Drivers' perspective

edrobbin

So, Hotel in Greenwich Friday night, long story involving A list Celeb. Get in car hangover o'clock on Saturday morning. Point the sat nav in the direction of Bournemouth. Routes us though S London, over Vauxhall bridge, through Chelsea to the M4.

To sum it up, cyclists are scary. All the rants and raves here now have a context. Only relaxed when we met the motorway.

Conclusion is; Cyclists actually have it easy; we/they don't worry about putting a dent in an E class Merc, whilst drivers could/should have worries about putting an E class Merc sized dent into a cyclist.

Son of A list celeb made it home intact, save the language of the swiftly chastened driver....

cougie

Are you admitting to driving under the influence here?

And what's a dent on a car compared to possible physical injury?

veronese68

I had to drive in today, traffic was grim. To add insult to injury there were all these barstewards on bikes riding through the traffic as if it didn't bother them. No wonder drivers hate cyclists. ;-)

tootsie323

Most people drive or ride with a sense of courtesy or care for each other. A few are either inattentive at the wrong moment or simply don't care. Suddenly everyone gets labelled. Drivers are w@nkers. Cyclists are w@nkers.

bigmat

Is this a wind up? Cock.

iPete

I, sometimes, feel sorry for anyone driving in town. It's like the sentinels surrounding the ships in the Matrix now the sun is out.
I refuse to drive into town unless it's during very unsociable hours but it's good to get a different perspective from time to time.

I'm sure your post is going to upset some people but look at the SCR thread, plenty of ranting about riders doing daft things around vehicles. It's stressful doing a good job of looking out for so many different road users and I'm much happier on the bike than in my car.

veronese68

I was certainly joking in my post, but some drivers definitely get annoyed by people making progress and try to block you. This was probably worse when I was riding a motorbike and cars would clearly pull out to try and block you, purely out of jealousy because they are stuck.
I had to drive up to Great Portland Street a few weeks ago to get my daughter to a hospital appointment. I hated driving into London, it was horrible and I really don't understand why anybody would drive in Central London unless they had to. Cyclists and motorbikes didn't bother me, it was just the sheer volume of traffic. But I was in a car with good visibility, I wouldn't like to be driving a truck in town.

drlodge

I drove up Whitedown ages ago, took my partner there to show here where I cycle. The cyclists were like a swarm of wasps all over the place (OK there were a couple going slowly up the hill) and it was annoying. Then I realised...they have as much right as me to be there, so take a chill pill, wait patiently until its safe to pass and don't be such a tw@t.

HebdenBiker

Blah blah " A List Celeb" blah blah "E Class Mercedes". So much thinly-veiled bragging in one post.

cornerblock

HebdenBiker wrote:

Blah blah " A List Celeb" blah blah "E Class Mercedes". So much thinly-veiled bragging in one post.

Indeed. A pi$s poor attempt at name dropping.

surrey_commuter

Cornerblock wrote:

HebdenBiker wrote:

Blah blah " A List Celeb" blah blah "E Class Mercedes". So much thinly-veiled bragging in one post.

Indeed. A pi$s poor attempt at name dropping.

From Greenwich If his sat nav took him on the M4 to get to Bournemouth it should be in rants

The Rookie

Indeed, Bournemouth being nowhere near Bristol or even Swansea.

And you wouldn't go through South London and North over the Vauxhall and via Chelsea to the M4 to get to the M3 either!

dhope

I had a Mercedes A Class and I know a couple of E List celebs. What do I win?

veronese68

dhope wrote:

I had a Mercedes A Class and I know a couple of E List celebs. What do I win?

The knowledge that you have our undying respect and admiration.

the_hundredth_idiot

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

HebdenBiker wrote:

Blah blah " A List Celeb" blah blah "E Class Mercedes". So much thinly-veiled bragging in one post.

Indeed. A pi$s poor attempt at name dropping.

From Greenwich If his sat nav took him on the M4 to get to Bournemouth it should be in rants

Give the OP a break - he was pissed when he was driving and understandably a bit concerned he might kill a cyclist - he'd have struggled to follow a satnav's instructions at the same time.

kingstongraham

edrobbin wrote:

Cyclists actually have it easy; we/they don't worry about putting a dent in an E class Merc

I think once you have put a dent in a car while cycling, you do worry about it. It really hurts.

A lot of cyclists in London do things that they wouldn't do if they ever had been hit by a car.