Almost hit a cyclist

Lethal` said:
I'll bite! I pay £500 'Road Tax' and I use the roads with that car far less than most drivers do in a year so while emissions is higher overall I emitted less than some economical car drivers! 2500 miles last year in the car and 8000 on my bicycle. Ridiculous!!!!!!!
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I have an 1800 Ford Mondeo Estate in the drive that I use at the very most twice a month for journeys of between 1 to 10 miles (for gigging with ny band).
I bet I release more emissions from my bottom while cycling every day.
10 miles a day, 5 days a week minus about 32 days holidays while cycling = 2,280 miles

I drove 828 miles in 2015 to 2016 and 886 miles in 2014 to 2015 :D
 
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Barks said:
Cyclists having access to public roads, paid for by car drivers, is an enormous privilege.

My problem lies with how cyclists treat pedestrians. In central London most car drivers are sensible and cautious when it comes to pedestrians. Cyclists show no regard whatsoever and seem to think they're the most important object in existence to get from A to B.

In the last month alone AND on one of those cycle super highways in London, a cyclist has crashed into me as I was crossing a road on a green man - with red lights indicated on the cycle lane and the main road. There seems to be such a high proportion who have no clue and no regard for other users of the road. Frankly if a cyclist runs a red light and gets mowed down because of it then they deserve what's coming.
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I Cycle on the superhighways (stop at reds :) ), there are a fair amount of idiot cyclists I come across everyday, but its just as many as thick pedestrians around. They just walk into the superhighway road at will, so many don't even look, then the parts of the highway that have bus stops, idiots stand on the superhighway road. What's worse is how many are oblivious to the sound of a bell, one idiot just walked into the middle of the road and stood watching in one direction for a taxi, oblivious to my bell chiming and I only missed by inches in the end.

Then on the normal roads, can't stand the pedestrians who cross the road with you cycling towards them, because the bike isn't a big vehicle like a car they think its safe to just walk in front. :rolleyes:

Everyone likes to hate on cyclists, I certainly used to, still do to a certain extent, but unless you cycle everyday in the city you won't realise the crap us cyclists have to put up with too.
 
lemonade said:
What's worse is how many are oblivious to the sound of a bell, one idiot just walked into the middle of the road and stood watching in one direction for a taxi, oblivious to my bell chiming and I only missed by inches in the end.
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Most aren't oblivious to a good old shout. Try that.
 
lemonade said:
I Cycle on the superhighways (stop at reds :) ), there are a fair amount of idiot cyclists I come across everyday, but its just as many as thick pedestrians around. They just walk into the superhighway road at will, so many don't even look, then the parts of the highway that have bus stops, idiots stand on the superhighway road. What's worse is how many are oblivious to the sound of a bell, one idiot just walked into the middle of the road and stood watching in one direction for a taxi, oblivious to my bell chiming and I only missed by inches in the end.

Then on the normal roads, can't stand the pedestrians who cross the road with you cycling towards them, because the bike isn't a big vehicle like a car they think its safe to just walk in front. :rolleyes:

Everyone likes to hate on cyclists, I certainly used to, still do to a certain extent, but unless you cycle everyday in the city you won't realise the crap us cyclists have to put up with too.
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I completely understand some pedestrians are morons but equally it's a cyclist's responsibility to be cautious of these. If you're driving in a 30mph zone and a kid runs into the road in front you slow down and/or stop. Cyclists don't seem to do this. They militantly maintain their pace with the attitude 'oh that stupid pedestrian shouldn't have wondered into my path'. In any place where there's a mix of cyclists/pedestrians and cars - all parties have to be careful and expect the worse behaviour from others, not play the blame game.

That's why now - even on a green man - I am damn careful that there are no bikes before crossing. And equally, if I were a cyclist approaching a pedestrian crossing I would slow my speed and ensure no pedestrians are likely to run out and collide with me.
 
Barks said:
If you're driving in a 30mph zone and a kid runs into the road in front you slow down and/or stop. Cyclists don't seem to do this. They militantly maintain their pace with the attitude 'oh that stupid pedestrian shouldn't have wondered into my path'.
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WUT :eek:
First you claim motorists pay for the roads and now you claim cyclists put themselves in danger by not stopping for pedestrians.
Have you any idea how painful & dangerous it is when a pedestrian walks out in front of you while you're balancing on a piece of metal and you try your best to avoid them?
Obviously not - I've been off 3 times collecting a dislocated shoulder in one incident and a cracked elbow in another.
You talk some rubbish.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
You talk some rubbish.
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No need to get aggressive and I am sorry to hear about your injuries.

My point is some cyclists bomb it down those super highways at high speeds. Where there is a crossing, you're bound to get foolish pedestrians who step out into the road, therefore it's more appropriate to slow down slightly in anticipation something bad might happen. It's the same principle why you rarely see cars actually going at 30mph through a busy town centre, you always have to be prepared someone might jump into the road/slip etc hence you generally slow your speed down.
 
Barks said:
No need to get aggressive and I am sorry to hear about your injuries.

My point is some cyclists bomb it down those super highways at high speeds. Where there is a crossing, you're bound to get foolish pedestrians who step out into the road, therefore it's more appropriate to slow down slightly in anticipation something bad might happen. It's the same principle why you rarely see cars actually going at 30mph through a busy town centre, you always have to be prepared someone might jump into the road/slip etc hence you generally slow your speed down.
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Do car or motorbikers slow down going through green lights? No. So why should cyclists?
 
Barks said:
No need to get aggressive and I am sorry to hear about your injuries.

My point is some cyclists bomb it down those super highways at high speeds. Where there is a crossing, you're bound to get foolish pedestrians who step out into the road, therefore it's more appropriate to slow down slightly in anticipation something bad might happen. It's the same principle why you rarely see cars actually going at 30mph through a busy town centre, you always have to be prepared someone might jump into the road/slip etc hence you generally slow your speed down.
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I see your point now you've explained it better.
 
hornetstinger said:
Do car or motorbikers slow down going through green lights? No. So why should cyclists?
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There's no obligation it's just sensible and good practice whether driving a car or riding a bike. There will always be people who step out into the road for a variety of reasons therefore it's best to be on the lookout when approaching an area where this might happen like a crossing with large crowds of people either side. The etiquette is somewhat different in London anyway as there are constantly people waiting to cross busy roads, and people have a habit of running across in a rush without looking properly.
 
It's the un-official size law. If something is bigger than you, it has right of way. Cyclists are no bigger than pedestrians and will probably come off worse in a collision, so pedestrians are not afraid to get in the way and vie for space :P

I read once that there are actually far more pedestrian injures from cyclists in London than most people expect, way more than from cars. Mostly due to people riding on pavements/footpaths, or busy pedestrian areas and jumping lights at crossings. Obviously the road safety wombles try to keep that quiet :/
 
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Well yea, but when someone gets hit by a bus it's usually because they walked out in front of it. Not it going up the pavement and hitting them :D
 
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Sorry SexyGreyFox you will have to change your sig :)

Road Fund Tax is back, (or will be at end of the decade).

Guess everyone missed that as well as these new "Vehicle Excise Duty" increases the other innovation in the Summer Budget was the reintroduction of a ‘road fund’.

http://highwaysmagazine.co.uk/chancellor-announces-new-roads-fund/

The reintroduction of "Road Fund Tax" for use purely on developing our strategic road network is a good thing, and I am more than happy to pay the extra knowing it will now actually get used on the roads.
 
Most aren't oblivious to a good old shout. Try that.
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I would feel a bit rude doing that :o Maybe I should get one of those mega loud klaxon horns, ive seen a few of these hipster type use it and they seem to frighten everyone within the vicinity.

Barks said:
I completely understand some pedestrians are morons but equally it's a cyclist's responsibility to be cautious of these. If you're driving in a 30mph zone and a kid runs into the road in front you slow down and/or stop. Cyclists don't seem to do this. They militantly maintain their pace with the attitude 'oh that stupid pedestrian shouldn't have wondered into my path'. In any place where there's a mix of cyclists/pedestrians and cars - all parties have to be careful and expect the worse behaviour from others, not play the blame game.

That's why now - even on a green man - I am damn careful that there are no bikes before crossing. And equally, if I were a cyclist approaching a pedestrian crossing I would slow my speed and ensure no pedestrians are likely to run out and collide with me.
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Yep I agree, defensive cycling, same when driving, too many hazards around in a city to travel around so care-freely. But unfortunately sometimes even thats not enough to avoid someone elses stupidity, but not much more one can do...
 
Nasher said:
I read once that there are actually far more pedestrian injures from cyclists in London than most people expect, way more than from cars. Mostly due to people riding on pavements/footpaths, or busy pedestrian areas and jumping lights at crossings. Obviously the road safety wombles try to keep that quiet :/
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I think its probably more due to the fact people can hear cars coming but bicycles are virtually silent so pedestrians are more careless if they cant hear anything coming.
 
ubersonic said:
1888

The name has changed over the years (locomotive duty, road fund duty, vehicle excise duty, etc) but it's essentially the same thing, a tax you have to pay to use a motor vehicle on the road.
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Motoring taxation is made up of two elements: vehicle excise duty (VED) – a tax on ownership; and fuel duty – a tax on use. Although historically the road fund tax was considered a hypothecated tax to pay for the building and maintenance of the road network, this has not been so since 1937 and it is now a general revenue raising tax

However the Chancellor in his last budget reintroduced the Road Fund, starting in 2020.

From then all VED income will be again earmarked for road construction and maintenance projects only.
 
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SC0TTRS said:
Cyclists bang their rights home to use the roads along with motorists but still use the damn pavements!! :mad:
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You probably would to if you thought your life/health depended on it. I'm not condoning it but i can see why its done, when i'm on my bike i avoid roads as much as possible. You get people in cars that see a red mist and think its okay to try and kill you or injure you for holding them up for 10 seconds.

The way i see it though, no such thing as angry drivers or a hole cyclists. Just angry a hole people, no matter what vehicle there in/on.
 
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