Vehicle drivers acknowledging our courtesy

[prando]

Sure it has to be said that on every decent distance ride, there will be instances of motor vehicle ignorance regarding us on bikes

However, great when the reverse is evidenced. Maybe we're not as quick to acknowledge. I had a couple of good examples today wherein I moved put of the way to allow a lorry to pass...recognised with a couple of blasts on his horn after he had overtaken (frightened me to death ) Also I was conscious of a car holding back to overtake, given the narrowness of the lane, so as he passed (the road widened) I gave a courteous wave...acknowledged by a couple of flashes of hazard lights.

As far as I believe, I behave similarly all the time and really whilst therefore unnecessary to comment! it does leave me with a decent feeling. Is the good becoming less and less I wonder ?

[cold_wet_and_tired]

I agree with the sentiment of this thread so much that I thought it worth registering to reply (long time lurker...) So many threads cover the negative aspects of cycling on the roads (understandably given how frightening some dangerous driving can be) that it is nice to read something that reminds us that cycling isn't all about avoiding close passes.

Perhaps I am fortunate that I receive courtesy from motorists daily. I would even venture to say that courteous interactions outnumber those that are discourteous and certainly outnumber those that are dangerous. My commute passes through some back lanes and the vast majority of motorists approaching from the rear wait behind until I move over and slow at a passing place or gateway. Many wave or flash their hazards on the way by and some hoot, but seem to have found a way to hoot gently.

I also see motorists being actively courteous towards me. Many motorists coming towards me on the narrow roads pull in to the side earlier than I might expect them to; waves are exchanged as we pass. I even had an Audi driver once slow behind and decline the opportunity to overtake as they were going to pull into a driveway several hundred yards ahead (I have to admit that I was shocked by this one!)

I can't claim that all road users are this friendly and I am on the receiving end of my (un)fair share of dodgy judgement, ignorance and aggression but overall I much prefer to focus on the positives.

Happy cycling.

[reohn2]

Yes it happens all the time.
Yesterday twice I waved drivers through when they couldn't see a clear road but I could,both waved back and one gave a little toot as a thank you.
On the same ride I also held my hand out in a 'wait' motion to a WVM who thought he could see around a bend,but I knew he couldn't see the car coming the other way.
He also thanked me with a little toot and a wave as he o/took after the hazard had passed.
Things like that are just general courtesy and have always been part of my cycling and driving.

[Tigerbiten]

I get it all the time on my recumbent trike.

But then again I'm happy to wave things passed if I can see the road is clear if I'm going slower than ~20 mph.
Over 20 mph it gets a bit more rare for me to wave things passed as the steering get lighter at speed and my artificial arms is not stable enough by it self to hold the trike straight enough at speed.

Even a straight road with no other traffic on it, I'll wave a lorry passed just to show I know it's there and I'll also give lorry a thumbs up once it's safe to pull back in. I think that anything I can do to make a lorry drivers easier also makes it safer for me.

[Michael R]

it is essential to acknowledge and if possible wave a considerate motorist, even if it is your right of way.

Even a smile if you need both hands on the bars.

It adds up to better relationships

[Grandad]

Riding alone I will indicate to motorists if it is safe to overtake but on clubruns it's strictly verboten Our reason is that it takes longer to overtake a group and some motorists pass so slowly that by time they get near the front of the group there may be a car coming the other way.

[horizon]

I agree with the sentiment of this thread so much that I thought it worth registering to reply (long time lurker...)

And welcome to the forum! Great user name BTW!

(Who ever gets cold, wet and tired....?)

[drossall]

Yes, I agree, happens frequently. I've also exchanged the odd grin with a driver where one of us has done something obviously silly and the other has coped without undue difficulty, or we've just got into one of those "You go first", "No, you go first" situations.

[ChrisButch]

One interesting aspect of this is that I find the number of obvious instances of driver courtesy of this kind is increasing at roughly the same rate as the number of instances of driver intimidation or discourtesy.

[hexhome]

Another broad agreement here. Professional drivers have long valued cooperation and courtesy and I find that I am often signalling thanks to such drivers but also 'private' drivers.

One note of dissent. It is becoming more common when driving, particularly in a large HGV, to be 'signalled' when to overtake by a group of cyclists. I am aware that it is irritating to be followed by an HGV but it will mean that the driver is waiting for a safe opportunity to pass. If he/she ignores your signals, it will be because only he/she knows the requirements for a safe overtake and will wait until then.

Do not confuse an invite to overtake with being courteous! By all means raise you right hand in thanks for a safe overtake, but please don't try and dictate, it could be dangerous. It is the legal responsibility of the overtaking driver not yours.

[Elizabeth_S]

Yes, we were in our car before Christmas on one of those awkward one and a half lane bits that splits into 2 before a roundabout, we saw the cyclist in front slow move into the side and look around, right we thought, he wants the right hand lane, so we slowed and stayed center lane till he moved out safely. Then we moved into the left hand lane. He didn't wave but he didn't have to as he was in the middle of a difficult lane change and it was only polite.
But then in September we were driving up to Strathyre past Callander and at this point we were on a very bendy bit of road at the Falls of Leny, I came up behind a cyclist, I slowed as I could see nothing and I knew the road was straight just over a small hill. The idiot behind me sounded his horn and the cyclist looked around annoyed, but it wasn't me! As soon as it was safe I overtook and then the idiot behind me overtook me unsafely (I was not a happy bunny), so I hope he realized then it wasn't me on the horn.

[Vantage]

One thing that has been increasingly on my mind over the last few months is that while some may argue that we are not responsible for the actions of others on the road, I would argue that we are.
If me pulling onto a side road to let a truck pass me safely without him/her having to move into the opposite lane then I've just made that stretch of road alot safer. If I slow to let a motorist pull out from a side road onto the main road then I might have saved that driver from getting irrate from having to wait further and doing something stupid.
A few seconds of waiting time to be be courteous to another road user isnt going to put a huge dent in my day and when I get a thankyou hoot, honk or flashing hazard lights, my day is all the better for it

[Tigerbiten]

Do not confuse an invite to overtake with being courteous! By all means raise you right hand in thanks for a safe overtake, but please don't try and dictate, it could be dangerous. It is the legal responsibility of the overtaking driver not yours.

If I've any doubt that the overtake will be unsafe I won't wave the traffic behind passed.
So 99 out of 100 the stuff I wave passed will overtake anyway.
The ones that don't tend to turn left at the next junction ........

With lorries it's to show the driver I know they are there and I'm happy for them to overtake me at speed. Being low and on three wheels means that I don't get buffeted by the vehicle's draft as it comes passed, hence I'm happy to be overtaken at speed as long as I've got some room.

The two times I wave cars passed me is either coming out of a corner and I can see the road ahead is clear but the car driver still cannot.
Or when a car is stuck behind me due to oncoming traffic and a big enough gap appears in the oncoming traffic so the car behind me can safely overtake.
This way I use the wave as an acknowledgement that they have waited and can now go passed.

[Rob Archer]

The following is a column I wrote for my local paper a few years ago:

Manners

I had an interesting experience a couple of weeks ago. I was cycling up the narrow lane that runs from West Newton, past the old water tower, towards Anmer, when I saw three big cars (Range Rovers, I believe) coming towards me. I moved over to the left, but the first car passed me without slowing down much and forced me to go on to the grass at the side of the road. It wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it was annoying. The second car moved across to the side of the road and stopped, allowing me to pass, and I waved my thanks. The driver of the first Range Rover probably felt he was doing a far too important job to slow down for a mere cyclist. The driver of that second car, an older lady wearing a headscarf (and let’s just say she is fairly well known!), understood that good road manners are not dictated by the size of the vehicle we ride or drive, or our status in society.

I see a lack of good road manners nearly every day. I have to cycle down London Road and turn right into Checker Street across oncoming traffic. Usually the traffic is so heavy that I won’t get across unless somebody gives way. On most days vehicles continue to stream past, seemingly oblivious to the queue building up behind me. Other cars will try to pass me from behind on the left – often far too close and sometimes driving onto the footway to do so. It is often several minutes before someone will slow down and let me in. Bad manners aren’t confined to motorists either. I see far too many cyclists hurtling perilously close to pedestrians on the Sandringham Railway path, and pedestrians walking four abreast on cycleways, forcing cyclists to a halt.

Good manners on the road aren’t generally enshrined in the Highway Code. There’s no law that says you should give way unless road markings or signs say so. There is no legal requirement to acknowledge someone who has just let you out of a side turning, nor is there a written rule to say that cyclists shouldn’t ‘buzz’ pedestrians on shared-use paths. That’s because courtesy can’t be enforced by law – it’s an attitude of mind.

Those of us with children take great pains to teach them good manners; to say ‘please’, ‘thank you’ or ‘excuse me’. We stress the importance of eating properly and of waiting our turn in a queue. Do we teach them the same attitudes to courtesy when they start to ride a bike or, maybe eventually learn to drive a car? Good road manners are cumulative. If I give way to someone, or acknowledge a driver or cyclist who has given way to me, they are more likely to extend that courtesy to someone else - to the benefit of all of us.

A smile, a wave, a flash of the lights or a touch on the brakes costs nothing, yet can make the difference between a stressful ordeal and a pleasant journey.



Incidentally, I'm now writing again and it's on the paper's website: http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/opinion/ ... -1-5785654

[StellaLdn.]

Absolutely agree. It's a give and take. Yesterday, I had a bus (!) stop to let me go first. I thanked him with a smile and wave. I get a mixed bag every day. Some will toot because I'm in the middle of the lane and they think I don't belong there, then I have those who drive into a gap to give me enough space when they come towards me in a narrow road.
Likewise, if I know the road's narrow and I see a gap, I motion them to pass me. I rarely get a thank you for that, but doesn't matter.
A smile, a mouthed thank you, a wave ... it all goes a long way and if we cyclist try to show drivers that we are indeed a considerate species, then it'll help everyone.

Oh, and welcome, cold_wet_and tired.