[Drivingmad]

I drove up to Midlothian last evening and encountered several cyclists with LED spotlights fixed to their handlebars some of which were set to shine straight at oncoming drivers. I found them quite dazzling especially those who had two of the same. I used to be a cyclist myself including long distance cycling but I think we have a new mutant type of cyclist on the roads now. Sometimes you will come up on a gang of them riding two and three abreadst who will not "oil up", as we used to say, into single file. I have seen heavy lorries held up for a mile by this behaviour. And of course the Alien sunglasses and the fancy dress.

Now the latest thing from the cycling terrorists is that any collision between a bike and a car will result in the driver automatically being held to blame unless he or she can prove otherwise! The loonies are over the parapet and swarming around us!

 

[Inchindown]

No sympathy here I'm afraid.
As a former cyclist I had many close shaves with idiot car drivers who just would not allow enough space. The number of times I had to kick the side a car or van to alert the driver to my presence was mid-boggling.

On the odd occasion when a driver stopped demanding to know what the problem was, the excuse always seemed to be "I didn't see you there". And that was despite wearing a Hi-Vis jack and dayglo helmet.

The offending lights thing is a defence mechanism for cyclists. If it annoys the car drivers, then at least the driver has seen them, and maybe will not try to knock the cyclists off their bikes.

Just remember, the slight dent a car may get from bumping a cyclist can mean death or serious injury for the cyclist, so it is not unreasonable to put the onus on the driver not to hit one.

These comments also apply to motor cycles. I spent 18 months in hospital after a woman driver said she did not see me when she emerged from a side road on the the main road. This also despite having my headlights on and wearing a hi-vis jacket.

So I will always come down on the side of the cyclist when it comes to the on-going war with the four wheeled menace.

 

[Off Road Doc]

I mountain bike but also commute to work on my bike. There are bad cyclists as there are bad drivers. Cyclists will cycle in pairs or three's to force cars to slow down or pass safely. The number of drivers that pass you at speed without leaving much room is very scary at times. A cyclist should be treated like any other vehicle on the road. But I agree there are some cyclist who think that they should be the only one on a bit of road holding up traffic, they should pull in and let cars pass safely as all slow moving traffic should. As for lights. at 2am this morning cycling home a car coming towards me on full beam. He never dipped his lights once, as I couldnt see a thing in front I had to I had to stop until he passed, resulting in lost momentum going up a long hill !!! Thats why cyclists will have very bright lights to counter it but should go to a lower setting when required.Again treat a cyclist like any other road user and dip your lights.

 

[Dilligaf]

Come to the midlands, the cyclists won't blind you as alot of them ride around with no lights or reflective clothing the #####oles.
The ones that really annoy are the idiots who slow you down whilst riding next to a cycle path. So what's the point of cycle paths ?

 

[Grumps]

The ones that really annoy are the idiots who slow you down whilst riding next to a cycle path. So what's the point of cycle paths ?

Agree 100% they risk their own life and everyone else's on the road by cycling along a dual carriageway and a matter of 10 feet to the side of them is a cycle lane that cost us all millions to put their and they can't be arsed to use it for some reason other than to be a complete arsehole.

Its a shame more and more of them are giving the sensible safe cyclists a bad name.

 

[♠ChumBucket♠]

Do what I do, if they are riding like knobs, causing a hazard, just blast the horn as you pass them. Frightens the life out of 'em!!

Oh. and I am a cyclist too, just that I don't think I'm above road sense & common decency like some of the stuck up road riding elite!!

Edited by: ♠ChumBucket♠

 

[wilma08]

No sympathy here I'm afraid.
As a former cyclist I had many close shaves with idiot car drivers who just would not allow enough space. The number of times I had to kick the side a car or van to alert the driver to my presence was mid-boggling.

On the odd occasion when a driver stopped demanding to know what the problem was, the excuse always seemed to be "I didn't see you there". And that was despite wearing a Hi-Vis jack and dayglo helmet.

The offending lights thing is a defence mechanism for cyclists. If it annoys the car drivers, then at least the driver has seen them, and maybe will not try to knock the cyclists off their bikes.

Just remember, the slight dent a car may get from bumping a cyclist can mean death or serious injury for the cyclist, so it is not unreasonable to put the onus on the driver not to hit one.

These comments also apply to motor cycles. I spent 18 months in hospital after a woman driver said she did not see me when she emerged from a side road on the the main road. This also despite having my headlights on and wearing a hi-vis jacket.

So I will always come down on the side of the cyclist when it comes to the on-going war with the four wheeled menace.

so you would stick bye them Even if they are in the wrong and being a bum hole, which regrettably i see a lot of, i live in the country side were there is an extensive cycle path from Airdrie to Livingston and perhaps beyond, when i was able to walk, without a shed load of pain i used to go family walks which we all enjoyed, apart from the inconsiderate cyclist who were rude and arrogant as these paths were for walkers and cyclist alike, i feel this attitude has spilled onto our roads, and i wonder how you would feel if you were accused of being in the wrong when driving but clearly it was not your fault but the cyclist, i wonder how your attitude would be then especially as i see so many cyclist thinking that the highway code does to apply to them due to them having two wheels although the highway code is applied to all road users.
I for one am always careful and look out for some of these morons due to seeing the consequences of poor stupidity when i first started my nurse training were you had to do so many weeks in the general side of nursing.

Edited by: wilma08

 

[Dilligaf]

Do what I do, if they are riding like knobs, causing a hazard, just blast the horn as you pass them. Frightens the life out of 'em!!

Oh. and I am  a cyclist too, just that I don't think I'm above road sense & common decency like some of the stuck up road riding elite!!

Very tempting chumbucket but besides having naff horns on our trucks, I am supposed to be a professional lgv driver and would have to live with the consequences of them going under my truck. Edited by: Dilligaf

 

[Inchindown]

No sympathy here I'm afraid.
As a former cyclist I had many close shaves with idiot car drivers who just would not allow enough space. The number of times I had to kick the side a car or van to alert the driver to my presence was mid-boggling.

On the odd occasion when a driver stopped demanding to know what the problem was, the excuse always seemed to be "I didn't see you there". And that was despite wearing a Hi-Vis jack and dayglo helmet.

The offending lights thing is a defence mechanism for cyclists. If it annoys the car drivers, then at least the driver has seen them, and maybe will not try to knock the cyclists off their bikes.

Just remember, the slight dent a car may get from bumping a cyclist can mean death or serious injury for the cyclist, so it is not unreasonable to put the onus on the driver not to hit one.

These comments also apply to motor cycles. I spent 18 months in hospital after a woman driver said she did not see me when she emerged from a side road on the the main road. This also despite having my headlights on and wearing a hi-vis jacket.

So I will always come down on the side of the cyclist when it comes to the on-going war with the four wheeled menace.

so you would stick bye them Even if they are in the wrong and being a bum hole, which regrettably i see a lot of, i live in the country side were there is an extensive cycle path from Airdrie to Livingston and perhaps beyond, when i was able to walk, without a shed load of pain i used to go family walks which we all enjoyed, apart from the inconsiderate cyclist who were rude and arrogant as these paths were for walkers and cyclist alike, i feel this attitude has spilled onto our roads, and i wonder how you would feel if you were accused of being in the wrong when driving but clearly it was not your fault but the cyclist, i wonder how your attitude would be then especially as i see so many cyclist thinking that the highway code does to apply to them due to them having two wheels although the highway code is applied to all road users.
I for one am always careful and look out for some of these morons due to seeing the consequences of poor stupidity when i first started my nurse training were you had to do so many weeks in the general side of nursing.

I have no problem with cyclists who break the law being brought to book.

My point is, no matter how wrong the cyclists are, car drivers, and drivers of other vehicles, have a responsibility not to cause an avoidableaccident where a cyclist may be injured or killed.

It's no different to how pedestrians are considered. If you hit one you are very likely to be up before the Beak. If you can prove the pedestrian caused the accident, you will be home free. Why should it be different for cyclists. If there is an accident and you can prove the cyclist was at fault you will be able to mount a valid defence. This is one of the reasons I have an in-car video camera mounted on my windscreen.

You have to remember that even a minor accident between a car and a cycle is potentially fatal for the cyclist. So cut them a little slack and avoid having to stand in the dock being charged with causing a death. My philosophy is if a cyclist and I are competing for the same piece of road, I will let the cyclist have it. The alternative is too horrible to think about.

 

[Ianoak]

I wish they did bring the cyclist to book who break the law, the amount of cyclist that I see run red lights and if you are on a green light and cyclist has gone through a red and you toot horn at them. All you get from the cyclist is two fingers, they seem to think they are above the law, which when you consider a bike has no reg plate so you cannot report them for it.So basically they are above the law they dont need insurance like we have to have.

 

[wilma08]

I wish they did bring the cyclist to book who break the law, the amount of cyclist that I see run red lights and if you are on a green light and cyclist has gone through a red and you toot horn at them. All you get from the cyclist is two fingers, they seem to think they are above the law, which when you consider a bike has no reg plate so you cannot report them for it.So basically they are above the law they dont need insurance like we have to have.

Yes cyclist should be made to have insurance and have some sort of registration plate on there cycles, and made to put lights on there bikes the amount of cyclist that ride there bikes at night without lights is shocking, and if they don't go through the lights they dip onto the pavement to ride past the red light then dip back onto the road once past it.

 

[Drivingmad]

The Cycling Lobby as part of the Green De-industrialisation of Society Society has wormed its way into government so that more and more of taxpayers' cash is spent on "green cycling" as opposed to "black motoring". Only today it was announced that a tiny group in Cumbernauld was awarded £242,000 for its "Cycling to the Moon" project. (I am not making this up.) They will record all ride to work journeys and ride to school journeys. Where the Moon comes in I have no idea. Meanwhile our trunk roads are worn out causing noise, vibration and harshness into even the most luxurious of cars and nowt is being spenton refurbishing roads at all.

 

[HoneyMonster]

Having been a cyclist and keen mountainbiker in another era, I used to be pro cyclist. This however changed about ten years ago, when one dark winters morning a cyclist with no lights or hi viz cycled off a pavement straight in front of me, as he wanted to get to other side.

Police report said from damage to bike and distance he fell over i was doing less than 15 mph at time of impact. Yet he still managed to get a 30 grand injury claim off my car insurance. Whilst all i got was bill for damage caused to bumper and grille.

Now i will get my moneys worth next time

 

[Drivingmad]

And the Cyclist got the MoneyAnd the Driver got the Blame !

 

[wilma08]

Well what do you think of this
This morning I went up to our Local paper shop went into the shop taking my time due to my problems came back out to go into my car remember I am using my stick to help me walk, at the drivers door trying to get in, then what happens i nearly get knocked down by three cyclist doing three abreast on the road not watching what they were doing to busy chatting amongst themselves, now I am a big women you cannot miss, although I am short I make up in width lol,not even a sorry, So who do they really think these cyclist think about ? not anybody but themselves

 

[Drivingmad]

Typical, Wilma. They are a different species now! When I went on the bike I'd say "aye" to any pedestrian I passed on the road. So ARROGANT now! They act as if they are invulnerable when they are the most vulnerable road users. And have you seen the way they drive with 3K mountain bikes dangling from the back, some of the worst drivers on the road? Agree with you Grumps about cycle paths - when trunking up and down the A9 in my camper I oftern see "racers" on the main road when there is a first class cycleway on the old A9 and Sustrans paths rights next to it. I know because I've cycled it.

 

[♠ChumBucket♠]

I'm active on a couple of cycling forums & I can tell you, many of the road riders are complete tits!! They think they are part of some sort of elite group, when in reality they're just wannabe pro racers gullible enough to believe all the marketing hype within their circles & daft enough to splash the cash on the latest this & that!! There are plenty of "all the gear no idea" boys out there too with more money than sense!!

 

[♠ChumBucket♠]

Drivingmad- just noticed you are in Lauder? Not far from me in Duns.

 

[Drivingmad]

That's right me old chum!

 

[wilma08]

Is that Galasheilds