Motorists vs Cyclists

[TW]Fox;10220554 said:
I pay more than road tax to run the car. Does your bike cost more than a years road tax, a years fuel tax and a years insurance premium tax?

I thought not.
Click to expand...

Given you run a 3 litre then I doubt my bike cost more than all three but it is more expensive that a years road tax and insurance for our car. Remember that my bike isn't a super high end job. Some bikes can cost more than 3K.

I don't like cars when I cycle and cyclists when I drive! ;) However, being a cyclist gives me an idea of how to treat them when I drive - with caution and respect.
 
Shoseki said:
Hmm. How can I start this thread without trying to sound like I am starting a fight? Discussion, communication, those are both good things.

*SNIP*
Click to expand...
I cycle and drive. Even tho it says Bristol by my location, I live around 3 miles from the outskirts, and 7 miles from the centre. If I have to go to the centre, or anywhere near, the bike is always quicker, unless you like driving at night. :cool: I still use my car when I don't have to venture towards the centre, as doing 20+ miles in one go can take quite a while on a push bike.

I must say tho, I get the impression you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder about motorists, but i understand where you are coming from. I've been hit off before, and had lots of near misses, and it does **** me off at times when people don't see you. I now err on the side of caution when there is lots of traffic around, and you need to be ready for anything! Peds can often be just as dangerous, in fact I've had a mum push her pushchair with her baby in across the road on front of me without even looking! It was good there was no oncoming traffic as I had to swerve into the other lane. :eek:

Not all motorists are out to kill you tho - If you treat other drivers with respect (at least some) will return the favour I've found, both in the car and on the bike. If you do ever end up driving, at least you'll probably be more aware of 2 wheeled road users compared to drivers who don't use a push bike or motorbike.

There are some parts of Bristol where using a car is pointless, but there are other places when I need to use my car - the bus service in my area is beyond a joke. :(

Basically, I think both drivers and cyclists haves to compromise a little, and learn that they both have a right to use the road.
 
I enjoy cycling, usually do anything from 25-45 miles on a cycle club run. Sometimes cycle to work, however when you have quite a physical job there are times when you do appreciate the car for getting home after a hard days graft. Same in the winter, I get cold and wet as it is working out of doors, don't really need to get any more wet cycling into and home from work.

I think it would help if motorists could experience things from a cyclists viewpoint.

There are some crazy motorists, but there are also some crazy people on bicycles and crazy pedestrians who don't look where they are going before stepping out into the road.

Every road user needs to spend a little more time looking out for other road users, and giving other road users a little more consideration too.
 
Sometimes I cycle the 12.5 miles each way to work, sometimes I drive. Year round it's about 50-50. I work in Oxford - every car driver here is bike aware, they have to be, the place is crawling with the sods... :p

The only problems I've had commuting by bicycle have been the odd SUV (and yes, the stereotype does seem to hold true) who pulls up alongside me in his 4X4 and has a go at me because he had to wait a whole minute (!) to get past me.

These people seem to live in some parallel dimension where fatties are able to beat up athletes... :D

Most of the folk in the fancy German stuff give me a wide berth - because I ride with more lights than a UFO/Christmas tree, and they're terrified of damaging their precious paintwork...

edit: I obey traffic rules, and pay road tax for my car, so don't argue that with me. Any yeah, by ride is worth way more than my car. Just never did care about cars.
 
Last edited:
I cycle to Focus/the sorting office to pick up parcels. It's flat, the distance is just over a mile each way, I usually don't have much to carry back with me, and I enjoy cycling.

I don't cycle to work. It's 7 miles each way, uses a busy bypass, and it frequently rains. I do not have adequate washing and changing facilities at work and the weather in the UK is often hostile, meaning I would arrive cold and wet, which is detrimental to my health.

There is no bus route to my place of work. It is a parcel distribution centre located on a private road just outside a village that doesn't even have a bus stop.
 
Well, I feel a bit more chilled out now, brighton ain't a nice place to cycle up all those hills etc, but I guess I got some exercise.

Anyway, sorry to have annoyed some people, I was only trying to make some suggestions about city centres, not elsewhere in the countryside etc. I cycled once from Brighton to Portsmouth for the hell of it, 90km I think, a challenge but definately worth it.

Anyway, peace :)
 
[TW]Fox;10220214 said:
I pay more tax to use the roads than your bike cost.

Therefore, stop moaning. Us motorists pay for the roads you use for free.

public road.
Click to expand...

That sums up the whole thread, a road is public, so what ever form of transport you use to the government guide lines.

Bikes don't pay tax because they are not motor vehicles simple really, they add no damage to the surface of the road or part of the road side.

I loved riding my bike to work and to town but the roads are no place for a bike these days, most people will give way or just drive like they should but the people that don't make you think "is it worth me riding on the road with 2 ton cars going 30+ mph and me with just a piece of metal and two tyres and a helmet,

If a car hits a a cyclist then the will go down and smack the tarmac with force, a local guy got his by one of those massive skip carrying trucks, he fell to the right because cars where parked on the left and his head went under the back wheel, the helmet was as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I think people in cars think they have the right to be on the road when it comes to cyclists and the fact is they don't, if anything cyclists have the right because they are not in a nice metal case with air bags and seat belts ( I don't condone the knobs that jump lights or swerve about because thats not cycline)

I drive and cycle but imho its not worth it and its a shame, because it a lot more for than being sat in a car and gives you a sense of purpose when you get to B from A.

Even my mother worries when I go out on my bike and she always says be careful, yet if I go out in the car she just says bye knowing I will come back safe
 
cheets64 said:
That sums up the whole thread, a road is public, so what ever form of transport you use to the government guide lines.

Bikes don't pay tax because they are not motor vehicles simple really, they add no damage to the surface of the road or part of the road side.

I loved riding my bike to work and to town but the roads are no place for a bike these days, most people will give way or just drive like they should but the people that don't make you think "is it worth me riding on the road with 2 ton cars going 30+ mph and me with just a piece of metal and two tyres and a helmet,

If a car hits a a cyclist then the will go down and smack the tarmac with force, a local guy got his by one of those massive skip carrying trucks, he fell to the right because cars where parked on the left and his head went under the back wheel, the helmet was as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I think people in cars think they have the right to be on the road when it comes to cyclists and the fact is they don't, if anything cyclists have the right because they are not in a nice metal case with air bags and seat belts ( I don't condone the knobs that jump lights or swerve about because thats not cycline)

I drive and cycle but imho its not worth it and its a shame, because it a lot more for than being sat in a car and gives you a sense of purpose when you get to B from A.

Even my mother worries when I go out on my bike and she always says be careful, yet if I go out in the car she just says bye knowing I will come back safe
Click to expand...

The irony is, when I was a kid my mum drilled into my head that riding motorbikes was dangerous, she used to work on A&E and saw some seriously horrific accidents. One she told me, was a motorcycles who had almost been cut in half by colliding with a phone box. Of course the car involved was totally unharmed.

Now I cycle, and as long as I stay in my little far side of the main lane, most are happy. But god help if I have to switch lanes to change direction...
 
FWIW I have nothing against cyclists (it would be hypocritical of me to stereotype them) and occasionally (very occasionally!) cycle myself, however your suggestion that private cars should be banned from city roads in favour of cycles was just daft.

The current way things works works well - and for every moronic car driver (and there are plenty) there is a moronic cyclist sailing through red lights. Thats because everyone is human, and likely, most people who cycle will also drive. If you are the sort that goes through red lights on your bike you probably don't care that much about the rules in your car, either.

It was your very suggestion, however, that car drivers should be banned from city roads, that was just.. plain daft really :)
 
[TW]Fox;10223861 said:
It was your very suggestion, however, that car drivers should be banned from city roads, that was just.. plain daft really :)
Click to expand...

Things like the congestion charge in London already go some way to banning cars. So how daft does that make Ken Livingstone?
 
I think motorists and cyclists can get along okay if they all follow the rules of the road. An example of this I saw the other day almost resulted in the crash and likely deaths of both a cyclist and a car driver.

I take quite fast roads into Ascot in the morning. Most of the way the middle of the road is double white lines, so no overtaking or crossing the line. Most people respect this bar a subgroup of the Merc/BMW/pseudo HumVee population who think they are invincible. Conversely drivers of expensive cars you see around these parts, like Lambos, Aston Martins and the like, respect these roads. Of course cyclists are allowed on these roads and most of the time both parties give the other a wide berth, nothing worse than hitting a guy on a fibreglass bike doing 70mph. However there is one corner that turns into a steep hill, so drivers have to slow for the bend because its tight and because you can't see over the hill. I'm taking 70 down to 30 or less. Most cyclists dismount as its a lot of effort to get up it. The other day the problem was I could see in the distance a particularly ignorant Merc driver who had already overtaken everyone else over the double white and was fast approaching me. I slowed right down for the hill and what do I see on the way down? A cyclist walking down the hill in the middle of the lane. I had to swerve a little but I wasn't going very fast. I gave the cyclist plenty of room but to be honest was too close to a car coming the other way. The Merc of course decided the best way to get up the hill was to go as fast as he could, spotted the cyclist at the last moment, swerved and ended up on the other side of the road, spun and stopped. If he hadn't swerved, that stupid cyclist would be very dead, and if there was a car coming the other way, well who knows how many people would have walked away.

In conclusion: if BOTH parties follow the rules of the road, there would be no issue.
 
[TW]Fox;10223764 said:
I'm still trying to work out how a £10,000 pedal cycle can offer more thrills than a £10,000 superbike.
Click to expand...

a £10k bicycle isn't going to offer much more thrills than a £500 bicycle.
 
You arrogant ****. You can tell you live in a city, as you have no idea how selfish and dangerous cyclists actually are out in the country. Imagine driving your car at 60 rounds the country roads (baring in my you can achieve up to 80 before it feels un-safe, so 60 is a reasonable speed), and you swing round a corner to see two middle aged cyclists, side-by-side, cycling at less than 5mpg. Having the assumption that they can go as slow as they feel like round blind corners and the such, where it would be the car drivers responsibility to avoid them really annoys me.

Now I always try and leave as much space for cyclists as I can. So it really annoys me when I get flipped off by a cyclist for cutting close to them when I come round a blind corner, face with oncoming traffic and a cyclist who is far more than a drain cover's width from the verge.

-RaZ
 
My family home is on a farm, and the nearest supermarket is 15 miles away.

Care to explain how we are going to fill up the house with food? Family cycling trips with 2 shopping bags hanging from each side of the handlebars? I don't think so somehow.

I can see your point, and up to a point I agree, a lot of people drive when they don't need to. For example, I walk 45 minutes to Uni every morning, my friend who lives just up the street drives in. Removing all personal cars however? How about we remove electricity as well, television and computer games are destroying todays youth, so let's get rid of them. Frozen foods and ready-meals are making people fat, let's get rid of them as well. Comfy seats are making people sit down too long so they get fat, get rid of them!

Cars are one of the most significant inventions regarding the advancement of the human race, and you're suggesting to remove them (albeit for personal use) completely? No, just no.
 
This topic has been done to death in motors a couple of times in recent months. It's clear that a lot of car drivers won't agree that they are in the wrong, and won't 'get' cycling. It's also clear that that a lot of cyclist's won't agree they are in the wrong, and won't 'get' the benefits of driving a car.

At the end of the day, some, but not all drivers are selfish, unsafe pillocks that cause nothing but hassle for cyclists. And at exactly the same time, some, but not all cyclists are selfish, unsafe pillocks that cause nothing but hassle for drivers.

I think a lot of people need to grow up and realise that neither cars or bikes are better - they just have different benefits and draw backs. For the record, I'm a cyclist primarily, but I do also drive. One thing that gets my back up a bit is the road tax issue. I don't pay it because I'm not required to by law, however, I am by law required to ride on the road (unless a cycle lane is available). If legislation is ever passed requiring me to pay road tax to ride my bike, I will, simply because for 90% of the time I prefer to get around by bike.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom