Cycling to work yesterday (Friday).

Martin Dann said:

I was cycling to work yesterday along a section of the A4174 ring road
(dual carriage-way), approaching a roundabout where I am going straight
ahead, two lanes filter off to the left for traffic heading onto the M32.

I was cycling in the middle of the left lane, before the left turn lanes
appeared, doing approx 25-30mph.

I heard a horn behind me. I glanced behind to see the driver
gesticulating wildly for me to pull over to the left and get out of his
way.

Said driver is just an [censored]. A rude, selfish [censored].
But realise something - he was hooting at you and gesturing because he
SAW you. You were in the right place in the road.
Better some [censored] to get angry than you to be injured by some SMIDSY clown.

"Martin Dann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was cycling to work yesterday along a section of the A4174 ring road
(dual carriage-way), approaching a roundabout where I am going straight
ahead, two lanes filter off to the left for traffic heading onto the M32.

I was cycling in the middle of the left lane, before the left turn lanes
appeared, doing approx 25-30mph.

I heard a horn behind me. I glanced behind to see the driver gesticulating
wildly for me to pull over to the left and get out of his way.

This seems a bit odd if it's a d/c road as he would have had an extra lane
to overtake in, or am I missing something?

cheers adrian www.boliston.co.uk

Adrian Boliston said:

This seems a bit odd if it's a d/c road as he would have had an extra lane
to overtake in, or am I missing something?

Quite a few drivers seem to forget there is an extra lane for
overtaking on roads like this. It's fair enough getting annoyed if
he's boxed in and stuck behind you (although he should just wait
patiently) but when there's an empty lane it's daft to sit there and
not do anything. It's not like he needed to turn left and wouldn't
have had time to overtake in the outside lane.

pete

naked_draughtsman wrote on 30/06/2007 11:02 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Adrian Boliston said:

This seems a bit odd if it's a d/c road as he would have had an extra lane
to overtake in, or am I missing something?

Quite a few drivers seem to forget there is an extra lane for
overtaking on roads like this. It's fair enough getting annoyed if
he's boxed in and stuck behind you (although he should just wait
patiently) but when there's an empty lane it's daft to sit there and
not do anything. It's not like he needed to turn left and wouldn't
have had time to overtake in the outside lane.

pete

He probably thought he was being very considerate by not overtaking and
then cutting the OP up to get over to the two left lanes for the
motorway ;-)

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

"Martin Dann" <[email hidden]> wrote >I was cycling to work
yesterday along a section of the

Quoted message said:

I was cycling in the middle of the left lane, before the left turn lanes
appeared, doing approx 25-30mph.

I heard a horn behind me. I glanced behind to see the driver gesticulating
wildly for me to pull over to the left and get out of his way.

I have been experimenting with my road positioning lately, and find that I
get buzzed less when I am in the middle of the lane. Is it really safer?
(I pull more to the left on slower bits).

I've seen an annoying trend where some drivers seem scared of crossing the
white lines between lanes to pass a cyclist, especially if they're 'no
overtaking' stripes or white hatching. so they'll squeeze you to alleviate
their conscience.

Also if I'm going the same speed as traffic there's still a 'get past'
mentality, rather than just holding back. If it's in a 30 they want to get
past but don't want to be seen as breaking the limit. When I'm in the car
I'll hold back from passing a cyclist (I've cycled since childhood, and
driven for 19 years so don't suffer from bigotry either way), and find
myself being tailgated. Some people just need to learn some patience.

As for positioning, I always use the primary when I'm approaching and
stopped by lights, and don't follow the temptation of squeezing down either
side for a position advantage on set-off. I don't want someone pulling up
another vehicle at the side of me in such a vulnerable place. Once I'm
moving properly again it's back to the secondary. I sometimes cycle with a
friend who uses secondary all the time at lights, and when he's pulled ahead
I've nearly seen him killed twice at the same 'T' junction - the only answer
is to make it impossible for someone to get past.
I always use the primary of the correct lane at roundabouts. As far as I am
concerned I want to be as wide as possible. Some drivers see a three lane
roundabout as an overtaking system - of cars as well as cycles, I'm not
going to make their life easier.

Nigel

Adrian Boliston said:

This seems a bit odd if it's a d/c road as he would have had an extra lane
to overtake in, or am I missing something?

Some people get irritated when cyclists are not "in their place on the
road" as they see it. They may attempt to teach cyclists where they
think they should be. The fact that they can overtake them without
bother doesn't come into it.

--
Membrane

in message <[email hidden]>, Nigel

(') said:

Also if I'm going the same speed as traffic there's still a 'get past'
mentality, rather than just holding back. If it's in a 30 they want to
get past but don't want to be seen as breaking the limit.

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a cyclist,
and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're passed the
brake furiously either because they don't want to be caught breaking the
speed limit or because they physically can't proceed because of the
traffic ahead, so you either have to grab handfuls of brakes or get
splattered all over their back window - or else go whizzing past them, at
which point the whole farce starts all over again.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us
;; many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets.
;; Imagination without skill gives us modern art.
;; Tom Stoppard, Artist Descending A Staircase

Simon Brooke wrote on 30/06/2007 13:41 +0100:

Quoted message said:

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a cyclist,
and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're passed the
brake furiously either because they don't want to be caught breaking the
speed limit or because they physically can't proceed because of the
traffic ahead, so you either have to grab handfuls of brakes or get
splattered all over their back window - or else go whizzing past them, at
which point the whole farce starts all over again.

If the farce has happened once I assume the primary position and control
them until I consider it safe for them to pass.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

Tony Raven said:

Simon Brooke wrote on 30/06/2007 13:41 +0100:

Quoted message said:

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a cyclist,
and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're passed the
brake furiously either because they don't want to be caught breaking the
speed limit or because they physically can't proceed because of the
traffic ahead, so you either have to grab handfuls of brakes or get
splattered all over their back window - or else go whizzing past them, at
which point the whole farce starts all over again.

If the farce has happened once I assume the primary position and control
them until I consider it safe for them to pass.

At least here's something we can agree on. Thankfully it's rarely
necessary around where I live, but on narrow country roads in the UK
I'd always do the same.

Simon Brooke <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Nigel

(') said:

Also if I'm going the same speed as traffic there's still a 'get
past' mentality, rather than just holding back. If it's in a 30 they
want to get past but don't want to be seen as breaking the limit.

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a
cyclist, and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're
passed the brake furiously either because they don't want to be caught
breaking the speed limit or because they physically can't proceed
because of the traffic ahead, so you either have to grab handfuls of
brakes or get splattered all over their back window - or else go
whizzing past them, at which point the whole farce starts all over
again.

Simon, it's not just cyclists! I had the misfortune to own (albeit
breifly) a Tomos 50cc restricted moped - 28mph downhill with the wind
behind me - it was the most dangerous thing on two wheels I have ever
ridden, for simply the reason you give. The bu**ers just *had* to get
past me, no matter what!

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Nigel

(') said:

Also if I'm going the same speed as traffic there's still a 'get past'
mentality, rather than just holding back. If it's in a 30 they want to
get past but don't want to be seen as breaking the limit.

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a
cyclist, and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're
passed the brake furiously either because they don't want to be caught
breaking the speed limit or because they physically can't proceed because
of the traffic ahead, so you either have to grab handfuls of brakes or get
splattered all over their back window - or else go whizzing past them, at
which point the whole farce starts all over again.

I've noticed this a lot since I moved to the top of a hill. The road down is
10% or more for about a mile so on a clear day I can easily do the speed
limit (40mph).

Even though I stay in the middle of the lane I still frequently get unsafely
overtaken and then the car will slow down to less than my original speed.
Sometimes I overtake them again, but most of the time I just try to look
fed up and hope they get the picture.

In article <[email hidden]>, Jim Higson
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Even though I stay in the middle of the lane I still frequently get unsafely
overtaken and then the car will slow down to less than my original speed.
Sometimes I overtake them again, but most of the time I just try to look
fed up and hope they get the picture.

I'd be inclined to cut them up severely and see how they liked it. I
might not last too long.

Simon Brooke said:

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a
cyclist, and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're
passed the brake furiously either because they don't want to be
caught breaking the speed limit or because they physically can't
proceed because of the traffic ahead, so you either have to grab
handfuls of brakes or get splattered all over their back window - or
else go whizzing past them, at which point the whole farce starts all
over again.

I get that regularly on the tandem on the way to drop off my daughter at
school, They overtake on a blind bend, we go down the hill at the same
speed, I pass them on the speed bumps and drop them in traffic.

--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK

Love this:
Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

--
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Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Nigel

(') said:

Also if I'm going the same speed as traffic there's still a 'get past'
mentality, rather than just holding back. If it's in a 30 they want to
get past but don't want to be seen as breaking the limit.

That one /really/ annoys me. They have to get past, because it's a cyclist,
and they /have/ to overtake cyclists. And as soon as they're passed the
brake furiously either because they don't want to be caught breaking the
speed limit or because they physically can't proceed because of the
traffic ahead, so you either have to grab handfuls of brakes or get
splattered all over their back window - or else go whizzing past them, at
which point the whole farce starts all over again.

to be honest you get that sort of thing if you are riding/driving
something that they think might be slow.

quite a hill up the heads of the valley road to brynmawr. years ago i
had a old volvo, which because it was a old volvo must be very slow so
you'd get folk despertly hanging in the outside lane trying to overtake.

roger

On Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:58:32 GMT, "Nigel"
<[email hidden]> said in
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

I've seen an annoying trend where some drivers seem scared of crossing the
white lines between lanes to pass a cyclist, especially if they're 'no
overtaking' stripes or white hatching. so they'll squeeze you to alleviate
their conscience.

Troo Fact: I was driving the MDG along the M40 a few fortnights back
and a Vectra (spit) pulled up to my tailgate as I was overtaking
something in lane 1 (me in lane 2). I finished passing matey in lane
1, moved back in, said Vectra went screaming off into the distance. A
couple of minutes later I come up to it again, still in lane 2, behind
a van moving at about 60 overtaking a slow-moving empty lane. I pull
into lane 3, overtake both, back to lane 1.

Some people simply don't change lanes. They would rather sit and fume
than go through all that tiresome business with mirrors and things.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

On Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:59:16 +0100, Jim Higson <[email hidden]> said in
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

but most of the time I just try to look
fed up and hope they get the picture

Unlikely. That would require awareness of another road user, after
all.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote on 01/07/2007 19:53 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Troo Fact: I was driving the MDG along the M40 a few fortnights back
and a Vectra (spit) pulled up to my tailgate as I was overtaking
something in lane 1 (me in lane 2). I finished passing matey in lane
1, moved back in, said Vectra went screaming off into the distance. A
couple of minutes later I come up to it again, still in lane 2, behind
a van moving at about 60 overtaking a slow-moving empty lane. I pull
into lane 3, overtake both, back to lane 1.

Some people simply don't change lanes. They would rather sit and fume
than go through all that tiresome business with mirrors and things.

Lost count of the number of times I've had to leave an empty lane one to
cross over to lane 3 to overtake a numpty in lane 2 before returning to
an empty lane 1. More rarely the numpty is in lane 3 in which case they
might eventually pull in to lane 2 to let you pass before pulling back
into lane 3 while you cross an empty lane 2 and back into an empty lane 1.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

On 1 Jul,

Tony Raven said:

Lost count of the number of times I've had to leave an empty lane one to
cross over to lane 3 to overtake a numpty in lane 2 before returning to
an empty lane 1. More rarely the numpty is in lane 3 in which case they
might eventually pull in to lane 2 to let you pass before pulling back
into lane 3 while you cross an empty lane 2 and back into an empty lane 1.

Why leave lane 1? there's nothing in front of you to overtake. There must be
slow moving traffic in lane 2. This is what an ex police driving instructor
told me on a defensive driving course. Weaving from lane to lane to overtake
on the inside was another matter entirely.

--
BD
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

[email hidden] said the following on 02/07/2007 00:21:

Quoted message said:

Why leave lane 1? there's nothing in front of you to overtake. There must be
slow moving traffic in lane 2. This is what an ex police driving instructor
told me on a defensive driving course. Weaving from lane to lane to overtake
on the inside was another matter entirely.

Because regardless of what your ex police driving instructor told you,
it is illegal to pass traffic on the inside unless it is in a
slow-moving queue, AIUI. A single, solitary car sitting in what I heard
an old bloke describe as the "cruising lane" does not constitute a
queue. Defensive driving techniques are not appropriate on motorways
for the average journey.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/