Cycling UK Forum

Redvee wrote:Spotted a Deliveroo cyclist with lights in Brizzle city centre on my way home on Monday but the lights were on his helmet and the rear was blocked by the box on his back. I did mention that the box should be where the light should be and not his helmet cause it can't be seen.

Spotted one of their scooters riding illegally back in July

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I see quite a few regular bikers take a short cut through this bit too. As for Deliveroo, someone should get onto their H&S department about training their riders to follow the road rules. I see loads of 'em barging into ASL's (90% of Bristol bikers seem to do this as well), jump lights etc. A few weeks ago, I saw a Domino Pizza rider on a moped riding along the footpath so he could get through Cattle Market Road which is currently closed to traffic. Cyclist are permitted during the roadworks, but the signage said that motorcyclists should dismount. Of course, this guy didn't and also jumped the red light so he could get along into Feeder Road while myself and a female cyclist looked on. Pity my helmet cam died .

Kudos though, to that Deliveroo cyclist who made it to the top of Bathwick Hill

These have happened to me, all involving motorcyclists:

1. York Road, Bristol, travelling west. Cycling in central lane for going straight on through lights. Left lane is for left turn only, big signs, even bigger arrows on road. I'm through the lights, heading across junction when motorcyclist shooting down left turn lane decides to go straight on - almost hit me. On another occasion, I had just set off rom ASL, hidden by white van. Silly motorcyclist, filtering down left turn lane to try and (illegally) get into ASL, miscalculates when traffic moves. Speeds up to overtake white van and cut into central lane, again, almost hitting me.

2. Motorcyclist enters ASL on red light, on my left. He is indicating to turn right and, yep, cuts me up when lights change.

3. Coming down from Old Market, towards Temple Meads, heading down in mandatory cycle lane, just getting to the end of traffic jam to my right when suddenly - you guessed it - motorcyclist cuts into lane from my right, narrowly missing me and enters ASL. Didn't like me pointing out two traffic offences that he committed - told me to F-Off

Here in Bristol we have to put up with the hellspawn offspring of the Daily Fail group - the Bristol Post which is always wailing on and on about cycling on pavements, people going too fast on cyclepaths etc. Always publishes letters from the Mr Angry types. One article that stuck in my mind was when a young girl got onto a bike and crashed into a stationary coach. Post article mentioned wearing helmets 8 times, but not once the true cause of the accident - failure to check brakes. Latest article was one about how statistically cyclists are prone to more accidents (!). If you visit their website, it's an ad-laden badly scripted hell, so get Ad Blocker installed.

Made me smile too. Big road-shaped gap next to it is a subtle clue as to it's uselessness BTW, these barriers are totally useless against those on pit bikes. Once saw a bloke here in Bristol manage to get a full sized trials bike into a local park through one of these. Completely useless.

bigjim wrote:The examiner is with you all the time now on the part 2. He indeed follows you on his bike and issues instructions. You also have to do the turn around in the road in front of the examiner controlling clutch and revs. This after the theory test and of course initial exam where you have to weave between cones and do an observed road circuit frun by an authorised learner school.
I think they are now trying to make it even harder.

I hope that part of the motorbike test addresses some behaviour that often annoys me:

1. DO NOT deliberately filter into the ASL on red, especially cutting up cyclists.
2. DO NOT cut into any cycle lane at the last moment when faced with congestion ahead.
3. DO NOT use off-road cycle paths as a short cut between roads.

Whilst I'm sure that many bikers adhere to the regulations, there's always that minority.....

I remember this. Is it the free rag associated with the same publisher as the Bristol Post?. If so, I think it originally appeared in the Post or a very similar complaint about flashing lights. If anyone here lives in Bristol, you'll know how anti-cycling this rag really is. They'll publish anything that shows cycling in a negative way.

I generally find most cyclists quite friendly. I often stop and chat, exchange pleasantries out on my commute - try doing it in a car!. And if you get a puncture on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, you'll be offered help within five minutes

Revolution wrote:I too ride a motorcycle (2days commute on the motorbike and 3 days bicycle) I think I can safely say that I am the only motorcyclist in Bristol who respects ASL and only use them when on my bicycle not the motorbike. ASL's are there for the safety of cyclist's not the convenience of motorcyclists.

I think I saw you once Thankyou for your opinion. Some bikers here in Bristol couldn't give a monkeys about how they ride (seems to be a lot of them 'confused' by what constitutes a bus lane. It's NOT a thin strip of painted asphalt about the width of a bicycle) so it's reassuring to hear from someone who does respect the facilities for other road users.

My thoughts on the matter:

1. Some motorbikes can accelerate faster than cars, so why would they need to use a facility designed for slower moving bicycles?. They should easily be able to match the traffic flow.
2. It simply encourages others. Several times I have been unable to get into the ASL due to it being blocked by four or five motorbikes.

3.Whoof - had a similar experience. Was sitting in centre of ASL intending to turn right. Biker on large machine enters the ASL behind me, moves over to my left hand side and revs engine loudly as if to intimidate me. I asked him which direction he was turning as he was not indicating, but got ignored. Lights change, I pull out to turn right and the ****** cuts me up by executing a right hand turn from my left hand side

I suspect many motorcyclists filter and enter the ASL simply because it's convenient. I have witnessed some barge into the ASL, often positioning themselves badly then race each other to the next red light . I have also heard the safety argument. My counter-argument to it is that your average motorbike is that something like a 1500cc machine capable of being ridden at 100mph on motorways (have seen this too) is far, far more likely to be involved in an accident at speed. Some motorcyclists clearly aren't bothered by this, but suddenly become 'concerned' about safety when confronted with a line of stationary traffic so that they feel it necessary to encroach into the cycling facility .

One annoying 'habit' that some motorcyclists have is that assuming they are allowed into the ASL, they seem to think that the cycle lane leading into it is also fair game. One could call this 'habit creep'. You break one rule and then breaking others seems OK as some folk have a tendency to justify their actions in this manner. I assume that some cyclists here have been in this situation: You are riding in the cycle lane and up ahead is a jam. No problem as the lane will allow you to enter the ASL on the left. Just as you get near the first car in the line - Whoosh! - some nut on a motorbike cuts into the lane so that they can access the ASL .

Of course, not all motorcyclists behave this way. But I do feel that the motorcycling community should respect the cycle facilities more. They are, after all, not really for motorbikes which I look on as a bit like cars minus two wheels. They are fast, noisy, have an internal combustion engine and pollute. My bike isn't allowed on motorways, so what's the issue with respecting a little road space reserved for cyclists?.

This is a short combined cyclepath & pavement in south Bristol 'cycling city'. As you can see, lazy drivers use it as a free car park because they don't want to pay (once free 2 hours is up) for the huge car park around the corner. Always amazes me that some folk can afford about £5000 - £15,000 for a new car, but can't afford about £2/hour parking

james01 wrote:Rural areas: pedestrians, cyclists and horses impede my right to make speedy progress. They should be prohibited from roads which lack a separate footway or cycletrack. Country walks should be confined to fields and footpaths, not motor roads. This simple measure would allow for a substantial raising of rural speed limits and make motoring more enjoyable, safe and efficient.
Urban areas: cyclists must use only designated cycle tracks, they must never share the road with the real traffic. Where tracks are not available the cyclist must dismount and wheel his machine along the footway. Children under 16 must never be allowed outside the home onto the street unless supervised by an adult. Major pedestrian/road interchanges in cities should always direct pedestrians into subways rather than holding back traffic with crossing lights. These measures will allow much higher urban speed limits to be safely introduced.
General: the taxation system should be overhauled to encourage people to travel by car whenever possible. Public transport subsidies should be withdrawn and road fuel tax should be reduced. Walking and cycling are an ancient anachronism which hold back the development of a progressive modern country.
(Written with tongue firmly in cheek, yes, but over the years I've actually heard every single one of these proposals being put forward !)

Ah, you've found the UKIP transport manifesto:)

gaz wrote:If fitting a camera makes motorists think twice about close overtakes why is their so much camera footage of close overtakes?

If your camera makes such a difference to the behaviour of other road users why are you seeing more RLJing cyclists?

Since getting my helmet cam, I note that drivers tend to give me a wide berth

It's worked for me. I have on three occasions used it to report illegal motorbikes being ridden on the Bristol Railway Path. On these occasions, my complaint has always been followed up by a visist from a PC or PCSO. So yes, use it.

I don't generally have a problem with drivers. Sure, there's sometimes a car in the ASL but the driver could probably not stop safely - I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, I do seem to have problems with members of the motorbike fraternity who think ASL's are ok for a head start and often barge into them on red. In a few instances, I have been turning right at junctions from an ASL and have been cut up by motorcyclists entering the box on my left but turning right.

I stopped once to let a car past along a double-parked road in Bristol. As the car went by, a passenger in the rear leaned out of the window and spat a liquid into my face - tasted like lemonade. Thants what you get for being courteous I didn't get the reg, but what worried me was if it happened in traffic, I could have crashed and maybe been run over. In 2010, we had an ex member of our staff killed in a cycling accident. She hit a pothole and crashed in busy traffic, so it freaked me out enough to invest in a helmet cam.

I have also been pelted with tomatoes from a bridge over the Bristol Railway Path and had a plastic bottle of coke thrown into my path from another bridge by dumb teens. Under the same bridge, I cycled past one day to see a smashed CRT monitor that had obviously been thrown over and once saw a wheelie bin dumped in the same place. Both these would have been nasty if they hit anyone going underneath at the time.