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Know of someone who's packed in UK road cycling due to safety concerns?
Have a mate who is part of our wider cycling gang; he's taken early retirement and heard he was really frustrated with the Covid restrictions as he has a small holiday flat in Germany and can't pursue his various plans. My comment was why hadn't he gone out on some long rides etc; then I was told he'd stopped, because he was sick of UK roads (safety), and was just going to cycle when he's out in Germany (which he always raves about). I was initially bemused but then, having almost being totalled on 2 rides recently (oncoming driver speeding on a lane and another speeding/not paying attention whilst I was trying to turn right off an A road; I've really lost my nerve when trying that manoeuvre), I kind of sympathised. Realised that pre-WFH etc a lot of my miles were commuting on the Bristol/Bath bike path and quiet urban roads, so I was probably slightly cossetted. I generally steer clear of A roads but, mid-week especially, the roads are like the wild-west post lockdown. Apart from group rides I've now got front/back cameras so I could hardly criticise my mate for just being aware of his own mortality.
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94 comments
Been thinking about this again. haven't been out for a couple of weeks due to two close passes on last ride both reported to police with video. One has been spoken to by police but she said she was a good christian and a cyclist so I guess that's ok to try to take me out then on an open road. Other van drive should be getting a call soon. Just puts you off all the time.
I'm sorry to hear that, but it doesn't come as a surprise. My wife and I both purchaed mid-range road bikes - for summer riding, and hybrids for autumn/winter riding. At times, when we were on the roads, it felt like we were being used in a game of chicken. I road my road bike once, it covered about 2 miles from new, and my hybrid about five times and it covered no more than about 10 miles from new. My wife did a few more miles on hers, but the pleasure rapidly deteriorated for both of us. As a result I sold both my bikes and my wife sold her road bike. We then purchased MTB's and ride the off road tracks, and cycle tracks, where we at least feel safe. My wife did keep her hybrid but only rides this off road too. Our philosophy being "better safe than sorry".
TT sorry to hear the idiots have beaten you but I understand fully why you, and others, no longer feel safe riding the roads. I've ridden for about 55 years now and traffic manners are, for me at least, at an all time low. I now have to consider the possibility of quitting road riding following nothing short of an physical attack on me using a car as a weapon last Sunday morning. The perpetrator close passed me not once but twice - yes he came back for a second go. He then closed the gap to the edge of the road to about a foot and slowed. Fortunately we were both exiting a roundabout and I was only travelling at about 10mph. I removed his nearside door mirror with my, now cut, bruised and sore forearm and then somersaulted, with some style as a witness informed me. I'm of the bike for up to 6 weeks now with ligament damage to my shoulder but am not sure I'll ride again. Sussex Police are involved. They have 4 witness statements supporting my statement. The driver was caught same day 12 miles away from scene and failed a drink test.He's been charged with DD, leaving the scene & dangerous driving but pleads not guilty! I spent 2 days in hospital and now wonder do I let these morons beat me into submission. On the plus side I cannot praise the public who stopped to help, the 6 lovely young female paramedics who attended the scene (there's always a positive) and the police enough - all are outstanding human beings unlike the moron in the car.
I hope they throw the book at him (doubtful, but there is always hope, especially if you manage to get a keen member of HMs constablary AND member of the CPS)
I am glad you got to see the good side of humanity, shame it had to be from the effect of the bad.
Good luck in your recovery and getting back on "the horse"
I regret I think I've reached the same conclusion. I would rather deal with the annoyed walker / dog walker than go toe to toe with the inevitable BMW/Audi or 4x4 that is otherwise harassing , close passing etc.. it's just ridiculous.
Already poor driving standards have definitely taken a dip. There is definitely more aggression out there and it seems cyclists are a soft target... Quite literally Vs 2tonne oversized 4x4 monster.
The issue is car proliferation, coupled with ever larger vehicles in busier lives with more time pressure on everyone. Drivers can't get where they want when they want and rather than look to downsize their car ( or heaven forbid leave it at home ) or consider the endless double ( bad ) parking may have something to do with it ... It is the cyclist that is the target of all that pent up anger.
They can afterall just inflict life changing injuries and then speed away..
.
Yes, me.
Used to cycle to work, have done so for approx 5 years. Continued impact of this assault, with driver hitting my elbow (still going through the insurers), has meant that I've given up, bought a car, and now drive to work. Every time I get an email /call from the my solicitor (driver is denying all liability) about it I relive the assault while having to get ready to explain another piece of it... which makes me sick.
Wow - sorry to hear that, TT
Ta. Think i'm slowly getting over it, driving means I'm no longer in fight or flight mode, before every commute, just sitting in traffic on a comfortable seat listening to the radio. And often feeling nauseous when I make sure i give other riders enough space, only for other drivers to skim past them
Really sorry to hear this TT. That looks deliberate. Wishing you well n your recovery
Ta.
It was deliberate, the driver effectively admitted it at the scene.
But is denying liability. What a c0ckwomble. Saying <it's my fault> is one thing, but doing it facking deliberately. Jeez
I had something similar a few years back, very similar o/take windy country road. No way it was accidental, just too facking close for that. Just terrifying.
yeah. "Horn blowing, followed by you were too far out from the kerb, you should have got out of my way, you should have just got out of my way," before leaving the scene when asked for insurance details.
And then neither reporting it to the police, or his insurer, and then trying to charge me for alleged damage to his vehicle caused by me slapping it.. (i did slap it, no i didn't cause damage)
any impact where horn blowing occurs and braking does not should be treated as deliberate and therefore assault.
Unfortuantely the police don't always see it that way
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2013/aug/08/nottingham...
Me.
I feel very apprehensive about going on the roads now. Last summer I found people were gettingmuch more aggressive, or maybe I felt more vulnerable due to the pandemic. I ride v quiet loops, and try and go off road where possible (around our local lake). I have a Fly 6 and wouldn't dream of riding without it.
The daily Near Miss feature hasn't helped.
''Know of someone who's packed in UK road cycling due to safety concerns?''
NO
I'm glad I started cycling about 5 years before I found this site, had I read it earlier I'd never have bought a bike.
Admittedly my cycling probably isn't typical as I'm retired, ride at quiet times and mostly on rural roads.
My positive experiences with motorists far exceed negative ones.
This is true - the vast majority drivers are fine. and you don't even notice them. Just takes one...
Last year, my son (age 11) and I took advantage of the quieter roads to go out on the tandem. He's not that into cycling, but he enjoyed riding the tandem, especially up Holme Moss, until two incidents.
In the first, we were descending a gentle hill and I saw taxi approaching on a side road to the left. The driver looked straight at me and then pulled out. Thankfully, I managed to stop in time, about an inch from the back of his taxi. He just drove off. The sudden stop terrified my son.
Then, we were approaching a crossroads junction where we wanted to turn left. A bloke in a van was coming the other way, he wanted to turn right into the same road. My son was signalling from the stoker's seat, and I gave a quick left-turn signal as well, then slowed and prepared to make the turn. The bloke in the van then floored it and turned in front of us; he then had to immediately stop as someone was coming the other way and parked cars meant they had to use the "wrong" side of the road. This gave me nowhere to go, and I ended up bumping into the side of the van, luckily at a slow speed. This caused my son to slip off his saddle and graze his shin on a pedal.
After that, he no longer will go out on the tandem, and I don't blame him
Sorry to hear that - road cycling for my son was ended by a 4x4 driver squeezing us into a hedge and then brake testing us - he was on a tagalong so experienced the assault first.
What?!?
Child on a tagalong deserves a punishment pass and brake check? That fucker needs retraining (with a large hammer).
I really hate it that you and many others have these experiences, each one causes such harm. Even if there is no physical injury every incident leaves lasting scars that go unrecognised while the perpetrator carries on their smug, selfish existence.
Most drivers are OK and I'm sure overtaking drivers leave more room than they used to. I've had a few unpleasant incidents but overall my experiences have made me more belligerent. The most common micro-aggressions - drivers refusing to slow down on narrow lanes - just makes me more determined to defend my road space while trying not to let frustration get the better of me.
I should add that this was on Boxing Day too. Merry Christmas.
Actually, the fact that my son was proper distraught about it was the only reason I didn't go full postal on the guy and his Range Rover Evoque. It was fortunate because I would have done serious harm and probably ended up in jail.
He didn't see any issue with it - "you were holding me up, I had to get past" - and this on a lane with no following traffic, high hedges on both sides behind ditches, with a NSL road about 200 yards further on from where the incident happened. He'd been behind me for less than a minute, and we were clipping along at around 20mph (slight downhill)
I've never seen him or the car again despite searching every driveway in the vicinity, I suspect he was visiting someone for Christmas.
Problem on this one, from anecdata read on the internet, is that a lot of motorists do seem to seriously think that it's you putting your child at risk by letting them ride on the road. Few seem to consider that it is their driving which is creating the risk...
Having just put in a complaint to Herts police over intimidation that happened to me last night, Mrs Badger and I were discussing this very topic whilst back at the sett.
Mrs Badger is concerned that my usual policy of giving these idiots a mouth full is going to end with me in hospital or worse. She no longer rides on the road, in spite of using a bike to get around from the age of 12 till well after uni. She wants to ride but is literally too scared - btw, she's hardly a shrinking violet.
Last night's incident was hardly the worst I've ever received, usual shit about get on the "cycle lane", and "I pay tax", with a close pass, pushed towards the gutter, and brake check.
I was much more shaken up than usual, angry but also frustrated and sad - I was just trying to go to a facking violin lesson FCS (there's an image, a fiddling badger.... make of that what you will).
The police have done their usual " we may do one of these 4 things" As usual I've asked for clarification, and stated that I believe that this is intimidation and not a victimless crime. As usual I don't expect clarification without going round the houses (in the past I've called into herts and they've talked over the phone, but I shouldn't need to do that).
But I'm tired. I just want to get where I want to go without using a car, but the constant low-level bullying (and sometimes straight out intimidation, threats and attempted assault) is starting to take its toll. What should have been a 10-minute journey has now been an incident and an upload, and has been on my mind now for 12 hours. I don't want to have to don a go pro every facking ride - It's literally less than 3 miles, under 15mins. The only reason to do so is that the level of bullying, intimidation and risk to health is significant.
Sad to read that.
I think that one way to cope is just to assume sometimes that this stuff will happen and let it wash. You can't always be on the front line all the time. Some days I get furious and shout and wave. Other days I just count the incidents or give myself a pat on the back if I spot one before it happens.
This is not giving up, it's just realising that constant stress isn't good for you, and you have a limit. A few days of zen cycling like Ogmios' driving could help?
Thanks dude. You are right of course. I'm in awe of folk who are able to keep a calm commentary when in the middle of these incidents. Strangely, am more than capable of this when in my car - probably as the issue is less frequent with little danger to lidfe invovled.
Yeah, love Ogmios, could watch his vids for hours
My sympathies. Sounds very similar to the incident that made me give up (& my missus is in the same camp as Mrs Badger re where I'm likely to end up giving scrotes a mouthful)
I had a couple of sleepless nights over mine and it's stuck around too. Fortunately it was just before the start of the summer school holidays so very quickly I had plenty to distract me.
Thanks mate, not just me then. Don't know why this one's had such an effect.
Police got back in touch to say they're taking action, but as usual aren't specifying what. Still it's something
The police have done their usual " we may do one of these 4 things" As usual I've asked for clarification, and stated that I believe that this is intimidation and not a victimless crime.
That must be so frustrating, I've seen you post about this on a few occasions. My experience with Herts is that they do follow through with what they say, it's just hard to get specific confirmation. With pushing I've had copies of letters they've forwarded in the past, and there's a couple of friendly coppers in the office who will go through stuff if you call in, so I'm inclined to believe them that they have taken action. So as frustrated as I am, I can imagine how infuriating your situation is
I've had a couple like this over the years, so can sympathise. One saw me hang the bike up for 6 months and the other 9 months. Back on it now though and cameras every ride.
I try not to react to these incidents now, but it's tough if the adrenaline puts you in fight/flight mode. Even raising a hand or shaking your head in disapproval risks escalating the situation and you really don't know the state of mind of the person you are dealing with.
One of my coping strategies is to be hyper aware of all that's going on, using a mirror to keep tabs on vehicles approaching from the rear. Trying to predict poor driving and feeling like I'm more in control if I was expecting it. Submitting only the worst incidents to the police, for what it's worth.
It's rarely constructive replying back to any verbal abuse. You're unlikely to end up in a civilised debate or change their view/behaviour in that moment. They're looking for a reaction, so don't give them one.
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