Good post, you've again highlighted the ignorance of non-cyclists. When on my bike I cycle selfishly but legally, I obey the laws of the road and respect other road users but I will not put my self at risk for the sake of impatient car drivers. The most important skill in cycling is reading and second guessing the actions of poor drivers.
I'd have been filled with doubt about my argument had hc agreed with me. As it is, you serve as an example of why some drivers show themselves to be ignorant, ill-informed fools.
Most bikes I see round Leeds are ****ers to be honest. They regularly skip across crossings on red lights and get in the way of pedestrians crossing. Any cyclist just trotting a long in the middle of the road as a que of traffic builds up behind is a ****.
I'd have been filled with doubt about my argument had hc agreed with me. As it is, you serve as an example of why some drivers show themselves to be ignorant, ill-informed fools.
Most bikes I see round Leeds are ******s to be honest. They regularly skip across crossings on red lights and get in the way of pedestrians crossing. Any cyclist just trotting a long in the middle of the road as a que of traffic builds up behind is a ****.
You said few or any arguments stand up - so i was (trying) saying that i think some arguments do (meaning that i agree some don't as well) but don't agree with few or any
Most drivers are pretty stupid and I would probably agree that most need extra training. (I'm a driver and not a cyclist by the way) However you can't pretend that anything like the majority of cyclists are blameless and the argument you always make that cyclists somehow deserve the road more than cars is bullshit. Yes yes they were originally made for horses and bikes but it's 2013 now. On a side note, can you explain the road tax thing to me? I know it's strictly VED now but where does the money go? Upkeep of the roads surely?
I'm a cyclist and a car owner. (well my bikes a clothes horse at the moment) With me driving the length and breath of the country, I can say i have not seen that many bad cyclist as ****** car drivers. You get the exec that thinks he own the road weaving in and out of traffic and not even indicating, The young dick that thinks his Corsa is a suped up beast and the daft mum in the 4x4 who aint got a clue what she is doing texting on her phone. OHHH and not forgetting the fat lorry driver who moves his lorry over so the biker/cyclist has to struggle to pass him when there is a queue. Sorry i am With DMD on this (Gulp)
Annoying when you get two cyclists riding side by side, chatting, and hogging the lane as you want to get by. Happened to me on a couple of occasions. On Sunday, a cyclist appeared to be attempting to ride with his knees stuck out as far as possible either side. I don't know why, other than to annoy me probably. Traffic on the other side preventing me from overtaking. It's not a nightmare, but it's irritating. I don't think it can be denied that cyclists often seem to think that red lights and zebra crossings don't apply to them. That one is pretty much across the board with them it seems to me. All I need to ride a bike on the road is my cycling proficiency test, which I got aged 11 or something. To drive my car legally on the road required months of lessons, a theory test and a practical test. Obviously, I am then required to keep it road worthy via means of an MOT each year, and I am required to be insured. I could just get any old bike and get riding, in contrast. Nothing else required to be legal, except lights and glow in the dark clothes etc. These seem to be the differences to me, and why I think, in general, quality is greater in the car drivers.
VED is a tax on emissions. It goes in the general pool and there is no link to road maintainace, which comes out of other budgets. As for rights on the road, it's a legal fact thaxt cycles, horses and pedestrians have an unconditional right to be on the road and motor vehicles MUST cede to them. Motor vehicles only have conditional use of the roads. In days of yore, carts formed tracks. Cars couldn't get down them, but cycles could. The motor vehicle was a novelty, not a serious mode of transport. The cycle lobby pressed for some tracks to be surfaced and raised funds to do it. Cars were allowed on these cycle lanes, with conditions.
I've seen many cyclists doing those and the ones that jump from pavement to road back to pavement and so on, pay no attention to traffic signals whether at s junction or crossing and the one that winds me up the most when Im driving slowly in heavy traffic about to turn left with my indicator on then get undertaken by a cyclists more intent on proving that his bike is better in built up traffic than to pay attention to what the traffic is doing
I have no idea (seriously) They rarely go anywhere useful and are poorly maintained. Plus, most cyclists can't use them as the highway code suggests a maximum speed of just 18mph.
Good points Party. Fact is both parties have some truly **** road users. We really should be able to separate cyclists from cars though. It's ridiculous that cars turning left at a set of lights have to cut across cyclists that might be going straight on. Don't see why it'd be so hard to have designated cycle lanes adjacent to pavements so they don't have to be mixing with the traffic. It's a recipe for disaster.
A wild guess, you don't ride a bike. As for two abreast, nothing wrong with it generally. You should be moving roughly as far over as you would for a sinle cyclist riding in the inside tyre track anyway. If they were single file you'd have to do that twice.
Thanks for that Re VED. What does 'conditionally' mean? Cars are only allowed on the road until a cyclist says they aren't any more? Sorry but I can't take that seriously. The road is there for everyone equally. Funny that you mention the 'novelty' of cars. Nowadays cars are the serious mode of transport, horses are a complete novelty and cycles are used as much by tracky-bottoms-wearing drugged-up ****s who stole them a few minutes prior as by proper cyclists using lights and helmets and stuff, and even half of those don't follow the rules.
