Soldato
What do you guys think of number plates for cyclists
- Thread starter chaparral
- Start date
hah
Caporegime
Your reflection to my mind strikes me as experiences that you’ve had with HGV’s which have (rightly) stuck in your mind, the first, well, had he really wanted to drive you off the road, he could have quite easily - I’m not doubting what you’ve perceived but would wonder if he hadn’t seen you or you hadn’t seen the reason why, perhaps, he had to perform a violent lane change for example.....
Trucks drifting onto the hard shoulder is something I’ve seen myself, more times than I’d like to but still it’s a rarity tbh.
As I alluded to earlier, you notice when something so big does something wrong/daft/stupid/dangerous but as with any other vehicle, when it’s driven normally and correctly you don’t.
I understand that you perceive the majority of HGV drivers aren’t professional and don’t drive accordingly but trust me when I say this, we’re this not the actions of a tiny minority the road accident statistics involving HGVs would be truly off the scale whereas in reality they aren’t.
If the hours in the industry weren’t so extreme and drivers were paid better and better vetted accordingly then standards would be far higher again.
Unfortunately though, the logistics industry is driven (no pun intended) by long hours, low rates and a “so long as you’ve got a license, here’s the keys” attitude, a driver with 20+ accident free experience is paid and regarded no better than a fresh starter who bumped a car on his last shift, there’s an awful lot of us who take pride in our job and give it the effort and diligence it warrants (despite the pay etc) unfortunately though, the industry is very much against us.
Man of Honour
and what exactly are you going to say to the Police without them laughing?
read the highway code then tell me who the fool is.
Cyclists shouldn’t ride more than 2 abreast and should ride single file on busy or narrow roads
Regardless of what the Highway Code says, cyclists riding 2 abreast on a busy road is dangerous for them so putting their own safety at greater risk is a bit silly
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2012
- Posts
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of all the bugbears of cyclists this is a non-issue, it's no more obstructive than a tractor but at least with a pair of cyclists it's much easier to see the road ahead is clear to make a proper overtake.
plus as has been covered in topics before if they were to ride single file it would make for a longer (and therefore harder to overtake safely) obstruction and encourage the impatient to try and squeeze past which would be somewhat dangerous.
Well, actually, there is one very big difference.
Tractor drivers are legally obliged to pull over from time to time to allow faster traffic to pass. They do not have a "Right" to delay/obstruct other road users. if they fail to do so they can (And do) face legal sanction.
I dont know about number plates, but perhaps the law should be changed so that Cyclists have the same legal obligations to other road users that other operators of slow vehicles have.
they shouldn't have to change the law. HC already clearly states that they should ride single file on busy routes. seems a lot of the typically arrogant cyclists on here think they're above that.
agree, discussed before, but with just two jawing, and typically not paying attention, not bekonning when they are happy for a driver to pass, that's irresponsible;
but a motorist repeatedly turning/gesticulating to passsenger gets my same condemnation
Soldato
Around here the number of cyclists on the roads is insane, we're close to some biking Mecca's (Box Hill, Leith Hill, etc). Generally speaking I don't have an issue when it's one cyclist on the road, they're easy enough to get past, it's groups that cause some of the biggest issues. There's simply no way to get past more than 2 riders safely on some of the back roads we have around here. They either need to stagger out more so they can be picked off one at a time, or pull over at a passing place. But they tend not to. I've been on a back road with about 30 cyclists before, all meandering along trying to recreate the tour de france or something. That was painful, especially as it's a fun NSL road.
Man of Honour
I'm still trying to imagine the phone call you are making to the Police
"Hi, I've got the numbers of two cyclists riding two abreast through town"
"Thanks for that".
100% agree and this is something I do all the time.
I've said before that I go out every day with the attitude that I'm the lowest form of amoeba on the road and I ride accordingly because I'm not going to win against a big piece of metal with an idiot driving it.
i'd be more likely to mention them cycling in a dangerous manner contrary to the highway code rules that chokes up traffic and causes inconvenience to other road users, but your response typifies everything i've been saying.
Soldato
I think you need to just chill the **** out. You have no more right to use the road than anyone else. Maybe you're the one likely to act in a dangerous manner if you're seriously considering reporting cyclists for riding two abreast. Here's a suggestion; pull over, calm down, untwist yer knickers, look in the mirror, realise you're being a nob, that in the grand scheme of things it's really not worth getting bent out of shape about, then resume.
I'm not belittling you, just have some perspective.
yeah i do,
not to belittle you, of course.
dumbest comment ever on this thread.
not to belittle you, of course.
Soldato
You do what?
Soldato
Going back to the original point of the thread, "Would license plates be a good idea or not?", if it could be achieved inexpensively then sure why not, but it won't change anything really. The responsible cyclists will continue to ride responsibly, the idiot cyclists will continue to ride like idiots and the law breakers will continue to break the law. Cars have number plates and they break the rules, it will just remain the same.
I'd have no issue number playing both my bikes, but I'm not sure it would achieve much besides being able to track them a little better, the annoying chavs and idiot cyclists won't bother or care about having a plate as who exactly is going to police this? Car drivers barely report each other for doing something dangerous on the road, why would they bother with cyclists?
Edit: I cycle and drive so have no bias either way. I would love for more cycling infrastructure to be brought to life to get more people cycling and try resolve the Car vs Cyclist issue most places have.
I'd have no issue number playing both my bikes, but I'm not sure it would achieve much besides being able to track them a little better, the annoying chavs and idiot cyclists won't bother or care about having a plate as who exactly is going to police this? Car drivers barely report each other for doing something dangerous on the road, why would they bother with cyclists?
Edit: I cycle and drive so have no bias either way. I would love for more cycling infrastructure to be brought to life to get more people cycling and try resolve the Car vs Cyclist issue most places have.
Soldato
It's not dangerous though if you abide by the highway code and the rules? What are you actually going to report and hope to gain from it? You could have it all on film and nothing would be said or done.
Man of Honour
"Hi, I'd like to report two cyclists, they've been cycling in a dangerous manner contrary to the highway code rules that chokes up traffic and causes inconvenience to other road users".
"What exactly are they doing?"
"They are riding two abreast in a 30 mph zone"
Soldato
Do you report other road users that don't obey the HC or is this just specific to cyclists?
Deleted member 66701
D
Deleted member 66701
Riding two abreast is dangerous? You do realise it's quicker to over take a pair of cyclists riding two abreast rather than in single file?
As for the highway code, there's a difference between should and must.