Abuse by region
desweller
Posts: 5,175
I've noticed that, on this forum, there's quite a bit of antipathy towards those of our fellow road users in cars, motorbikes or buses. Most of it seems to come from London cyclists, I was wondering if this impression is correct?
I never have anything to deal with along these lines round here (Gloucestershire), in fact the vat majority of drivers are fantastically patient and careful to give me plenty of room when passing. I never have any lurid stories of being cut up by buses, or being tooted by following van drivers to tell, I feel quite left out! Am I just lucky, or spectacularly inattentive, or is it just the case that London breeds intolerant drivers?
I never have anything to deal with along these lines round here (Gloucestershire), in fact the vat majority of drivers are fantastically patient and careful to give me plenty of room when passing. I never have any lurid stories of being cut up by buses, or being tooted by following van drivers to tell, I feel quite left out! Am I just lucky, or spectacularly inattentive, or is it just the case that London breeds intolerant drivers?
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Manchester drivers ...... Nil points.
Seriously though .... incidents almost daily.
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On my way home, I have to take the right turn on a roundabout, and so need to move into the right hand lane. Usually the vehicle behind will make it clear that I can pull out.
It probably helps that there is a sharp bend a couple of hundred yards before, and a narrow stretch just after that, so I can approach at a similar speed to the cars.
Any other assessments?
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I have noticed that most of the horror stories come from London too. Could it possibly be that London just makes everyone (including cyclists) that bit more aggro?
Disappointed.
Anyone know a scouser? I need a new digital camera and a load of smack.
What would Thora Hurd do?
I'm now prepared for torrents of abuse on the road tomorrow... :roll:
"The future is dark, the present burdensome; only the past, dead and finished, bears contemplation. Those who look upon it have survived it: they are its product and its victors"
I do but surprisingly he's a miserable C**T
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
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The south east, inc London is one of the most densely populated parts of Europe (apart fom Malta or something?), so it stands to reason I suppose. But the same is true of peds' attitude towards each other, or those on the Tube.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
Cycling rurally can be a different story though. Apparently over here there's been a law passed that makes it illegal to drive at less than 128mph.
It might get worse though - I leave a bit later these days and it's noticeably busier - there were two school buses between a couple of the villages and easily over a dozen cars this morning. Incredible.
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
In general, I find Glasgow pretty safe to cycle in, and most drivers have a great attitude towards cyclists. Couple of buses and taxis pull in a bit sharpish, but enough room to brake.
In summary, Glasgow drivers get more than pass marks.
(wait and see, I will be totaled on way home now!!)
On the other hand some of our cyclists are pretty bad.
The first bit of my commute is rural, I get the odd bit of hassle from WVMs and HGVs- usually objecting to me making it difficult for them to squeeze me into the gutter. I tend to see the same cars each morning, so they know I'll be there. There are apparantly a few regular cyclists on my commute but I very rarely see them- we are usually heading along at different times, I think.
The second bit of my commute varies according to where I'm working- I find Edinburgh very cycle friendly, though the taxi drivers can be real ****holes. Glasgow's a bit more hostile, but only in comparison. Aggressive behavior is fairly rare.
Cheers,
W.
It's not exclusive to cycling - everyone is impatient and in a rush whatever they're doing (even in restaurants).
I now cycle around Maidenhead and it's world apart from what I used to do.
FCN 8
"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
- Terry Pratchett.
An ever deepening spiral of hatred and fear, or have I been reading too many sci-fi books of late...
The Mad Monkey [2013 Hoy 003] [FCN: 4]
The one incident to speak of in over a year was last winter. I was going down a busy main road at a decent rate, and some w*nker in a massive lorry started tailgating me, leaning on his horn. I must have done a personal best over the next mile or so out of sheer terror, and as I was about to turn off, he squeezed past me, pulled in, virtually running me off the road, and yelled in colourful terms that I should be using the (shared use, bumpy, muddy, ungritted, snow- and sheet-ice-covered) cyclepath. My response, in serious fight-or-flight mode, was the not-very-witty "F*ck off!" :oops:
To be fair, that's the only road on my commute where I'd expect to have any problems (the others tend to be quiet enough to allow drivers to pass almost at will), and the bus lane on one side means that even if I cycle well into the road, cars can easily pass me if the oncoming traffic moves over a touch and borrows a bit of the bus lane, which is what usually happens.
FCN 11 - If you scalp me, do I not bleed?
Usual problems with chavlings - shouting out of the Saxo window, sounding the Corsa horn, passing close at obscene speeds in their (single-) mum's Micra - but then, we do live in Britain. And I've been shot at with an airgun, but I'm hoping that was a one-off...
I find it pretty good here in general. You get the odd muppet and I've had abuse off one or two drivers, but if I'm honest with myself I've also been a touch hot-headed at times, though I've realised more and more that shouting at people solves nothing. There are plenty of courteous drivers, a point nicely illustrated when I bought some shelves at a DIY store and cycled 5 miles back to my flat with them across the rear rack. Almost as wide as a car and going gingerly at 10mph, I expected quite a bit of abuse but didn't receive a jot of it.
That said, I've cycled in London a few times and found by far the most irritating road users were other cyclists and their constant RLJing. Do scalps count multiple times when you keep passing the idiots between the lights?
I have definitely noticed an increasing amount of hostility toward cyclists here in the last couple of months, particularly from increasingly vocal peds angered by RLJers.
Stick music in your ears, then you won't notice it
Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
Naah, that's the Forest Of Dean you're thinking of there. All bipeds and ruminants.
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Almost everyday I have at least one person cut me off. one guy even moved his car in traffic just to stop me from overtaking. Not forgetting all the wonderful words we get called.
No it isn't, don't be silly.
Ride confidently and with respect to other people and you will get on fine, forget the idiots.
I use a bike for almost all my transport within Sheffield, and ride a road bike in the Peak District and sometimes the rural roads of North Nottinghamshire.
Almost all the dangerous driving incidents I experience are on rural roads and roads out of the city. Riding within the city there is the occasional abuse, but hardly ever anything seriously dangerous.
I can only compare with London 10 years ago, and I remember perhaps more hectic traffic, but definitely less abuse and 'jokes' when cycling than here in South Yorkshire.
Density and chaotic transport does not alway make things dangerous. I am from Amsterdam originally, where in the city traffic is very hectic, and it pays to be assertive, but it isn't necessarily dangerous, because everything is moves slower than on the open roads ( and of course because bikes are dominant there).
On the whole I get treated like any other bit of traffic. No better no worse. Well except I don't get stuck in jams and can park easily.