RANT! about cars overtaking cyclists

I think lots of motorists don't realise how vulnerable one is on a bike. In my experience, little old ladies in a small car are the most dangerous to cyclists lol. Last year I was heading to meet the club boys to ride in the new forest.... 5 minutes into my ride as I'm approaching this junction, this guy turns into the road I was on, he was on the phone and went so wide that went onto my lane leaving me no room on the road..... I don't know how I managed to jump over the kerb and I ended up in somebody's hedge. I was too shaken to carry on my ride.
 
Too many people trying to use inadequate two-lane blacktop. We have British-type roads in America, too, but they're alley-ways.
It's true that we in the UK have too many cars for the road network, but being a relatively small island I wouldn't like to see six lane highways all over the countryside, back in the 60s some families had one car, now everyone in the family has a car and we simply have not got the road network to deal with it..... What's the answer? I don't know but better public transportation would be a good start, we need to be less reliant on the car.
Blademonkey reporting from an overcrowded country!!
 
It's true that we in the UK have too many cars for the road network, but being a relatively small island I wouldn't like to see six lane highways all over the countryside, back in the 60s some families had one car, now everyone in the family has a car and we simply have not got the road network to deal with it..... What's the answer? I don't know but better public transportation would be a good start, we need to be less reliant on the car.
Blademonkey reporting from an overcrowded country!!
Public transportation is great except for two things: it doesn't take you where you want to go, when you want to go.
 
I have a better idea. If a single person has a car which they mostly use for commuting to work and back, give them a hefty discount on a top-of-the-line electric bike, ala Scott e-Silence 10, or 20, or the Scott e-slience EVO. The better ones can travel 90 miles on a single charge. I've just ordered the e-Silence 10 because where I live I can ride to the shops, Sainsburys, into Ringwood, West Moors, or a myriad of other destinations with 90% certainty I won't get hit by a car. We live near the A31, which is always busy with motor traffic, but has a sidewalk on both sides of the road which has become a de-facto bike path of leisure cyclists. The Lycra-clad bike club members use the A31 due to their over-riding death-wish, while the rest of us use the pathway in order to satisfy a greater sense of self-preservation. If the government can give away £ billions to countries that haven't asked for it, and don't need it, then they can subsidise the electric bike revolution; although I don't see any net-gain from having 30,000,000 cyclists on the roads going to work every morning. It would look like China. Or launch a chemical/biological attack on the country and take out forty million of the sixty million inhabitants. Road problems solved.
 
The problem with cyclists around here is that they insist on riding two abreast taking up the entire lane so that you can't get past even when there's no oncoming traffic. It does not make it OK to overtake in a dangerous manner, but it's annoying being stuck behind the inconsiderate so and sos, especially as a lot of them give you a dirty look when they do finally pull in. Honestly it's like some of them think that drivers have no right to be on the road. There is a cycle path that runs along side the road for several miles too, but a lot of them don't use it.
 
As one who spent a fair few years of my working life dealing with the results of incidents involving motorised and non motorised wheeled vehicles and non motorised vehicles (bikes) and pedestrians the only solution I believe could ever work is segregation. And for those who feel the cyclist always comes off worst, you should see some of the carnage I not infrequently witnessed caused to pedestrians by pushbikes on the city streets ( and pavements, or is that ' de facto cycle paths ' ) of Glasgow city centre.

JohnnyO. o/
 
This is a can of worms: there are good and bad drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians; and it's unfair to stigmatise one group over another. I spent a number of years as a pedestrian in London and formed a dim view of many urban cyclists, too many of whom were quite happy to ignore traffic lights, zebra crossings, and cycle on the pavement, and who didn't take kindly when they got called out for their behaviour. That said, some drivers were extremely impatient with cyclists, to the point of putting them in danger; and some pedestrians didn't help by trying to dodge in and out of traffic, looking for cars but not bikes.

So there's faults on all sides, and I don't know what the solution is short of even more education and maybe stiffer fines for all road offenders. While in no way condoing any behaviour that puts any other road (or pavement) user in danger, I do think that cyclists are too often portrayed in the media as sinned against rather than sinning; and the poor old pedestrian doesn't seem to get a look in. So maybe a bit more honesty from all parties and a more balanced debate could be a good starting point.
 
It's true that we in the UK have too many cars for the road network, but being a relatively small island I wouldn't like to see six lane highways all over the countryside, back in the 60s some families had one car, now everyone in the family has a car and we simply have not got the road network to deal with it..... What's the answer? I don't know but better public transportation would be a good start, we need to be less reliant on the car.
Blademonkey reporting from an overcrowded country!!

The problem with public transport, in addition to the 2 that Steve mentions is that it is too expensive and massively inefficient. My commute is 20 miles and takes about 30 minutes give or take. To use the train it would cost me £40 a week and a journey of 90 minutes. Make it cost effective and not take 3 times as long and I will consider it.
 
The problem with public transport, in addition to the 2 that Steve mentions is that it is too expensive and massively inefficient. My commute is 20 miles and takes about 30 minutes give or take. To use the train it would cost me £40 a week and a journey of 90 minutes. Make it cost effective and not take 3 times as long and I will consider it.
It's not going to suit everyone as it stands at the moment but that's the point I was making..... Make it better and people will use it. Better by making it cheaper and if more people use it the price can go down and make it faster..bus only lane's as they have in London, the car's are standing still but the buses keep moving. Something has to be done or in a few year's our road's will be as congested as they are in Tokyo. Building new road's has been proven not to work.... Look at the M25, at peak travel time's it's like a car park.
 
Ok - I might get my head in my hands here, but let's go. I am not a driver - never have been, I am not a cyclist - never have been. Previously I had no opinion about cyclists at all - even - I thought it was quite cool - I live in the south of Glasgow where close to where I abide there has been a main road shut off - the top of Victoria road, if you are familiar with the area - to traffic for major engineering works for the foreseeable. So - I need to walk from where I live to where my partner lives most days of the week. The main way through is a pavement that is half its normal width - given the barriers around the excavation works . At each end of this restricted section there are big signs saying 'Cyclists Dismount' - proper huge road signs. They mostly don't - I have narrowly avoided a collision with a cyclist - mostly some middle-aged Lycra wearing idiot - male - on more than one occasion and I have seen cyclists narrowly avoid mums and families with prams equally. I now loath cyclists - They seem to have a sense of entitlement I can't understand. If cyclists want to be respected by the rest of the traffic - why not start with we pedestrians . I.
 
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