Aaargh selfish motorists!

[Chopstheduck]

Twice today I got beeped at.


One clearly expected me to somehow brake hard from 20mph and wait rather than go round a parked car, so despite me looking back and giving him plenty of notice he accelerated hard and honked when I moved out to go round.

Another one expected me to be in the bike lane while doing 25mph. A bike lane on the edge of the road, with the shit from the trees, the drains, only half tarmaced and trees overgrowing it (no footpath, on edge of countryside).

It's the same while running, while some drivers are patient and give space while running on the road, others seem to be allergic to the brake pedal and will nip past at 40mph in a 30.

[dotty2]

I feel your pain. Although I only cycle a bit I do enough to know about overtaking from the cyclist's point of view and this is a pet hate of mine. The other week I was in my car following a big group of cyclists up a narrow street leading out of town. They were doing 20mph, so I was hardly crawling behind them (30 limit) and there was no room to overtake, so I waited until it broadened out, clearly to the outrage of the driver behind me who later overtook them and me, honking and gesticulating madly at me. I think lots of drivers basically see a bike and think 'practically stationary, must pass immediately' (not to mention 'practically 2 dimensional - allow as much room as for passing a drainpipe').

And don't get me started on the time on my bike I had to slam my brakes on to avoid a car which pulled out nose into the bike lane from a side road while waiting to turn right. When I glared at the driver indignantly he said self-righteously 'actually, I had seen you'. Seen maybe - avoided, not so much.)