Must overtake, bicycle...

[Richard D]

I do get rather pee'd off with the "overtake then hit brakes I'm doing a right turn" brigade.

Most mornings on my commute this happens to me. Very annoying, and even more so if Mr MGIF was driving too close immediately beforehand. But I learned that passing on their left as they wait to turn right is often a terrible idea, as although they have so little patience that they have to overtake a cyclist, they have enough courtesy to others to class motorists out in front of them (putting me and motorist on a collision course if I pass on the left).

[GarethF]

A
Useless
Driver
Inside


We were toiling up a reasonably steep side street which is blocked for cars at the top but used as a rat run between two main roads via two further side roads, when the Audi A6 which had been stuck behind us while the way was limited by parked cars eventually decided to overtake. As they pulled alongside, the useless so and so stalled. And this about 10 yards before they turned right to continue their short cut the the main road ahead. Can you guess who they were behind when they joined the main road? Plonkers!

[Tigerbiten]

My best one was ........

Uphill T junction, I'm going straight on a on and there building works opposite the side road so the roads narrow at that point.
So I'm slogging uphill on my bent trike at 4 mph just opposite the side road and Mr IMGIF decides to overtake at speed.
Big rev of the engine ........ BANG .... Hiiisssssss.
He's hit the right curb at the far side of the junction and the tyres going down.
Turn onto the main road at the top of the hill and he's sitting there on the phone.
I thought "if he had waited less than 1 minute before overtaking, that wouldn't have happened" and merrily went on my way with a recumbent grin .......

[DaveGos]

My main hate in this area is when one car does something like overtake and then a number of cars behind just follow regardless

[MikeF]

My main hate in this area is when one car does something like overtake and then a number of cars behind just follow regardless

The following cars often pass closer as well.

[Cyril Haearn]

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

Better wait till I calm down or mods will delete my post

Hello om
Hope you have calmed down
I would like to read your thoughts/memories
BTW I was once stopped by the cops for going too slowly, I am proud of that %)

[Yossarian]

It's tempting to write these drivers off as idiots, but I don't think it's really the case. I've been a passenger with perfectly intelligent people at the wheel with at least average driving skills...but when it comes to dealing with cyclists, they just haven't got a clue.

Maybe there should be more in driving lessons and tests to combat this ignorance. But also, I think bikes are pretty incompatible with cars and lorries on our congested roads, they are just never going to mix well. So cyclists have to keep themselves safe as best they can.

[reohn2]

It's tempting to write these drivers off as idiots, but I don't think it's really the case. I've been a passenger with perfectly intelligent people at the wheel with at least average driving skills...but when it comes to dealing with cyclists, they just haven't got a clue.

Maybe there should be more in driving lessons and tests to combat this ignorance. But also, I think bikes are pretty incompatible with cars and lorries on our congested roads, they are just never going to mix well. So cyclists have to keep themselves safe as best they can.

If you ever have a close pass by a driving school car try phoning them to complain,you'll soon find out where the problem lies.
On the four occassions I've done so Ive had nothing but abuse or total denial,including one private school who's owner told me :
"I shouldn't be on the _king road"

[Graham]

It's tempting to write these drivers off as idiots, but I don't think it's really the case. I've been a passenger with perfectly intelligent people at the wheel with at least average driving skills...but when it comes to dealing with cyclists, they just haven't got a clue.

Whilst litter-picking in a layby on the local long hill . . . . . .

A van pulled into the layby and the driver got out.
It was an old chap who occasionally thanks me for my efforts whenever we meet on foot.
He is a Jehovah's Witness ( but I don't hold that against him ).

This time he announced "I saw you working there and took the opportunity to let the bike that was in front of me get well out of the way.. . . .. It is a big problem to get past these bikes going down the hill at the speeds they go." [ i.e. 40mph+ usually ].

We had a brief chat - which was nice - but his introductory comment was memorable.

[kwackers]

I think bikes are pretty incompatible with cars and lorries on our congested roads, they are just never going to mix well.

Why are they incompatible?
There's nothing inherently 'wrong' with them that makes them so and given how often I see motards crash into street furniture and even houses I can't see how removing cyclists will help when they can't even avoid stationary and large objects!

So IMO monkey brains are the real problem. Putting monkeys in charge of fast, heavy machinery they were never designed to handle is the problem. If there's an incompatibility then it's the monkey brain in control of fast tin boxes.
Fortunately that's not going to be a problem for much longer.

Your first part about there being more in driving lessons and tests though was bang on, it's probably not enough but it's a start. Chuck in some proper enforcement on top and stop fannying around with folk claiming they "need" their car when caught and I reckon we'll start to see some improvements.

[Cyril Haearn]

Driving test?

Most motons don't give the law another thought after *passing*, instructors aim to get them through the test AND to make money, is that a conflict?

There was a rule of thumb: number of hours instruction needed = age in years

Anyone here got a current copy of the HC at home?

[mjr]

Anyone here got a current copy of the HC at home?

Only as a download. The last printed copy is the October 2015 one, but the current copy is July 2017 (updated First Aid section).

[mjr]

So IMO monkey brains are the real problem. Putting monkeys in charge of fast, heavy machinery they were never designed to handle is the problem. If there's an incompatibility then it's the monkey brain in control of fast tin boxes.
Fortunately that's not going to be a problem for much longer.

No, the monkeys will be in control of the computers in control of fast tin boxes... I'm not sure the extra layer of indirection will necessarily improve matters.

[kwackers]

No, the monkeys will be in control of the computers in control of fast tin boxes... I'm not sure the extra layer of indirection will necessarily improve matters.

Oh it most definitely will.
The monkeys entering the rules will have no option but to use the HC as a base and that'll immediately be a huge improvement and that's before you remove the myopic senses that pass for input for the monkeys and replace them with a myriad of sensors that can see in all directions at once and not just the phone screen on their lap.
(Why do drivers think that operating their phone on their lap isn't obvious to anyone looking?)

I can point to numerous dangerous practices on every journey that only don't result in an accident because there was only a single act of stupidity involved. Judging by how often one or more motorways near me are shut due to accidents along with local roads you'd have to be living in cloud cuckoo land to think robots could make a worse job of it.

Anyway my thoughts were really about the next level of anti collision devices coming to the aid of your poor overworked motard rather than replacing them.
But I digressed...

[oldmanonabike]

It's tempting to write these drivers off as idiots, but I don't think it's really the case. I've been a passenger with perfectly intelligent people at the wheel with at least average driving skills...but when it comes to dealing with cyclists, they just haven't got a clue.

Maybe there should be more in driving lessons and tests to combat this ignorance. But also, I think bikes are pretty incompatible with cars and lorries on our congested roads, they are just never going to mix well. So cyclists have to keep themselves safe as best they can.

If you ever have a close pass by a driving school car try phoning them to complain,you'll soon find out where the problem lies.
On the four occassions I've done so Ive had nothing but abuse or total denial,including one private school who's owner told me :
"I shouldn't be on the _king road"

Try complaining to the DVLA they supervise driving instructors and will investigate complaints about individual instructors and have the power to remove them from the -Approved Driving Instructors register