"You know that's illegal"

Alibran

My partner and I were riding 2 abreast today on a nice, wide, straight stretch of road with very little traffic in either direction (and I mean very little traffic by Cornish standards). I heard the car come up behind and slow down, then the driver tapped the horn. I was on the outside, and didn't even bother looking round. I always make a point of ignoring horn tapping when we're riding 2 abreast, even if I was originally planning to move in to make an overtake easier.

After a while the car goes past, and as it does the woman in the passenger seat hangs out of the window and shouts, "You know that's illegal." I shouted back that it isn't, and I really hoped they'd stop so we could discuss it further, but I guess she didn't want to interrupt her lesson to have an argument with a couple of cyclists.

Yep, she was a driving instructor.

explosifpete

A few weeks back my brother and me were riding along next to each other on a quite yet wide and straight (easy overtake) road when a fiesta with L plates pulled along side and a rather angry (he was teaching a girl to drive) told us to " GET THE F**K OFF THE ROAD YOU C**TS" which I thought was a little much really.

prj45

explosifpete wrote:

told us to " GET THE F**K OFF THE ROAD YOU C**TS" which I thought was a little much really.

...but hilarious though.

You should stood on his bonnet and pointed out that you were now "off the road" and were being proper c***ts.

Cunobelin

Write to the local paper expressing yur concern over such lack of knowledge in a driving instructor.................



.

Gambatte

Alibran wrote:

Yep, she was a driving instructor.

Self employed type or national driving school?

richardast

Alibran wrote:

My partner and I were riding 2 abreast today on a nice, wide, straight stretch of road with very little traffic in either direction (and I mean very little traffic by Cornish standards).

I've never seen a wide straight stretch of road in Cornwall. I thought that the M5 was the only one within 100 miles.

dirk_van_gently

If this is the standard of the driving instructors, what does it say for the people they teach.
Frankly I would have taken a note of the company, and made a complaint that is just outrageous.

BentMikey

You could always adopt the cunobelin approach, and "remember" only the registration number. Then write to all the driving schools in the area, including this chap's, explaining the mistake and that you couldn't remember the driving school details, and saying how you can't understand why a driving instructor would have such a poor knowledge of the highway code.

mrchrispy

I vote for Mikes suggestion. evil genius 8)

spen666

BentMikey wrote:

You could always adopt the cunobelin approach, and "remember" only the registration number. Then write to all the driving schools in the area, including this chap's, explaining the mistake and that you couldn't remember the driving school details, and saying how you can't understand why a driving instructor would have such a poor knowledge of the highway code.

Excellent idea

dirk_van_gently

mrchrispy
I vote for Mikes suggestion. evil genius Cool

I sometimes wonder about Mikey, quiet anarchist ?

hamboman

I had a weird one a bit like this the other day.

Was going for a ride on my mountain bike last weekend, pulled out of the tiny road from Gomshall station the the North Downs onto a 30mph road. No traffic at all.

As I cross the road a guy speeds round the corner doing mach2 beeping for me to get out the way. At first I thought I'd fecked up and had pulled out without looking, but quickly realised it was his excessive speed at fault.

He kept beeping and *whoops* I gave him the V :oops:

He pulled over and gestured for me to come alongside. Myself and my friend sped up to close the distance and chat as he wanted, but he sped off before we got there - he must have decided he didn't want to tangle with two angry, burly cyclists! How I laughed.

Surf-Matt

Where in Cornwall?
I cycle throught Truro every day and it does seem to be a city of bike haters.

always_tyred

You aren't from England as well are you? The Cornish don't much like them sorts either.

(Note I have family down there and it is wonderful. The only thing wrong with Cornwall is that parts of it are too close to London and Dartmoor isn't in it.)

Alibran

Surf-Matt wrote:

Where in Cornwall?
I cycle throught Truro every day and it does seem to be a city of bike haters.

I live near Penzance, but I drive buses through Truro regularly, and personally, i think it's just a city of bad drivers - they're out to get everyone, not just cyclists.

The "incident" happened on the road between Penzance and St Ives.

And I am from England, Tyred, but surely she couldn't tell that from the way I was riding my bike

helz

I was told by a black cab driver the other day (after he'd beeped his horn at me out of frustration at not being able to overtake me as there wasn't any room) that I'm "not supposed to cycle in front of a taxi". I told him I was cycling in the primary position which was what I was supposed to be doing. He then called me a "stupid woman" so I told him he was a fat ba*stard who had probably never been on a bike in his life... which I guess was a bit rude of me but quite frankly I don't care. :twisted:

Alibran

helz wrote:

I was told by a black cab driver the other day (after he'd beeped his horn at me out of frustration at not being able to overtake me as there wasn't any room) that I'm "not supposed to cycle in front of a taxi".

I would have told him he wasn't supposed to drive behind a bike, and see what he had to say to that.

NorwegianBlue

Worse than your taxi driving friend is the assumption among some drivers that they are legally obliged to overtake any slow moving vehicle immediately they come upon it. I'm bus bound at the moment due to a shoulder problem and have spotted a number of incidents that beggar belief.

The other day travelling down a road that's just wide enough for two lanes of traffic an oncoming car overtook a cyclist on solid white lines and almost hit the front of our bus. In another a car overtook the bus on solid whites again approaching a blind crest.

But it's not just car drivers. Yesterday the bus almost hit a cyclist and it was the cyclists fault. In heavy traffic a cyclist was tootling along at a steady rate when a roady commuter zoomed up behind him and swerved around him no backward glance, no signal. The bus driver anticipated the move and braked in advance, couldn't have swerved without causing a major accident.

I used to think there were a group of idiots who thought it was their devine right to overtake, now I believe they think it is compulsory.

prj45

helz wrote:

I was told by a black cab driver the other day that I'm "not supposed to cycle in front of a taxi"

I still remember the guy under Vauxhall railway bridge actually getting out of his car and shouting after me,

"But you're a bicycle!"

I presume he was annoyed I was in primary and "slowing him down".

I remember sitting next to him at a set of lights at Stockwell and looking at him whilst he just stared straight and pretended I wasn't there.

I guess I should've sat behind him , and shouted "but you're a car!".