Cyclists show more respect for motorists!

kevin_stephens

Like many folk here I was heartened by the greatly increased respect and consideration I recieved from car drivers whilst out on my Sunday training rides over the weeks and months following British cyclists' awesome success at the Olympics this year.

Now following Lewis Hamilton's F1 World Championship victory and the resulting raised profile of motorists, I think we should all return the compliment and show greater awareness of, and respect for motorists, eg dismounting with a cheery wave if they need room to overtake us on narrow lanes.

dondare

Whilst Hammy was winning his race, British cyclists were taking 14 gold medals in Manchester in the World Championships. So still respect for us.

dodgy

dondare wrote:

Whilst Hammy was winning his race, British cyclists were taking 14 gold medals in Manchester in the World Championships. So still respect for us.

Nope, World Cup, slightly different.

Dave.

STEFANOS4784

I don't need anything to offer fellow road users respect, do unto others.......... :P

webbhost

Now following Lewis Hamilton's F1 World Championship victory and the resulting raised profile of motorists, I think we should all return the compliment and show greater awareness of, and respect for motorists, eg dismounting with a cheery wave if they need room to overtake us on narrow lanes.

Just because hamilton won a race (world cup or whatever).... doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to stop get of my bike and wave frantically at every driver that passes me, sorry.

You may have been experiencing more respect on the roads since olympic bikers showed what they can do, HOWEVER, that respect should have been there from the beginning, and frankly it wasn't.

Most cyclists tend to give car drivers all the respect they deserve from the first time they go onto the road with their new bike. besides, I always have and always will lift my hand to say thank you for drivers that are patient enough to wait for me.

Big Red S

webbhost wrote:

Most cyclists tend to give car drivers all the respect they deserve from the first time they go onto the road with their new bike.

This, as I see on my commute every day, and as often discussed on here, is patently not the case.

webbhost

Big Red S - Ok if we remove "chavs on bikes", BMXers etc etc..... and consider the people that actually take biking seriously?

Or am I still seriously mistaken?

Big Red S

webbhost wrote:

Big Red S - Ok if we remove "chavs on bikes", BMXers etc etc..... and consider the people that actually take biking seriously?

Or am I still seriously mistaken?

Since I started commuting with an engine, and therefore actually passing cyclists, I've noticed the huge amount who wear all black clothing, rarely signal their intentions before they start moving, if at all, don't look before moving, clearly don't plan ahead and seem to be riding as if they're invincible.

I know there aren't many of these who we'd call 'serious cyclists', but 'serious cyclists' are probably the minority when it comes to commuters in London.

STEFANOS4784

Ok just re-read OP, a hint of sarcasm methinks :oops:

webbhost

Since I started commuting with an engine, and therefore actually passing cyclists, I've noticed the huge amount who wear all black clothing, rarely signal their intentions before they start moving, if at all, don't look before moving, clearly don't plan ahead and seem to be riding as if they're invincible.

I know there aren't many of these who we'd call 'serious cyclists', but 'serious cyclists' are probably the minority when it comes to commuters in London.

Ok when you look at it that way I guess im slightly guilty myself.

I used to wear all black (minus a blue helmet) and didn't use lights.

"However", I now have that thing called "common sense", I wear a yellow vest on top of my black coat, have 1 x red light @ the back and 2 x lights at the front (1 still, 1 flashing), and I learned my lesson before I learned it the hard way.

I will say however, that I have always and always will look over my shoulder, and indicate that I am turning off whenever it is safe to do so.


I somewhat looked at black clothing as disrecpecting themselfs not the driver - however now that I think about it, it is a huge disrespect to the driver as not only could the driver have a court case if they killed or severely injured you, they would also have to get their car fixed because of the cyclists negligance.

Onan

What's wrong with wearing black clothing? Wearing high visibility gear might be necessary if you're cycling at night, but I don't think it's really a big deal if people who do all their cycling in the daylight don't feel the need to be lit up like a christmas tree.

Is it really that hard to see a person on a bike in normal clothes? I think the problem is motorists not caring about cyclists, not being unable to see them.

Obviously, if you're riding at night, you need lights on your bike, and if you're not looking over your shoulder, and trying to let motorists know your intentions, you're an idiot.

But I don't see much of that on the roads around here. What I see most of is cyclists commuting on the kirb. And I don't blame them. The roads are hard work.

biondino

I think you'll find "whle Hammy was throwing away the World Championship AGAIN through the ignominy of a Toro Rosso overtaking him before he benefitted from just about the most jammy piece of luck in the history of sport" is a more appropriate way of putting it.

cycologist

I showed a lot of awareness of a particular motorist whilst out on Sunday. I was aware that the pratt coming up behind me was going to pose difficulties in passing me and getting back in line again before the oncoming car took him out. So i braked , giving him just enough space and time to get passed. As he'd cut me up , I gave him a time honoured salute . He pulled up in front of me and berated me for my gesticulation and when i asked that he consider why I might have stuck two fingers up to him., he only went even more ballistic. All of this happened on a narrow country lane. I wa aware of him alright but he wasn't aware of himself.

snowman1080

I had the smae thing this morning. Guy came round a corner on my side of the road, full on. I waved my hand in the air, no single finger salute, he screeched to a halt, turned round and bloody chased me. What a total C unit.

As a cyclist and ex motorist and ex passanger in my dads lorry as a kid. I feel i know the roads quite well both as a cyclist and motorist. Think its important to know ffom both sides of the coin. ie, whenever a large vehicle comes up behind ya, be it a truck, bus or whatever. its always good to just get on the path for a while or stop in safe place let em go past. 9 out of 10 times they will thank you for it. Likewis as a cyclist, drains can be a bitch, but you know not all car drivers are going to give you room to get past the debris on the side of the road. Just gotta be aware. All the time.