John the Monkey
Frivolous Cyclist
- Location
- Crewe
I think Mark Beaumont said something similar - he reckoned it was the only place on his round the world trip that anyone spontaneously told him to "F*ck off" because he was on a bike.
Why do drivers hate cyclists?
- Thread starter rowan 46
- Start date
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I think Mark Beaumont said something similar - he reckoned it was the only place on his round the world trip that anyone spontaneously told him to "F*ck off" because he was on a bike.
Is it also as equally terrifying? Do you feel like your safety is in jeopardy when a cyclist is slowing you down?
Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
I think the word he used was annoying......
Moodyman
Legendary Member
Thing is Jezza, I don't feel terrified. Good positioning on the road, good eye contact, early signalling and awareness of surroundings help negate any fear.
I ride the same couple of routes every day and at the same time, so most of the drivers I see are the same every morning. I make it a habit to thank every considerate maneouvre - even when they've not done owt special.
Why? it's not just the driver behind but those nearby who see this. Message spreads - good driving is appreciated.
Some say being 6' 2" and having a rugby player physique help. I think it's my preference for soft power that keep the wheels going round.
barongreenback
Über Member
- Location
- Warwickshire
I think a friendly wave to a car driver who has been behind you, even if just for 30 seconds or so, goes a long way. The whole point of cars is that they get you from A-B quickly (most of the time) so being held up by a cyclist can be an irritation. That said, it's only a minority of drivers who 'hate' cyclists and I'm sure the opposite applies too.
r80
Active Member
I always hate cycling when I can feel a car behind moving around the lane right behind me impatiently waiting for a chance to floor it past. As a result I cycle quite fast until I get to a country lane and can lower my heart rate and start to pace myself. I remember once a bus went straight past me at about 60mph and barely moved over, the wind it caused unbalanced me massively. I agree with the comments about everyone being in a permanent rush to get somewhere.
I also shamefully admit to riding on the pavement on a bike (an old MTB where lots of effort is needed doing 25 as you run out of gears to use) but I think (hope) I give pedestrians lots of room, I always slow as I pass by.
A bit of info, when car seatbelts became mandatory, cyclist injuries increased, presumably as everyone drove around like they were in tanks. (Safest place to out a spike on a car is on the steering wheel?)
That Silly cyclists page, there will never be one called Sensible cyclists, and you will never tell a friend, some bloody cyclist indicated with his arm and cycled safely. But you would say, damn cyclist jumped a red earlier.
Yep I joined just to have a rant.
I also shamefully admit to riding on the pavement on a bike (an old MTB where lots of effort is needed doing 25 as you run out of gears to use) but I think (hope) I give pedestrians lots of room, I always slow as I pass by.
A bit of info, when car seatbelts became mandatory, cyclist injuries increased, presumably as everyone drove around like they were in tanks. (Safest place to out a spike on a car is on the steering wheel?)
That Silly cyclists page, there will never be one called Sensible cyclists, and you will never tell a friend, some bloody cyclist indicated with his arm and cycled safely. But you would say, damn cyclist jumped a red earlier.
Yep I joined just to have a rant.
Angelfishsolo
A Velocipedian
- Location
- Cwmbach, South Wales
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Or lucky? I had a run in with a driver this morning. The driver initially past me going the other way, went round a mini-roundabout, deliberately did a close pass & shouted something, did a U-turn waited for me to pass him again & shouted "get a car you f**king w**ker!". He obviously has some issues.
I am coming to the conclusion that "professional drivers" are the worst for attitude. Taxi drivers seem to be bullies, and many of the bus drivers who use the Wellsway in Bath like to nudge across the lane as they go by.
95% of other drivers on my 15-20 miles commute are good, giving plenty of space, waiting until it is safe etc... Sure there is one that doesn't, but it tends not to be aggressive when they don't, just not good driving.
Maybe it is the benefit of living in Somerset and not in a major city/suburb? All my "hassles" with vehicles pretty much happen once in Bath.
I have resisted getting a camera, as I almost feel it is looking for trouble, but it would be interesting to see footage of said taxis and buses behaviour.
Like the idiot taxi driver yesterday, I filtered up the cycle lane into the ASL at the bus gates in the town, and positioned myself front and centre as it is narrow. After 2 or 3 mins we get the green light and he forces past with barely 6 inches clearance... it gets him 100 yards ahead where he has to stop in the heavy traffic queued on Broad Street... I cycle past his window and inform him "that was a dumb place to overtake, wasn't it?", and continue on my way, his passengers hopefully realising they were in a vehicle driven by a nasty fool.
95% of other drivers on my 15-20 miles commute are good, giving plenty of space, waiting until it is safe etc... Sure there is one that doesn't, but it tends not to be aggressive when they don't, just not good driving.
Maybe it is the benefit of living in Somerset and not in a major city/suburb? All my "hassles" with vehicles pretty much happen once in Bath.
I have resisted getting a camera, as I almost feel it is looking for trouble, but it would be interesting to see footage of said taxis and buses behaviour.
Like the idiot taxi driver yesterday, I filtered up the cycle lane into the ASL at the bus gates in the town, and positioned myself front and centre as it is narrow. After 2 or 3 mins we get the green light and he forces past with barely 6 inches clearance... it gets him 100 yards ahead where he has to stop in the heavy traffic queued on Broad Street... I cycle past his window and inform him "that was a dumb place to overtake, wasn't it?", and continue on my way, his passengers hopefully realising they were in a vehicle driven by a nasty fool.
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Cyclopathic
Veteran
- Location
- Leicester.
I agree that we seem to have a very poor atitude towards cyclists in this country. It may be getting better very slowly but I think that is only because more people are cycling which is in turn down to economics largely. For some reason though we treat cycling as a second rate activity which should be left to children and we treat cyclists as if they were a complete nuicance. I know I'm generalising but I am talking about general attitudes.
I think a lot of work needs to be done to raise the status of cycling in this country and real efforts made to get as many people on their bikes as possible. Instaed of just stating the benifits to cyclists of cycling much more emphasis should be put on the benifits to everybody.
yep there is a perception that cycling is "odd". As i was thinking about my ride home yesterday a friend sent me a message saying "you could be in a nice dry warm car, why would anyone want to cycle"...
well I passed hundreds of frustrated drivers in their nice warm cars, as they sat misting up in the gridlocked traffic, and I arrived home feeling stress free and alive.
It isn't a case of it being the only option, I have a big shiny truck on the drive, but like many cycle commuters I just prefer to ride.
With regards France, I love cycling there, drivers do give you much more space and are more patient with cyclists... they seem to give no time or space to other cars though.
Not sure what it is like cycling in major French cities though, maybe it is the same as here?
well I passed hundreds of frustrated drivers in their nice warm cars, as they sat misting up in the gridlocked traffic, and I arrived home feeling stress free and alive.
It isn't a case of it being the only option, I have a big shiny truck on the drive, but like many cycle commuters I just prefer to ride.
With regards France, I love cycling there, drivers do give you much more space and are more patient with cyclists... they seem to give no time or space to other cars though.
Not sure what it is like cycling in major French cities though, maybe it is the same as here?
Angelfishsolo
A Velocipedian
- Location
- Cwmbach, South Wales
No. Seatbelts save so many lives that A&E were flooded with people involved in Car Crashes who would over-wise have have died.
I give much more room to cyclists when driving, now that I am a motorist and a cycle commuter, compared to when I was just a motorist. That wasnt out of malice, just ignorance. I simply didnt realise what it was like to be on a cycle with a motor car passing only 1 ft away. Yes I should have read in the highway code to give a cyclist as much room as a car but I didnt.
Ok, I'm a motorist who is looking to start cycling. To be honest, until recently I barely even noticed a cyclist, other then as an annoyance slowing down my commute to work.
I was never nasty, or rude, but possibly guilty of not giving them quite as much room as I should have when overtaking.
I never 'hated' cyclist, but in truth our roads are poorly designed and are way too narrow, making overtaking difficult so instead you get stuck behind someone going about 10 miles an hour - which is no fun at all.
I'm sure it's this frustration that eventually boils over and leads to close overtaking - rather then any actual malice towards the rider ( the driver in GrasB's post not included obviously)
I was never nasty, or rude, but possibly guilty of not giving them quite as much room as I should have when overtaking.
I never 'hated' cyclist, but in truth our roads are poorly designed and are way too narrow, making overtaking difficult so instead you get stuck behind someone going about 10 miles an hour - which is no fun at all.
I'm sure it's this frustration that eventually boils over and leads to close overtaking - rather then any actual malice towards the rider ( the driver in GrasB's post not included obviously)
