Yobs in cars shouting abuse at cyclists for no reason?

[Flinders]

[
But do you have any theories about why there is aggression towards cyclists?

I suspect that after showing "aggression towards cyclists" they drive down the road and show aggression towards mobility scooters, aggression towards sheep, aggression towards clowns ....
The cyclists need for victim hood is the same as many others .... they are yobs in cars .... select any group in society and they will be abusing them as them as well .....

They don't abuse horses or their riders so there's an early example that your thought process is flawed.

They do abuse horses and their riders, I can assure you. I have horse riding friends who have even got the physical scars from the end result of it, never mind simply them being in the receipt of verbals. The most common is fast, close overtakes combined with racing the gears, blaring horns and shouting, plainly attempts to frighten the horse and spook it just for the fun of it.

[BakfietsUK]

To PDQ Mobile: My theory would be.... Well I don't really know where to start, but if I take the concept of what could be termed animosity towards cyclists, I think it includes a truly massive lack of empathy. Consider those who may choose to overtake closely, I mean they have not got a clue how they would feel if the positions were reversed. Put them on a bike and do exactly the same to them a couple of hundred times and they may start to appreciate the damage they are doing to people. My personal theory is that some of them would never get behind the wheel again if they REALLY knew what the full impact of their behaviour was. So I guess the theory could come down to complete and utter ignorance of the danger they impose on others and quite frankly they'd probably not be able to hold the fear this creates without going mad. So their only recourse it seems is to deny it and then project all the blame and guilt on to the cyclists. For them this works well enough, for us hard cheese, as we are the minority. That is until someone discovers how to fix it, though I fear there are many other similar but perhaps more pressing instances of human suffering to alleviate before cycling has it's chance. If indeed it compares in any way to the more pernicious ills of humanity we are so familiar with these days and throughout history.

As for Yobs in general, some of the other posters have got it pretty well nailed as far as I'm concerned.

[tykeboy2003]

utter ignorance of the danger they impose on others

Ignorance yes. How do you get through to them though?

Maybe riding a bike on a busy road aught to be part of the driving test?

[tykeboy2003]

Grimethorpe

You might be interested in this.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/the ... -1-8522731

[thirdcrank]

... Ignorance yes. How do you get through to them though? ...

If it's intentional - ie punishment passes in the circumstances you seem to be discussing - report it to the police making reference to s 59 (as above) and get the police to do it for you. If it's a one-off that will be the end of it. If it's part of a pattern involving the same vehicle, the message will be even stronger.

[tykeboy2003]

It's quite amazing how perceptions change about something when someone actually bothers to experience that particular "something" for themselves.

Doesn't even need them to get on a bike, I've been a passenger with friends (several people on several occasions) when passing cyclists and remarked to them that they had passed too close. Their reaction was always the same; surprise. Surprise that they had done anything wrong. These are people who are not idiots or yobs, they are just ordinary people who respect others but have simply never seen it from the other side.

We have plenty of information about cycling safely such as bikeability etc but there is no reason for non-cyclists to access this. Hence, when a cyclist for example, rides in primary position ("takes the lane") these people don't understand why the the cyclist does it and their reaction is the opposite of what is required, ie animosity instead of respect.

What we need is a national TV advertising campaign like we had back in the 60s and 70s.

[ossie]

I've never had urine thrown over me abroad when cycling

.

When dehydrated anything helps . I think this is a tongue in cheek reference to an incident at the TdeF a few years back with cavendish?.

Apologies, that was my whoooosh moment

[jgurney]

utter ignorance of the danger they impose on others

Ignorance yes. How do you get through to them

However dangerous driving through ignorance has quite different causes to malicious conduct such as shouting abuse, and probably requires different solutions.

[roberts8]

Had it when running and cycling but when it happen on a long distance kayak race my paddle partner was ex special forces got out, chased them down and threw two of them in the river in March. I doubt they fired catapults at anyone for a while.
I know it was probably illegal but it did give a warm glow for the next few miles.

[karlt]

Had it when running and cycling but when it happen on a long distance kayak race my paddle partner was ex special forces got out, chased them down and threw two of them in the river in March. I doubt they fired catapults at anyone for a while.
I know it was probably illegal but it did give a warm glow for the next few miles.

Well yes. If they'd drowned or died of hypothermia he'd have gone down for manslaughter.

[meic]

I dont accept that there are any groups of yobs out there who have gone out looking to abuse cyclists. They have gone out for a laugh and if it is a cyclist that happens to cross their path then that is who they abuse. I do find that the banter I get is as frequently good natured as bad, though of course there is some discretion on how you interpret a comment.

On Saturday I got a thumbs up and a beep from a young woman in a car coming the other way, definitely a stranger and no reason for it other than I was there on a bike.
I frequently get "encouragement" from motorists when grinding up a hill, far more frequently respect based than ridicule based.

I live on a main road and it is surprising how many car drivers feel obliged to beep their horns or wave at me when I am getting something from the car, they especially can not resist it when I have my head in the bonnet!

[matt2matt2002]

I had an empty beer bottle thrown at me.
Missed me by inches.
Heard laughter from the car as it passed by.

On the whole more positives than negatives.
But I tend to remember the near misses rather than the thumbs up.

[atoz]

IMHO, you just need to be cycling in a red jersey on election night. That seems to provoke it, no problem.

I have been groped by a passing motorist, while wearing practically the same outfit- red jersey, black shorts. However, while cycling in, would you believe it, in a yellow jersey and yellow Mercatone shorts, it was almost as though I had acquired a personal cloaking device. No gropers, no comments of any kind. Weird.

When I went out in a giro pink and white jersey (nice and cheap from Wiggle, can't think why)- again, no problem.

The only exception is a "youth" who every time he sees me cycling near where he lives in our village says something like "******* ****" or words to that effect. This is the first time in 30 years of living in this village I have experienced this. One of our neighbours has mentioned that there are some undesirables who've moved into some flats down the road, which could explain this. Doesn't seem to matter what i wear- red, white, pink, he just hates cyclists.

Back in the 1970s, when I was a teenager, if someone of his age had thrown abuse at an adult like this, they would have been given short shrift, to say the least. Unfortunately the law treats teenagers up to the age of 18 as children, and realistically this means the opportunities for redress are limited, even if you can identify the person concerned.

[Cyril Haearn]

utter ignorance of the danger they impose on others

Ignorance yes. How do you get through to them

However dangerous driving through ignorance has quite different causes to malicious conduct such as shouting abuse, and probably requires different solutions.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse