Which way on the road would bikes be allowed to go, both directions? That would lead to some interesting collisions. And like cars are less maneuverable than bikes, bikes are less maneuverable than people. Car drivers should be more accepting of bikes on the roads, and there should be better dedicated provision for cyclists, although most cycle lanes just appear to be a bit of red tarmac over the gutter area here, which drivers use as an excuse to fly past mere inches away.
Should a bicycle be on the roads
- Thread starter Surfer
- Start date
Which way on the road would bikes be allowed to go, both directions? That would lead to some interesting collisions. And like cars are less maneuverable than bikes, bikes are less maneuverable than people. Car drivers should be more accepting of bikes on the roads, and there should be better dedicated provision for cyclists, although most cycle lanes just appear to be a bit of red tarmac over the gutter area here, which drivers use as an excuse to fly past mere inches away.
Silly OP, done to death. Yes bicycles should be on the roads. The biggest danger is bad drivers and bad cyclists - in an ideal world these wouldn't be on the roads but as we have little choice..
Then you're lucky. The pavements (and the roads I might add) around here are in terrible condition.
Cars for reason just have to over take a cyclist, also I can not be seen behind a cyclist !
I am a pedestrian, cyclist and a road user, so I really do try to be considerate when I can.
What really does p*ss me off. Is when a motorbike come zooming down the middle of the dual carriage way between left lane & right lane. And when I am stuck in traffic they beep me because I am close to car left or right and they can not get through !
Now I have own a fair number of motor bikes in the past and yes I went down the middle. However if it was tight then I just waited till it was big enough to get by !
Do cars do not give enough attention to motor bikes or cyclists when they turn in on them.
Few years back was cycling home from work and had 3 lights on the front of bike, of which one was flashing.
So some stupid driver on a housing estate coming towards me turns to their right, across my path and on to their drive.
I stop and have words with them, only to be told ‘oh I did not see you’ !
WTF ! ! ! !
I am a pedestrian, cyclist and a road user, so I really do try to be considerate when I can.
What really does p*ss me off. Is when a motorbike come zooming down the middle of the dual carriage way between left lane & right lane. And when I am stuck in traffic they beep me because I am close to car left or right and they can not get through !
Now I have own a fair number of motor bikes in the past and yes I went down the middle. However if it was tight then I just waited till it was big enough to get by !
Do cars do not give enough attention to motor bikes or cyclists when they turn in on them.
Few years back was cycling home from work and had 3 lights on the front of bike, of which one was flashing.
So some stupid driver on a housing estate coming towards me turns to their right, across my path and on to their drive.
I stop and have words with them, only to be told ‘oh I did not see you’ !
WTF ! ! ! !
Hmmmm, you may be correct about the situations in residential area's with small sidewalks, but in rural area's there is no way in hell cyclists should be on 60 mph roads. It depends on the width I guess, but I am also genuinely annoyed you also aren't allowed to cycle in them extreme wide shopping streets. The quickest way to get to a shop in a city center from a station or from your parking or whatever, is, walking
, because cycling isn't allowed.That said, the only roads I share with cars around here as a cyclist are 30 kph area's ( 18 mph), in most of the 30 mph zones or faster cyclists are sent to side roads, or have their own parallel cycle path, it's not as bad as it is here atm, however, I'm disgusted that in the UK cyclists have to stay on NSL roads rather than the pavement.
Another agreement here. Stupid people allowed to drive cars = bad roads.
Everytime I've seen someone do this - it hasn't been because of "drain covers" or "icy patches" etc. It's purely been because they weren't concentrating and they were unbalanced...
Usually I'd agree, but teaching children to cycle on the pavements isn't a bad thing.
But given that the highway code states that you should give a cyclist as much room on the road as a car, would you be happy when said cyclist-with-helmet-cam films your close overtaking and reports you for dangerous driving?
Its coming soon, believe you me. I'm sorely tempted to get a helmet cam for my commute, there are some apalling drivers out there. I may not be a perfect cyclist, but I've yet to find any red lights that I could ignore without being broadsided by a 40MPH car and killed....
I'd rather cyclists be on the pavement as well because it would mean I no longer have to sit in a queue while the 7 cars in front have to wait until there's safe passage from oncoming traffic to dodge around the cyclist ahead.
So? The amount of times I have to cycle in the middle of the road because of drain covers/bare patches/potholes etc, and you have drivers that just aren't aware of it, get too close, impatiently overtake, and thats when accidents happen and people get killed.
And the number one cause of accidents, drivers who are too impatient to wait until they can overtake properly.
For the record, if its a long queue, I stop and let cars past, although I'm usually doing ~25mph so the bloody cars can too (I don't cycle on NSL roads on my commute).
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Soldato
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Even so, you should be allowing for this degree of unbalance just as you would allow other more competent cyclists a drain-dodge.
Its all very well not liking cyclists for reason X or reason Y, but as soon as you manifest these dislikes into dangerous maneuvers like overtaking too close, you put their lives at risk.
No one can hate a cyclist so much they wished they were dead. Some of you are leading me to start thinking otherwise.
Ain't Life a Bitch.
They’ve got wheels and belong with you on the road. Enjoy each others company. 
Soldato
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Where are you trying to get so fast?
Soldato
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lol @ all the "But bikes and horses/carts have been around longer" comments. I know, let's just abolish cars altogether and go back to bikes and horses because they've been around longer...
Muppets.
Erm horse riders and cyclists use the road by right, motor vehicles by license. It's not hard to understand.
That's your perception, as a car I doubt you're watching the road surface immediately in front of you as closely as a cyclist is. Just because you think there was nothing to avoid doesn't mean they thought the same, and if you were following the highway code and giving them enough room when passing it wouldn't matter anyway.
Tough one.
Do I hate the fact they dont pay insurance - yes.
Do I hate it when cyclists skip red lights and disregard other laws - yes.
Do I hate it when i'm waiting at traffic lights and a cyclist does that one legged hop between the traffic and I have to stare like a hawk to make sure they don't scratch my car - yes.
etc... etc...
Ultimately should cyclists be allowed on the road - yes
At the end of the day I get far more annoyed with other so called drivers than I do with cyclists.
Do I hate the fact they dont pay insurance - yes.
Do I hate it when cyclists skip red lights and disregard other laws - yes.
Do I hate it when i'm waiting at traffic lights and a cyclist does that one legged hop between the traffic and I have to stare like a hawk to make sure they don't scratch my car - yes.
etc... etc...
Ultimately should cyclists be allowed on the road - yes
At the end of the day I get far more annoyed with other so called drivers than I do with cyclists.
I commute 20 miles round trip each day along a single lane road that's the only road in and out of where I live for 5 miles of the stretch so it's very busy. Speed limit is probably 50% 30mph, 25% 40mph, and 25% 50mph. I'm quite comfortable travelling on this road though. It's not a wide road by any stretch of the imagination, but people tend to give me enough room.
The only problem I have found lies with impatient drivers. They get impatient and try to go round a cyclist when there's not enough time. This tends to be worse with slower cyclists as I feel most drivers wouldn't be as cheesed off by a guy hooning a long busting his guts at 25mph, compared to a doddery old lady pootling along at 10 (not that that's the right mentality of course).
You do get trouble at the other end though when the cyclist is very fast as I discovered a little while ago. I was bombing home in a rush and I had the wind behind me so was up around 26 mph for a good 10 mins, this tractor behind me clearly got impatient and tried to go past me, but only seemed to be able to get to around 30, only got about half way past me when a car came in the opposite direction so he pulled in forcing me onto a verge. Luckily it was a fairly flat run off but I was not happy!
If there was a big pavement on my commute that was as wide and as flat as the road which didn't have pedestrians on I would use it, but there isn't so I don't! I do occasionally go on the pavement if i'm pootling round turn to avoid the traffic but I do stop or at least slow right down if there's any pedestrians about.
I also jump red lights quite a lot on my bike but only if I can see what's happening. Not really a fan of slowing down for a red light at a pedestrian crossing when there's clearly no pedestrians, usually because they pressed it, waited so long and got fed up and crossed without it. I also jump them at junctions etc in some case as often they're clogged up and the traffic is stationary and I just bomb down the outside of all the cars. Problem here is with cyclists that do this and are no aware of the surroundings, and do it in unfamiliar places where they're not sure of the traffic layout.
The only problem I have found lies with impatient drivers. They get impatient and try to go round a cyclist when there's not enough time. This tends to be worse with slower cyclists as I feel most drivers wouldn't be as cheesed off by a guy hooning a long busting his guts at 25mph, compared to a doddery old lady pootling along at 10 (not that that's the right mentality of course).
You do get trouble at the other end though when the cyclist is very fast as I discovered a little while ago. I was bombing home in a rush and I had the wind behind me so was up around 26 mph for a good 10 mins, this tractor behind me clearly got impatient and tried to go past me, but only seemed to be able to get to around 30, only got about half way past me when a car came in the opposite direction so he pulled in forcing me onto a verge. Luckily it was a fairly flat run off but I was not happy!
If there was a big pavement on my commute that was as wide and as flat as the road which didn't have pedestrians on I would use it, but there isn't so I don't! I do occasionally go on the pavement if i'm pootling round turn to avoid the traffic but I do stop or at least slow right down if there's any pedestrians about.
I also jump red lights quite a lot on my bike but only if I can see what's happening. Not really a fan of slowing down for a red light at a pedestrian crossing when there's clearly no pedestrians, usually because they pressed it, waited so long and got fed up and crossed without it. I also jump them at junctions etc in some case as often they're clogged up and the traffic is stationary and I just bomb down the outside of all the cars. Problem here is with cyclists that do this and are no aware of the surroundings, and do it in unfamiliar places where they're not sure of the traffic layout.
That's nonsense, Cyclists are well within their rights to be on a NSL road. Please don't forget the highway code, just because the speed limit is 60mph, that doesn't mean that you, or everyone else has to be going at that speed the entire time. Bare in mind there are plenty of NSL roads I've been on in my life where there are HGVs or Old People or Caravans driving slower than some road cyclists.
Regarding comments about London's Cycling Superhighways, I believe the budget and plans for them were drastically cut, much to Boris' annoyance. They were originally supposed to be proper segregated lanes, however they look a lot like existing cycle lanes but painted blue.
I can defiantly reiterate earlier comments about drivers overtaking for no reason when I'm riding my road bike. It's especially the case when I'm commuting in London. You can't go a few yards without traffic lights, but many drivers will still floor it, for like 2 seconds only to then brake really heavily into a que of traffic for the next set of lights and you then pass them anyway. Its not a very economical way of driving, but then driving in rush hour in central London is frustrating and I don't understand why anyone would choose to do it.
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