfortunatly just returned to being a bloody motorist due to college being over 40 miles away (although i am planning to ride at least some of the time due to absolutly hating driving ! ) The main problem with my new "joy" is other motorists,there are some total, inconsiderate tossers out there on the minor roads and motorways.The cyclists i pass at each end of my motorway jaunt have been perfect road users and being a sort of "ex-commuter cyclist" (for the time being) i must annoy other fellow road users when i wait for the right and safe time to overtake cyclists.I don't care because it is true that it only takes a few seconds of my journey to wait till it's safe,i really wish it was made part of any test to show motorists that we are not a hinderence and give space and time to all other road users (horse riders and moped riders included).
I guess it has been a good experience for me to see it from the other side for a while but that does not mean i like it...especially when i have to pay to power my vehicle I wish some more motorists would bin the tin box and get out on a bike,i know and 80 mile round trip might be a tad too much but most must only do 5/6 milers to work which is definatly do-able

 

[Smokin Joe]

Thats just it - why would it infuriate a motorist to see some soppy cyclists pinching a couple of seconds by rljing on his commute home. It woudnt. Hes unnaffected. He dosnt care. He does care if hes stuck behind a slow moving obstacle however.
Would it "unfortunately makes them believe that cyclists are just a bunch of lawless pricks who don't need to be taken seriously or treated with respect." I dont know , it woudnt make me think that but i appreciate there are other people who are just inclined to judge other people more negatively.

Because people respect those who display a skilled and responsible attitude to their driving or riding, and are sneeringly dismissive of urban cowboys who think they can do as they please, that applies whether someone is riding a bike or motorcycle or driving a car or a truck.

And nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives waking up screaming in the middle of another nightmare about the day they got out of their car and gazed down in horror at the dismembered body of a cyclist lying under it.


Ride like a prick, get treated like a prick.

 

[Thomk]

We are in their territory. Lions hate hyenas and motorists (the stupid mammalian types) hate cyclists. The road is their domain. We irritate them just by being there. When they see us in the distance they say a low f**k under their breath. when we get in front of them.....woooooow...... we are just asking for trouble and they will make sure we get it. We prevent them from relaxing. It's a bit like being in the outback being bothered to distraction by swarms of pesky flies. If they right hook, left hook, punishment pass, mock brake us they will eventually teach us to all f**k off and leave them alone.

 

[Borbus]

It's the single biggest cause of complaints that I've personally heard when people are spouting off about cyclists

I don't know about the single biggest cause (that would probably be the "holding up traffic" rubbish), but yes, a lot of motorists do hate RLJers. I'm not sure why, but they do.

 

[Bicycle]

Think the fact we can get from a to b without having to pour our hard earned cash into the tank and the governments coffers .

I think this belief (in its many forms) is a great, big myth.

Motorists don't see cyclists as freeloaders or levy-dodgers.

Most cyclists are also motorists. They usually have a taxed, tested and insured car parked on a drive somewhere. Many of the costs of running a car are fixed, so the saving is not as large as it might seem.

I don't think my decision to ride somewhere on a bicycle has ever been driven by economic factors.

I suspect that the economic downturn might make fuel cost in significant factor in transport decisions in the coming period, but as things stand I see school-run cars parked with the engine running ten minutes before school finishes.

What winds other road users up is poor cycling, outlined in part in my earlier post on this thread.

 

[apollo179]

Because people respect those who display a skilled and responsible attitude to their driving or riding, and are sneeringly dismissive of urban cowboys who think they can do as they please, that applies whether someone is riding a bike or motorcycle or driving a car or a truck.

And nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives waking up screaming in the middle of another nightmare about the day they got out of their car and gazed down in horror at the dismembered body of a cyclist lying under it.


Ride like a prick, get treated like a prick.

So your saying that motorists get upset at seeing some soppy cyclists pinching a couple of seconds on his commute home because it is (additedly) bad behaviour. Well that may be true of a small minority of the kind of people we have all ready identified but its wrong to represent most motorists as having this petty kind of mindset or that it is the most common gripe that motorists have against cyclists. Cos it isnt. Most motorists dont even see cyclists let alone give a happenny what they get up to at red lights.