Getting Honked at in London

[yomiyomi]

Hi, I started cycling a couple of months ago commuting in London. I follow the traffic rules and even took a couple of cycling lessons to make sure I was doing everything correctly, but there is one stretch of road I regularly get honked at and wanted to check if what I was doing was okay.

This road comes up to a four-way junction at which I turn right. At the point where I join the road, it is in two lanes, one of which is a bus lane. I mostly use this along with other cyclists until I reach a traffic light (still going straight ahead) at which point I indicate and get into the right lane, which is the only lane cars can use. From this point it is maximum 50 yards until the next traffic lights and the junction at which I turn, and at this point the car lane separates into another two lanes, one for going straight and another for turning right, so three lanes in total including the bus lane.

If I stay in the bus lane (which seems to be what the honkers want me to do so that they can overtake) until this late then I am totally stuffed and stand no chance of getting into the right turning lane without trying to weave through the cars (dangerous when there are HGVs and vans and I don't know when the light's going to go), so as early as possible I like to take primary position in the right hand car lane, when it is the only lane for cars. And I ALWAYS. get. honked. at. It's 50 yards at most where I take this position from until the turning, and traffic gets backed up. And I always always always cycle straight past the car that honked at me anyway, they weren't getting anywhere faster by honking at me to overtake.

This keeps happening though, am I doing something wrong? Am I supposed to approach this another way, or are they just disgruntled morning commuters? It happens very regularly, and I'm not a very fast cyclist but I'm not snail-pace either.


Thanks everyone!

[DaveReading]

I'd say you were doing nothing wrong and simply being sensible. Can you say what junction you're referring to?

[brooksby]

Doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong! I think it's just London drivers...

[yomiyomi]

I'd say you were doing nothing wrong and simply being sensible. Can you say what junction you're referring to?

Thank you, I thought I was but it's constant, the honking!

The junction is Cambridge Heath Road joining Whitechapel Road where I thankfully get onto the CS2 cycle lane and don't get honked at.

[Lance Dopestrong]

Look on the bright side. Within a decade they'll either be legislated or priced off the roads of London.

[mjr]

I'd say you were doing nothing wrong and simply being sensible. Can you say what junction you're referring to?

Thank you, I thought I was but it's constant, the honking!

The junction is Cambridge Heath Road joining Whitechapel Road where I thankfully get onto the CS2 cycle lane and don't get honked at.

That's a junction which has had a problem with abusive motorists and inactive police for so long that there's also provision for a hook turn if you prefer: stay left, cycle straight ahead in the marked cycle lane until almost across the junction, then pull left into CS2, turn right to face the direction you want to go and wait for a green light. You do have to wait for the second green light, but the sequence meant it came next the last time I rode that junction. It's what some of us do informally elsewhere, or has been formally provided at some junctions outside London for 25+ years. Here's TfL's informercial from a few years ago:
[youtube]6AOWm-yKey8[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AOWm-yKey8

Turning right from the bike box in the usual way is also permitted, of course, so you're doing nothing wrong IMO.

[Marcus Aurelius]

You’re doing the right thing. If you get honked, just salute whoever honked you, and carry on. You have to be assertive, without being aggressive. Carry on as you are, don’t fret about honky honky motons too much.

[yomiyomi]

I'd say you were doing nothing wrong and simply being sensible. Can you say what junction you're referring to?

Thank you, I thought I was but it's constant, the honking!

The junction is Cambridge Heath Road joining Whitechapel Road where I thankfully get onto the CS2 cycle lane and don't get honked at.

That's a junction which has had a problem with abusive motorists and inactive police for so long that there's also provision for a hook turn if you prefer: stay left, cycle straight ahead in the marked cycle lane until almost across the junction, then pull left into CS2, turn right to face the direction you want to go and wait for a green light. You do have to wait for the second green light, but the sequence meant it came next the last time I rode that junction. It's what some of us do informally elsewhere, or has been formally provided at some junctions outside London for 25+ years. Here's TfL's informercial from a few years ago:
[youtube]6AOWm-yKey8[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AOWm-yKey8

Turning right from the bike box in the usual way is also permitted, of course, so you're doing nothing wrong IMO.

Thanks so much for this! I might try it tomorrow, sometimes the traffic's clear and I can easily get to the right but if I get there and it's really back up I'll try this turn instead.

[yomiyomi]

You’re doing the right thing. If you get honked, just salute whoever honked you, and carry on. You have to be assertive, without being aggressive. Carry on as you are, don’t fret about honky honky motons too much.

Thanks, I'll try the salute next time, that's a good way to show I'm aware they want to overtake but that I'm not just obliviously cycling in the middle of the road and won't be moving out of their way. This morning all I managed was shouting "I'm allowed to be here!" as they drove past which probably just sounded like garbled nonsense.

[mercalia]

London drivers. even some speedy cyclists do it - "get out of my way"

[Lance Dopestrong]

That's a junction which has had a problem with abusive motorists and inactive police for so long that there's also provision for a hook turn if you prefer: stay left, cycle straight ahead in the marked cycle lane until almost across the junction, then pull left into CS2, turn right to face the direction you want to go and wait for a green light. You do have to wait for the second green light, but the sequence meant it came next the last time I rode that junction. It's what some of us do informally elsewhere, or has been formally provided at some junctions outside London for 25+ years. Here's TfL's informercial from a few years ago:
[youtube]6AOWm-yKey8[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AOWm-yKey8

Turning right from the bike box in the usual way is also permitted, of course, so you're doing nothing wrong IMO.

Thanks for posting that. I've not ridden in Laarndon for some years and that's an interesting snippet.

[LollyKat]

The video assumes that the "refuge" for the second stage of the turn won't still be filled with drivers from the left that have jumped their red light, or who have continued forwards in slow, heavy traffic even though it should have been obvious that they wouldn't get through the junction in time.

[mjr]

Thanks for posting that. I've not ridden in Laarndon for some years and that's an interesting snippet.

If you want to try a hook turn, I think turning right off National Cycle Route 6 at the east end of Mare Fair in Northampton may be an opportunity for you (conventional right turns are prohibited there), but it's not as good as some (sadly normal for Northants cycling) because a pseudo-footway cycleway ("shared path") is used and I suspect you'll have to wait twice or end up on the front of a stream of released cars.

The video assumes that the "refuge" for the second stage of the turn won't still be filled with drivers from the left that have jumped their red light, or who have continued forwards in slow, heavy traffic even though it should have been obvious that they wouldn't get through the junction in time.

It's off the usual driving line, plus there's a fairly wide pedestrian crossing between the stop line and the turning/waiting space, so it's only the most determined lawbreakers who jump the red far enough to obstruct it. The junction probably should have a yellow box, but it's huge and seems to work most of the time. On streetview at the moment, someone's waiting at the neighbouring one (turning right from Whitechapel Road into Cambridge Heath Road): https://showmystreet.com/#uo8ye_-17dy_g