Annoyed a cyclist today-didn't take much.

greg66_tri_v2.0

toontra wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Did I miss the bit in the OP where he says that he flew into a psychotic rage and attempted to mow down the innocent law abiding and law enforcing cyclist in cold blood, then reverse back over him just to be on the safe side?

It obviously riled him enough to post on here about it. He also makes it clear that he wouldn't be surprised if other motorists may assault the finger-wagger, implying that the cyclist would have brought it on themselves.

Ah. I see.

By which I mean "Ah, I see. A completely different point.".

Of course, if posting on here is indicative of psychosis, we're all in a lot of trouble.

We should rename this place. The Axe-murdering Forum on www.nutjobradar.com has a nice ring to it.

the_hundredth_idiot

Nope, just the various bits from subsequent posters suggesting it's dangerous to wag a finger at someone because, sooner or later, you will wag your finger at the wrong psychotic monkey who is just waiting for an opportunity to tear an arrogant cyclist limb from limb.

greg66_tri_v2.0

TommyEss wrote:

3rd Paragraph - 2nd line...

In the OP (original post)?

toontra

Greg66 wrote:

toontra wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

Did I miss the bit in the OP where he says that he flew into a psychotic rage and attempted to mow down the innocent law abiding and law enforcing cyclist in cold blood, then reverse back over him just to be on the safe side?

It obviously riled him enough to post on here about it. He also makes it clear that he wouldn't be surprised if other motorists may assault the finger-wagger, implying that the cyclist would have brought it on themselves.

Ah. I see.

By which I mean "Ah, I see. A completely different point.".

Of course, if posting on here is indicative of psychosis, we're all in a lot of trouble.

We should rename this place. The Axe-murdering Forum on www.nutjobradar.com has a nice ring to it.

Not a completely different point at all - a direct response to your irrelevant post. Did you even read what you quoted?

This is what the OP said:

Perhaps next time he does this he will meet someone less tolerant of cyclists to whom violent road rage is seen as a mere peccadillo.Perhaps then he will learn that being a cyclist in itself does not bestow on him some degree of saintliness which renders him immune to physical harm.

TommyEss

Greg66 wrote:

TommyEss wrote:

3rd Paragraph - 2nd line...

In the OP (original post)?

Sorry - was being facetious - I don't think the OP does mention anyone flying into a psychotic rage - more's the pity - would have been a much more interesting thread that way.

Anonymous

The Hundredth Idiot wrote:

Nope, just the various bits from subsequent posters suggesting it's dangerous to wag a finger at someone because, sooner or later, you will wag your finger at the wrong psychotic monkey who is just waiting for an opportunity to tear an arrogant cyclist limb from limb.

Well kind of, yes. And I'm sure it happens to some degree.

But as well as that it reinforces the stereotype that all cyclists are self important prats who think they rule the road.

Judging by what some have written here (not meaning you The Hundredth Idiot) it's pretty obvious some do and that just makes it harder for the rest of us who like to treat fellow road users with a bit of courtesy.

Which brings me to another point. Riding defensively. The very nature of the term implies some kind of altercation or battle. It's a fine-line between other drivers seeing you riding as defensive and them deeming it to be offensive.

Wagging of fingers and shaking of heads serves no other purpose than the to give the self righteous a warm fuzzy feeling for a few minutes and has the exact opposite intention of what they set out to achieve. (assuming they set out to teach the offender a lesson, which is questionable).

Anonymous

And another thing, wagging of fingers and shaking of heads is very condescending, isn't there some other way of alerting someone of there mistakes that doesn't involve gesturing at them like they are a naughty child?

toontra

-Liam- wrote:

[
You Sanctimonious little pillock.

How can you possibly draw so many conclusions about the situation I was referring to by what I typed?

Wind your neck in a little.

Lets be perfectly clear. I was not seeking approval here or asking if I was correct or not in my actions. I know I was right because I was there. You wasnt, so any assumptions you have dreamt up whilst having you head wedged shoulder deep up your own ars e are completely over my head.

What I was expressing, is my opinion based on a couple of very recent experiences, is that many daily cyclists have or are developing a self righteous chip on their shoulder.

You have done nothing but confirm this with your little rant.

Lets also be clear on another thing. Respect on a road works both ways. A lorry driver passing a cyclist and giving him 2 feet of space is not respectful. A cyclist, such as yourself, thinking he has the right to park his backside in the middle of the road, despite the traffic building up behind him is also not respectful. Unfortunately, the cyclist will always come off worst.

You can't even control your temper on a forum. I hate to think what you're like in a car.

-liam-

toontra wrote:

-Liam- wrote:

[
You Sanctimonious little pillock.

How can you possibly draw so many conclusions about the situation I was referring to by what I typed?

Wind your neck in a little.

Lets be perfectly clear. I was not seeking approval here or asking if I was correct or not in my actions. I know I was right because I was there. You wasnt, so any assumptions you have dreamt up whilst having you head wedged shoulder deep up your own ars e are completely over my head.

What I was expressing, is my opinion based on a couple of very recent experiences, is that many daily cyclists have or are developing a self righteous chip on their shoulder.

You have done nothing but confirm this with your little rant.

Lets also be clear on another thing. Respect on a road works both ways. A lorry driver passing a cyclist and giving him 2 feet of space is not respectful. A cyclist, such as yourself, thinking he has the right to park his backside in the middle of the road, despite the traffic building up behind him is also not respectful. Unfortunately, the cyclist will always come off worst.

You can't even control your temper on a forum. I hate to think what you're like in a car.

Yup.

I'm so angry.

Jog on

greg66_tri_v2.0

toontra wrote:

Did you even read what you quoted?

Yes, which was about being murdered. The OP and you referred to harm and assault.

I take it you'd agree that murder and harm/assault aren't the same thing.

W1

I love giving moped riders a good bit of eye contact as the cruise into the ASL. You can feel them squirm.....

toontra

W1 wrote:

I love giving moped riders a good bit of eye contact as the cruise into the ASL. You can feel them squirm.....

In London it's increasingly rare to see a moped not in the ASL area. I guess the bigger point here is that there is a law which the police can't/won't enforce for whatever reason. The only way these areas, provided for cyclists' safety, will be kept clear is if it becomes socially unacceptable for motorists to routinely use them, in the same way that drink-driving, talking on mobiles, etc have an element of self-enforcement amongst drivers.

If it takes a little finger-wagging to get some drivers to review their behaviour then it's worth doing IMO, and anyone making veiled threats about finger-waggers' personal safety should think seriously about their priorities.

Stevo_666

Sturmey is probably regretting opening this little can 'o' worms a whole lot more than he ever did going into the green box... :roll:

Who exactly suffered here in any way at all? No-one. This a classic storm in a tea cup.

fastercyclist

Were you indicating to go left? You spoke of a car to your right which raised my concern.

I would of gotten in front rather then to the side of a car that was indicating left.

Never trust a driver not to try and "race" you if they're turning left and you start off on their inside. Had one scare from this and resolved to put my bike in the middle of the road every time approach a stop with a turn left.

toontra

fastercyclist wrote:

Were you indicating to go left?

I would have gotten in front rather then to the side of a car that was indicating left.

Absolutely. That's precisely why the ASL's are at junctions. But vehicles not indicating doesn't mean they won't turn left/right. In my experience about 20% of drivers routinely don't indicate. That's why it's far better to be out front and relatively safe.

snailracer

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

Isn't the bottom line here that we all - whether on a bike or in a car - make mistakes from time to time and being a busy-body, holier-than-thou, finger-wagging toss-pot (again, whether a cyclist or motorist) achieves little more than resentment?

I wonder how many motorists in the OPs position would think, "Oh my goodness, that man's right: I've driven into the ASL! I must be more careful in future" and how many would think "Bloody cyclists, they think they own the roads."
...

I would. I would be embarrassed at the crapness of my driving. The OP hardly seemed aware that his driving was crap.

jonny_trousers

toontra wrote:

If it takes a little finger-wagging to get some drivers to review their behaviour then it's worth doing IMO, and anyone making veiled threats about finger-waggers' personal safety should think seriously about their priorities.

For some reason this old Harry Enfield character comes to mind.

Anonymous

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

toontra wrote:

If it takes a little finger-wagging to get some drivers to review their behaviour then it's worth doing IMO, and anyone making veiled threats about finger-waggers' personal safety should think seriously about their priorities.

For some reason this old Harry Enfield character comes to mind.

LOL

SmellTheGlove

Traffic very light, driver belatedly notices he has crossed the ASL - could he use reverse? Just wondering.

Dudu

toontra wrote:

fastercyclist wrote:

Were you indicating to go left?

I would have gotten in front rather then to the side of a car that was indicating left.

Absolutely. That's precisely why the ASL's are at junctions. But vehicles not indicating doesn't mean they won't turn left/right. In my experience about 20% of drivers routinely don't indicate. That's why it's far better to be out front and relatively safe.

+1

gabriel959

I can't see the big fuss, you went over the ASL, well big deal, apologise and move on... 6 pages out of this??!?!?!

jonny_trousers

gabriel959 wrote:

I can't see the big fuss, you went over the ASL, well big deal, apologise and move on... 6 pages out of this??!?!?!

But for the love of God, think of the children!!!

Anonymous

Coming through Wimbledon (the major cross roads by the station) this evening I spotted a car full on taking up one lane of the ASL.

I was going to wag my finger and note the response for research purposes.

I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I know they were in the wrong, but it just didn't seem like, causing a fuss over.

Sorry, but that's honestly what I thought at the time.

jonny_trousers

RichardSwt wrote:

Coming through Wimbledon (the major cross roads by the station) this evening I spotted a car full on taking up one lane of the ASL.

I was going to wag my finger and note the response for research purposes.

I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I know they were in the wrong, but it just didn't seem like, causing a fuss over.

Sorry, but that's honestly what I thought at the time.

Yep, since this thread first appeared I have been keeping an eye on cars crossing over into the ASLs on my journey into work and have been wagging my finger accordingly. I now have severe tendonitis of the right wrist, but it was well worth it as those drivers will now, no doubt, have seen the error of their ways and will have a better understanding of what it means to be a cyclists. I even gave myself a severe wagging for coasting over the far edge of the ASL along Half Moon Lane and consider myself to have been taught a valuable lesson.

Anonymous

I even gave myself a severe wagging for coasting over the far edge of the ASL

I hope you wagged yourself in front of the motorists you just wagged at. We can't be seen to have double standards now can we?

jonny_trousers

RichardSwt wrote:

I even gave myself a severe wagging for coasting over the far edge of the ASL

I hope you wagged yourself in front of the motorists you just wagged at. We can't be seen to have double standards now can we?

Yes, I most certainly did. And he must have seen me too as when he passed by a moment later, he wound down his window and called me a "total wagger" - at least that's what I think he said...

dUNC

Someone wagged a finger at you? The indignation. Careful kids, it's a jungle out there.

The Chingford Skinhead

So if I understand the situation correctly from reading this thread and many many threads about cyclists RLJing
- shaking your head or speaking to a cyclist who has RLJ'd / not used lights after dark is important as they need to understand the risks they pose to other road users and that they give cyclists a bad name with motorists.
- shaking your head or wagging a finger at motorists who break rules makes you a sanctimoneous arrogant fool and gives cyclists a bad name.

Perhaps we should all cycle with florescent vests apologising to motorists for being on the road at all.

If the original cyclist had not wagged his finger and planted his bike in front of the OP's car then the chances are the OP would not have given his rule breaking another thought. The wag of the finger meant he did give it another thought - a defensive one. Upon quieter reflection he may now have a different view. I once went over a busy roundabout and straight across a zebra crossing (on my bike) and had a cyclist waiting on the other side of the crossing give me a right ear full because there was a pedestrian waiting to cross. I was angry and defensie at first - how dare he etc etc. Upon reflection I realised that I had been completely in the wrong (even though I had gone over the crossing because the roundabout was so busy). Since then I have been a far more considerate cyclist as I learnt my lesson.

Therefore simply saying that rule breaking by motorists AND cyclists should be ignored is wrong and makes a rod for our own backs. Simply saying rule breaking by motorists should be ignored but cyclists challenged is utterly bizarre and worthy of a Daily Mail Award

rml380z

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

...Upon reflection I realised that I had been completely in the wrong...

See what you've done wrong there? Thinking, that's how all the trouble starts.

joebingo

spen666 wrote:

sturmey wrote:

Commuted to work today by bicycle as usual. however this has nothing to do with my own cycling experience.My job requires me to drive while at work.
So am out in the car about 4.45pm in the Chorlton area. Approach traffic lights on wide dual carriageway signalling red. Stop car, not really noticing the green cycle box in front of the stop line .....

Should have gone to

Sturmy can't see green, so to him you just posted a white box.