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Cyclists in clusters.


Mr Bear

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Almost took a cyclist out last week, when I was fly fishing at Cringle, slammed his anchors on and came to a swift stop as I was casting.

 

Apart from ignoring the highway code, some of them also seem to have problems reading, or perhaps just ignoring the no cycling signs around the reservoir.

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Well I cannot understand why they use the main roads, I personally don't mind the cycling guys and girls but why use the busiest roads when there are some really lovely country roads with little traffic on ?

 

We don't need any more tragedies regarding cyclists, but the trouble is the accident's seem to always happen when they are on busy roads.

 

Come on you spandex fetishists you can use other roads that are safer for you and the other road going public.

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I imagine riding up that slog out of the Corrony would be about 10-15mph so no wonder there's a queue behind them, there'd be moans if were a tractor holding up the 'rush hour' too !

In the case of tractors I think they have MORE right to rural roads than cars. And I'm not even a farmer.

 

Incidentally, I like to give cyclists a wide berth when I pass them. That way they still have room to manouver around obstacles in the road. But it's harder to do that when they are riding two or more abreast.

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Another posibility might be to fit all the bikes with rockets to make them go faster. They wouldn't need to use them all the time. Just on hills and roundabouts.

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I don't see much wrong with the vid either.

 

However, I do have a small gripe about cyclists in that some don't acknowledge stop signs or red lights and continue to proceed without exercising the mandatory "stop" required.

To be fair though, car drivers do it too!

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I don't see much wrong with the vid either.

 

However, I do have a small gripe about cyclists in that some don't acknowledge stop signs or red lights and continue to proceed without exercising the mandatory "stop" required.

To be fair though, car drivers do it too!

Let's be honest, cycles, cars, motorbikes, buses, horses, tractors, taxis, scooters, unicycles and pogo sticks are used by people. Some people are splendid, sensible, commendable users of these modes of transport. Other people are thoughtless dickheads. On any average day you could well meet either type of person using any of these vehicles.

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Incidentally, I like to give cyclists a wide berth when I pass them. That way they still have room to manouver around obstacles in the road. But it's harder to do that when they are riding two or more abreast.

It isn't, you pass quicker when they're two abreast rather than single file, eg:

 

both.jpg

 

Inspector: cyclists should obay the rules of the road, I agree. But being on a bike isn't the same as driving a car, and there are something's you can do that are safer in some circumstances. Pulling off from traffic lights is probably the most dangerous time for a cyclist, particularly if the car near you hasn't spotted you and wants to turn left. Often on a bike you can go through a red light and turn left without disrupting the traffic, and it saves you getting caught up in the traffic that's stopped. This has in fact been legalised in many countries because it's simply safer and it means the cyclist isn't holding traffic up.

 

It can be similar for pavements. I don't cycle on pavements, it's dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, but sometimes its safer to hop on the pavement than deal with a road obstruction where drivers may not see the cyclist.

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Slim: Your illustration is misleading. To overtake some cyclists shouldn't involve the whole use of the carriageway. You've just illustrated where much of the danger lies. Vehicles coming the other way don't expect oncoming traffic to pull out completely across the white line on to the other side of the road to overtake a few cyclists. There's plenty of room on the road for cyclists and two car widths.

 

It's absolutely fine for cyclists to bunch up on quiet roads where there's little traffic, but they shouldn't be creating unnecessary obstacles where none need exist. There's room for everyone without impeding traffic flow. It's just common sense, courtesy, and road safety. It's how I used to ride and there was never any problem.

 

I'm not against cyclists at all; it's a great sport and it's great to see people out exercising but there needs to be a rethink and a change of attitude by some cyclists, and yes, by some motorists too. We can change this if the will is there.

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Slim: Your illustration is misleading. To overtake some cyclists shouldn't involve the whole use of the carriageway. You've just illustrated where much of the danger lies. Vehicles coming the other way don't expect oncoming traffic to pull out completely across the white line on to the other side of the road to overtake a few cyclists. There's plenty of room on the road for cyclists and two car widths.

No there isn't, and this is the crux of the issue. As the highway code says, you give cyclists as much room when passing as you would a car. If you're on a bike and you're riding in the gutter, cars will squeeze past staying in lane and not waiting for a clear spot to overtake. This puts the rider at risk as the car is passing too close. Ride out in the lane and the car has to pass safely. You're also far more visible, which also helps safety. It's not arrogance or self righteousness, it's self preservation.

 

I'm not against cyclists at all; it's a great sport and it's great to see people out exercising but there needs to be a rethink and a change of attitude by some cyclists, and yes, by some motorists too. We can change this if the will is there.

Agreed, and Utred is correct in that some people are just dicks and it doesn't matter if they're on a car or bike. But some actions that you think are selfish may just be a misunderstanding of the motivation.

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