Police 1 - Cyclists 0

Soldato
Joined
20 Aug 2003
Posts
6,694
Location
Pembrokeshire
In St Davids, there are no traffic lights, it's dim witted tourists walking in the middle of the road as if it's pedestrianised you have to watch out for.

Whilst cycling, I've had about nine bike crashes (into people) in St Davids. They just cross the road without looking :o, thankfully, none with the car yet

Quoted for truth. I was there about 6 weeks ago and thought my horn was going to overheat!

Anyway, cyclists? good, fine them. The amount of accidents they cause and just ride away from unscathed is just silly.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Dec 2008
Posts
5,976
Location
Sheffield/Norwich
Good cycle lane infrastructure?! You what?! :confused:

You really are making a mountain out of a molehill on this aren't you?

You should have to obey the highway code. Off-roading is one thing I agree with you though, you're free to do what you want etc... But if you're going to be on the road with paying road users you should either have to a) adhere to the rules or b) keep off them.

snowdog is in NL..
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2005
Posts
13,687
Location
Netherlands
But if you're going to be on the road with paying road users you should either have to a) adhere to the rules or b) keep off them.

Rubbish imo...

Do you want more bloody cars on the road and be stuck in traffic with them? Or do you want more cyclists which you can easily pass and have less cars on on the road ? I know I want as much as possible car drivers to cycle so I can drive on the roads far more easily and not be stuck in traffic.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Feb 2003
Posts
8,612
Location
Brighton/West Wicklow
Bit shocked at the anti-bike sentiment here.

I ride to work every day and by far have more "incidents" on my bike than in my car, and I ride very defensively too. I don't break the law and ride briskly but sensibly. I use cycle lanes whenever possible.

Sure theres nobbish cyclists out there but we're not all bad. After all a serious prang for us usually ends up costing more than a repair bill.
 
Caporegime
Joined
25 Jul 2005
Posts
28,851
Location
Canada
Good, im a cyclist myself, and I get wound up by the people who just whizz through while I obey the law and wait..

This ^^

Maybe they are collecting as much money as they can for their Christmas party before Boris puts a stop to it :p

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/14/london-boris-johnson-cycling

I was going to say that was a stupid idea, but I guess left turns should be ok.

Hopefully this money will allow the police to commission a spiked plough for tackling all cyclists who ride two or more abreast on country roads, especially those who don't bother to move in despite a queue of cars forming behind them.

I'll happily pilot it for them too.

Why? They have as much (if not more) right to be on the road as you. A speed limit is exactly that, a limit of max speed not a "you must go at this speed".:rolleyes:
 
Caporegime
Joined
25 Jul 2005
Posts
28,851
Location
Canada
Those stats are old, and if you see in the city stats, london doesn't even appear but Paris does, so it's not exactly consistent. Sure it's not as popular in the whole of France as France is over 2x bigger than the UK, but in the cities (Paris in particular) there is a lot of cycling maybe not as much as the UK, but it's popular nonetheless. :)

And you say advantage is that you don't have to wait for the lights? That's the point you DO have to wait for the lights, you cannot hop onto the pavement etc...

1. yes it's a nominal charge - I can't remember how much, but it's not prohibitive and it's part of the process - just like taxing your car is here.

2. I don't have that info to hand.

3. What about it?

4. same as any other registration document stolen.

Anything more than say £5 for life I would call expensive. Almost certainly however it would be in the regoin of £20 a year more like..

As for not waiting for the lights cyclists can just get off, push their bike round (as a pedestrian) and then carry on (although only really usable for turning left(or no traffic)...

Indeed. If you refuse to give details you get arrested. If you give false details, you'll probably get away with it, but you have committed an offence and if you do get found out, you will probably be arrested and charged for doing so.

That's not quite right, failure to show/give details isn't an arrestable offence on it's own, only if it's connected to an offence afaik. (Just being pedantic here as obviously it would be if you were stopped for jumping a red light.)
 
Caporegime
Joined
25 Jul 2005
Posts
28,851
Location
Canada
snowdog is in NL..

There is good cycle lane infrastructure in the UK too, unfortunately not in many places (normally just tacked on to the side of a road or a path). In my town there is a cycle path next to every dual carriage way (and multiple other locations), with a path next to it and road signs and paint on them. Means there are never any cyclists on dual carriageways and we can safely travel around the town, until you run into a pedestrian who doesn't seem to realise he is walking town the middle of a road (when there is a perfectly good path next to it). *****!:rolleyes:
 
Man of Honour
OP
Joined
5 Jun 2003
Posts
91,331
Location
Falling...
Bit shocked at the anti-bike sentiment here.

I ride to work every day and by far have more "incidents" on my bike than in my car, and I ride very defensively too. I don't break the law and ride briskly but sensibly. I use cycle lanes whenever possible.

Sure theres nobbish cyclists out there but we're not all bad. After all a serious prang for us usually ends up costing more than a repair bill.

As I said, there are always exceptions to the rule, just like me as a motorbike rider - I get grief from morons in cars, but unfortunately a lot of other young ignorant bikers ride their bikes badly and aggressively.

Snowdog, you have a very skewed aspect on life/the world and practicality - you'll grow up some day :)
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2005
Posts
13,687
Location
Netherlands
Snowdog, you have a very skewed aspect on life/the world and practicality - you'll grow up some day :)

Hmpf, you should come here to see how cycling is supposed to be, and see how drivers actually should respond to cyclists.

I'm just annoyed by the any cyclist brigade on OcUK, or other foreigners in general.
What exactly is wrong with my thinking? More cyclists= less cars on the roads= easier to drive. Also people use more calories by cycling than driving which helps against obesity... Don't discourage cycling with stupid rules and regulations and other thinks like money costing registration and general hassle.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
1,159
Location
Bromsgrove
Hopefully this money will allow the police to commission a spiked plough for tackling all cyclists who ride two or more abreast on country roads, especially those who don't bother to move in despite a queue of cars forming behind them.

I'll happily pilot it for them too.

Firstly riding two abreast is perfectly legal according to the highway code, any more than this though is not allowed. We allways ride two abreast on the roads as it means drivers more often give the required distance to pas us and makes them think twice about ridiculous manouvers. Also according to the highway code a pssing car should allow the same space it would as if it was overtaking a car.

I find cyclists that jump red lights are attrocious, there is no excuse for it as we expect other road users to addere to the rules that also apply to us, what if a car jumped red lights and smacked the cyclist? I allways wait at the lights, if I am training and require a continuous uninhibited run with no stops then I go to one of the many stretches of road that are suitable or ones where there is a junction that only required a brief stop.

I don't like the anti-cycling sentiment that seems to allways crop us and I think it is likely a minority of cyclists, or also the large number of new cyclists who have no idea of the rules etc that are giving the rest of us a bad name, I would like to think I am helpful and will indicate if it is safe to pass to drivers behind or move out of the way so long as it doesnt mean I have to stop completely. Problem is I see a greater majority of drivers taking ridculous risks to get past, a large number of people who cannot understand that bikes can actually go very quickly and pull out or cut accross me at junctions causing me to often skid to a stop or now and again smack the side of their car. Also people who strive to overtake then immediately cut left at a junction, that 5 seconds whould have meant I wouldnt have had to brake suddenly!

The problem is with both sides, and often a lack of understanding of the rules that govern both road users, a bit of concideration from both sides can go a long way and also not breaking blatant rules that give other cyclists a bad name.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,073
Location
cidade maravilhosa
Good, im a cyclist myself, and I get wound up by the people who just whizz through while I obey the law and wait..


when I first saw this I thought "great another cyclist slating thread", suprisingly though I agree fully with Malt's post, I am/was cyclist and hate it when other don't follow the rules of the raod and in fact the law itself.
 
Permabanned
Joined
19 Oct 2007
Posts
6,322
Location
.
Whats the deal with cyclists ignoring the cycle path on the side of the road and instead cycling in the middle of the normal road ? This really makes me mad!!
 
Associate
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
1,159
Location
Bromsgrove
Whats the deal with cyclists ignoring the cycle path on the side of the road and instead cycling in the middle of the normal road ? This really makes me mad!!

Firstly the highway code says it is not a requirement to use a cycle lane, it is generally down to the judgement of the cyclist in question and their ability/confidence as to whether they use a cycle lane or not.

Those painted on cycle lanes on the road are in the gutter that is often full of broken glass and a poor road surface, this is not a good cycling surface at all for people on road bikes as they are not made for poor surfaces and you can be buffeted about a lot losing speed and requiring more effort as well as the risk of punctures etc. Another reaosn cyclists ride futher out is self preservation, I often move out into the road in certain situations to restrict the cars behind from overtaking in a dangerous situation, those place such as before junctions, before I make a right turn and also where there is an island in the center of the road I will indicate and then move across to ensure nobody will make a ridiculous attempt to kill me by cutting close to me.
 
Back
Top Bottom