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Cyclists on the road


momo
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I'm curious.

 

Given Shetland's obvious lack of pavements over any non urban roads, do other drivers slow down and cross over to the other side of the road if necessary, when they see a cyclist, runner, walker or even a couple mums out with prams using the road?

 

Or does the need to get to where they're going dictate how much respect the other human(s) on the road gets?

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A few month ago i had a cyclist try to overtake me in my car around the outside of a round about nearly ending up under my wheels in the process. If i hadn't seen him it could have been bad news. But not long after that i saw a car nearly run a cyclist off the road by zooming past when another car was coming the other way causing the driver to pass close to the cyclist. The bottom line is there are crap drivers on or in every kind of vehicle (including horses) as well as good ones.

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momo wrote
Anything that can’t maintain a minimum speed of 40mph shouldn’t be there. Not because it’s irritating to be stuck behind them but because there is a real danger of running in to them. When coming around a corner at the posted speed limit of say 60mph uphill you don’t expect to find something at a standstill in the middle of your lane.

I seem to remember that we are meant to drive in a safe manner including going round corners at such a speed that we can safely stop if there is some unexpected obstruction in the road. In fact we are meant to drive so that we can stop within the limits of our visibility at the time.

 

exactly and very true , however the rogue element is quite large and totally lethal , these idiots out cycling in the middle of the road aids n abetts them to be even more lethal , plus the really clever ones that wont let by a long string of traffic create "domino effect" braking where everybody brakes harder as the one in front til theres a "rear ending" , no idea what the answer is but cyclists show no consideration either

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Sure, you may have to brake a little harder if you meet a cyclist on a blind corner but it's not going to kill you is it?

That depends on how fast the person behind me is going!

Joking aside I do indicate & move over to the next lane to overtake cyclists. I just don’t think most cyclists realise how hard they are to see at night. I also do not believe that the majority of drivers out there slow down to a speed where they can come to a complete stop within 20 feet as they are going around corners so for a cyclists own safety they should use verges more.

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so for a cyclists own safety they should use verges more.

 

Road bikes with tyres less than an inch wide made of lightweight aluminium mean you can't mount every verge without buckling the wheel, you would have to stop and lift the bike on to the verge which I imagine I would do when some yahoo who is losing their rag behind me is almost knocking me off the bike. What you're basically proposing is a get the hell out of my way policy a cyclist can easily pull over in a passing place to let you by but be patient until they reach one. If you see a cyclist riding in the middle of the road or more than one abreast report it to the cops, I've been out training in groups that the cops have stopped because of it so it's not like they don't act if a cyclist is riding inappropriately. It's all about common sense and being reasonable if you're driving behind a cyclist who clearly cannot pull safely over to let you by then wait until they can.

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Not paying full attention leads to folk not noticing cyclists/tractors till it too late to moderate their speed.

 

Sure, you may have to brake a little harder if you meet a cyclist on a blind corner but it's not going to kill you is it?

 

The same however, cannot be said for a tractor, they're all heavier and considerably more solid than a car. I've yet to see the outcome where a car and tractor had disagreed that the car and its driver did not come off a very poor second best.

 

Dropping a concrete block on a beer can comes to mind. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

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so for a cyclists own safety they should use verges more.

 

Road bikes with tyres less than an inch wide made of lightweight aluminium mean you can't mount every verge without buckling the wheel, you would have to stop and lift the bike on to the verge which I imagine I would do when some yahoo who is losing their rag behind me is almost knocking me off the bike. What you're basically proposing is a get the hell out of my way policy a cyclist can easily pull over in a passing place to let you by but be patient until they reach one. If you see a cyclist riding in the middle of the road or more than one abreast report it to the cops, I've been out training in groups that the cops have stopped because of it so it's not like they don't act if a cyclist is riding inappropriately. It's all about common sense and being reasonable if you're driving behind a cyclist who clearly cannot pull safely over to let you by then wait until they can.

 

Would be great if they did but of the half dozen or so I see on the way to and from work there is only one that makes any effort to move off the road to let traffic pass and they do it in town where it isnt even necessary as they are doing roughly the same speed as the cars.

Also most of the verges on the way down the south end anyway dont require 'mounting' they are level with the road.

I have been tempted a few times....usualy by lunatic car drivers rather than cyclists to report someone to the police for bad driving but its not really in my nature. I usualy just remind my self that no one is perfect, we all make mistakes and that they will learn eventualy (hopefully before they kill themselves or someone else)

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The verges in the south end are fine for mountain bikes but you'll easily puncture a high pressure road bike tyre riding too long off the road.

 

You maybe don't like reporting folk for driving or riding stupidly but it really is the only way some people will learn. I reported a boy a couple of weeks back for dangerously overtaking and it was the fourth time in as many weeks I'd encountered the numpty before I decided enough was enough, hopefully he'll calm down when he realises other road users pay attention to poor driving.

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While I agree that we should act responsibly on the road & not deliberately scare cyclists off the road I also don’t think that they belong there. Anything that can’t maintain a minimum speed of 40mph shouldn’t be there. Not because it’s irritating to be stuck behind them but because there is a real danger of running in to them. When coming around a corner at the posted speed limit of say 60mph uphill you don’t expect to find something at a standstill in the middle of your lane. You can be left with no choice but to move in to the opposite lane into oncoming traffic or perform an emergency stop. :?

 

There is so much wrong with this I don;t know where to start - I would have dismissed it as trolling but sadly somepeople may actually really believe and act like this.

 

Firstly, the legal speed limit is just that, its a LIMIT. Not in any way a requirement or even safe speed to travel a particular section of road. The highway code defines THAT speed as being that such as to be able to stop in the way that you can see to be clear.

 

The way I like to put it to people I am with who go careering around blind corners is that every time you do, think of what you would do if there was a toddler sitting in the middle of the road, an auld couple yarning, or a tractor with a bale spike. All completely feasible on any piece of road at any time.

 

Rare, possibly, but thats what makes bearing it in mind every single time all the more important.

 

Also, be it toddler, auld couple, bale spike, or cyclist - it is not thier responsibilty to be seen, it is your responsibility to see them, plain and simple.

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I'm surprised that none of the anti-pedal brigade have played the "you don't pay any road tax, so get your lycra-clad ass off my macadam" card in this discussion.

 

I've seen some atrocious displays of roadmanship between cars and cyclists both on Shetland and the mainland, with 99% of the situations being the vehicle driver leaving me shaking my head in disbelief. I can never understand the mentality where a driver gives more room when passing a tractor than they do passing an exposed human on a bike. I can only think it boils down to the car driver being more worried about damaging their own property than whatever else might get in their way, be it metal or flesh.

I was in a couple of accidents when I was younger which really opened my eyes to how detached we become and how invincible we perceive ourselves to be when we shut the door of our metal umbrella and blast off into the distance.

Likewise I have cycled on the main road a few times, resulting in some of the scariest experiences I have been in. As a result of this, I always make sure I give cyclists a very generous bit of room when passing, for the small sacrifice that I will get to my destination some 8-10 seconds later than I had originally planned. I can live with that. I occasionally even slow down to a ridiculously low speed like 50mph........

 

Cycling on verges? I think that would only help to increase the number of organ donations, as what would happen when you come across the very frequently placed run off drains and cross-drains along the road? You would have to swerve at the last minute to avoid going head over the handlebars, which would mean swerving onto the road, more than likely into the path of a car which is belting along behind you, and which wasn't giving you any leeway as you were technically off the road.

 

I like Sudden Stop's comment, that we just can't accept anything getting in our way to make our journey anything other than faultless and hassle free.

 

Unfortunately for a lot of drivers, their manners and egos take a turn for the worse with regards other road users as soon as they start the engine and engage first gear.

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With regard to safe speeds I was teaching a friend to drive many years ago now. Going along a road we often used my friend was starting to show a bit of misplaced confidence with his driving. We were approaching a tight bend at what I considered was a bit to much speed. Conversation took place on the lines of "you are are going a bit to fast" which produced a reply of "I can get round the bend at this speed" which led to a response from me "but can you stop if you need to?"

 

Well to cut a long story short my friend did slow down which was just as well as hidden from view was a queue of traffic following a minor accident ahead. We stopped safely enough thanks to the reduced speed and perhaps because of our slower speed the car behind did not rear end us.

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ahh heres a thread ive some experience!!

while taking my driving test about 7 yrs ago i came up behind a cyclist at the shetland hotel, there was a lot of traffic on the road and wound have no chance of getting past him without a car on other side and me squezing past between them so i stayed back and admitidly going about 10-15mph while waiting for a suitable gap then i went past - i failed this test due to being to hesitant for not as the tester said going between oncoming cars and cyclist!!

 

then on my next test i came up to a cyclist at the top of gulberwick and a truck coming other way so i did everything right and overtook i might not have done had i not failed previously due to being hesitant but was still safe in my mind - not in this testers mind and i failed again for dangerous overtaking manouver!!

 

lucky on 3rd test no cyclists on road!

 

driving instructor couldnt belived i failed first one still i dnt think theres space to pass a cyclist on that bit of road with oncoming traffic!

 

so cyclists your a pain use the bikes in gym!!

 

oh and why do some insist on cycling beside each other!!

 

rant over

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The same however, cannot be said for a tractor, they're all heavier and considerably more solid than a car. I've yet to see the outcome where a car and tractor had disagreed that the car and its driver did not come off a very poor second best.

 

Dropping a concrete block on a beer can comes to mind. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

Ah ha! Ya see, everyone, it will kill you! So there you go... drive carefully or there may be an unpleasant Sudden Stop... 8)

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