Must overtake, bicycle...

[kwackers]

Electrifying my commute means I'm back to cycling a couple of hours a day in rush hour and it's good to see nothing has changed.

The "must overtake bicycle" mentality is alive and well resulting in:

Crossing white lines to overtake.
Pulling out into oncoming traffic to overtake (resulting in horns and in one case two cars stopped nose to nose).
Overtaking only to slam on for a left/right turn.
Overtaking only to immediately stop because parked cars prevent their progress and there is oncoming traffic.
Trying to overtake even though you're tailing traffic and there's nowhere for them to go.

Today's class act was an overtake with the intention to turn right coming up to a staggered cross roads in a village in which all 3 exits are essentially blind.
The car had tailed me for a short while (there's a speed camera just before the junction and I'm doing 25 ish). They pulled out, accelerated hard, pulled in front, slammed on and then swung right for the turn and due to their excessive speed took a 'racing' line round the right hand bend.

End result; a full on collision with a car approaching the stop line.

Nobody hurt but two very sorry looking cars, airbags deployed. I couldn't help it but I did manage to get a "you f' nob head" comment in.

I'd like to think there'd be at least a careless if not dangerous driving charge but the attending police looked distinctly uninterested so I'm guessing not.

[PDQ Mobile]

Driver age?
Gender?
Car make/model?

Just out of interest!

[kwackers]

Driver age?
Gender?
Car make/model?

Just out of interest!

Male, 30's.

Make and model, erm. It was blue and generic looking.
(I could check my video but I handed over the memory card.)

[Si]

there but for the grace of gods.....

the other week.....riding towards a T junction, four kids and two adults in snake....lad in the hot hatch had to overtake....kids had been taught well: they weren't giving up primary so car got to the give way line fully on the wrong side of the road, and this was a junction that you can't see out of until you crept over the line. Car met two others turning in - one mounted the pavement to avoid. Thankfully both in-turning cars were going slow enough that they avoided the idiot and more importantly, us.

another classic case of an idiot being unable to understand that you need to be looking more than 5 yards in front of your bonnet

[mercalia]

what do you expect? cycles are runt cars, cyclists poor people who cant afford cars and lower than the low, untouchables? one step up from pigeons/flying rats

[boris]

I fitted cameras 2 weeks ago and every time I go 1mile to the gym I film at least a close pass , left hooks at junctions, etc... Problem is , if we let anyone know this is the practice of the average driver then what will they have to do to be guilty of a 'careless driving' offence. After all , in the Michael Mason case the police and jury thought killing the cyclist and saying she had no idea it had happened was not outside normal driving standards.

[tykeboy2003]

I couldn't help it but I did manage to get a "you f' nob head" comment in.

Not criticising you, as I would have done the same I'm sure but I suspect that it will simply reinforce their attitude because he/she will doubtless blame you for the accident.

[Cyril Haearn]

Maybe the motons do not use their speedos but see a bike and think *10 mph*

You could mount a sign on the back:

*Ebyke 40 kmh*
Sorry, I mean 25 mph
But maybe 40 kmh is better cos the number is higher

[kwackers]

I couldn't help it but I did manage to get a "you f' nob head" comment in.

Not criticising you, as I would have done the same I'm sure but I suspect that it will simply reinforce their attitude because he/she will doubtless blame you for the accident.

I think you'd need a very myopic view of your driving to blame anyone else. He was very trite, no attempt to rebuke the comment at all.

Not that I'm particularly trying to defend my comment, I'm always impressed when I see a youtube video where someone is being unreasonably polite.
It's something I aspire to although in it's absence I'm pleased I got to say what I thought.

[The utility cyclist]

It all sounds so familiar, pushed past by SUV style thing yesterday whilst doing 27mph in a 30 zone (so they were in excess of the speed limit to do so), I have to slow to give space behind, they hold me up at the next mini roundabout turning right and due to the nature of the roads (more mini roundabouts/narrow bridge) and my speed I keep pace over 3/4 mile from the point they pushed past until they turn off into their street and i'm still 2 car lengths behind.
They saved nothing but obstructed me on my journey, types like that i just want to drag out the motor and give them a good hard slap. it's exactly this type of MGIF attitude that kills and maims people and yet plod aren't interested in doing anything meaningful about it and the system excuses them/lets them off lightly and no deterrant so we'll then build bigger/heavier cars, bigger tyres, bigger brakes, more gadgets to get the feckwits out of trouble or just push the onus of safety onto the vulnerable by telling them they have to wear funny hats, belisha beacons, clown outfits to stay safe except it doesn't nor has ever worked!.

[LollyKat]

It all sounds so familiar, pushed past by SUV style thing yesterday whilst doing 27mph in a 30 zone ...

Crikey, you must be fit! I need a fair bit of downhill to do that.

[The utility cyclist]

It all sounds so familiar, pushed past by SUV style thing yesterday whilst doing 27mph in a 30 zone ...

Crikey, you must be fit! I need a fair bit of downhill to do that.

lol, I did a hard left turn at the previous roundabout at about 18mph straight into a 3% downhill strip with a bit of a tailwind, add in 102kg body mass and ex-rugby league forward quads and the speed does ramp up quickly.
i always take right of centre of the lane as there are parked vehicles halfway down the road and a side road on the right that goes to the sainsbury's superstore so tbh I'm not caning it full gas
Still at that speed for mr MGIF to push past i was a bit cheesed off as i had to ease off, then he pulled further away, slowed for the mini at the bottom for a right turn where i caught him up and had to slow further, a couple of more left turns at mini R and over the railway bridge and he was still no further in front then he was behind me at the top of the road were I'd turned in and I still wasn't exactly giving it the beans https://goo.gl/maps/m3ZJdueo7nk

[kwackers]

Still at that speed for mr MGIF to push past i was a bit cheesed off as i had to ease off,

I know that feeling well. Speed is so hard to gain but when you're there you can often hang on to it, but there's always someone who'll still overtake only to force you to slow down moments later.
To be fair I've had cyclists do that to me too!

[foxyrider]

Dangerous, thoughtless, pointless overtaking does seem to be an increasing problem. It probably happens at least once on every ride although I find it is much worse in Urban areas. And before anyone jumps down my throat this is just a personal observation, not an accusation in any way but, the majority of these moves seem to be made by female drivers, regardless of car type.

Part of the problem is at the hands of driving instructors, they teach overtaking but take no account of considerate driving. This leaves most new drivers with no perception that their 'must overtake' driving style could endanger other road users whether human powered or mechanical. They simply pass and wipe your existence from their mind - you can spot this easily when they are surprised by you passing them again at the next junction.

[Cyril Haearn]

Anyone here worked as a driving instructor and care to comment?