Why does the UK hate cyclists?

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I quite like the way the Dutch use bicycles, you know, as a form of transport and they dress in their everyday clothes.

Not the over the top British way of doing things where it seems compulsory to dress like a prat pretending they're part of the tour de bognor and sod the half mile queue of traffic they're creating whilst they set their PB.
 
Nasher said:
Also theres a lot less traffic over there. Because it's not overcrowded like the UK. Some of our cities have reached the point of ridiculousness for traffic.
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Complete and utter nonsense. The Netherlands has a population density of 488 people per square kilometre. In the UK it's only 395. There's less 'traffic', by which I assume you mean cars, because everyone rides bikes.
 
Mr Joshua said:
I quite like the way the Dutch use bicycles, you know, as a form of transport and they dress in their everyday clothes.

Not the over the top British way of doing things where it seems compulsory to dress like a prat pretending they're part of the tour de bognor and sod the half mile queue of traffic they're creating whilst they set their PB.
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Funnily enough I cycled to work today in my normal clothes, but that's because I went to the trouble of sourcing a bike that lets me do that easily (full chain guard, mudguards and a luggage rack). Those kind of bikes aren't common in the UK because cycling is seen as a recreational activity rather than a form of transport.
 
Dis86 said:
Well...only one cyclist on the way to work this morning who held me and two cars in front up for about a minute. Much worse was the learner driver I then got stuck behind for the rest of my drive. We got undertaken by a different cyclist. I chuckled.

Weather is grim though so likely deterred the fair weather riders.
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Hmm, guess it’ll be a full 39 minutes of hold ups this afternoon to make up the difference ;)
 
Mr Joshua said:
I quite like the way the Dutch use bicycles, you know, as a form of transport and they dress in their everyday clothes.

Not the over the top British way of doing things where it seems compulsory to dress like a prat pretending they're part of the tour de bognor and sod the half mile queue of traffic they're creating whilst they set their PB.
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The Dutch in their normal clothes are commuting a mile or two in town at ~10mph. I’m commuting 11-12 miles at ~16mph. I need proper clothes for that. I’m not trying to set any PBs on my commute, and it’s certainly not me and my cycling brethren causing the tailbacks...

This is all part of the problem. You can’t conceive of British people using bikes as transport. It’s very unlikely to be recreational cyclists causing you bother at rush hour because - wait for it - cyclists don’t want to be out in rush hour traffic if they can at all avoid it.
 
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Just as a counterpoint to all the negativity in here, I find that *most* car drivers are fine towards cyclists. That said though, I'd say I have a negative encounter on probably 90% of my journeys by bike. I've had abuse shouted at me from car drivers even when I'm in one of the few completely segregated cycle lanes in Leeds.
 
Because a lot of motorists seem to think they own the road, forgetting that roads existed long before cars.

The hate is annoying, but I just ignore it rather than waste my time trying to have a logical conversation with the sorts of people who think there is road tax, and that only cyclists skip red lights, whilst a car driver would never do such a thing (not that I condone either).

I will continue to be a car, motorcycle and bicycle user - and hope that one day the general attitude towards cyclists moves closer to that in more progressive areas of Europe.
 
Gixer said:
Cyclists can be caught in exactly the same way as drivers can, by the police! Fair enough without any identification markings dash cam evidence, speed cameras and red light cameras are pretty useless but then it still isn't that common that dash cam footage is used by the police to hand out fines to vehicle drivers for eating, using their phone, smoking, reading whilst driving, ignoring red lights etc.
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That's fine for those actually using the roads, not for the idiots riding on the pavement, are pedestrians meant to wear protective clothing with dash cams now? Feels like it sometimes.
 
Shocky-FM said:
That's fine for those actually using the roads, not for the idiots riding on the pavement, are pedestrians meant to wear protective clothing with dash cams now? Feels like it sometimes.
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If there were more than 3 policemen in this country maybe they could get a handle on things.

Pro tip: don’t vote Tory if you don’t want your public services - like the police - eviscerated.
 
haz_pro said:
Because a lot of motorists seem to think they own the road, forgetting that roads existed long before cars.
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They do own the road, the road tax helps build and maintain them.

Most cyclists i've come across are arrogent *********. There only one guy at work who cycles everywhere and he's a total narcissist
 
robgmun said:
They do own the road, the road tax helps build and maintain them.

Most cyclists i've come across are arrogent *********. There only one guy at work who cycles everywhere and he's a total narcissist
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But road tax isn’t specifically used for funding roads, and even if it were most cyclists pay it on the cars they own. Roads are paid for out of the general tax pot, which all taxes go into, and therefore which cyclists pay into. Motorists have no greater entitlement and certainly no monopoly over the roads as a result of paying vehicle excise duty.

So, you were talking about arrogant *********? Please continue.

Alternatively, feel free to educate yourself.
 
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robgmun said:
They do own the road, the road tax helps build and maintain them.

Most cyclists i've come across are arrogent *********. There only one guy at work who cycles everywhere and he's a total narcissist
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you mean VEHICLE emission tax ?;) the only thing I emit while cycling is farts.
 
Cyclist and driver here. I drive most weekends and cycle every weekday, 30 mile round trip including rural Cambridgeshire and then inner city London. Just to offer some balance to the discussion in my experience 90% of road users of all stripes are perfectly harmless.

I've noticed a bit of a trend as a cyclist though, I think we get blamed for the bad decisions of drivers. Example from today; I was cycling a single lane B road, nice and straight, usually at the time I ride down it it's clear in the direction I travel and then stop start in the other direction for about 50% of its length. Cars can pass me for 90% of it if they're careful, lorries will end up being stuck behind me until I turn off. In total I would say I'm on the road for about 3-4 minutes at around 20mph. This morning a car sat behind me for pretty much the length of it, she could have passed but clearly wanted to give me space or was a bit uncertain, towards the end of the road she had space to use the other lane to over take and so she did. The car behind her then wanted to come past, at this point I'm maybe 30 seconds from the end of the road where he could have just zoomed off. We're approaching a blind rise and road markings prohibit overtaking, he goes for it anyway and has to slam on his brakes when a car crests the rise. He passes me at speed after that and blares his horn at me. I give him the finger and we all have a jolly good chuckle.

Now under what rule of the road am I responsible for a) the first drivers reluctance to pass and b) the second drivers poor life choices? It seems like cyclists often take the brunt for incidents that take place because drivers don't react appropriately.

I should add that poor driving in relation to cyclists is probably a daily occurrence for people who do the miles I do. Possibly a couple of incidents a day if you count close passes.
 
grudas said:
you mean VEHICLE emission tax ?;) the only thing I emit while cycling is farts.
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It is a fair point really, a bicycle basically qualifies as a zero emission vehicle like an ev does, the whole tax argument is definately pointless.

So is mot tbh, except for kids messing around within the confines of their housing estates anyone on the road seems to have a pretty good handle on keeping their brakes/tyres in good enough nick (random punctures picked up during the journey notwithstanding)

Pretty much the only thing i'd want mandatory for cyclists is 3rd party insurance on public roads.

FortuitousFluke said:
Cyclist and driver here. I drive most weekends and cycle every weekday, 30 mile round trip including rural Cambridgeshire and then inner city London. Just to offer some balance to the discussion in my experience 90% of road users of all stripes are perfectly harmless.

I've noticed a bit of a trend as a cyclist though, I think we get blamed for the bad decisions of drivers. Example from today; I was cycling a single lane B road, nice and straight, usually at the time I ride down it it's clear in the direction I travel and then stop start in the other direction for about 50% of its length. Cars can pass me for 90% of it if they're careful, lorries will end up being stuck behind me until I turn off. In total I would say I'm on the road for about 3-4 minutes at around 20mph. This morning a car sat behind me for pretty much the length of it, she could have passed but clearly wanted to give me space or was a bit uncertain, towards the end of the road she had space to use the other lane to over take and so she did. The car behind her then wanted to come past, at this point I'm maybe 30 seconds from the end of the road where he could have just zoomed off. We're approaching a blind rise and road markings prohibit overtaking, he goes for it anyway and has to slam on his brakes when a car crests the rise. He passes me at speed after that and blares his horn at me. I give him the finger and we all have a jolly good chuckle.

Now under what rule of the road am I responsible for a) the first drivers reluctance to pass and b) the second drivers poor life choices? It seems like cyclists often take the brunt for incidents that take place because drivers don't react appropriately.

I should add that poor driving in relation to cyclists is probably a daily occurrence for people who do the miles I do. Possibly a couple of incidents a day if you count close passes.
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Indeed, it can be a tricky call sometimes although i think in a lot of cases folk just cant get their head around slowing down and staying behind cyclists if theres no safe way of overtaking.

Its like the old "i hate it when cyclists ride 2 abreast", which tbh is basically the same obstacle as getting caught behind a tractor only with more visibility yet somehow its meant to be the worst thing ever.
 
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