Change to Highway Code and cyclists responsibilities

[Otter Spotter]

Are those the same kind of stupid shoes that football and rugby players wear or like the stupid shoes tennis and basketballs players wear?

Should these fine pensioners in Yorkshire be denied the opportunity of wearing comfortable clothing for cycling in because it makes you woozy?

They look and sound like fluorescent clog dancers who need a No2

 

[Garfields]

Over the years I have had more encounters with dodgy motorhome drivers than cyclists
Any vans with hire company logos gives me concerns
It's all very well that lots of us have a licence to drive up 7.5 tonnes but there are a lot of folk will head out in a hire van when they are normally driving a Corsa

OK I exaggerate about the Corsa but you get the drift

 

[Stoosal]

I was using your term "exempt" and no one has referred to untrained users apart from you. There is a difference between being trained and being licenced. I think that many folk support training but licencing is a different matter.

Why? Proper accredited training allows properly trained and accredited users and, dare I say, a system in place to ensure compliance.....some may say licensed users......only people who appear not to want it are cyclists! Scared you fail?. In the main, cyclists are untrained unless there is some huge underground training system that cyclists are taking that I am unaware of....maybe you could tell us what recognised training the majority of cyclists have undertaken?
Safer roads might mean all those using them need to pay for a safer system and a buy in to participating in ensuring their skill levels are at a recognised level? Easiest method is to utilise systems required by those driving motorcycles of 50cc capacity?

 

[MattR]

They look and sound like fluorescent clog dancers who need a No2

They're not great for walking in but make a huge improvement when cycling.

 

[Silver-Fox]

When are you suggesting that cars can't overtake cyclists in slow moving traffic?

When the car driver can’t move over to allow the required 1.5m away.

So why is it ok for cyclists to get that close to cars when under/overtaking

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Silver-Fox]

Are those the same kind of stupid shoes that football and rugby players wear

You don’t tend to see a lot of Rugby or Football players wandering around town in their boots.

But you do see many a cyclist trying to walk around town in their go faster shoes

 

[busby]

Why? Proper accredited training allows properly trained and accredited users and, dare I say, a system in place to ensure compliance.....some may say licensed users......only people who appear not to want it are cyclists! Scared you fail?. In the main, cyclists are untrained unless there is some huge underground training system that cyclists are taking that I am unaware of....maybe you could tell us what recognised training the majority of cyclists have undertaken?
Safer roads might mean all those using them need to pay for a safer system and a buy in to participating in ensuring their skill levels are at a recognised level? Easiest method is to utilise systems required by those driving motorcycles of 50cc capacity?

Well I have never been trained on a bike and have been riding one 70 years. Passed my car driving test at 17 years one week and spent most of my working life driving trucks..What cycle training could I be taught as I spent most of my working life avoiding collisions with bikes,cars,vans etc. Which I think gives me a good insight into avoiding the same when I am on my bike..Can never plan really for idiots and bike haters.BUSBY.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Well I have never been trained on a bike and have been riding one 70 years. Passed my car driving test at 17 years one week and spent most of my working life driving trucks..What cycle training could I be taught as I spent most of my working life avoiding collisions with bikes,cars,vans etc. Which I think gives me a good insight into avoiding the same when I am on my bike..Can never plan really for idiots and bike haters.BUSBY.

Given that logic, why do car drivers have to take a motorcycle test then

 

[MattR]

Why? Proper accredited training allows properly trained and accredited users and, dare I say, a system in place to ensure compliance.....some may say licensed users......only people who appear not to want it are cyclists! Scared you fail?. In the main, cyclists are untrained unless there is some huge underground training system that cyclists are taking that I am unaware of....maybe you could tell us what recognised training the majority of cyclists have undertaken?
Safer roads might mean all those using them need to pay for a safer system and a buy in to participating in ensuring their skill levels are at a recognised level? Easiest method is to utilise systems required by those driving motorcycles of 50cc capacity?

Making licences compulsory will reduce the number of cyclists and result in more congested roads.

Many adult cyclists are licenced to drive vehicles so have had some highway training. Some might have taken the Cycling Proficiency Test.

Kids have Bikeability

I wonder how many lives would be saved and accidents avoided if all cyclists were "licenced"? I wonder how many would be saved / avoided if vehicle drivers followed the laws already in place and were more were legally more accountable for their actions.

 

[busby]

Given that logic, why do car drivers have to take a motorcycle test then

I would not know,,unless it's because many want to ride a motorbike before they have the capability to drive a car..Think the biggest challenge on two wheels is guessing where or what those in cars trucks etc are doing or going and the law makers decided they do. ..BUSBY.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MattR]

When the car driver can’t move over to allow the required 1.5m away.

So why is it ok for cyclists to get that close to cars when under/overtaking

Because a car overtaking a cyclists at less than 1.5m passing distance at speed is dangerous whereas a cyclist passing a static car in traffic queue isn't likely to be dangerous to anyone. But you knew that didn't you?

 

[MattR]

Given that logic, why do car drivers have to take a motorcycle test then

Probably because so many car drivers fail the motorcycle test .... (I'm making an assumption here as the high failure rate is for riders over the of 60) .... maybe all drivers should retake their tests every 20 years ... it would make the roads safer for all )

Motorcycle practical road test pass rates in Great Britain 2021/22 | Statista

Between April 2021 and March 20221, 21 to 29-year-olds had the highest pass rate at close to 75 percent.

www.statista.com

 

[tonyidle]

Probably because so many car drivers fail the motorcycle test .... (I'm making an assumption here as the high failure rate is for riders over the of 60) .... maybe all drivers should retake their tests every 20 years ... it would make the roads safer for all )

Motorcycle practical road test pass rates in Great Britain 2021/22 | Statista

Between April 2021 and March 20221, 21 to 29-year-olds had the highest pass rate at close to 75 percent.

www.statista.com

You can never, no matter how experienced you are on four wheels, understand how to ride a motorcycle safely unless you are coached by an experienced motorcyclist. Hazards on the road surface alone, that you'll never notice as a car driver, can be lethal when on two wheels. Not to mention the danger from the SMIDSY brigade.

 

[BusyBuilder]

I'm fed up of cyclists who won't use the cycle lanes put at considerable cost by Highland Council.

 

[busby]

You can never, no matter how experienced you are on four wheels, understand how to ride a motorcycle safely unless you are coached by an experienced motorcyclist. Hazards on the road surface alone, that you'll never notice as a car driver, can be lethal when on two wheels. Not to mention the danger from the SMIDSY brigade.

That's why I have never been interested in them other than hiring a scooter in Greece.BUSBY.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[AXO66]

Driving in Berlin, you're required to look over your shoulder as well as looking in your mirrors, specifically to look for cyclists passing as you're turning. If you hit them while turning because you didn't look, it's your fault. Not sure if that's the case in the rest of Germany, but I was warned about it repeatedly in Berlin.

I also used to cycle a lot in Amsterdam, and if you hit a cyclist it's always your fault because you were too close. Hit one once, your insurance goes way up. Hit a cyclist a couple of times you can't get insurance. I got hit by a taxi (clipped my elbow with his wing mirror). I wasn't hurt, but he offered me money not to report it!

Yep, it sort of promotes and endorses undertaking. No mater where or how you look, in poor visability it’s dangerous.

I hit a bicycle in amsterdam. It was so silent i had no idea it was there when i made a turn whilst walking ! They did not stop………

 

[busby]

Probably because so many car drivers fail the motorcycle test .... (I'm making an assumption here as the high failure rate is for riders over the of 60) .... maybe all drivers should retake their tests every 20 years ... it would make the roads safer for all )

Motorcycle practical road test pass rates in Great Britain 2021/22 | Statista

Between April 2021 and March 20221, 21 to 29-year-olds had the highest pass rate at close to 75 percent.

www.statista.com

Reminds me of a fellow driver when I was driving for a Petrol Company He ran a driving school part time and also owned a BSA Bantam.After a shift driving a 32 tonne tanker (1973) he went off to take his motorcycle test.He never lived it down,,he failed..BUSBY

 

[Silver-Fox]

Because a car overtaking a cyclists at less than 1.5m passing distance at speed is dangerous whereas a cyclist passing a static car in traffic queue isn't likely to be dangerous to anyone. But you knew that didn't you?

I didn’t say the car was static, in this hypothetical instance.

Also slow moving as I did say

 

[Silver-Fox]

Probably because so many car drivers fail the motorcycle test

Yet are let lose on a bicycle

 

[busby]

Yet are let lose on a bicycle

Quite a big difference between a motorcycle than a push
bike.My average speed on the flat on my bike is about 10 mph, athletes run faster than that..BUSBY.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[MattR]

I didn’t say the car was static, in this hypothetical instance.

Also slow moving as I did say

As above but with slow moving traffic. The difference being if something goes wrong, the likelihood of injury is low. You clearly know that overtaking a cyclists closely at speed puts the cyclists at risk of injury or worse.

 

[scally]

So cars always have enough space between them to allow an overtaking car to pull in if they have mis-judged the overtake? No they don't.
Good cyclists in groups will always try to keep together to stop cars from trying to squeeze in when they have attempted a poorly-judged overtake.
This thread could run forever.

Please do not think I don't get a bit annoyed when stuck behind slower traffic, bikes, tractors, learners, etc ..I do. But I will never take a poor overtake and put myself or others in danger though impatience.

Why do people take things literally to the extreem. I did not state or even infer that all motorists obey the code or ever the spirit of the code.
I was just stating what I believe to be the safer option in todays cluttered roads.
I could have quoted lots of things cyclists do against the code but I did not. Precisely to avoid this continued argument of 'your lot also do xyz '

 

[bobandjanie]

I was trying to remember if I took a cycling proficiency test in my early days at school, I think I probably did.

I did take the motorcycle test Passed first time.
I did take my car test Passed first time.
I did take my HGV 1 test Passed first time.

I have owned all the above including trucks trailers and caravans, and must say it doesn't matter what your riding / driving there are always people that have no respect for other road users, you don't need to be on a bike. Bob.

 

[Neilh]

I'm fed up of cyclists who won't use the cycle lanes put at considerable cost by Highland Council.

One of the reasons got not using the cycling track, is that they are not swept and often full of debris, thorns etc and usually poorly designed

 

[DelMar]

Why, if drivers hate cyclists so much, do they buy their children a bike as a present, when old enough to ride.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[barsteward]

Lol it's cars that make traffic not bicycles. If you sometimes see a road bike using a road rather than a cycle path it's because a lot of cycle paths are not suitable for fast, road bikes. They can be very rough, gravely, litter strewn, broken, often shared with pedestrians with kids/dogs running about on them so someone who, for example has chosen to not add to the traffic by commuting to work on a proper road bike with skinny tyres so they can actually travel at a decent top speed might be on the road for their own safety and to avoid conflict with pedestrians but also so they can maintain a decent speed which gets them where they need to go in good time.

But for the most part cycling is a leisure activity. We have a cycle route which follows a narrow valley between Leeds and Manchester it would be as expedient to use the canal Tow Path as use the main road but unfortunately we really need to spend (as a nation 100s of millions of £ on a 20 min faster route between the "capital" and Manchester) ,not, the present infrastructure needs to be updated and improved, at the moment our valley is kept alive by charity not by central government. With the correct tarmacked tow path individuals going to work would rarely conflict with leisure cyclists/walkers,

 

[Garfields]

I'm fed up of cyclists who won't use the cycle lanes put at considerable cost by Highland Council.

We have some decent cycle paths about us though there are some missing links
They are well used but I do wonder why some people would want to stick on the road
The surface is usually better than the adjacent road

 

[MattR]

We have some decent cycle paths about us though there are some missing links
They are well used but I do wonder why some people would want to stick on the road
The surface is usually better than the adjacent road

How fast and how far could you cycle on these paths?

 

[Russell's Dad]

Why do people take things literally to the extreem. I did not state or even infer that all motorists obey the code or ever the spirit of the code.
I was just stating what I believe to be the safer option in todays cluttered roads.
I could have quoted lots of things cyclists do against the code but I did not. Precisely to avoid this continued argument of 'your lot also do xyz '

Please don't take offence at my post. I was not having a pop.
I am a cyclist/ motorist/ campervanner and ex motorcyclist and was not taking sides, just pointing out that for a group of cyclists, and I'm thinking of a cycling club run or similar, leaving gaps just encourages poor overtakes.

As it stands the UK infrastructure just isn't there for cyclists, as can be seen from numerous posts. Shared routes (paths shared between pedestrians and cyclists) don't work particularly well for 'sports' cyclists, who like to put in a bit of speed. Sports cyclists, more than other leisure cyclists and even commuters, tend to be forced onto the roads to avoid walkers and dogs, neither of whom appreciate a lycra-clad person hurtling past, very close to them, at 20-25mph. Similarly I don't appreciate dogs on long leads/ off leads and walkers who can't grasp the concept of walking on the same side as the oncoming traffic (cyclists) , which is the safest side to walk along. Neither do I like motorised vehicles hurtling past me very close to me when I'm either walking or cycling.
There is no answer other than dedicated, two-way cycle lanes across the whole country. This will never happen.
I did say the thread would run forever, there is no solution, but you hit the nail on the head.......The 'spirit of the code' is road safety, not getting from A to B as quickly as is possible.

 

[two]

I feel almost ashamed to suggest that we Brits are less tolerant than our continental neighbours but maybe that’s due to a comparative lack of space here rather than a difference in culture?

I have found it remarkable how European motorists tend to be so well-natured towards vulnerable cyclists compared to that experienced over here. Perhaps they find more important things to get wound up about?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}