195 replies to this topic

[MaxAndPaddy]

Keep to the debate guys its a good one...dont make it a handbag fight

[MaxAndPaddy]

There seems to be a hell of a lot more cycling clubs/cyclists about nowadays, all part of the keep fit era we're in, so maybe problems are on the increase too

 

Not a lot bothers me but when you're stuck behind a convoy of cyclists and they make no effort to safely let u past u do get miffed

 

But most are polite and do move over...tractor drivers are a whole other kettle of fish!!!

 

Dont get me started    

[creakyjaws5533]

Your experience as a car driver not a cyclist which is why you don't see our side of the argument with regards to overtaking. How can accurately say you can over take anything anywhere as long as you have 400bhp? Okay I doubt that highly but oh well. If you keep acting like the people I work with who use the same arguments with me on a daily basis then fine but until you have been at the scene of a death of cyclist where a car driver decided to ignore the Marshall and proceed up the road and ending the life of a young talented cyclist you wont really understand how real it becomes and how the risks are so high yet some (by no means a dig or insult to anyone on here but people I have seen on the roads) car driver see us as collateral when we are only doing something we love as a hobby

[mk3 Cooper S]

Cycling experience?? I was aa member of a BMX team in the 80's

 

Well it was a white lie as it is 600 bhp with no girly traction control on this occasion

 

[creakyjaws5533]

A bmx team is quite different to road cycling. Still even with 600bhp you can go anywhere you want if the space isn't there

[Black.Ghost]

Bronko, reference your earlier point, yes we see exactly what you mean about being two abreast. But if the idiot driver be it a chav in a Corsa or a businessman in a 400hp BMW is driving too fast, the chances are someone will be injured or a collision anyway. I know being right is irrelevant when you are dead, but I am not going to change the way I do things or live my life because their are idiots out there and that is a risk I choose myself.

 

I rarely cycle two abreast anyway so its not a huge deal for me.

 

M&P it depends what you mean as a convoy. If they are down a country lane and there are say 10, I usually find they stagger themselves, so the overall width is about that of 1.5 cyclists rather than 2. Also, when I am out with mates and we are two abreast, one of us will nip in front or behind another if we hear a car coming. 

 

As for cars closing quickly on cyclists, the speed limit is a limit, not you must always travel at that speed, and you drive according to the hazards. So if you can see a cyclist and you can see there is traffic coming the other way, start slowing down when you have plenty of time, not right on top of them trying to fit through small gaps! Its really not hard. A cyclist/motorbike/pedestrian/horse are all hazards.

 

When we are talking about life and death, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. Cyclists can't prove they were right from the ground and the driver if at fault will find their shouts fall on deaf ears in a prison cell. So as a car driver, even if you come across one of the less than perfect cyclists, brushing past as fast as you can and risking serious injury to them is not worth the consequences you could face.

[mk3 Cooper S]

A bmx team is quite different to road cycling. Still even with 600bhp you can go anywhere you want if the space isn't there

I cycled on the road with a racing bike too - Still got it old Skool

 

The space is there if you follow the law

[BronkoMini]

Not a stab at lorry drivers as I know the lorries are big and they like to keep momentum but when the over take they do it really close to me and the wind caused has made me nearly end up in a ditch it's not just car drivers

[sherly]

Hahaha....love the cyclist 'v' cars debate......the usual clichés always raise their ugly heads (road tax, insurance etc).  If anyone from the Southend area reads the Echo website (local rag) then they'll know how quickly a bike related story descends from a proper debate into a "your mum's fatter than my mum" type argument in the comments section.

 

I'm a "cyclist" (well - I commute to work and back on a pushbike - guess that qualifies?). 

 

I stop at red lights/pelican crossings/zebra crossings/junctions. More often than not much to the amazement of the pedestrian waiting to cross (sad but true)

 

I use the road like I would if I was driving my car.  I make clear signals, I ride single file when cycling with others & filtering down beside high-sided vehicles down the left just doesn't compute......but then I quite enjoy living.

 

I use the cycle lanes where possible (when cycling under 18mph) and where safe to do so - if anyone has tried cycling along Southend seafront on a sunny afternoon then you'll know how dangerous that can be.  Just like "cyclists shouldn't be on the road" then "pedestrians shouldn't be on the cycle lane"........but hey, it's easy to generalise. 

 

I get angry at cyclists who ride on the pavement.....and those that ride on the road at night with no lights.......or car drivers who don't indicate (and my daily drive is a Beemer! Man I'm messed up!)

 

In my car I make sure I pass cyclists/horses with plenty of room - as if I was overtaking another car.  But then I know what it's like to be passed by inches.......

 

Bottom line is that the world contains numpties.....whether on a bike or driving a car or riding a horse..........

[creakyjaws5533]

Its not the consequences though you need to think of the impact of those who witness it and those who have to live without that person, bearing it mind losing a child must be terrible I cant contemplate how painful that must be but to know that it was really preventable and because someone didn't want to wait 5 minutes makes it worse. Also the affect on yourself and the passenger on this occasion the cyclist ended up through the windscreen on the top of the dash next to the driver and passenger which is another experience I wouldn't ever want to have.

[creakyjaws5533]

A bmx team is quite different to road cycling. Still even with 600bhp you can go anywhere you want if the space isn't there

I cycled on the road with a racing bike too - Still got it old Skool
 
The space is there if you follow the law

The highway code isnt law are you actually reading any of these posts? as that had been brought up a few times

[MaxAndPaddy]

I've been behind convoys of 10+ and they've staggered themselves like Blackghost said and I've got past them safely, but I've also been behind other 10+ convoys where they've kept going 3 abreast and not cared about the car behind.

 

Having said that I'm not having a go at all cyclists and I wouldnt try to pass one if I couldnt give plenty of room

 

Back to tractors  ...some pull over when they can and let people by, others maybe having a bad day will happily toodle for MILES with 20 cars behind them 

 

Sympathy to horses seems to be at a pretty low point and we wont let our daughter out on them now.... too many dont slow down, dont give them room, and even enjoy revving their engines or shouting out of the window as they go by

 

Way of the world nowadays, manners in all shapes and forms are on a down slide

[creakyjaws5533]

We have seen many horses getting spooked by car drivers who drop a gear but keep the same revs whislt going past them and often waiting with them and checking that they are okay and the horse is calm again

[BronkoMini]

It's the old boys in tractors that are usually the worst, back in there day there wernt so many cars, most of the time there just trying to get things done and there's a lot of time pressure, you've got to think they are actually at work, you would not want to have to keep logging of your computer if some one wants to do their work abit quicker rather than waiting for you to finish work first .

[MaxAndPaddy]

Our 16 year old has his tractor licence so can legally drive on the road, but cant drive a car for another year...go figure!!!

 

Bit like saying ''Your too young for a hand gun licence.... but here you go have a Bazooka !!!