What's the point...

[paulcuthbert]

...In wearing a hi-vis jacket on a bike if you go through every single red light and break every rule in the book? It doesn't make any sense to me.

Glasgow is full of these people and it's starting to get on my nerves! Should I say something next time I see someone go past me as I'm waiting at the lights...?

[hubgearfreak]

Should I say something next time I see someone go past me as I'm waiting at the lights...?

no

[paulcuthbert]

Why not?

[kwackers]

Why not?

Three choices.

They'll thank you and modify their behaviour.
They'll ignore you.
They'll tell you were to get off (or worse.)

There is another alternative. Learn tolerance - the same stuff you're forced to use when some plonker in a car nearly takes you out.
At the end of the day despite your obvious belief they're endangering themselves the stats don't agree.

[anothereye]

If I was going to break every rule in the book (or just a few) I'd definitely wear a high vis jacket!

[gilesjuk]

Indeed. When taking a huge risk always wear safety gear

[reohn2]

...........There is another alternative. Learn tolerance - the same stuff you're forced to use when some plonker in a car nearly takes you out.

Why should anyone tolerate car drivers who nearly take you out?
Example,on a 17% to 20% climb I was going up yesterday, when half way up (its about 500mtrs before it eases to 10% for another 1000mtrs) there was a car parked on my nearside (there is nothing else on the road and I'm in the lovely Lancashire countryside) plonker in Golf decides its the perfect place to overtake,giving my less than a foot of room,me being out of the saddle going slowly,for its the only way I go up 20% climbs.As he passes I shout something along the lines of "please don't do that"(or words to that effect) plonker decides to stop and make an issue of it(it has to be said that plonker turns out to be about my age,mid fifties) he begins his tiraid by shouting that I was all over the road,I explain the all too apparent gradient may have something to do with it,where upon the expletives begin(I'd like to point out here that he has to Christian fish symbol on the boot lid).
At this point I give him two options,either get out of the car so we can settle this like gentlemen ,or go away in an Anglo Saxon manner.
He does the latter.
I have no tolerence of idiots who haven't the common sense to realise the obvious when its staring them in the face.
I would have reported him without a word uttered if I thought we had a police force worth reporting it to.

That unfortunately is the unenviable situation that we as cyclists tend to encounter on a regular basis in the UK.Tolerate it? never! for if we do, it becomes the norm for plonkers to abuse us and we become sport for,stupid,irrational,bad driving, plonkers.

Rant over!

In answer to the OP, let the loonies run the reds, its their funeral.
As my Dad used to say "you can talk all day to a chap with a wooden leg, but not to one with a wooden head"

[mw3230]

...........There is another alternative. Learn tolerance - the same stuff you're forced to use when some plonker in a car nearly takes you out.

That unfortunately is the unenviable situation that we as cyclists tend to encounter on a regular basis in the UK.Tolerate it? never! for if we do, it becomes the norm for plonkers to abuse us and we become sport for,stupid,irrational,bad driving, plonkers.

Rant over!

In answer to the OP, let the loonies run the reds, its their funeral.
As my Dad used to say "you can talk all day to a chap with a wooden leg, but not to one with a wooden head"

I'm all for having a go and I regularly shout the odds at errant motorists but it does little good as they usually can't hear. On those occasions when I have got into a slanging match with a buffoon I've ended up feeling as if I was as bad as them and it spoiled my ride a bit. I guess I'm suggesting tolerance - pointing out the error of their ways is unlikely to improve their driving and the ensuing argument leaves a bad taste. Defeatist? I don't think so, tolerant? yes.

By the way, your Dad's saying is so true!

[reohn2]

I'm all for having a go and I regularly shout the odds at errant motorists but it does little good as they usually can't hear. On those occasions when I have got into a slanging match with a buffoon I've ended up feeling as if I was as bad as them and it spoiled my ride a bit. I guess I'm suggesting tolerance - pointing out the error of their ways is unlikely to improve their driving and the ensuing argument leaves a bad taste. Defeatist? I don't think so, tolerant? yes.

By the way, your Dad's saying is so true!

I can keep a lid on things most of the time, but when something so obvious and blatent happens it isn't so easy,perhaps its my lack of self discipline and that I'm so angery and or threatened by the stupid actions of other road users I can't contain it.Whatever,my "word" with the errent driver did help in getting up the same climb the other two times(I use the climb as strength training) on that ride though
In the past on the tandem occasionally when hills have been so steep(say 20%+) we have had to tack up them,I can remember on one occasion a car waited patiently behind us until we got to the top then said as he passed through the open passenger window how well we'd done getting up it .
From the sublime to the ridiculaus,but then thats life.
PS My Dad had a few choice sayings one was "always stand up to a bully"

[ANTONISH]

Interesting thread this - I'm interested to know if those displaying the "Iron Kipper" are automatically more in the right than the more secularly inclined.
I haven't found that they are more considerate in an overtake but have to confess to not keeping a statisical record. Apart from the occasional Sikh symbol I have seen little evidence of other religions carrying these sorts of symbols.

[kwackers]

...........There is another alternative. Learn tolerance - the same stuff you're forced to use when some plonker in a car nearly takes you out.

That unfortunately is the unenviable situation that we as cyclists tend to encounter on a regular basis in the UK.Tolerate it? never! for if we do, it becomes the norm for plonkers to abuse us and we become sport for,stupid,irrational,bad driving, plonkers.

Rant over!

In answer to the OP, let the loonies run the reds, its their funeral.
As my Dad used to say "you can talk all day to a chap with a wooden leg, but not to one with a wooden head"

I'm all for having a go and I regularly shout the odds at errant motorists but it does little good as they usually can't hear. On those occasions when I have got into a slanging match with a buffoon I've ended up feeling as if I was as bad as them and it spoiled my ride a bit. I guess I'm suggesting tolerance - pointing out the error of their ways is unlikely to improve their driving and the ensuing argument leaves a bad taste. Defeatist? I don't think so, tolerant? yes.

By the way, your Dad's saying is so true!

Exactly. I've chased and caught people after particularly hairy moments - does it make a difference? Not a jot. They're invariably in the right and foul mouthed with it. All I end up with is a ruined day spent going over the events in my head, it isn't worth it.
For the most part I simply keep quiet, calm down and enjoy the ride. Occasionally when my temper gets the best of me then the best I can hope for is the drivers go away, calm down and reconsider their actions, but as an amateur observer of human behaviour all I've ever seen is the evidence that we're brilliant at shifting blame and an irate cyclist is unlikely to change that.

[goatwarden]

Interesting thread this - I'm interested to know if those displaying the "Iron Kipper" are automatically more in the right than the more secularly inclined.
I haven't found that they are more considerate in an overtake but have to confess to not keeping a statisical record. Apart from the occasional Sikh symbol I have seen little evidence of other religions carrying these sorts of symbols.

I have no real evidence of the driving abilities or relative self righteousness of people with a fish on their car. However my wife and I regularly describe people on Motorways as “driving like a Christian” as there does seem to be a close correlation between fish on cars and drives sitting hunched and too close to the steering wheel.

[reohn2]

paulcuthbert

I'm sorry I seem to have hijacked this thread I'll start another..........

[crossroads]

The highway code says the "allthough some of the rules for cyclists are the law and others are advisory, it is Okay for any cyclists to ignore any of them as and when they see fit.", which makes it all Okay

[paulcuthbert]

The highway code says the "allthough some of the rules for cyclists are the law and others are advisory, it is Okay for any cyclists to ignore any of them as and when they see fit.", which makes it all Okay

I doubt it says that.

Yeah, what was all the talk about drivers?? I was talking about cyclists RLJing, not bad-driving!

Here's one for you... if a cyclist knocks down a pedestrian when he goes through a red light, but the green man is not out- who is in the wrong there?