Things cyclists should know … POV driver who's incapable of cycling

No, I am very happy to sit behind a cyclist, with plenty of space between us, for as long as it takes for an opportunity to arise for me to overtake the cyclist safely. I'm happy to do this for however long it takes.

What I'm not happy about, and what causes me to become impatient and frustrated with a cyclist, is when a cyclist positions him/herself on the road in such a way that it is not possible to overtake the cyclist in a safe manner. Those times when the cyclist could have been safely overtaken if the cyclist had positioned themselves a foot or two to the left of the position they are taking. The first couple of times there is a missed opportunity due solely to cyclist position, I pretty much go "Oh well, he/she probably hasn't realised, isn't aware", but when there are opportunities to overtake safely, every few minutes for 15-20 minutes or so, I start to think the cyclist is taking the piss and being rather inconsiderate to the rest of us.

If the difference between being able to pass and not is a matter of a foot or two then perhaps there wasn't really enough space to pass safely. Speaking as a cyclist I only tend to take the lane when I feel that cars might be tempted to sqeeze past on the same side of the road when there's not really enough space to do so. If there is a gap on the other side then they'll still be able to pass, as they would if they were overtaking a car. Yes, the situation can be frustrating, but so can being stuck in a traffic jam, or behind a learner driver, or a tractor. It's not an excuse to stop driving considerately.

Speaking as a driver, in the same situation when I can't pass with a good amount of room to spare I'll wait until I can overtake by pulling out on to the other side of the road.

Smug mode deactivated