Cycling in slow moving traffic

[esjadee]

Hi all. I'm fairly new to cycling & have been commuting to work for a couple of months now and am amazed at the way some car drivers seem to put cyclists at the bottom of the food chain! So far I have had to slam the anchors on because a driver thought it would make sense to overtake me after I had signalled to turn right!!!!!! Also, I very often have to go up onto the pavement because I am being literally squeezed off the road.

I like to think I am a responsible cyclist I stop at lights, crossings etc and religiously follow the highway code. The only time I break the rules is when I feel my life is under threat from drivers who want to own the whole road. What I would like to know is: are there any rules regarding me passing slow moving traffic on the left? This seems to me the most dangerous time because a lot of drivers seem to resent the fact that I am still moving whilst they are not and this is when they start to squeeze me out.

I do not cycle very fast so would not feel safe weaving in & out of the traffic as I've seem some cyclists do. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Don Shipp]

Hi all. I'm fairly new to cycling & have been commuting to work for a couple of months now and am amazed at the way some car drivers seem to put cyclists at the bottom of the food chain! So far I have had to slam the anchors on because a driver thought it would make sense to overtake me after I had signalled to turn right!!!!!! Also, I very often have to go up onto the pavement because I am being literally squeezed off the road.

I like to think I am a responsible cyclist I stop at lights, crossings etc and religiously follow the highway code. The only time I break the rules is when I feel my life is under threat from drivers who want to own the whole road. What I would like to know is: are there any rules regarding me passing slow moving traffic on the left? This seems to me the most dangerous time because a lot of drivers seem to resent the fact that I am still moving whilst they are not and this is when they start to squeeze me out.

I do not cycle very fast so would not feel safe weaving in & out of the traffic as I've seem some cyclists do. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

I cycle in London and do not have all the problems that you have. But I have both cycled and driven in Bristol and can say that without doubt it has the worst designed road system that I have ever seen.
Passing on the left seems to be a bit of a grey area legally, but realistically cyclists have to do it. If you want to increase your chances of survival by 25% then NEVER pass lorries on the left because they don't know that you are there and will squash you flat. If you want to increase your chances of survival by about 125% then move out of Bristol. I honestly left that place thinking that the only reason that it was marked on a map was so that cyclists could avoid it.