Commuting Etiquette

CyclingBantam

jedster wrote:

It is very simple for a car to re-pass a cyclist in most cases however it is harder for a cyclist to overtake another due to the comparatively lower speeds and the other cars passing at the same time

That is often but not always true. I think some people ALWAYS filter to the front without considering
a) does it buy them much
b) how much inconvenience does it cause to other road users

If you are a fairly quick cyclist in thick traffic then the answer is generally a) a decent amount and b) almost none. But it is good etiquette to be alert to the occasions when the answer is a) not much and b) a bit - then you should just take the lane and wait your turn.

I fully agree. Possibly I didn't make my point very well.

blu3cat

which does some times mean do end up playing tag with faster bikes as sure enough as i leave them for dead when the lights go green they will catch me up once going, and like wise i'm not going to wait for them to build up speed they are not going to wait behind me either.

If you can get away for some time before being overtaken then fair enough, but if you are the person on the hybrid last night who was faster than me for 0.2 seconds and then sat in bike lane until I could overtake them, and then proceeded to filter round me and block me at every set of lights (All 5 sets I think)....PAH

roger_merriman

blu3cat wrote:

which does some times mean do end up playing tag with faster bikes as sure enough as i leave them for dead when the lights go green they will catch me up once going, and like wise i'm not going to wait for them to build up speed they are not going to wait behind me either.

If you can get away for some time before being overtaken then fair enough, but if you are the person on the hybrid last night who was faster than me for 0.2 seconds and then sat in bike lane until I could overtake them, and then proceeded to filter round me and block me at every set of lights (All 5 sets I think)....PAH

na i tend to hang back slightly as i'll normally pass them as they are clipping in, and from then on if the road is wide they will catch me up some point down the road or they'll get caught by traffic lights or other such things, very very rarely meet any one close to same speed on that bike, it's also outer london so more space etc.

Cafewanda

jedster wrote:

If you a kerb hugging and see a parked car ahead, do at least shoulder check before you pull out.

If you are overtaking a cyclist, do allow space for them to avoid potholes, etc. You want cars to give you space - extend the same courtesy to other cyclists.

J

+ whatever the highest number can be for the second sentence, as that is my bugbear with some cyclists on my route. I don't think I've ever done the first but my memory isn't what it was :oops:

Bassjunkieuk

"Life saver" shoulder checks can also be handy for SCRing:

I'm not really worried that your chasing me and checking if your getting close, I was just making sure it's safe to pull out round that er......stone there!

Had a few times where I managed to sneak a shoulder check on the grounds of safety to make sure I'm not being tailed :-) Nowadays I'm practicing the jedi skill of using the reflections from the car in front - works best behind a very clean black taxi or a cleanish MPV/4x4, not so well with smaller/ligher coloured ones or those that need a good clean ;-)

il_principe

"lost_in_thought wrote:

I have to say too that I don't wobble when setting off...

Unless you're setting off from the Morpeth

The Chingford Skinhead

Blimey, who do you lot think you are. Telling me how fast I can go, how much space I must leave when overtaking, that I can't spit at cyclists and that I can't push to the front of the ASL box. :evil: That's an affront to my liberty, my freedom and my rights. My rights as a motorist should not... oh hang on, you're talking about rules for cyclists. Yes yes, in favour of lots of those please :twisted:

Kieran_Burns

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

Blimey, who do you lot think you are. Telling me how fast I can go, how much space I must leave when overtaking, that I can't spit at cyclists and that I can't push to the front of the ASL box. :evil: That's an affront to my liberty, my freedom and my rights. My rights as a motorist should not... oh hang on, you're talking about rules for cyclists. Yes yes, in favour of lots of those please :twisted:

Did you like, wander into this thread just to be strange?

si. d

I have to say, I'm not sure I agree with this etiquette idea. Ride safe yes, that's a given, but complaining about people overtaking when they're not fast enough etc. smells a bit of elitism to me. Personally, as long as no-one does anything that compromises my safety i'm not bothered, I don't get angry and it's all good. It's just a bit of fun after all.

Jay dubbleU

No he's always been strange - funny but strange. 8)

We don't have ASLs in this part of the world - in fact apart from a couple of very short lengths we don't have any concessions to cyclists on the road - all the local council's resources seem to go into building cycle paths shared with pedestrians - if you take to the road your on your own - I tend to adopt the 'being a car' approach to lights - I sit in the queue with the other cars but make sure the drive behind knows which diection I'm going at the lights

crankycrank

Two points;
1. If you're on a bike path, especially a two way path, stay to the left and if riding two up MOVE THE FOOK OVER enough so that someone can pass.
2. Don't stop and block the whole frickin bike lane to answer your, oh so important, CELL PHONE. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Next poster please......

DiggingDeeper

Can't say I'm too bothered by the ASL infringers or the RLJs.

Darwin was right, they will extinct themselves fairly shortly. RLJs just give you the next target

Let's not get too self righteous here. When the bus bus pulls over and you just blast out, maybe with a cursory glance, but it makes no difference really you are going anyway, you (we) are just like the rest. Good at times, not so at others.

Responses will be interesting.

Rockbuddy

DiggingDeeper wrote:

Can't say I'm too bothered by the ASL infringers or the RLJs.

Darwin was right, they will extinct themselves fairly shortly. RLJs just give you the next target

Let's not get too self righteous here. When the bus bus pulls over and you just blast out, maybe with a cursory glance, but it makes no difference really you are going anyway, you (we) are just like the rest. Good at times, not so at others.

Responses will be interesting.

Mmm, get the Darwin link - although kinda hope that the RLJers will come to their senses before they become statistics.

Maybe just me but I didn't get the bus bus point? What we blasting where now???

itboffin

There is no etiquette in SCR you are all slugs in the leaf mulch of life, get in my way and I will pour salt on you :twisted:

Jay dubbleU

si. d wrote:

I have to say, I'm not sure I agree with this etiquette idea. Ride safe yes, that's a given, but complaining about people overtaking when they're not fast enough etc. smells a bit of elitism to me. Personally, as long as no-one does anything that compromises my safety i'm not bothered, I don't get angry and it's all good. It's just a bit of fun after all.

Are you insane - when did fun and SCR appear in the same sentence* :twisted:

*Apart from this one

The Chingford Skinhead

Kieran_Burns wrote:

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

Blimey, who do you lot think you are. Telling me how fast I can go, how much space I must leave when overtaking, that I can't spit at cyclists and that I can't push to the front of the ASL box. :evil: That's an affront to my liberty, my freedom and my rights. My rights as a motorist should not... oh hang on, you're talking about rules for cyclists. Yes yes, in favour of lots of those please :twisted:

Did you like, wander into this thread just to be strange?

No, just read too many of the blogs that followed recent press articles about the deaths of peds and cyclists - all of which feature a lot of drivers basically claiming that any laws relating to driving are an attack on their liberty - for example they should be able to drive as fast as they want as they can judge what speed is appropriate for the conditions. Apparently speed isn't the problem in the hands of above average drivers. However they all saw the victims of motorists - peds and cyclists - as needing to have most of their liberties curtailed in the interst of the great god motor car. I was therefore being ironic. Sorry it didn't amuse you

btw (and this is a rhetorical question, not one to hijack the thread) but has anyone met a driver who does not think they are well above average?

tardington

Yep.

My gf has managed to avoid driving since she passed her test. I think you can imagine the rest. :shock:

The Chingford Skinhead

tardie wrote:

Yep.

My gf has managed to avoid driving since she passed her test. I think you can imagine the rest. :shock:

:twisted: OK smart alec - do you imagine that the last person who bombed past you leaving an inch between your handlebars and his car, before left hooking you at the upcoming juction, considers himself to be a) a bad driver, b) an average driver c) almost as skillful as Michael Schumacher? [My money's on C]

tardington

I will ensure he DIES.

What was the letter again?

Eau Rouge

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

tardie wrote:

Yep.

My gf has managed to avoid driving since she passed her test. I think you can imagine the rest. :shock:

:twisted: OK smart alec - do you imagine that the last person who bombed past you leaving an inch between your handlebars and his car, before left hooking you at the upcoming juction, considers himself to be a) a bad driver, b) an average driver c) almost as skillful as Michael Schumacher? [My money's on C]

Nah, B. Most people would say they were B.
However, they regularly pass each other in opposite directions doing 60mph with what they perceive is about that much clearance wing-mirror to wing-mirror without batting an eyelid. They *know* they won't hit you....until of course they get it just that little bit wrong.

Problem is until you become that vunerable road user, you lose perspective pretty damn quick. Cars are no longer dangerous things that kill. Sure, you know they are, but you don't really think they are anymore, and you take more and more risks. In Ireland pretty much every single road death in the country is reported on pretty much every single news bulletin on TV and Radio. You can't help but be acutely aware of the numbers of people killed on the roads. Now, I'm not totally in favour of it (you never hear why these accidents happen, for example) but I wonder if people in the UK are really aware that about 10 people die every single day on the roads here.
Partly I do blame the drink-drive and speed campaigns. It futher instills the idea that if I'm not drunk, and obeying an arbitary speed limit that I can't possibly be dangerous, which is just stupid.

I cycle in the sticks mostly. I'll pass long lines of cars at lights, but if it's only a few, I'll join at the back.

Rockbuddy

To answer CS I think it depends somewhat on sex, most men would think they are above average drivers (and hence take more risks, which they perceive to be safe) but most women would say they are average, IMO.