Have you ever been 'told off' by a cyclist

saveswalking

or even told another cyclist off for say RLJ or pavement cycling ?
Or do you do sit there seething at the red light and the PC screen ?
Alot of us get quite vocal out there with motorists but do we do the same with cyclists that behave daft/dangerous ?
The best I've done is mumble **at or **att ,

sw

redvee

Make a point of being as wide as possible for the pavement cyclist, not quite gone as far as holding my arms out yet but I always utter a word or two. Most recently I came out of my front door at 7am onto a quiet main road to see a pavement cyclist. It was pointless shouting/pointing out his error as he was listening to his MP3 player.

prj45

Very topical.

I've alway been quite vocal when I see people on cycles (and in cars, and on foot) doing stupid things.

What I've noticed recently is other cyclists seem to be taking this up. I was at a junction the other day and TWO cyclists shouted after an idiot that shot through the junction on red dodging the cars coing up the other way.

I was sat at a junction the other day, two cyclists were sitting out in the middle of it after having gone through the red and found that they couldn't continue doe to oncoming traffic. The guy next to me said "I'd laugh if they got hit", I did sort of agree, they were a right pair of twunts; quite where they thought their behaviour got them I don't know, but I passed them soon after.

Gr.uB

I've told cyclists off for RLJ and for not looking over their shoulder when moving out, cycling on the pavement, cycling without lights - cycling in a pedestrian zone, dropping their bike down on the pavement on the rear mech, cycling with a really rusty and squeaky chain - then it is my job to tell people off !!

phil_ss1

Hi,

I usually "inform" people for dropping off the pavement without looking especially if they are going a lot slower than me.

Also do shout some comment if an RLJ'ing lawbreaker passes me whilst I'm stopped at the lights.

Even once followed a motorcyclists for sneaking up the centre of two lanes and then turning left on the red across the left lane. I waited till the lights changed and followed the twunt into a retail park and let rip! :evil:

I had one cyclist shout "signal" at me for not signalling when turning left and then right on some minor side roads. ****head! - Told him it wasn't mandatory and to mind his own business!

He then try to bollock me for cycling on the road next to a cyclepath, he got put in his place....

Regards

Phil

always_tyred

I've grumbled at other cyclists occasionally.

I've almost done it many more times. But on a lot of occasions, I've drawn level with the offender and they are concentrating so hard, or appear so unstable, that they haven't even noticed me yet. I figure they are so far from being able to take any useful adivce on board that there's no sense barking at them, unless I have a few evenings to spare to teach them how to ride.

But where do people learn these days other than teaching themselves on the roads? Makes me wonder if there's a place for something more useful than "citizenship" lessons in schools. Hell, you could even teach cycling in the context of PE - some people even regard it as a sport (albeit generally these people live in other countries). Do they still do PE in schools?

I think I've gone off topic. Perhaps this should be moved to rants? I need another coffee. Or I should drink less coffee. :shock: :?:

saveswalking

I was wondering if perhaps cyclists dont 'self police' out of some sort of solidarity with a vunerable minority and I must admit I'd feel a bit of a traitor ticking off some errant cyclist in front of blantant law breaking by motorists. Thats the perspective.
Also in the same way that motorists feel secure enough in their boxes to yell abuse etc at cyclists we cyclists would literally have a face to face with another cyclist and frankly some of the RLJ/pavement merchants dont appear to be the sort of people who would comprehend your 'advice' and their reactions could be unpredictable.
I suppose we all just want to concentrate on what we are doing and get to where we are going safely without confrontation (how very English) but who is going to inform/educate these 'law breakers' ? A cycling forum ?

"But where do people learn these days other than teaching themselves on the roads? Makes me wonder if there's a place for something more useful than "citizenship" lessons in schools. Hell, you could even teach cycling in the context of PE - some people even regard it as a sport (albeit generally these people live in other countries). Do they still do PE in schools? "
I don't think thats off topic Always Tyred :idea:

sw

saveswalking

Just thought of an example - yesterday mornings commute waiting dutifully at traffic lights on red along with at least 15 other cyclists (plus motorcyclists :roll: ) in the starting grid .. er I mean the ASL and along comes a cyclist and weaves through the stationary mass and continues straight across the juction.
Not a word!
I'm sure if someone had shouted out "Oi red light mate!" they would be expressing just what the others were silently thinking and would back up that action.

sw

always_tyred

saveswalking wrote:

Just thought of an example - yesterday mornings commute waiting dutifully at traffic lights on red along with at least 15 other cyclists (plus motorcyclists :roll: ) in the starting grid .. er I mean the ASL and along comes a cyclist and weaves through the stationary mass and continues straight across the juction.
Not a word!
I'm sure if someone had shouted out "Oi red light mate!" they would be expressing just what the others were silently thinking and would back up that action.

sw

How would you restrict yourself to something so polite? Surely the 6th letter of the alphabet would come into there somewhere?

dondare

I told a cyclist off once; they'd just cycled through a red and were blowing a whistle to make pedestrians jump out of the way; it was a waste of my breath beacause they were ignorant and anti-social and exactly the sort of cyclist that makes everyone else hate all cyclists and she gave me the "mouthful of abuse" that everyone thinks all cyclists do when they break the law and terrorise pedestrians and get admonished for it.

Greg T

I was waiting at a Pelican crossing for the pedestrian crossing it to get across when a guy flew by me and into the now quite small gap between me and her.

I caught him up and had a word.

I'm considering a more shouty at red lights stance. Spare me the self serving "I do it cos it's safer" justification.

You do it as you've got poorly developed Quads and don't want to push on.

GT

secretsam

Frequently

I'm a bit of a stroppy old woman, really

(in reality: 39 y.o. male. So the "old" bit's right)

gtvlusso

I had a go at a guy who went through a red light, pedestrian crossing without looking - nearly knocked 2 little kids over who were being walked to school by their mum.....She had a shout at him....but gave me a big smile and shook her pretty head, bit of a MILF!

Nice thing about it was that the crossing is on a steep hill, I overtook the fat, sweaty, bespectacled tosser and mentioned my discontent at his sheer idiocy as I passed - he told me to "sod off" as he fought for breath, so I did, and dissapeared off into the distance up the hill....never to be seen again.

I think he got off an walked as I have seen him walking up there a few times now - at least he is trying to cycle to work and everyone makes mistakes, bless him!

karl j

yes, once, by some miserable ole git. told me that we cycle on the left in this country.

Oh really i didn't know that

i'd nearly missed my left turn onto a cycle path (off Riverside Rd onto Bishop Bridge in Norwich, if anyone's local) , so i took it late and consequently also rather wide. I probably would have stopped to 'discuss' the matter with him further if i hadn't been chuckling at the wildly exaggerated swing out to the right that he took

ho-hum

iainment

Only a couple of times been shouted at.
Once in Greenwich Tunnel for cycling, oops forgot, red faced and off bike to walk instead, although I don't understand why cycling is not allowed but scooting on one pedal is. IMO this is more dangerous than cycling as you have less control, but hey ho.
And once shouted at by cabbie as I didn't move away from lights quick enough for him - I was looking at A-Z at time trying to work out my route from Trafalgar Square. Didn't quite understand why he was so vexed as his way was clear.

iainment

gtvlusso wrote:

I had a go at a guy who went through a red light, pedestrian crossing without looking - nearly knocked 2 little kids over who were being walked to school by their mum.....She had a shout at him....but gave me a big smile and shook her pretty head, bit of a MILF!

Nice thing about it was that the crossing is on a steep hill, I overtook the fat, sweaty, bespectacled tosser and mentioned my discontent at his sheer idiocy as I passed - he told me to "sod off" as he fought for breath, so I did, and dissapeared off into the distance up the hill....never to be seen again.

I think he got off an walked as I have seen him walking up there a few times now - at least he is trying to cycle to work and everyone makes mistakes, bless him!

I suppose being fat is a choice for many, being sweaty can be because of this - or just a natural reaction to exertion. But why is the fact that he wears specs relevant?

iainment

Oops

Tobiwan

I see so many RLJ'ers on my commute that there are probably more of them than there are people stopping in some instances (e.g. where there's not a busy cross-stream of traffic, at pedestrian crossings etc). I just keep quiet, sometimes exchanging a quiet word with a fellow cyclist who's also stopped.

I find the other cyclists pushing to the front going 10-abreast at the ASL and racing for pole position just as annoying but I guess they're not breaking any laws. Fair enough if you're really fast and going to be quick off the mark, but that's frequently not the case!

Overall I've been really disappointed by cyclists in London - I feel more in danger of having an accident with a fellow cyclist than any car/van/bus to be honest. If more of us spoke out about other cyclists behaviour whilst on the road it probably would be for the best for everyone. Most of them are bigger than me though and I'm a bit too shy for shouting at strangers!

CarKiller

I certainly tell people off when they RLJ.

But the kind of person who does that is the kind of person who will just abuse people who tell them off anyway. They are basically antisocial at heart, and as soon as they can afford a motor vehicle they will be out there endangering people. They're not "cyclists" they are just waiting until they can become antisocial drivers.

iainment

CarKiller wrote:

I certainly tell people off when they RLJ.

But the kind of person who does that is the kind of person who will just abuse people who tell them off anyway. They are basically antisocial at heart, and as soon as they can afford a motor vehicle they will be out there endangering people. They're not "cyclists" they are just waiting until they can become antisocial drivers.

I must be the exception to your rule then. I am courteous to all on the road and certainly don't believe in being abusive to anyone. These blanket statements are not adding to the debate really are they?

As I have said before like it or not - if you're riding a bikeyou're a cyclist. Even if you don't approve of what they do.

saveswalking

CarKiller wrote:

I certainly tell people off when they RLJ.

But the kind of person who does that is the kind of person who will just abuse people who tell them off anyway. They are basically antisocial at heart, and as soon as they can afford a motor vehicle they will be out there endangering people. They're not "cyclists" they are just waiting until they can become antisocial drivers.

or 'antisocial drivers' who have 'lost' their cars and have reluctantly taken up the bike perhaps ?

sw

2wheelzgood

been told off by a cyclist, yes. didn't say she was pretty enough, didn't pick phone up, ate too much food, wasted too much time...
it's great when your special lady is mad keen about bikes too

mailmannz

So what impact do people reckon you have when shouting at someone?

Does anyone here believe they have actually got someone to modify their behaviour?

I reckon, all you are really doing is opening yourself up for a bit of road rage...especially if you are abusive when you do the shouting.

I dont believe the kind of person who "breaks the law" is anti-social at heart, but more concerned with just getting from A to B as quickly as possible no matter the cost. And really, the only way these people will ever modify their behaviour is if they have an incident when jumping a red light or riding on the pavement.

And some of the "correcting" Ive seen has been worded in such a way that the only reaction was only ever going to be confrontation (like the pedestrian who shouted at a cyclist riding on a footpath, even though the footpath was about 10 feet wide and there was a 8 foot gap between him and the cyclist. All the pedo achieved was to raise his stress levels at 830 in the morning!).

Personally, I can do without the agro of argueing with some tosser on a bike.

Mailman

attica

In the spirit of this thread, hollered "Oi, it's red" at the RLJer who weaved through the gap between myself and another nonRLJer on the way home last night.
I caught him shortly after (why is it that RLJers are always slow riders?) and said "It's people like you who give the daily mail all the ammo they need"

His reply "P155 Off" - Oscar Wilde would be proud.

In the past I've always given a sad shake of the head when passed by RLJers, in the hope that motorists behind will see that we're not all as bad as each other, not sure which is the better approach, but I enjoyed last night's more.

mailmannz

BUT, what did you expect the RLJer to do? Stop and thank you for pointing out the errors of his ways and promise to never do it again?

Going by some of the comments posted here, Im amazed some of you havent been bashed or thrown in to a canal yet.

Mailman

2wheelzgood

True.. I was reading this cringing a tad. I wear a lid and have lights but not all do. I don't RLJ 99£ of he time but at the end of the day it's my choice.

when not on bikes (ie not within confrontation distance/situation) I do mutter "lights" at night..whereas my girlfriend does not reduce sound levels and a audible "HELMET" can be heard before an embarrassed look and whistling nonchalantly.

It's just for fun for us. You cannot seriously expect people who've thought about what they are doing (assuming they have) to take head of do-gooders either on bikes or walking down the street.

will3

2wheelzgood wrote:

=
when not on bikes (ie not within confrontation distance/situation) I do mutter "lights" at night...

I have been known to shout "get some fking light you idiot" to people I;ve nearly had head on collision with at night on an unlit cycle path.
I'm not proud of it, but you know it's goint to hurt (and wtf can't they get out of the way when they see a bike light approaching? I would if I was unlit!)

Greg T

A fat bloke in a tank top was RLJing last night I overtook him four or so times only to have him take me at the next lights...

I came up with a corking line "If you want to get home faster lose some weight pie boy" but sadly I didn't see him again.

I offer it to the congregation for use.

cygnet

I was once told that I was supposed to stop for someone as they intended to ride across a zebra crossing. ? A nicer cyclist has warned me that my back light wasn't flashing (it was on constant!)

prj45

Well, about 10 miles though my 14 mile ride home tonight I was thinking I'm going to get in and post that the only two people I shouted at tonight were both on cycles.

One guy who almost literally bowled his way through a bunch of peds crossing on a green man just past Houses of Parliament ("You make us all look like idots you F***g WWW**R", to silent applause from a couple of said peds might add) and one guy who was riding the wrong way down King Street (I shouted "IDIOT" very loudly in his face as he passed on my left, quite a lot of spittle and sweat came out, I thikn he may have had to wipe his sunglasses).

Well, that was until some lady in a car really badly cut me up about a mile from home, no damage done, but at the next set of lights I shouted over thanks to her for trying to kill me and the guy in the car in front (who she'd obviously had previous with) shouted "she's hasn't got a fa***n clue mate, not a fa****n clue!".

chewa

I stopped RLJ'ing at the only light I jumped (well leaving the redlight early - cyclepath at Haymarket if anyone knows Edinburgh), because another cyclist said "I know why you do it, but the blokes in cars don't"

Did get passed by a roadie the other day - on the Forth Bridge no other cycles or peds about, passed me with an inch to spare obviously making a point. I caught him on the climb to the petrol station and said "You a taxi driver?" he said "no, why" and I said "usually it's only taxi drivers who are stupid enough to pass that close"

He mumbled a sorry and went on his way. Passed me the next day - if he's been any further over hed have needed a boat.