German road rage on teh A4 !

King of Spain

Blimey - those of you familiar withthe A4 route into London from Heathrow wil know there's a bike lane semi-permenantly blocked with construction traffic...hence us commuters stick to the safety of teh road and incur regular but casual abuse, such is life on the road in England.
Well then..this morning, tootling in on a 3 lane road with virtually no traffic on it as London schools broke yesterday, I was surprised to be hooted and hooted from behind, then a german campervan puling a trailer pulls up and demands to know in pure Teuton tones why I am not using ze bicycle lane. Afte telling him, then asking him to mind his own business then resorting (sorry all) to expleteives he ducked in behind me and began to take lots of photos....

...no then, can fellow posters assure me that I am NOT breakingHighway Code by cycling when there is a cycle lane available ?
Vielen Dank meine freunde

Paulie W

Yes, we can assure you (and you cant 'break' the Highway Code - it's not of itself the 'law',)

dirk_van_gently

Cycle lanes in Germany, or at least the ones I have experienced are fantastic, probably just thought that the same applied here, and that you were nuts for not using them.
Perhaps he was missing home, and thought your shorts were leaderhosen? hence the photographs

Harveytile

This should clear it up. This is from the Highway Code, Section61:
"61
Cycle Routes and Other Facilities. Use cycle routes, advanced stop lines, cycle boxes and toucan crossings unless at the time it is unsafe to do so. Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer."

I always find this is handy to show ignorant motorists. I drive a car, motorbike, and have a couple of bicycles. I make a point of knowing what others' rights are (yes walkers do have rights :roll: , and as far as I can work out horse riders can leave steaming piles of dung in the street) so it's only fair that others know our rights as cyclists on the public roads.

Rant over.

PS Don't mention the war...

dondare

Was he taking photos while he was driving?

Parsnip49

Get off and do a Basil Fawlty nazi walk for the camera

dondare

A German with an attitude, poor understanding of the Law and in a camper van;
he's going to feel welcome wherever he goes.

will3

I always find these people amusing. I got hooted at yesterday as I was overtaking another cyclist and hence out of the cycle lane and in the main carriageway.

Needless to say that despite the BMW being quite close behind it took me ages to complete the overtaking and return to the cycle lane

el_presidente

A concentration camper van, maybe?




sorry

jrduquemin

Wir hatt den kriege gewonnen.

That always p!sses them off when you say it

Dudu

Use of cycle lanes is compulsory in some parts of Germany, even when they're blocked by parked cars or covered in snow.

el_presidente

Dudu wrote:

Use of cycle lanes is compulsory in some parts of Germany, even when they're blocked by parked cars or covered in snow.

on those occasions you are allowed to annex the road

karl j

To answer your question directly, though i am no solicitor, i feel fairly sure you are not breaking any law. (~And isn't the good ole HC currently being updated to state this ? )

But the guy taking photo's while driving...

robmanic1

Maybe he was just taking schnapps!

<<<<exits stage left

iainment

karl j wrote:

To answer your question directly, though i am no solicitor, i feel fairly sure you are not breaking any law. (~And isn't the good ole HC currently being updated to state this ? )

But the guy taking photo's while driving...

Don't worry I'm sure the house lawyer is monitoring this and as soon as he knows what's what he'll enlighten us.

Spen, Spen where are you? Opinion required.

:twisted:

Greg T

Was he the camper van commandant?

Schnell Machen Englander! Achtung Arrrrrghhhh Spitfeur!

FrankM

The guy was German and in Germany using cycle lanes is mandatory if there's a bike lane sign. He was probably surprised about the fact that you weren't using it.

Maybe it was as incomprehensible to him as the German traffic rule is to me which says that cars entering a road from the right always have priority (unless there's a sign).

No need to be offensive about the fact that he was German.

robmanic1

FrankM wrote:

No need to be offensive about the fact that he was German.

They started it!

<<<<walks away, ashamed

DavidTQ

King of Spain wrote:

Blimey - those of you familiar withthe A4 route into London from Heathrow wil know there's a bike lane semi-permenantly blocked with construction traffic...hence us commuters stick to the safety of teh road and incur regular but casual abuse, such is life on the road in England.
Well then..this morning, tootling in on a 3 lane road with virtually no traffic on it as London schools broke yesterday, I was surprised to be hooted and hooted from behind, then a german campervan puling a trailer pulls up and demands to know in pure Teuton tones why I am not using ze bicycle lane. Afte telling him, then asking him to mind his own business then resorting (sorry all) to expleteives he ducked in behind me and began to take lots of photos....

...no then, can fellow posters assure me that I am NOT breakingHighway Code by cycling when there is a cycle lane available ?
Vielen Dank meine freunde

Proven in crown court that you dont HAVE to use the cycle lane where its available :-

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4774

The latest version of the highway code also makes it clear that use of cycle lanes in NOT compulsory - We have a right to use the road where we see fit - EVEN if we hold up motorists!

63
Cycle Lanes. These are marked by a white line (which may be broken) along the carriageway (see Rule 140). Keep within the lane when practicable. When leaving a cycle lane check before pulling out that it is safe to do so and signal your intention clearly to other road users. Use of cycle lanes is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer.

You were neither breaking the law nor the highway code. They guy was just wrong, as were the police in the case above!

SmellTheGlove

iainment wrote:

karl j wrote:

Spen, Spen where are you? Opinion required.

:twisted:

He's surely gone for a lie down - must've near bust his boiler when he saw this one...

will3

FrankM wrote:

The guy was German and in Germany using cycle lanes is mandatory if there's a bike lane sign. He was probably surprised about the fact that you weren't using it.

Maybe it was as incomprehensible to him as the German traffic rule is to me which says that cars entering a road from the right always have priority (unless there's a sign).

No need to be offensive about the fact that he was German.

Seems a little presumptious of him to assume that german law applied over here. Didn't we fight a war about that a few years back?

Greg T

Robmanic1 wrote:

They started it!

<<<<walks away, ashamed

It hurts

King of Spain wrote:

A4 route into London from Heathrow

Well that's the problem right there.

Do not get in the way of a German going east.

They've been stung before and they're not going to let it happen again.

Going west is a piece of cake or gateaux as we say in France.

King of Spain

Thanks all for your informative assistance on this one - as I speed home (wind assisted at a nice 12mph according to metcheck 8) ) tonight on the opposite carriageway I will do so safe in the knowledge that Cycle lane use is not obligatory and that we did indeed win a war against my morning adversary some time back.

Last question : Can anyone inform me if we have ever in fact won a World Cup also ?

daniel_b

Superb, this is a very funny thread

I like the fact he was taking pictures, what were the police going to do??

"An APB has been put out for a man on a bike last seen on the A4"

King of Spain

"An APB has been put out for a man on a bike last seen on the A4"

Truth is I was wearing a UCI world road champions jersey so police may be tricked into arresting Paolo Bettini (should he be riding down the A4 in the next few hours). I'll be safe as my full head of hair and love handles distinguish me from the Italian champ.

dondare

DavidTQ wrote:

Proven in crown court that you dont HAVE to use the cycle lane where its available :-

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4774

The latest version of the highway code also makes it clear that use of cycle lanes in NOT compulsory - We have a right to use the road where we see fit - EVEN if we hold up motorists!

63
Cycle Lanes. These are marked by a white line (which may be broken) along the carriageway (see Rule 140). Keep within the lane when practicable. When leaving a cycle lane check before pulling out that it is safe to do so and signal your intention clearly to other road users. Use of cycle lanes is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer.

You were neither breaking the law nor the highway code. They guy was just wrong, as were the police in the case above!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid ... w=bb&mp=wm

Yorkshireman

If it happens again, tap the side of your nose with an index finger while giving him a 'knowing' smile and ride away singing ... Two World Wars and Two World Cups :twisted:

downfader

dondare wrote:

A German with an attitude, poor understanding of the Law and in a camper van;
he's going to feel welcome wherever he goes.

German, sounds Austrian to me.

dirk_van_gently

Shtoppe already viz ze Jermun jokes

Probably a "Tägliche Post" reader :shock: