Cycling UK Forum

hi thelawnet,
it seems to me you are an -assertive-[dogmatic,aggresive]ie not riding as close to the kerb as circumstances allow.guttersniping.

Indeed they are annoying they approach side roads into which they are turning then have to call a warning to 2 pedestrians who cannot be bothered to look over their shoulder to check there is not a vehicle actually attempting the turning, before stepping off the kerb, on top of which they have temerity not to have used a bell instead of a shouted warning.

Mick F wrote:I was driving yesterday and was behind a caravan.

Now THAT's annoying!

Why?

reohn2 wrote:

Mick F wrote:I was driving yesterday and was behind a caravan.

Now THAT's annoying!

Why?

I expect he meant that driving was annoying

I'm sure Reohn2 knew that.

I think Mick is making the point that inevitably road users annoy each other because we're only human and no-one likes being held up or otherwise inconvenienced.

The problem is when a person believes they have a God-given right not to be held up, whether it's a cyclist ignoring a red light or a motorist passing close. Or tailgating a caravan.

Spot on.

Driving, I do less of it nowadays but drove 50,000miles a year back in the past - you encounter annoying things.

Horses?
Tractors?
JCBs?
Sheep and cattle?
None of these are annoying because they generally need to be there and they tend not to be on the road for many miles.

Caravans and caravanettes OTOH, can be in front of you for hours! No chance of seeing in front, no chance of overtaking, no chance of them pulling over to let the faster traffic through.

Cyclists?
Why are they annoying?
Normally because the driver cannot get it into his thick skull that he can overtake a little way down the road. Just like:
Horses
Tractors
JCBs
Sheep and cattle

ronyrash wrote:hi thelawnet,
it seems to me you are an -assertive-[dogmatic,aggresive]ie not riding as close to the kerb as circumstances allow.guttersniping.

Well maybe.

But the point of my OP was that:

* on shared use paths you will annoy/scare parents with small children, joggers, old people
* on towpaths you will annoy anglers and all of the above as well
* on roads you will annoy motorists.

You can perhaps ride in the gutter and give way to all motorists on road, but I don't really see why I should. My journey is as worthwhile is theirs, I pay my road taxes, I take up less space than they do.

eileithyia wrote:Indeed they are annoying they approach side roads into which they are turning then have to call a warning to 2 pedestrians who cannot be bothered to look over their shoulder to check there is not a vehicle actually attempting the turning, before stepping off the kerb, on top of which they have temerity not to have used a bell instead of a shouted warning.

Erm - you're meant to give way to pedestrians crossing the entrances to side roads.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTr ... /DG_070332

Lots of drivers don't seem to know this either.

But they hadn't started to cross, until I virtually ran into them, I was always taught to look before in all directions before I started to cross at a junction.

jezer wrote:

reohn2 wrote:

Mick F wrote:I was driving yesterday and was behind a caravan.

Now THAT's annoying!

Why?

I expect he meant that driving was annoying

For some people (and I'm not saying this isn't nessecarily MickF's take on it) everyone and anyone outside their own percieved legitimate road user is illegitimate and as thats the result of a twisted mind ie;prejudice,I feel I have a right to challenge such statements.

Mick F wrote:Caravans and caravanettes OTOH, can be in front of you for hours! No chance of seeing in front, no chance of overtaking, no chance of them pulling over to let the faster traffic through.

Mick
Twaddle.
Caravans have as much right to be there as you,admitedly when they see they're holding up traffic they should pull into the next laybye etc and let it clear,some do.
However(I like that word ) if they can't,they can't,so sit tight until they can.
If you can't around them then you're driving too close.
The world and the road belongs to everyone.

I agree of course. Just playing with the argument.
They have every right to use the road, just like cyclists, pedestrians and horses.

To a petrol head, which is MOST annoying?
Bicycle, caravan, pedestrian or horse?

To a Real+Sensible road user, which - if any - is annoying?
Bicycle, caravan, pedestrian or horse?

Some caravans you really can't see around. No matter where you are positioned.

Personally I like tractors - good pocket of air behind them

Caravans and the like are marginally frustrating, just imagine how awful it would be if hgvs stuck to their speed limits.

I suspect the "leisure" argument comes into this. People on important business, or travelling to/from work, hate being delayed by people they regard as at leisure.

The exception to this rule, IME, is lorry drivers. Almost all show no impatience at me. (They may be cursing me in the privacy of their cabs or in internet forums, of course.)

snibgo wrote:I suspect the "leisure" argument comes into this. People on important business, or travelling to/from work, hate being delayed by people they regard as at leisure.

The exception to this rule, IME, is lorry drivers. Almost all show no impatience at me. (They may be cursing me in the privacy of their cabs or in internet forums, of course.)

I have a feeling that most hybrid drivers know that a mile or slow at a little under pace won't make then ninety million years late.