Cyclists stay back! stickers

^
"i mainly struggle to understand why people feel this disdain for cyclists"

• Because we are a seemingly new out group.

• Quite a few choose to wear garments that look alien or weird and allow individuals of one group to separate themselves mentally from individuals of the other group.

• We are vulnerable in comparison to motorised vehicles and are therefore seen as easy targets for motorists to vent their many frustrations from road use.

• There is a lack of proper understanding on both sides and drivers see a lot of cyclists poor behaviour (not just the obvious rljs) but general impatience, bum rushing/pushing to the front/bottle necking junctions -especially those junctions that don't even have ASLs which causes fear (the majority don't want to cause harm) which in turn leads to agitation. People do not like uncertainty.

• Add to the fact that many drivers when on foot have to dice with yet more uncertain behaviour from cyclists (some of whom see stopping for peds as an optional extra) the strawman is compounded.

• It's fucking cool to bash cyclists especially if you're of a right wing bent safe in the knowledge there is little come back.

• There are a hell of a lot of cyclists that have never driven* and have gaps in their own understanding of best practise which leads to disparate actions (naturally). But this variability doesn't fit the media narrative which is to blanket which ever out group they're targeting (see: muslims, lesbians, white working class).

• It doesn't help that driving instructors aren't help to better account of their syllabus.

• Poor, after thought, illogical, unfit for purpose infrastructure only makes matter worse.

• Those that work in the media have the power to dispel myths but instead compound differing issues, which is why we see comment sections on cyclists and/or fatalities overrun with the worst of humanity.

In the end it (always) adds up to IGNORANCE.

*not that taking a test means you're gonna be an amazing road user.