Need a cycling rant!

Nmt100

So we all know that tragically 6 people have been killed cycling in London in the past fortnight and I don't know whether the vehicles or cyclists were at fault. But you would think with that in mind people may be a bit more careful around cyclists, but NO. Normally I leave late to avoid the 5pm traffic but tonight I had to leave on time. In my 20 minute journey home. One car forced me into the curb 'sorry love didn't see you' (I have 6 lights and wear high vis clothing with reflective strips) when overtaking on a corner. One guy was so aggressive and swearing out the window I pulled off the road to let him past. One guy went into the wrong lane to beat me off the line at the traffic lights, then stalled so ended cutting me up and i had to slam on the brakes to avoid colliding with him and then several people accelerated through the red light coming in the opposite direction to me whilst I was trying to turn right leaving me stranded in the middle of a junction. I know it was 5 on a friday but I wanted to get home the same as everyone else. Preferably in one piece!

Rant over. Just needed to have a small rant to calm down as that was the most stressful journey ever. Isn't exercise meant to be calming?

Ant_the_old_keith_lemon

it was bad enough driving yesterday let alone out on the bike, i feel you pain....

when xmas approaches people who never usually drive end up out on the roads visiting familes or shopping and the quality of driving seems to get worse, the two weeks before christmas seem to turn into destruction derby...

not to mention the people without lights on in the dark!! some guy the other day was behind me beeping for me to get out of his way, i had moved off with an indicator... -- SORRY MATE DIDNT SEE YOU, might help if you put your lights on!!... his ranting continued... off with my belt, door opened - he quickly went about his buisness, if only he would have backed up his abuse...

dont get me wrong i am the most plasid and stable person in the world but i like to see if people are all talk!!

KitTheRoadie

I fear I am reading more and more stories like this!

Only this morning there is a story on our local paper website about a cyclist who was using a 'toucan crossing' was knocked off by a hit and run driver, yet all the comments on the website are blaming the cyclist??!!

Nothing puts me off riding and I mean nothing but seriously this has to change.

Glad you got home ok in the end and well done you for making sure you do everything possible to be seen!

Stay safe!

ChrisM8971

I drive for a living and see a lot of impatience in car drivers when it comes to cyclists and it worries me. This country does need a change of attitude from a lot of people before cars and cyclists are able to share the roads safely.

1. There needs to be infrastructure changes, which does cost money, because many of the cycle lanes that we have are just painted on to roads that were already too narrow so don't really solve the issues. Around where I live they have widened the paths and put an extra lane here for cyclists which does mean that it is safer

2. The attitude of some drivers needs to change, it is all too easy to ignore the cyclist or get angry because you cant get past them on a busy road but it shouldn't happen. However it does and sometimes the end result is a fatality, which is unacceptable.

3. Some cyclists need to change their attitude as well, I have had one shoot out of a side road straight into the side of my, stationary, car. Luckily nobody was hurt but the bike had no brakes and did a considerable amount of paintwork damage to my car, which I had to pay for to be repaired. I also had a cyclist shoot across in front of me at a set of lights where mine were green so his were obviously red

I also think the bad drivers and cyclists are a minority but due to the number of cars on the road you will always hear more about bad drivers, especially because of the consequences of an accident.

It does need to change soon, even if it takes a change in law because this does need to stop

Inkratlet

Cambridge seems to be particularly bad for uneducated cyclists. Many have no idea about the traffic system, behave erratically, cycle out in front of you without signaling or even looking, have no lights on in the dusk/dark etc. They seriously worry me! But for a city where cycling is extremely popular the infrastructure absolutely sucks! I grew up in Holland so was used to having cycle lanes OFF ROAD on major routes. Those lanes do exist in some areas of Cambridge, but they are basically on pavements and there isn't enough space for pedestrians and cyclists to both use the same tiny bit of path. Cyclists then get abuse from pedestrians. So consequently, I've seen cyclists not using them! In the Netherlands, you will also be stopped and fined by the police for not having bicycle lights. Doesn't seem to happen so consistently in the UK. The street lighting is your guide - if the street lights are on, yours must be too. So from my perspective, it's about education and infrastructure.

If you aren't going to improve the infrastructure so that cyclists have decent cycle lanes to use, then EDUCATE them as fully fledged road users. Right now cycle paths are somewhere in between regular roads and pavements - not good enough. we could learn quite a few lessons from the Dutch here.

I also cycle a lot on and off-road and luckily haven't had too many horrible experiences - London sounds like a nightmare for cyclists! A friend of mine always petitions for better cycling routes in London. I fully support the cause!

vampirequeen1959

I'm a relatively new cyclist and I find roads terrifying. For some drivers I appear to be invisible and for others I'm sure I'm actually a target. My husband is a hardened cyclist and I only ever go out with him. We have incredibly bright lights which although legal (we checked with the police) seem to really upset some drivers (esp 4x4s for some reason) as they're not sure what's coming towards them so slow down then to their disgust realise they've given way to a bike lol. The air often turns blue but I'd rather be sworn at than knocked over.

Having said that I'm not just blaming drivers. Last night we met a cyclist on a dark lane with no lights who actually seemed surprised that we had them. He reckoned that car headlights would pick him out. My husband told him in no uncertain terms what he thought of that hope. We often see cyclists who jump red lights or appear from nowhere as they drop off the pavement onto the road. As a driver I always check for the idiot who undertakes me at a roundabout just as I'm setting off or the one who decides to turn right in front of me. When I was learning to drive I was taught that wherever possible you should give a cyclist six feet of space so that if they fall off as you pass it's very unlikely they'll go under your wheels. I wish more people were taught that rather than the apparent rule that many use of six inches.

AverageUkDude

Uhmm, i pulled over infront of a cyclist the other night as it was pitch black and he had no reflective gear on and no lights, told him i could barely see him driving and nearly hit him, offered him a lift to where he needed to be (country roads) he told me to **** off and mind my own business.

I love living in Hull lol.

vampirequeen1959

Might have been the same guy who we met as it's the same area. Let's be honest though he's not unusual. A lot of Hull cyclists seem to be a law unto themselves. Red lights mean go, roundabouts are for undertaking, zebra crossings don't exist unless to cycle across, pavements are cycle tracks, cycling clothes should be as dark as possible, hand signals are for wimps unless it's a one finger signal, brakes shouldn't have to work, the cyclist should never, ever look where he's going and if by chance the car in front of him actually follows the highway code and stops at a red light 'forcing' him to cycle into the back of them then he must verbally abuse the driver and threaten them and their car with physical violence until pulled off by another cyclist. (Yes this actually happened to me. The idiot went straight into the back of me because he wasn't looking where he was going then tried to blame me).

Nmt100

I agree that some cyclists are to blame as well. I ended up lending a woman my spare red light today. She goes the same route as me every Wednesday and I knew that she didn't have any lights. So I mentioned that she could borrow one as it was dark and foggy and she could give it me back once we got to the loop line (traffic free). She only took it because I insisted, her initial reply was "oh its fine. I've got a pink top on I'm perfectly visible". *sigh*

LADYFAHMY

I'm a driver in London and have seen some absolutely terrible cyclist ( no lights, no hi vis, jumping lights,not using handle bars to name a few) and I find it frustrating. On the other hand some drivers are nutters and are just as bad.

I have just taken up cycling to get fit, but stick to the canals and parks, I don't have enough confidence or trust to cycle on the roads!

B_S_L

I admire your courage but I'd be concerned for anyone cycling in London.
Driving a car in London is stressful!