Cyclist/Driver hatred

Sorry mate I stopped reading after Farid's last post.
bit long innit.

Oh I wasn't being sarcastic, don't want to turn the thread into a heated argument, I prefer friendly banter aplenty =P

Tweed Seats

They can't be all bad some even wear tweed.

Tweedenger car drivers.

The world be such a better place to be if cars still looked like that, sure, the world would burn up in a few years, but it would be a very happy few years.

Curiously, it was the development of the car that gave rise to the growth in popularity of bicycles. Without decent roads built for cars there would have been no bikes to speak of.

How long has your mate been riding?
I hope you explained to him how to ride correctly and which situations were risky, etc.
A car driven by a dick is a lot more likely to kill someone than a bike ridden by a dick.

A few of us were doing our best to promote cyclist/diver hatred whilst cycling back from Richmond Park yesterday morning. One driver was particularly irate!

A few of us were doing our best to promote cyclist/diver hatred whilst cycling back from Richmond Park yesterday morning. One driver was particularly irate!

Well done.

Tweed Seats

They can't be all bad some even wear tweed.

Tweedenger car drivers.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread12197.html

Loved it. Lycra all the way, dropping the bastards up hills! ;)

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Why is it that I think Michael's concerns would just hit a brick wall with you?

Intelligent people know that cars or bikes are driven/ridden badly as a result of poor driver/rider.
It's only those stupid ignorants that hate cars in general or bikes as the case may be.
Fuck em. The haters are everywhere, not just here.

Yes, one of the worst things is the generalised, stereotypical 'hatred' that people often profess for other participants in traffic. In other aspects of life, they wouldn't do that but instead wait to get to know others individually before being so judgmental. One of the reasons is because people who drive cars are relatively invisible, and it's that anonymity that people instinctively hate when they comment on driving in general. We do want to interact with people, but in traffic this is impossible (a) because there are just too many people for us to have time and energy to interact with and (b) because, partly as a result of that, we rely on things like traffic signals and indicator lights or traffic signs to govern our interaction with them, not normal social clues. A naïve reaction to this will normally be inappropriately emotional, e.g. bordering in hatred.

The simple fact is that a lot of people use cars some of the time, and this is what we have to reduce--starting with London, where very few people can cite genuine transportational utility in owning a car. Small steps can always be taken, leading to slow, sustainable growth of cycling and walking, and perhaps also shifting some unnecessary car journeys to public transport.

What people then find when they start cycling is that all of a sudden they are asked to interact more socially with others again and that cycling is fundamentally a social skill. When people criticise cyclists, it is usually that evident lack of social skill to which they refer. It just comes out more clearly when you're visible on a bike.

I always acknowledge drivers that are considerate. I can see them making the effort, and if its a white van driver, I actually vocally say "Thanks"....otherwise, I acknowledge other drivers with a head-nod, or a friendly wave.

I still try not to over-react to bad drivers. Getting older is making me a really different person.

I, like most of this forum (I imagine), consider myself a good and considerate cyclist and driver... In fact I hope that all people would think that they aren't a danger to others when they are on the road...

But some days, I'm late (well most actually... but only some do I rush), in a bad mood or tired... sometimes all three... that is when I put my self in danger... and personally I think the majority of bad driving on the road isn't people who are bad, but people who are good, making mistakes...

Way different. when driving a car **some people **get an increased sense of self esteem and of invulnerability. They feel isolated from the consequences of their actions, often because they are in a 1500kg re-enforced steel box. This isolation can encourage arrogant and even reckless behaviour, towards other road users.

This is key. Some drivers don't show respect for more vunerable road users, because their steel box disconnects them from how vunerable peds and cyclists are.

Sure there are rubbish cyclists around, but for the most part they're only a danger to themselves. Rubbish drivers though are another matter, especially the idiot this morning who overtook me on the right while I was turning right.

The penalties for dangerous driving need to be higher to encourge drivers to think a bit harder about other road users and the consequences of their actions

The penalties for dangerous driving need to be death
fixed...

Still ongoing... the comments are enlightening

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Only one example of hatred in 9 years? I think you’ll find we now have a harmonious relationship.

This is interesting, isn't it? On the one hand, the rider (who isn't using the 'cycle path'/the sub-divided footway) is accused of being selfish. But why would he/she be selfish unless the commenter on that image recognised that the carriageway offered superior riding here? (NB I'm not saying it does, just trying to unpick the logic.) And if it does, isn't the commenter likewise selfish for wanting the rider to ride in worse conditions?

The office joker came bounding over to me this morning to show me this, he was really pleased with himself, he's a right prick!

Is the cyclist allowed to ride there? I don't know English law, but in the Netherlands you have to use the cycle path if there is one, so for me it's a no-brainer.

He is, yes. There has never been legislation as restrictive as that in the Netherlands (introduced under German occupation).

In the UK no cycle path is mandatory, because in 99% of cases there shit and more dangerous than the road.

Doesn't look like lycra.

Doesn't show car parked over cycle path 50m back either. #reality

Photo no doubt taken by frothing heart attack waiting to happen supposedly in charge of large white van.