Cyclist v Motorist

Went out for a ride today and had a car cut across the front of me. I made a gesture and he stopped, I jumped of my bike and we had a little exchange of words. My point is why do some car drivers believe that bikes should not be on the road or should be that close to the side that they ride in the drainage channel? I drive a Renault Grand Espace, a big 7 seater and make sure I am well out of the way of any cyclist I need to over take. So what if I have to wait 10, 20, 30 seconds, it's no big deal.

Please can I ask any non cyclist reading to please give us cyclist room on the roads, we have a much right to use the road as you do. :happy:

I for one hate bikers.
-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?
-- 2 if heaven forbid, I should bump into you by mistake, what kind of charges will be pressed against me?
-- 3 If I bump a car, No charges and it only cost me $500 before my insurance kicks in.
--4 We teach our kids not to play in the streets and to be in the streets in general, and yet. its o.k for bikers..

bikers should stay off the road and use the sidewalks .. thats what they are for.

-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?

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Because it's ILLEGAL (in the U.K) to ride on footpaths

You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?

Because it's ILLEGAL (in the U.K) to ride on footpaths

You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

bikers should stay off the road and use the sidewalks .. thats what they are for.

COMPLETE BOLLOCKS

because- pedal bikes like to claim as much right to the road as a fully registered vehicle.

And they aren't.

And then when they do things NOT for registered vehicles- they scream- we aren't cars.

and they are often extremely rude about sharing the road and very condescending about how much better they are that they are on bikes.

I ride a motorcycle- I'm aware of how dangerous being exposed on the road is- and even I get excessively annoyed with the entitled attitude of pedal bike folks.

THAT'S why no one likes bicyclists.

sorry... not sorry. noting personal- but the odds tip into the rude A hole camp more than the "polite" camp... much like when I tell people I ride a sport bike- everyone assumes I'm some flip flop wife beater stunting wanna be who lane splits at 120 through free way traffic.
and even though I don't- there is a large percentage of sport riders who DO behave like that... so we all get lumped into and unless the majority STOP behaving like that- each of our respective groups has to suffer with the unwanted stigma.

sorry mate- that's just the way it is.

Yes. All bicyclists ride exactly the same way. Just like all motorcyclists ride without helmets, weave in and out of traffic and ride the shoulder, breaking the law at every turn.

I live in a bike-unfriendly city - Nashville TN - and it pains me to see how drivers treat cyclists despite the LAW which requires motorists give cyclists 3 FEET of space. Driver behavior keeps me away from cycling. And sadly, while the city encourages cycling by putting rental bikes all over town, they fail to provide the cyclists with helmets. It's very difficult to retro-fit our cities to cycling paths like Minneapolis did decades ago.

Yes. All bicyclists ride exactly the same way. Just like all motorcyclists ride without helmets, weave in and out of traffic and ride the shoulder, breaking the law at every turn.

I do believe I made myself clear saying that it was a stigma and that I know not everyone rides like that but the group that gets the most attention is the one being the most annoying and was clear that not everyone rode the same.

Anything but, but meh

Went out for a ride today and had a car cut across the front of me. I made a gesture and he stopped, I jumped of my bike and we had a little exchange of words. My point is why do some car drivers believe that bikes should not be on the road or should be that close to the side that they ride in the drainage channel? I drive a Renault Grand Espace, a big 7 seater and make sure I am well out of the way of any cyclist I need to over take. So what if I have to wait 10, 20, 30 seconds, it's no big deal.

Please can I ask any non cyclist reading to please give us cyclist room on the roads, we have a much right to use the road as you do. :happy:

I for one hate bikers.
-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?
-- 2 if heaven forbid, I should bump into you by mistake, what kind of charges will be pressed against me?
-- 3 If I bump a car, No charges and it only cost me $500 before my insurance kicks in.
--4 We teach our kids not to play in the streets and to be in the streets in general, and yet. its o.k for bikers..

bikers should stay off the road and use the sidewalks .. thats what they are for.

This is the type of ignorance I run into while cycling. I would never ride on the side walk because it is ILLEGAL to do so. I have as much right to be on the road as a motor vehicle whether you approve or not.

Went out for a ride today and had a car cut across the front of me. I made a gesture and he stopped, I jumped of my bike and we had a little exchange of words. My point is why do some car drivers believe that bikes should not be on the road or should be that close to the side that they ride in the drainage channel? I drive a Renault Grand Espace, a big 7 seater and make sure I am well out of the way of any cyclist I need to over take. So what if I have to wait 10, 20, 30 seconds, it's no big deal.

Please can I ask any non cyclist reading to please give us cyclist room on the roads, we have a much right to use the road as you do. :happy:

I for one hate bikers.
-- 1 Why can't they use the side walks like people who walk?
-- 2 if heaven forbid, I should bump into you by mistake, what kind of charges will be pressed against me?
-- 3 If I bump a car, No charges and it only cost me $500 before my insurance kicks in.
--4 We teach our kids not to play in the streets and to be in the streets in general, and yet. its o.k for bikers..

bikers should stay off the road and use the sidewalks .. thats what they are for.

This is the type of ignorance I run into while cycling. I would never ride on the side walk because it is ILLEGAL to do so. I have as much right to be on the road as a motor vehicle whether you approve or not.

I'm glad Florida changed the law to allow bikes on sidewalks "if the road is deemed too hazardous" in 2011. In many areas, there are bike paths and I use them. In other areas, the sidewalks are double width to accommodate bikes, particularly in areas where kids are known to ride.

I have a rather unique method of dealing with rude *kitten* in cars. I pull out my baton, open it, and smash their passenger side window. I did this two days ago to some young dbag in a truck who pulled up beside me, honked the horn, and then started edging me off the road. After I broke his window, like the true coward he is, he sped off, ignoring my pleas to get out of his truck.

I have been known to throw hard boiled eggs at cars who are really stupid. I live in SW VA where the ignorant, truck driving, redneck population is through the roof. Dbags who think cyclists have no rights to the road. These *kitten* actually TARGET cyclists on back roads, so I take steps to protect myself and my other riders. I also have been known to carry a .380..just in case.

I stay as far right as I can, obey all traffic signs, and stop at all lights. I signal at every turn. I absolutely abhor rude drivers. If you don't have the damn common sense to go around a cyclist, do everyone a favor and stay the hell off the roads.

The guy who started this thread is far more respectful of idiot drivers than I am. I don't tolerate being bullied by idiots just because they think they are entitled to the road.

As frustrating as it can be to drive 10mph behind a cyclist, I'm not about to endanger their lives. I can be patient. Though, the other day I was passing a kid on a bike (the law where I live says to give four feet of space to the cyclist, which I did) and he decided to take his hands off the handelbars and be "cool" or something and swerved in front of me and almost fell off his bike. It scared the crap out of me! I had to swerve into the other lane and slam my breaks. The person behind me almost hit me. So, while I am content to share the road patiently, it's stuff like that, that pisses me off. The Amish around here ride with no hands often and I worry that they'll it a bump and fall in front of me.That and when cyclists are driving in the dead center of the lane so I CAN'T pass them. I don't expect them to be on the shoulder where there are rocks and drains and pedestrians, but at least stay off to the side enough so I'm able to make that 4 foot pass.

I figure I'd be pretty rude to a car going 10 mph in front of me causing a traffic jam, too. It's not the vehicle, it's the "I'm entitled to cause a traffic jam" attitude.

The funny thing is, you would probably be sitting in a real traffic jam and not just needing to wait a moment to safely pass if all the bike riders decided to start taking their cars out.

I have no problem giving cyclists their space and generally show a lot of patience when I come up to cyclists on the road. However, I tend to lose that patience when I come across a group of riders who are holding up traffic and making it impossible for cars to pass for miles. If you have a car stuck behind you for more than a couple minutes the polite thing to do, in my opinion, would be to pull off the road and let them by. I think sharing the road is the responsibility of both sides.

Hi Jen

Totally agree with not holding up traffic, there was a bus behind me today on one of the country lanes I was on, pulled in at the first opportunity.

Not sure if you were aware of this but the reason that some cyclist ride side by side is it is safer for them and also quicker (supposedly) for motorist to get by. Your only overtaking 1 bikes length not 2, however you do need more room on you right in the UK (or left more or less everywhere else).

Sorry if that sound pompous or condescending, I don't mean it to just wanted you to know why it's done.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

That makes total sense now....I never thought of it that way. Thanks!

Someone "riding a bicycle" is not necessarily a "cyclist" (people engaged in the serious sport of cycling). Unfortunately, there are way too many of the first kind that give serious and responsible riders a bad reputation. Riding through red lights, not stopping at stop signs, going against the flow of traffic, cutting in and out of bike lanes, etc etc. Many drivers can not differentiate the difference. It just not worth the fight to me anymore.

Good points buddy, maybe there should be some sort of cycling road test where you are granted a licence at the end of the test. If you are caught going through red lights riding on pavement or any other "cycling offence you have endorsements put on you licence, to many endorsements and you get fined and have to have a retest. Just a thought.

I'd vote for that!

When I see other "cyclists" riding on sidewalks, going the wrong way on on way streets, riding through red lights etc etc I just wish there was a cop around to ticket them..(I've yelled at my fair share of sidewalk surfers, salmons & ninjas over the years)

When we're on our bikes we're operating (in almost every jurisdiction in the world) a vehicle. We're required to obey the rules of the road. I suspect if more cyclists behaved predictably and responsibly motorists would be more likely to do the same around bikes (pardon the pun)....it's a two way street.