Cyclists

[VicW]

Today the Transport Minister announced a £2M pound grant to encourage cycling and walking, he obviously never walks about your average town.
Locally riding on the pavement is the norm, ignoring traffic lights and pedestrian crossings the same as is riding the wrong way down one way streets.
Part of the plan is to widen pavements, more room for the cyclists, and create more cycle lanes hence narrower roads.
Having witnessed two cyclists on the pavement in our High Street ride past two policemen and not get stopped there is no hope of cyclists obeying the rules of the road which they are supposed to abide by.
Yesterday I witnessed two cyclists on a narrow country road riding side by side in the middle of the road totally oblivious of traffic coming round the corner ahead of them.
So I guess you think that I am anti cyclist. You are quite right I am, perhaps it's because I was hit by a cyclist while on a zebra crossing who ignored the fact that traffic had stopped to let me cross. The cyclist fell off his bike and then accused me of pushing him off. The truck driver, who had stopped to let me cross, got out of his truck and to see if I was OK then had a go at the cyclist who was still laying on the pavement.
The cyclists who have cycling as a hobby generally seem to be OK and certainly not all motorists are innocent in giving them enough room if any at all.

[Jocko]

Cyclists may be the least of our worries. Extended e-scooter trials are to start around the country in any area the local council wishes to test them. These tests were to start, next year, with limited trials. Now it is to begin immediately, with a free for all around the country.

[John Ratsey]

As one who has clocked up a lot more miles on a bike than in the car (zero miles) since the lockdown started, I would note that it can be difficult at times to maintain social distancing requirements (there are a lot more people walking on roads without specific pedestian provision) and avoid possible inconvenience to other road users. I agree that cyclists on roads need to follow the rules and guidance in the Highway Code but I would like all motorists to do likewise. Ideally, all potential motorists should be required to clock up 100 hours of cycling on roads, so they better understand the cyclists' perspective, before being allowed to get behind the wheel. This would be difficult to enforce retrospectively but I decided after a recent trip that such experience should be made mandatory for taxi drivers who seem to be among the worst at leaving little space when overtaking.

Investment in better off-road cycling provision would be welcome. Far too many cycle tracks are actually one side of a white line on a footpath. A lot of pedestrians (and definitely not the dogs) know which side is theirs. If a cyclist wants to make good progress and get some proper exercise they end up using the roads. I try to avoid cycling on footpaths but there are various missing links in the local cycle network. There's one local sign which directs cyclists down a footpath because, somewhere in the distance, there's a cycle track.

[ColinS]

In Dorset we must have spent millions on cycle paths and I'm all for it.  Unfortunately some cyclists (and it only takes a few) seem to ignore them and continue to cycle on the road.  In some cases, as a consequence to creating the cycle paths, the roads are narrower so in order to make good progress, motorists don't leave sufficient space when passing a bicycle.

Why cyclists don't use the provided paths is a complete mystery to me.  They are putting themselves in danger.  The police should be given the power to stop them and issue a fixed penalty, if they are not so empowered already.  If I were to drive on an open road at a constant 15 mph and in so doing hold up traffic, then I would expect to be stopped by the police.

Cycle paths: Yes.  Roads that have a cycle path: No.  Footpaths without designated markings: No.  The law is the law!

I was hit by a cyclist while on a zebra crossing who ignored the fact that traffic had stopped to let me cross.

Happened to me on Oxford Street some thirty years ago, so I know how you feel Vic.

[Jocko]

Very little in the way of cycle paths round here. Tons of serious cyclists thought.

[peteo48]

I think I am in a similar frame of mind to Vic on this one. I have, over the years, built up a serious dislike of cyclists. I recognise that my dislike has shaded into outright prejudice!

My issue comes from my dual role as pedestrian and motorist. I like to get a walk in most days and I am lucky enough to be able to walk to the paper shop, doctors, chemist, Co-op, pub etc. As a pedestrian I, and many others locally, feel persecuted by these entitled morons who cycle at speed on the pavements in contravention of the Highway Code. The worst thing is when they come up behind you at speed and pass you by no more than an inch. The police take no action but, worse than that, our local council refuses to put up signs telling these idiots to get off the pavement or face a hefty fine.

As a motorist I have fewer issues. Cycling 2 abreast being the main bugbear. I tend to think that those cyclists that actually do use the roads are more aware of right and wrong - that may not be the case everywhere I'll admit.

Putting my dislike aside for a moment, I genuinely do feel cycling should be encouraged on health grounds (exercise for the cyclist, cleaner air for the pedestrian). I'd like a carrot and stick approach - the carrot being investment in cycle lanes separated from the carriageway by a kerb and the stick being a £1,000 fine for cycling on the pavement.

[ColinS]

I'd like a carrot and stick approach - the carrot being investment in cycle lanes separated from the carriageway by a kerb and the stick being a £1,000 fine for cycling on the pavement.

We've had the investment here.  A huge one I may add.  They still cycle on the roads .  I would add to your suggestion to include the fine for those cycling on the road where a cycle path is provided.  Maybe £1,000 is a bit steep though.

[peteo48]

Yep - got carried away. Maybe £100 for first offence.

[trebor1652]

If we are banging our drum on things that annoy us, then can I throw into the fray the motorists who think the foot path is a car park.
The sooner the government make it illegal to park on the foot path the better it will be for people with mobility problems.


Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[madasafish]

Yep - got carried away. Maybe £100 for first offence.

Bike impounded. £1000 to recover it... seems fairer.  :'(

[guest9236]

Yep - got carried away. Maybe £100 for first offence.

Bike impounded. £1000 to recover it... seems fairer.  :'(

Minus both wheels  seems even fairer

[sparky Paul]

Why cyclists don't use the provided paths is a complete mystery to me.  They are putting themselves in danger.  The police should be given the power to stop them and issue a fixed penalty, if they are not so empowered already.  If I were to drive on an open road at a constant 15 mph and in so doing hold up traffic, then I would expect to be stopped by the police.

Designated paths with lovely new surfaces are well and good, and cyclists should be expected to use them, but I have major reservations about some of the cycle lanes that have been repurposed from the edge of roads. Some of the cycle lanes on the roads in my local town are shockingly bad.

Cycle lane markings are worn out and very patchy, there are cars parked over them almost constantly, and they are full of debris which has been washed off the road. Roadsweepers are a very rare sight these days, we see one once a year, if we are lucky. There are also large numbers of potholes, local councils don't have the same duty of care of cycle lanes that they do over road surfaces, nor do they have the money, so they often don't bother.

If I was still a serious cyclist, I wouldn't use some of them, the poor surface makes them unsafe with traffic just inches away.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/council-tells-cyclist-fix-potholes-unusable-cycle-path-382717

[Jocko]

I finally gave my bike away at the beginning of February. Despite having cycled for 60 years, and motorcycled too, I never felt safe on the bike in recent years. Too much imagination these days.
I would never dream of cycling on a pavement and as for traffic lights, one-way streets and the like, I treated them exactly the same as if I was driving a car. My pet hate with today's cyclists is how they come up to a red light, then suddenly morph into a pedestrian and cross on the green man.
I think it should be an offence for cyclists to cycle two or more breast when there is vehicular traffic behind them. Prior to lockdown I regularly used to come upon groups of organised cyclists, three and four abreast, who obviously thought they were riding the Tour de France!

[sparky Paul]

I think it should be an offence for cyclists to cycle two or more breast when there is vehicular traffic behind them.

Broadly speaking, it is. The Highway Code states that cyclists should never ride more than two abreast, but it also says you should ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends. You should not hold up traffic, and should go into single file when necessary.

Same as everything else though, people generally do what they like these days.

[JimSh]

Why cyclists don't use the provided paths is a complete mystery to me.  They are putting themselves in danger.  The police should be given the power to stop them and issue a fixed penalty, if they are not so empowered already.  If I were to drive on an open road at a constant 15 mph and in so doing hold up traffic, then I would expect to be stopped by the police.

Designated paths with lovely new surfaces are well and good, and cyclists should be expected to use them, but I have major reservations about some of the cycle lanes that have been repurposed from the edge of roads. Some of the cycle lanes on the roads in my local town are shockingly bad.

Cycle lane markings are worn out and very patchy, there are cars parked over them almost constantly, and they are full of debris which has been washed off the road. Roadsweepers are a very rare sight these days, we see one once a year, if we are lucky. There are also large numbers of potholes, local councils don't have the same duty of care of cycle lanes that they do over road surfaces, nor do they have the money, so they often don't bother.

If I was still a serious cyclist, I wouldn't use some of them, the poor surface makes them unsafe with traffic just inches away.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/council-tells-cyclist-fix-potholes-unusable-cycle-path-382717

What is required is a lot more tolerance between motorists and cyclists. As far as I know, cyclists are still classed as road users. Cycle tracks don't go everywhere.To say that cyclists should stick to cycle tracks is a bit like saying " all freight should be shifted by rail."
As Paul says most cycle tracks consist of the edges of roads and contain a lot of potholes and road debris. Many designated cycle routes take convoluted paths requiring stopping  and starting and many of the surfaces are unsuitable for road bikes.
On the other hand cyclists should be obliged to follow  the rules of the road while on the road - obey traffic lights and  no cycling on pavements apart from young children.
In the present circumstances, I've noticed a lot of people who appear to be unaccustomed to cycling and like learner drivers, should be treated with caution. Serious cyclists should be self sufficent in terms of food and drink and tools for minor mechanicals and shouldn't stop in villages or cycle in groups.

Jocko, You 're the local but I have to disagree re Fife. Fife spent a lot of Millenium money on cycle tracks. I've had a quick look through my maps but could only find one for the East Neuk but there is good cycling all over Fife including a 100mile Kingdom route, resurfaced railway line from Culross to Dunfermline and the Coastal path fom Limekilns to Kincardine.