Leeroy Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I am, or was a full on cyclist and can certainly entertain those points above. I actually recently sold my beloved carbon fiber race bike as I was fed up of cycling in and around London, but I have to say it was probably 75% other cyclists and 25% other cars as to the reason I stopped. I have cycled across France and done a fair amount in London over the years but its gotten stupid now. I am sick of these amateur pelatons of mates all done up in their yellow jerseys and Sky Team tops who cycle side by side chatting and paying no attention to whats around them. The amount of times I had to take evasive action on my bike because of other cyclists on roads far outweigh the car incidents. I actually got abused by another cyclist when I stopped at a red light pedestrian crossing and he nearly cycled into me because he had no intention of stopping and turned to abuse me as he cycled through the red light. I used to live in Paris, and cyclists obey the rules of the road like everyone else, cars respect that, here in the UK it is DISGUSTING the behaviour or the majority (and it is the vast majority) that choose not to stop at red lights, that don't give way to the right at mini roundabouts and seem to choose what rules to follow and what rules not to follow to fit their convenience. I looked quickly at the second video in the links above, regardless of who's fault it is clearly this guy is out there to cause problems and catch it on video to make a point of it. I could have taken a camera outside the front of my old house in Putney, stood by a set of traffic lights and filmed a thousand cyclists a day cycling through red lights and swerving around pedestrians. If we want cyclists and cars to get along we need to change the way the roads work. More cycle lanes. Cyclists must take a road proficiency and knowledge test. Cyclists have to stop breaking the law of the road. Drivers have to be more patient, but they need 'nudging' so plenty more signs on the road reminding them to look for cyclists and be prepared to slow. I think though there is more to change from a cyclists point of view than a drivers, people in cars don't want to hit cyclists. The problem is that in London cycling is encouraged so much that bad riding is ignored. For example, on Haymarket the other night I saw a cyclist with no lights overtake a police car, then blatantly cross a red light. The cop did nothing, to my amazement. What annoys me though - people carriers, suddenly they have become the worst tailgaters in the world and think they are in a formula 1 car. These nutters are usually private hire drivers driving at about 110mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoker11 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 1.Senior citizens driving oh so slow! 2.People that don't indicate and leave you to guess where they are going! 3.Middle lane hoggers! 4.People that don't stop and admire the Zed when i drive passed them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 1. Lorries overtaking on a dual carriageway, this should be made illegal. 2. Caravan tuggers, there should be a £1500 per year RFL for these to be legal on the road. 3. OAP's 4. Using mobile while driving. 5. Women putting make-up on wile driving. 6. Men shaving while driving. 7. Tractors/JCB's 8. Horse box's, they should be in a tin. 9. Horse riders, they should also be in a tin. 10. People that pull out in front of you then drive slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy75 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 2. Caravan tuggers, there should be a £1500 per year RFL for these to be legal on the road. Not a shed puller myself, but many of them do get stiffed for tax anyway, as their weighty trailered boxes require something with weight and torque of a reasonable amount to ensure they can pull themselves out of muddy fields, and to avoid those tail-wagging-dog moments. Around here, there is a Birmingham cycle club's well used route. 3 abreast would be the rarity - these f*ckers are typically 4 or more aside, and give you nasty stares if you're going the other way and they have to get back on their side of the road (god forbid). I commute on my cheapo Carrera bike a couple of times a week, so get the whole scary car / lorry thing, but these lycra-clad f*ck monkeys not only boil my p1ss, but also grind my gears. You can't go ANYWHERE around here at the weekend without coming across 30+ of these stringy knob-ends all in a big gaggle, all over the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Around here, there is a Birmingham cycle club's well used route. 3 abreast would be the rarity - these f*ckers are typically 4 or more aside, and give you nasty stares if you're going the other way and they have to get back on their side of the road (god forbid). I commute on my cheapo Carrera bike a couple of times a week, so get the whole scary car / lorry thing, but these lycra-clad f*ck monkeys not only boil my p1ss, but also grind my gears. You can't go ANYWHERE around here at the weekend without coming across 30+ of these stringy knob-ends all in a big gaggle, all over the road. Roadblock em and ask why they feel the need to give cyclists a bad name Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy75 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I was thinking a bit more DeathRace 3000, and fitting spikes and bullbars to the X-Trail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R35LEE Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 How about fresh horse crap all over the road when you have just washed your car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 How about fresh horse crap all over the road when you have just washed your car Had forgotten about that. I might someday get around to starting a petition to have horses wear nappies. If a dog shits in the road, owners are expected to clean it up, why not horse riders? Take a fold up spade (horse will carry it anyway!) and just shovel it into the bushes/ditch by the road This is very dangerous to bikers (motorised or not) as hitting it coming around a bend at just 20MPH and you dont stand much chance of keeping it upright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyvvc Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 The blissfully ignorant driver who will happily sit for 10 miles doing 36mph in a forty zone, then when entering a 30mph continue at exactly the same speed This must be a Midnight-Blue thing....it drives me insane too being stuck behind an idiot who drives FAR too slowly in a higher-speed area, then drives at THE SAME SPEED when they enter a 30mph zone! (Typically in-excess of the limit!) Middle-lane hogs annoy me too. The M1 near me has FOUR LANES in both directions now....and guess what....people hog the FOURTH LANE doing 68mph People who fail to indicate - ever. This should be an instant driving ban in my opinion, no fooking excuse for not advising other motorists that you are about to puill-out on a motorway, or make a turn off from a roundabout etc. Drivers who think it is illegal to safely overtake them, and remonstrate with a middle-finger, or speed up and tail-gate you at 60mph after you pass them dawdling at 45mph. People who dont drive Zed's annoy me too...again, instant driving ban for anyone not in a Zed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railgun Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 How about fresh horse crap all over the road when you have just washed your car Had forgotten about that. I might someday get around to starting a petition to have horses wear nappies. If a dog shits in the road, owners are expected to clean it up, why not horse riders? Take a fold up spade (horse will carry it anyway!) and just shovel it into the bushes/ditch by the road This is very dangerous to bikers (motorised or not) as hitting it coming around a bend at just 20MPH and you dont stand much chance of keeping it upright I totally agree. I dont have a dog, and certainly dont like finding a stick to prize anything off my shoes, but I fail to see where the fairness is, when they can be slapped with a 100 quid on the spot fine for a Yorkie dropping a slug, and yet our equine loving friends, can drop somthing in the middle of the road, that cyclists and most car drivers, have to treat as a roundabout!! Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to watch this stuck up munter, whos always out on the road local to me (who looks at you when you pass, even very slowly, like you've just taken a dump on her kitchen table), down on her hands and knees with a dustpan and brush and a bin liner. Maybe then she wouldn't be as keen to bring it through my mum and dads village, and let it park its breakfast infront of their house!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walbertonio Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Biggest one for me atm is the rise of HGV's blindly following satnavs down tight country lanes. What a palaver. Also, I have experienced the phenomena of someone driving 20mph+ below the speed limit on said B roads, and yet taking massive offense when you overtake them in a safe manner. Can't quite fathom the thinking there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Horse riders cant really clear up after themselves though, that would mean gettin off the horse and letting it run about while you scrape up its shyte ....... I know some riders do have scoopers but you need someone to walk behind you with one. As for bikes, come live in Cambridge for a while. You dont know how easy youve got it, believe me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Another one is drivers who don't use headlights in poor visibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBoy Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Horse riders cant really clear up after themselves though, that would mean gettin off the horse and letting it run about while you scrape up its shyte ....... I know some riders do have scoopers but you need someone to walk behind you with one. As for bikes, come live in Cambridge for a while. You dont know how easy youve got it, believe me. This man speaks the truth, I actually cycled into Cambridge to work every day for about a year in 2009, and the cyclists here are so bad they actually give other cyclists abuse for doing unthinkable things like blocking the cycle lanes at junctions just because there's this pesky red glowing thing on a pole in front of it. They actually believe (probably because a large proportion of them are foreign students who have never driven in the UK) that no rules apply to them, one Chinese girl looked genuinely puzzled when i explained to her that i was stopped at a crossroads because the light was red and i was legally obliged to. DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varley16 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 i was on the way home yesterday, and as an RX8 went passed me going the other way, he/she dropped a gear, went passed 3 other cars on his side, head on with a lorry before slamming on his brakes and pulling back onto his side directly in front of another car, obviously didnt see the lorry. what an idiot, dont know if he was trying to race me, dont know how that would work when were going different directions? 5 mins later going around a bend where a women was on the phone across the white line. AND THEN...... a man/women overtakes a cyclist on a narrow country road....on a blind hill with a bit of a bend on it, and nearly takes out the car in front of me. Was it national drive like a moron day yesterday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 1 Lack of signals 2 Tailgating 3 Dangerous speeding 4 Using mobile phone 5 Lack of courtesy 6 Amber gamblers The biggest thing that really bugs me at the moment is the complete failure of some drivers to understand traffic lights. At the top of the lane I live in there is a crossroads with the main road, it's on a bit of a bend and was the scene of a few bad accidents a number of which were fatal. So they put traffic lights in a few years ago with filter lights from the main road onto the lane, You wouldn't believe the number of drivers who turn across the red filter lights into the lane or even more dangerously decide to do a U-Turn when the lights are on red . If they ever decided to put cameras on the lights they'd make a grand + a day easily. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljack Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Gosh this is like one big group therapy session I like it Pretty much the same as above, I hate 2nd and 3rd lane hoggers doing 60-70mph; the only reason German autobahns work so well is because the people using them have good lane disipline and move over once they have overtaken. Usally 'white van man' who flicks on his indicator for a split second thinking this gives him the right to pull out into the smallest gap in front of you in the 3rd lane without checking his mirrors forcing you to slam on the brakes. I will always allow others road users to pull out it front of me to keep the flow of traffic going but only when it is safe to do so. It maybe just me but ive seen a massive drop in the standards of driving in this country, more so down south; more undertaking/overtaking manoeuvres, More tailgating and more people cutting you up. I from Portsmouth to Cheshire most weekends and i'm lucky to escape alive sometimes as something will happen during every journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Slightly askew of the topic but pertinent to cyclists, either cycle to work on yer bike or get the train, don't f*ckin cycle to the train station then try to get on a packed commuter train WITH your bike, selfish morons! The train IS environmentaly prudent, twatting your fellow passengers with your bike is not clever No problem with cyclists on the road but 2, 3 or 10 abreast, the hospitals are full of them, bit of panel beating and spray paint for the car, burden to society the cyclists who do the multiple abreast thing and need an amputation or seven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Slightly askew of the topic but pertinent to cyclists, either cycle to work on yer bike or get the train, don't f*ckin cycle to the train station then try to get on a packed commuter train WITH your bike, selfish morons! The train IS environmentaly prudent, twatting your fellow passengers with your bike is not clever That depends on how long you commute is though doesnt it! I'm fairly fit, but doing 20 miles each way 5 days a week would be a bit too much for me. If Amanda couldnt give me a lift 2 days a week, I'd be doing shorter stints and taking the train for bits of it. Dont assume people have only come a mile or two justo get the train. I will agree that most probably have and should try cycling further, but not everyone can do the full trip. Also if trains werent so f'in packed, it wouldnt be an issue, afterall it wasnt long ago when cyclists had a whole carrige to themselves After all you have a car - why not use that rather than a packed train Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I agree with most of the above. With a fair bit of driving during the rush hour, one thing that has recently really begun annoying me is people who, when travelling in a rush hour continuous stream of traffic and approach a roundabout where everybody goes left/straight and go into the right-hand lane trying to jump 1/2 cars by pulling in and pushing their way through. This really ticks me off as it is both pointless and extremely dangerous. Most won't condone my response, but the moment I see one of these bypass the line of traffic and pull up next to me at the roundabout, there is only one thing I now do and that is keeping exactly in line with said car and at any attempt to pull in, I just get as close as is necessary to the car in front. This week had a guy who had to physically stop in the middle of the road as the road narrows after the roundabout because I wouldn't let him in and there was a stream of oncoming traffic. These kinds of idiots need some serious education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Slightly askew of the topic but pertinent to cyclists, either cycle to work on yer bike or get the train, don't f*ckin cycle to the train station then try to get on a packed commuter train WITH your bike, selfish morons! The train IS environmentaly prudent, twatting your fellow passengers with your bike is not clever That depends on how long you commute is though doesnt it! After all you have a car - why not use that rather than a packed train Mate, I drive the fechin things, I HAVE to take my car to work, no public transport at 4am! It takes the "cyclist" 3 or 4 times as long to board the train, multiply that by 10 or 15 stations and you have a lot of LATE commuters! It's selfish! If you have a commute of 20 miles and don't have a car, either buy one, as train tickets aren't cheap, cycle ALL the way or move house/job! I take it you read the Metro, the whining about late trains in the "letters" page is unreal. Another thing that pis5es me off is the other set of morons who all stand in a great big bunch, try to all get in the same door, despite there being 12 or 15 doors each side of the train, all because they can't be bothered to walk the length of themselves and want dropped of at the exit/stairs of their terminal station, then moan on train puncuality However we digress, what pee's me off about other drivers is the outright selfishness of 90% of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 If they let full size bikes back on trains with an area for bikes, it should be dead easy to board them. The one or two times I've taken my bike I've been on the train far quicker than the usual half asleep commuters I guess with all of the above, it depends on the specific situation. I obviously live in an area where they let full size bikes on and they cause no problems, you work in area where they dont and have a bunch of mong tards trying to get the train which hold you up To be fair I'd far rather pay to run my car than get the train - its cheaper, easier and quicker. Unfortunately working in the town centre I would have to pay for parking which is £15/day I'll stick to getting a lift and cycling and on the odd occasion - getting the train when I have to. Speaking of mongtards that dont bother to move up the station to get the empty doors - I had the same when I used to work at Canary Wharf. So many people would pile down the stairs straight to the nearest door and have to wait for 2,3 or even 4 trains to be able to get on. I used to walk right down the other end and get straight on It also meant when it got into Waterloo that I was at the right end to get straight out the exit whilst the other idiots fight over the other exit. For people that are meant to be in very high paid jobs for clever people, they're not very smart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 And another thing that drives me mad... In the following situation: when you are on a dual carriageway, and the outside lane is coned off about half a mile or so in the distance, everyone is queued up in the left lane only, making the queue twice as long as it needs to be, you drive down the outside lane as it is empty - then some muppet pulls out of the left lane and parks in the right lane, just to stop you getting past! Does he own the road??! What does he stand to gain by this? The idea is that you merge in turn at the obstruction! rant over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 And another thing that drives me mad... In the following situation: when you are on a dual carriageway, and the outside lane is coned off about half a mile or so in the distance, everyone is queued up in the left lane only, making the queue twice as long as it needs to be, you drive down the outside lane as it is empty - then some muppet pulls out of the left lane and parks in the right lane, just to stop you getting past! Does he own the road??! What does he stand to gain by this? The idea is that you merge in turn at the obstruction! rant over I would fundamentally disagree here. Everybody can see the obstruction, everybody politely queues up to get past and the idiots who feel they can use this as an opportunity to "overtake" and bypass everybody are incredibly annoying. Everybody else is just being sensible about it rather than pushing past each other just right by the cones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 And another thing that drives me mad... In the following situation: when you are on a dual carriageway, and the outside lane is coned off about half a mile or so in the distance, everyone is queued up in the left lane only, making the queue twice as long as it needs to be, you drive down the outside lane as it is empty - then some muppet pulls out of the left lane and parks in the right lane, just to stop you getting past! Does he own the road??! What does he stand to gain by this? The idea is that you merge in turn at the obstruction! rant over I would fundamentally disagree here. Everybody can see the obstruction, everybody politely queues up to get past and the idiots who feel they can use this as an opportunity to "overtake" and bypass everybody are incredibly annoying. Everybody else is just being sensible about it rather than pushing past each other just right by the cones. I dont let the fools in, nice to see panic set in and all the hand gestures given, wave and smile, that really fooks them off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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