Proposed change to the Highway Code (1 Viewer)

[SGNV]

Agree that I have seen plenty of lycra clads around here doing the most incredibly stupid things and pedestrians who think they own the road and any vehicle must stop for them. But then I also got rid of my bike (the type with a basket, no lycra-cringe) as fed up with cars regularly overtaking so close they actually clipped my handlebars. And yes I get pedestrian rage too at the amount of times I am obviously meant to be clairvoyant and just know that that car will turn even though they are not indicating and then get nearly knocked over, hooted at and other nice things because I started crossing the road. Guess I agree that it is about being considerate and remembering that you are not the only one about and that the 2 seconds you gain isn't that much at the end of the day, not worth it.
I'm Belgian, as so many of us there cycle we actually had cycle lessons as part of the curriculum. I think the day to day cycling I grew up with is far less developed here.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

Per cycle maybe but with Link Removed not in total

THEY COULD TAX THEM ALL, think of the chance for a bit of income there, same as they want to with caravans and trailers with an MOT as well.
I actually BOUGHT another NEW Highway code the other day and found it not a patch on the older ones, difficult to see what they mean in some situations, as there seems a lot less pictures SHOWING what is meant, there is not much on SMART Motorways (oxymoron) which is what I wanted to check on.

 

[busby]

THEY COULD TAX THEM ALL, think of the chance for a bit of income there, same as they want to with caravans and trailers with an MOT as well.
I actually BOUGHT another NEW Highway code the other day and found it not a patch on the older ones, difficult to see what they mean in some situations, as there seems a lot less pictures SHOWING what is meant, there is not much on SMART Motorways (oxymoron) which is what I wanted to check on.

Modern drivers seem to be totally ignorant of The Highway Code,,,,BUSBY,,

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[Silver-Fox]

I thought that it already stated in the HC that motorists should give way to pedestrians at junctions.

Yep pedestrians have right of way over any other type of traffic

 

[Silver-Fox]

I spend a lot of time driving in London - despite all the warnings, it's still very common for cyclists to ride up the inside of large vehicles at junction. Personally, I honestly don't give a hoot about anyone who dumb enough to take such a stupid risk (the gene pool is better off without them). However, I do feel sorry for whoever it is who gets the job of jet washing their remains off the lorry.
Harsh ? not really ...
Maybe if cyclists used a bit of common sense and employed slight modicum of self preservation whilst surrounded by traffic we wouldn't have to spoon feed the lower end of the intelligence scale.

My commiseration for your necessity to drive a lot in London.

Every time I have been into the city I can live with the interesting way some drive their cars/motorbikes. Pedestrians seem to have a bit more respect for a ton or two of metal traveling along the highway.
But cyclists are a breed apart, all i can say is some of the decision making is interesting.

 

[Khizzie]

Cyclists are users of vehicles on the road, nothing more.
They are not a special case, even though the arrogance of some of them makes them think they are.
Education of cyclists would be of greater value to road users in general rather than forcing people who have been tested for competence in road use to pander to these people and take on responsibility for cyclists incompetent stupidity.
I know many cyclists are also car drivers, please don't come out with the usual "I have been tested, I pay road tax on my forty vehicles, etc" rubbish, all of which goes out of the window when most folk get on a bike.
They seem to think the Highway Code and common courtesy to other road users don't apply to them.
For a good example of lack of manners and consideration for others watch the lycra idiots on canal towpaths.
Many think footpaths are cycle paths, they having priority over pedestrians.

All of this doesn't apply to all cyclists by any means, but it doesn't have to be all of them for one clown to get himself killed for the cycling world to cry foul.

Change the Highway Code by all means, but change it to make the cyclist actually cycle more safely by imposing the same level of penalties for misdeeds as "enjoyed" by the motorist.
Moving the onus for their safety away from them to the ordinary, tax paying motorist is not the way forward, it would simply reinforce the current levels of bad road behaviour.

I pay road tax, not the cyclist.
That should give ME priority, not the cyclist.

Sit back and wait for:
I never do it.....
I pay road tax on my car....(irrelevant)..
It's always the car driver's fault.....
Lorry drivers are cyclist hating scum....
It only happens in the cities...
etc.

Well said and very well put ..thankyou..

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[Tootles]

Of course "road tax" doesn't exist anymore.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23694438

Martin

Right......So I'm paying the best part of a grand a year to the STREET FAIRY, who comes into my room late at night, dressed as a DVLA official, and waves a magic traffic cone, which allows me to drive in my own vehicle(s) in my own country FOR FREE!! Whilst Sir Bradley Socks Down Lycra pays absolutely sod allski to hog the road with his ass in the air mates, close down the best part of Yorkshire once a year, while they pretend to be winning some stupid French perambulator race.
That seems perfectly fair. Maybe they should give you money off your ROAD TAX your not paying, to knock a few Lycra Louts off their lightweight cast alloy shopping trolleys. Lets say a tenner a cyclist?? That would thin them out a tad.

 

[funflair]

Right......So I'm paying the best part of a grand a year to the STREET FAIRY, who comes into my room late at night, dressed as a DVLA official, and waves a magic traffic cone, which allows me to drive in my own vehicle(s) in my own country FOR FREE!! Whilst Sir Bradley Socks Down Lycra pays absolutely sod allski to hog the road with his ass in the air mates, close down the best part of Yorkshire once a year, while they pretend to be winning some stupid French perambulator race.
That seems perfectly fair. Maybe they should give you money off your ROAD TAX your not paying, to knock a few Lycra Louts off their lightweight cast alloy shopping trolleys. Lets say a tenner a cyclist?? That would thin them out a tad.

Carbon fibre sir, nothing as hum drum as alloy.

Martin

 

[Tootles]

Carbon fibre sir, nothing as hum drum as alloy.

Martin

I apologise. My bicycle building knowledge ended with the demise of the great Harry Hall.

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[The Wino]

So what would happen with an artic lorry turning left with a cyclist trying to get down the inside. If the lorry stopped and the cyclist hit him the lorry would be at fault. If he continued and mashed the cyclist he would also be at fault. Doesn't seem very fair to me and I don't drive a lorry!!

 

[Silver-Fox]

Those of you who know will you answer this for me please? Overtaking in the UK is always to be carried out by passing the vehicle on the right, undertaking is illegal, (at least in my understanding) so why at a junction when a cyclist rides up the left hand side of a queue of vehicles and then gets trapped as the lead vehicle turns left is it the vehicle drivers fault? If that vehicle is a lorry there is no way he can leave enough room to allow the cyclist to turn left along side him. (assuming the cyclist is turning left and not going straight on)

Err yes and no.

Normally you overtake on the right, this is whilst the traffic is moving. I'm not sure of the speed of the traffic has to be but certainly above walking speed.
You may overtake on the inside of moving traffic when on a two lane traffic where there is a dedicated lane to turn right and on the approach to that lane.

Now slow moving or stationary traffic is a different matter.
When on two wheels motorised or not we have a thing called filtering. On two wheels you may "filter" on either the inside or outside of the traffic.

When I'm driving slowly or stationary I encourage any filtering to be done on my outside and move to my left to help the filterer stay within the white lines. I have been driving vans in the course of my building work for years and there is nothing worse than some one squeezing down the inside, especially when the get to the blind spot.

As for the riding up the inside of a large vehicle.
My understanding is the overtaker/filterer has the responsibility to do so safely.
If there is no forward box to wait in as a two wheeler you really should get well forward of the front vehicle to ensure they can see you. If the traffic starts to move whilst you are filtering ensure you don't ride on the inside of a vehicle indicating to turn left, that is common sense.

IMHO

 

[Ninovan]

Several years ago, I was on horseback riding along a B road wide enough for two cars. I was close into the side & was overtaken (at speed) by a car who was close enough to hit my right stirrup with his mirror. Not only that, he blew his horn as well. Total w****r. Amazing the damage a large horse can do a vehicle when frightened. Thank God mine was bomb proof!

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[Silver-Fox]

Several years ago, I was on horseback riding along a B road wide enough for two cars. I was close into the side & was overtaken (at speed) by a car who was close enough to hit my right stirrup with his mirror. Not only that, he blew his horn as well. Total w****r. Amazing the damage a large horse can do a vehicle when frightened. Thank God mine was bomb proof!

Having had a daughter that rode I was always worried about her out on the road and the way car drivers would react around horses.

 

[Abacist]

Driving around animals requires a modicum of common sense. Unfortunately there a quite a few lacking in that department. Even city goers have no excuse because the police use mounted officers. Generally those who live away from the conurbations are probably more careful. Hitting any animal can cause serious damage to a car e.g Badger, deer, fox and wild boar let alone ponies, cattle, sheep, pigs and horses!

 

[Daz n Tina]

I don't understand the mentality of SOME cyclists,. In Emsworth the council spent thousands of pounds resurfacing and widening the cycle lanes to make them nice and smooth. So now the majority cycle on the road two abreast which is full of portholes.

Cyclists then wonder why drivers get agitated.

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[Tootles]

When on two wheels motorised or not we have a thing called filtering. On two wheels you may "filter" on either the inside or outside of the traffic.

No you may not!! If you tried that one on your motorcycle test, or your advanced course, you would soon get a kick up the ass! If your turning left at a junction, you wait in queue. If your going across, you wait in queue, or filter to the right. Filtering on the left is just suicide, but I do note that many cyclists do it. It saves them a few seconds on their ride to the mortuary.

 

[GJH]

Whilst Sir Bradley Socks Down Lycra pays absolutely sod allski to hog the road with his ass in the air mates

In future, though, maybe only one day a week? TUEsday?

 

[buttons]

Yes, the Extra Care section seems to cover it.
Before making changes, making people abide by what exists would be a start.
I was stopped at these traffic lights this morning, pouring with rain. A cyclist holding a golf umbrella in his left hand and the handlebar in his right left the refuge on the right, crossed the road passing the central traffic light on my side (rather than cross the central refuge) and the crossed onto the pavement at the side of the bridge.
If anything had gone wrong he would, no doubt, have been the first to complain.

I drive every day in what are the most congested roads in the country by far, the roads are loaded to the gunnels with every type of road user yet I never come across the sort of problems that anti cycle car users have with cyclists. Do you go out of your way to analyse every move a cyclist makes.....

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[GJH]

I drive every day in what are the most congested roads in the country by far, the roads are loaded to the gunnels with every type of road user yet I never come across the sort of problems that anti cycle car users have with cyclists. Do you go out of your way to analyse every move a cyclist makes.....

You don't have to do much analysis when a dipstick rides past a couple of feet from the end of the bonnet.

 

[Tootles]

anti cycle car users have with cyclists.

You have that in reverse I think, Mr B.
Being REALLY BORED in a hospital waiting room, I flipped through a copy of a monthly cycling periodical, and was amazed by an article advocating WW3 against motorists! How to 'wind them up', whilst recording the same on camera. This sometimes backfires, however.............

 

[buttons]

You have that in reverse I think, Mr B.
Being REALLY BORED in a hospital waiting room, I flipped through a copy of a monthly cycling periodical, and was amazed by an article advocating WW3 against motorists! How to 'wind them up', whilst recording the same on camera. This sometimes backfires, however.............

I'm not even going to view your anti cycle propaganda videos MrT. It is not before time that we come in line with progressive countries like Holland and make motor vehicles liable for the cyclists safety. Some car users are absolute dicks......

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[Tootles]

I'm not even going to view your anti cycle propaganda videos MrT. It is not before time that we come in line with progressive countries like Holland and make motor vehicles liable for the cyclists safety. Some car users are absolute dicks......

And so, your that BIASED and anti car, that you wont watch a vid that shows a clown on two wheel falling off, because he decided to stick two fingers up at a motorist! That's really rich!
Its about time we came into line with America, where bikes are banned on most roads, soon to be added to with a ban on 'farm to market' routes, or North Korea, where all women are banned from cycling, as they are in Saudi.
Lets put bikes where they belong. Port Talbot Smelting Plant.

 

[DavidG58]

Good video that Toots, the cyclist deserved all he got, but only for the one fingered salute he unnecessarily and very rudely used, but a good example of awful spacial awareness by the car that they even thought it appropriate to pass at the reduced road width where the bollards were

To be fair to the car driver they may have used their horn exactly as prescribed in the highway code to make the cyclist aware of their presence not suggesting they were trying to pass at that point, but from what I see a lot of car drivers would have passed in that pinch point with only inches between them and the cyclist

If all road users drove with their eyes fully open and anticipated more.........

well then we wouldn't have these threads I guess

 

[GJH]

You have that in reverse I think, Mr B.

No, just more of his

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[Tootles]

but only for the one fingered salute he unnecessarily and very rudely used, but a good example of awful spacial awareness by the car that they even thought it appropriate to pass at the reduced road width where the bollards were

I saw it more as the cyclist pulling out wide to overtake the other bike, without either indicating, nor looking over his shoulder..........???

 

[buttons]

I saw it more as the cyclist pulling out wide to overtake the other bike, without either indicating, nor looking over his shoulder..........???

Why not admit it, that car driver carried out an idiotic overtaking maneuver with that width restriction in place. Fine for bikes to pass but only an insane car driver would expect to overtake at that point.

 

[Tootles]

Why not admit it, that car driver carried out an idiotic overtaking maneuver with that width restriction in place. Fine for bikes to pass but only an insane car driver would expect to overtake at that point.

Specsavers for you, Mr B. In the video you didnt watch, (by the way), the cyclist comes out of the cycle lane without checking, or indication, into a lane reserved for motor transport. The red car was still behind the idiot when he did turn around to 'indicate', so he didnt overtake as you say. There was plenty of room for the car to overtake between the pedestrian refuge and the cycle lane, there has to be, that's the law.

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[Ricardoe]

It would appear the cyclist was just waiting for a bit of abuse in a really ambiguous situation..he had a chip on his shoulder before he took off.the only thing that amazes me about this thread is the casual way some contributors feel about stupid cyclists almost deserving to get "ironed out"..Rick..cyclist,motorcyclist,motorist,optomist

 

[buttons]

Specsavers for you, Mr B. In the video you didnt watch, (by the way), the cyclist comes out of the cycle lane without checking, or indication, into a lane reserved for motor transport. The red car was still behind the idiot when he did turn around to 'indicate', so he didnt overtake as you say. There was plenty of room for the car to overtake between the pedestrian refuge and the cycle lane, there has to be, that's the law.

Driving is all about judgement on what other road users are doing. That car driver could plainly see the second cycle gaining on the first and should expect something like overtaking was inevitable. Overtaking at this point where the road markings reduce the road width would be insane. I have been blessed with this same video many times before so can quote it from memory....

 

[Larby]

I don't believe the motorist was attempting a pass but sounded the horn in response to the cyclist pulling out in front of the car. It would have been unwise for the motorist to have attempted to pass where it narrowed but suppose that car had been a motorbike? Then it could have been ok to overtake but then hitting the cyclist, now whose fault?
If I had been the driver of the red car I have to say it would have made my day seeing him fall off.

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