Worst nightmare....

[lumos2000]

I really hate riding on busy roads these days. A lot of drivers pass far too close. And considering how little I ride on the roads, it's only my awareness that has prevented the all to frequent near misses from being actual collisions. That and the general thoughtlessness and rudeness of some drivers.

A particular favourite is when a car passes me, often too close, then immediatedately pulls in and slows in front of me to turn left into a side street, forcing me to brake, rather than slowing and turning left behind me.

I think the problem is that not only are there so many more cars on the road now than when I first started riding, but also that there are so many drivers that have never ridden a bicycle and have no appreciation of how vulnerable you are and how disconcerting it is when something passes within a foot of your handlebars going a lot faster than you are.

Another one is were traffic is backed up and the cars are going nowhere fast. The driver sees you coming along on the inside and purposely pulls in towards the curb to cut you off. Wankers!

had this the other day, car overtakes then pulls into the curb going down hill at speed.

 

[dyna-ti]

The driver sees you coming along on the inside and purposely pulls in towards the curb to cut you off. Wankers!

Theres a few vids showing unhappy cyclists smashing off the passengers side wing mirror

I had some prick attempt to overtake me by driving onto the pavement in an attempt to get past.Why would he need to use the pavement i hear you ask :?
We were in a queue at the traffic lights :shock: i was sitting behind the first car slightly to one side,passenger side i remember[it was a one way street]
I looked at him like he was the biggest twat on the planet and he tried it on and got out of the car to remonstrate with me.Guess he didnt see the cops 2 cars back also watching proceedings with great interest.As he came over face like thunder i pointed them out to him.He scurried back to his car but it was too late.
I didnt habg about for too long[long enough to glean some mirth from it though

 

[JamesM]

Last week I had someone try to over take as I was stopping at a T-junction. I subtly moved over to the white line in the middle of the road (I was turning right after all) and he ended up stopping at the junction on the wrong side of the road. I just looked at him and said "what are you doing over there" whilst shaking my head . Shame no one was trying to turn into the road he was blocking :roll:

 

[JeRkY]

The comments on that video are disgusting. I appreciate that our fellows across the sea will be unfamiliar with the concept of a roundabout though.

 

[Neil]

made me cringe that did.

traffic islands, the little pedestrian islands in the middle of the road and so the carriageway narrows at that point. quite a few near me, and how many times have I been going through one only for some moron in a car to try and squeeze through next to me??? :roll: there blatently isn't enough room for a bike AND a car side by side, some people just don't look ahead, don't think ahead, or just don't care as they're in a big metal box with airbags etc and won't be hurt.
I now move further into the road in such areas, positioning on the road helps stop them trying to squeeze past.

A pedestrian traffic island yesterday....

rant over

That's another reason why I no longer enjoy cycling on the road.

You can't win in that situation - if you try and be pro-active and pre-emptive, and take more space in the lane on the approach to an island like that, sooner or later, you're gonna get cars abusing you or worse, if you do nothing, vehicles will just steam through at the same time.

Cycle paths aren't the answer - they just engender the mindset that vehicles and cycles shouldn't have to co-exist, and bolster those ignorant in society who feel that cycles should have no place on the road, and it's just for cars and vehicles.

 

[xerxes]

Last week I had someone try to over take as I was stopping at a T-junction. I subtly moved over to the white line in the middle of the road (I was turning right after all) and he ended up stopping at the junction on the wrong side of the road.

An idiot in a Range Rover did that to me the other day. He pulled out to turn right, practically running over a traffic island and momentarily blocking me and my friend from turning right until he had gone. We made a point of overtaking him down the hill that we were turning right onto. I may have made a rude gesture at him as I passed.

 

[cyfa2809]

Aka rage rover?

 

[cmw90]

[/quote]Cycle paths aren't the answer - they just engender the mindset that vehicles and cycles shouldn't have to co-exist, and bolster those ignorant in society who feel that cycles should have no place on the road, and it's just for cars and vehicles.[/quote]

hear that :!:

 

[yagamuffin]

I swear it's getting worse. My commute is only 5 miles in London, from Finsbury Park to St.Pauls but the amount of impatient wankers I encounter seems to be rising every day.

The current trend is for people to overtake me as we're approaching red lights, only for me to then immediately filter past them.
And also the overtaking through tight gaps, pedestrian crossings seem to be a favourite.
Last night I had the same car make three dangerous overtaking manouvres only for me to filter past again.

 

[dyna-ti]

Once had a p****** car overtake me then immediately turn left.Dear me i said to myself :shock: :shock: if it wasnt for my hope discs id have slammed into the rear doors.
The road they turned down has a p***** s***** at the end of it,there were no b*** l****,just some shocking driving skills.