coldel Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 A rather worrying trend I am seeing on the roads at the moment, is the habit of cyclists to bang their fists on cars and cycle off. Saw it again this morning, a Mini turning left into a side road off a main road slightly cut up a cyclist undertaking everyone as his route was suddenly blocked as he turned into the side road. There was no danger to the cyclist, but she seemed to just turn into furious rage and pummelled her fist on the car as she cycled by. Now, no ones perfect, the Mini would never have even been in the way had they not been blocked off on its exit, but I am bemused by people who seem to think its ok to actually physically hit someone elses property, deliberately, because of what was a genuine mistake. Unfortunately just more evidence of the dire state of affairs on UK roads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HassanZ Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 If someone did that to my car, I would chase them and run them over Grand Theft Auto style! Only joking...I wouldn't only because their head would scratch my paintwork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicon2k Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Let me start by saying that I am a road user in both my 350 and on my bike. I have only been cycling seriously for a couple of years and can remember well the sheer terror i faced when going out on the roads for the first time. In the time I have been cycling i have had a number of "Close encounters" and bumped into my fair share of A$$hole drivers, but i have never felt the need to bang on any ones car. The only situation that i can think of where banging on a car would be necessary is if you really do not think the driver is aware of you, in which case i am sure even the most loving car owner would rather have a small scratch on their car than be responsible for hurting someone. It is also worth mentioning that since I have started cycling I am much more aware of cyclists and always give them more room. I am sad to say that a large part of the problem is the cyclist themselves. A large number of cyclist on the roads honestly believe that they are not only above the rules but also beyond reproach. Failing to obey the basic rules of the road such as jumping lights and undertaking is against the law and if you break that law you are taking the risk. I would like to see more bikes on the road but I think the self righteous, law breaking douche bags that ride them need to take a step back and take a look at themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Let me start by saying that I am a road user in both my 350 and on my bike. I have only been cycling seriously for a couple of years and can remember well the sheer terror i faced when going out on the roads for the first time. In the time I have been cycling i have had a number of "Close encounters" and bumped into my fair share of A$$hole drivers, but i have never felt the need to bang on any ones car. The only situation that i can think of where banging on a car would be necessary is if you really do not think the driver is aware of you, in which case i am sure even the most loving car owner would rather have a small scratch on their car than be responsible for hurting someone. It is also worth mentioning that since I have started cycling I am much more aware of cyclists and always give them more room. I am sad to say that a large part of the problem is the cyclist themselves. A large number of cyclist on the roads honestly believe that they are not only above the rules but also beyond reproach. Failing to obey the basic rules of the road such as jumping lights and undertaking is against the law and if you break that law you are taking the risk. I would like to see more bikes on the road but I think the self righteous, law breaking douche bags that ride them need to take a step back and take a look at themselves. well said Quite why so many cyclists act like a law unto themselves on the road is actually very worrying for motorists. They should be bound by the highway code like everyone else who uses a public highway. And given the amount of money spent specifically catering for cyclists who contribute absolutely nothing for their pleasure or needs, when motorists are being increasingly hit in the pocket....... And don't give me the sustainable transport crap as justification for being let off payments as the vast majority of those who provide the hard work and wealth for this country, and when competing in the world economy, would not be able to carry on doing so if they were required to use the extremely limited and inadequate so called carbon friendly transport alternatives available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Jayne takes great pleasure in relaying a story of a recent encounter with a cyclist. He was sneaking up the inside after going in and out of cars. Went through a red light. When the lights went green another car in the queue put on his blue lights and proceeded to pull over the cyclist. Not sure what happened to said cyclist but I hope they got a good telling off. Not like they could give them a TS10 with 3 points and a £60 fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 There are bad motorist and there are bad cyclists and from what I see they are in fairly even amounts on the road. I see my fair share of drivers overtaking cyclists just to cut in front of them at the next junction and these twerps deserve to have their cars "slapped" or banged or whatever as they are not obeying the rules of the road. But equally, I also see cyclists that undertake cars and then wonder why they get cut off I think both should have a long look at the others world and through appreciation for the others we might get on, but its not likely to happen any time soon I am fairly lucky as both my drive to work and cycle to work take in fairly quiet country lanes where people generally behave themselves both in cars and on bikes. Its when you get into cities and towns that things get very very dodgy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Begs the question, should cyclists be licenced? If they had a number plate showing, they would not be so quick to jump red lights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Not really cycling related, but more about some peoples level of self importance. My mate drives a delivery van for a living and was due to make a delivery to a warehouse in London Centre. He arrives at the location and is told to deliver to the rear of the building. He decides to reverse towards the loading bay as there was no room to turn around. Whilst approaching the loading bay and literally a couple of feet away, he sees a guy standing in the way and slows. Then the guy just shouts at him "OI! You f@#%ing stupid or what?!? I'm standing here waiting for a cab!". My mate gets out, he chinese by the way, and replies in a thick Essex accent. "No need to swear mate. But let me ask you something. Are YOU stupid? You see a van approaching, so are stood in an area that looks like a loading bay, there is writing on the wall saying 'LOADING BAY', you could have just moved a few steps out of the way" Guy has totally red faced and struggling for a reply while security had a good old chuckle. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John tarantula Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I cycle to work most days but also drive so try to anticipate where the danger could be and avoid it and always treat cars like they could be ready to cut me up at any moment am sure most drivers don't set out to run over / cut up cyclists and cycles aren't the easiest things to see. saw something insteresting on the way to work today, a cyclist had decided to stop in the middle of the road and was shouting at a car behind him (not sure what happened). He was causing a hold up and white van man a few cars back was giving him some stick and everyone was beeping. Cycle man then did some air horn pushing and blew kisses at the cars!! He then proceeded to cycle in the middle of the road slowly still holding up traffic. Not sure what happened then as i cycled off in the other direction. Sure Mr White van man gave him some stick later. Whole thing was stupid and even if the cyclist had been 'wronged' he would have deserved a good punch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNABASHED Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I don't agree with bad road practice for bikes or cars, but any sort of banging or slapping has to be surely classed as road rage?? All this will do is short term is encourage the driver to go into a fit of road rage and cause danger to himself and the cyclist, and in the long term it will make them have a hatred for all cyclists on the road and be far more likely to treat them like crap and cut them up everytime they go past them. I for one would not be inmpressed if a cyclist banging his fist onto my car, not sure I would be able to just let it go either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Not come across this yet, but working in Cambridge I see literally dozens and dozens of cyclists every night on the way home from work, cycling in the dark with no lights, swerving in & out of cars, scraping down the side of cars trying to squeeze to the front of the queue - only then to hold up all the traffic as the long queue of cars are then stuck behind a cyclist riding in the in the middle of the road. Also, the amount of cyclists I see jumping red lights is unbelievable. Nearly all of them do it in Cambridge. I guess ive gotten use to it as I encounter these idiots on a daily basis, but its a real wonder more arnt run over by cars or vans or seriously injured. As a cyclist myself, i treat the road as I do when im in my car or on my motorcycle, so it amazes me at how some of these cyclists think its okay to act how they do. Its a real shame the police arnt more interested in them, they would only have to sit at the traffic lights near where I work and they could literally make a killing fining cyclists as they jump the red lights. If they are going to start banging on cars, then how would they feel if drivers started running their bikes over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I HATE when the local cycling clubs ride 3 or 4 abreast and block the road. I've seen them 6 abreast on a 1/2 mile straight blocking both lanes with me behind. I never want to appear aggressive and wait behind patiently however I am shouting and going nuts in the car. I'm not a road ragey person at all but that REALLY bugs me. I'd love to beep my horn and tell them all to go and copulate with themselves however I feel I need to rise above it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I HATE when the local cycling clubs ride 3 or 4 abreast and block the road. I've seen them 6 abreast on a 1/2 mile straight blocking both lanes with me behind. I never want to appear aggressive and wait behind patiently however I am shouting and going nuts in the car. I'm not a road ragey person at all but that REALLY bugs me. I'd love to beep my horn and tell them all to go and copulate with themselves however I feel I need to rise above it all! I thought up where you are its the law to allow faster vehicles to overtake? I'd be beeping and revving my engine at these numpties! Legally I think you are allowed to ride 2 abreast but not allowed to take more space than a car would occupy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The law doesn't apply to cyclists obviously! The problem is on country lanes with limited space for overtaking even two abreast is too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 The law doesn't apply to cyclists obviously! The problem is on country lanes with limited space for overtaking even two abreast is too much. Surely its no problem in your 4x4 I'd beep the crap out of them TBH. I'm all for taking the primary when required to keep safe, but lane hogging does my nutt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Ask a friend with a horse to ride in front of them and poo in their face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Ask a friend with a horse to ride in front of them and poo in their face Dont even get me started with horses on the road, they really should be made to wear nappies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonk Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Not so long ago while in a queue of traffic in the van, a cyclist coming through the middle of two lanes of tightly packed vehicles ,actually grabbed hold of the passenger mirror and bent it backwards just to get past I couldn't believe it! Why do they think they are allowed to do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Ask a friend with a horse to ride in front of them and poo in their face Dont even get me started with horses on the road, they really should be made to wear nappies Big time. If a dog takes a dump on the path then you have to clear it up else be fined, but somehow its okay for horse to dump 1/2 ton of steaming manure and the owner just leaves it there! Cyclists riding 2 or 3 abreast does my nut in. They have their own cycle lane which drivers are not supposed to drive in, and yet they happily want to hog up the road outside of the cycle lane and hold up traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Ask a friend with a horse to ride in front of them and poo in their face I have quite a few friends with horses that'd oblige! I'm sure I could organise a procession of tractors with slurry spreaders on. That'd be better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ds2000 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 As someone that cycled to work nearly every day last year I can say 100% that there are arsehole cyclists and motorists. I saw one cyclist nearly get hit by a car and proceeded to kick the driver mirror on the way past. Now you'd think fair enough, the car was turning around in an office junction on an industrial estate and didn't see the cyclist as he was making his reverse move back onto the main road (parked cars both sides)..... sounds like complete driver fault and partially is, however..... there is a designated cycle lane that would have had the cyclist off the road had he chosen to use it, it actually runs parallel with the main road and pavement and away from the danger, long story short, the car driver went after the cyclist, completely cornered him at a round about got out and a fight ensued. 2 others and myself broke it up who had seen the whole lot and all said the cyclist was in the wrong for not being in the cycle lane, not having the perception or vision to see the car turning and then kicking the mirror off. The closest I came be being knocked off was a car over taking me on a 2 lane road to then fly across the front of me into a left hand turn, I was doing near on 20mph so another 5 seconds behind me wouldn't have hurt. The most apologetic person I came across was a while back, I was in a cycle lane going down a big hill, at the bottom, queuing traffic. A car in the traffic decided to let another car on the other side of the road out and as he turned he went into the cycle lane, I had to brake hard but the lesson was to look for cars in opposite junctions in the future. The driver was massively apologetic but both agreed it wasn't really anyones fault and had a bit of a laugh with him about it. The short of it is, if people left with plenty of time and not last minute they'd be in much less of a hurry and probably (god forbid) enjoy their commutes and be less stressed, making less mistakes and annoying less people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 21, 2011 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Not so long ago while in a queue of traffic in the van, a cyclist coming through the middle of two lanes of tightly packed vehicles ,actually grabbed hold of the passenger mirror and bent it backwards just to get past I couldn't believe it! Why do they think they are allowed to do this? I didnt mean this to be an anti-cycling post. As a few people have mentioned there are bad drivers and bad cyclists, although in my opinion the bad cyclists as a percentage of all cyclists far outweigh the bad drivers. Why? Probably because to be a cyclist you erm, just need a bike, no training, no licence, no explanation of the laws. Cars, you need to at least pass a test, and as a car driver you need to have a much highly level of responsibility as you know you are in a potentially lethal weapon if used irresponsibly yet I see potentially 'killer' moves by cyclists almost every day where they break the law because they decided it doesn't suit them. My point was more to the fact that cyclists are more and more reverting to this physical interaction and potentially damaging cars. If someone started yanking my wing mirrors back I would have to get out the car, which is not good, there is no guarantee you arent going up against some lunatic, but you just wouldnt let it go, you cant. Licence plates wont work unfortunately. The government wants more people on bikes to cut emmissions, the driver is there purely for revenue purposes. What needs to be done to start with is some awareness raising (like you will see over christmas with drink driving) of bad cycling behaviours and the consequences - it needs addressing, bad drivers are targeted, so should cyclists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 What really winds me up is the holier than thou cnuts who cycle around with helmet cams so they can film all the terrible car drivers. I think they need to adjust their attitude and drive within the rules of the road the same as most of us do. They'll find they have no longer a need for these cameras. So many times I've been abused by cyclists when I've done nothing wrong at all. If anyone smashed their hand down on my car I'd probably lose my rag. I can see myself cutting them up and jumping out of the car to be honest. Wouldn't be ideal as I need SC clearance for my job so a criminal record wouldn't be a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 because to be a cyclist you erm, just need a bike, no training, no licence, no explanation of the laws. Cars, you need to at least pass a test, and as a car driver you need to have a much highly level of responsibility as you know you are in a potentially lethal weapon if used irresponsibly yet I see potentially 'killer' moves by cyclists almost every day where they break the law because they decided it doesn't suit them. You havent seen Motorway Cops if you think every driver has a license. Most of the people they stop dont have one OK OK so most do and I agree that on the whole drivers are better than cyclists. I do think they should do awareness courses for new drivers (as part of getting the license) for cyclists so they know to look out for them and what to watch for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ds2000 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Wouldn't be ideal as I need SC clearance for my job so a criminal record wouldn't be a good idea Ditto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.