[David9694]

…And reward her poor behaviour. 

we’ve all been there – narrow country lane and for what seems like an eternity (in reality 3 or 4 minutes) you’re conscious of a car behind you and the driver is getting impatient. Then she starts a ridiculous overtake rapidly abandoned and then there’s a reasonably decent house frontage to pull into and let her go past.  

What usually happens is you pull over, only to find they’ve met a tractor or a horse or even another car and you now have to wait while they pick their way past. As it was, a nice ill-tempered accelerate of her nondescript 54 reg car, kicking up a load of dust and off she went. There were two kids in the back, looking like The Shining twins, heads turned, vaguely malovent. 

I think the test is what to do that will make her a better driver for the next cyclist – so, folks – when should I concede to to Karen?

Topic

[Recoveryride]

There clearly isn’t a hard

There clearly isn’t a hard and fast rule here.

On one hand, no-one likes a car right behind them, and it’s d1ckish to hold people up just because you can. On the other, there’s no need to squeeze yourself into a hedge or ride through huge potholes just so someone can get past you a minute or 2 quicker.

Apply common sense: if it’s relatively easy and safe to move over, do so; if it isn’t, don’t. Where’s the controversy here?

[Ihatecheese]

Country lanes are kind of

Country lanes are kind of necessary if you live in a villiage irrespective of whether we feel they are the most effective route  (Vs over a field ?) or not. 

As a driver I had many older men riding very expensive looking bikes slowly on their bailout years through country lanes which would cause massive tailbacks.. there are passing routes but it’s the gentlemen’s right !!!! The younger guys didn’t ride with so much privilege.

As a rider I make sure to give way whenever possible as more often than not I’m travelling a fraction of the speed available whilst people may have more pressing concerns then my country jaunt. 

Unfortunately many drivers get pissed off though and perform stupidly dangerous moves. They probably would too in other vehicles or situations. Can’t help stupid. 

[Dnnnnnn]

I agree that 3-4 minutes is a

I agree that 3-4 minutes is a long time – and perhaps included passing multiple points which would have allowed easy pulling-in to let the faster vehicle to pass. As someone else noted, we’d all be hacked off if some pedestrians held us up for that duration on a shared use path.

[Awavey]

Im not equating the two, Im

Im not equating the two, Im saying the latter is what I experience, being allowed to find a convenient passing place is a luxury rarely afforded to me, so how can that possibly be the solution to the equation of riding on a narrow country road?

I was two bike lengths away from a proper passing place today, two bike lengths, would the driver wait all of 5 secs longer, would they f… they just drove past me, one wheel up the grass verge,still giving me barely enough room to dodge their wing mirror, I hadnt even held them up, theyd literally only just caught me up, had me in sight on a dead straight road for 20 seconds, they didnt even have to use the brakes to slow down, just lift off the throttle coast alittle bit, but no they couldnt bring themselves to do that, they had to carry on at full speed and be damned to the poxy cyclist in the way.

[Mungecrundle]

Not sure how you equate my
Not sure how you equate my “convenient passing place” to diving into the nearest bush.

[wtjs]

Not sure I understand the
Not sure I understand the specific plumber / electrician /van reference
I do. However, tractor man and Massive FWD SUV mummy are pretty bad as well, and we hardly need to add the ever-guilty Panzerman, because we all know him.

[Simon E]

David9694 wrote:

Not sure I understand the specific plumber / electrician /van reference.

Tradesmen in vans seem to be the least patient drivers in my experience on country roads.

But that’s not to suggest that everyone else is a paragon of virtue behind the wheel.

[Awavey]

I dont agree that’s the
I dont agree that’s the balance of the equation though, especially having just been on the receiving end again of a number of these style passes today.

I’d say how much effort is it just to wait till there is a convenient passing point, before pushing for a pass, because clearly alot of motorists I encounter it’s far too much

I dont want an impatient driver stuck behind me, I’m not there to hold up drivers,I will move across when theres reasonable gaps,though little thanks I get for it. but I will not and i refuse to immediately dive into the nearest bush,just to let some impatient sod hare off like they are driving on a rally stage. That is unacceptable driving to me.

[Mungecrundle]

On a twisty, narrow country
On a twisty, narrow country road. The equation is.

How much would you rather an impatient, agressive, low skill driver, often in an oversized vehicle, be off and away up the road providing you with an albeit temporary rolling road block against similarly poorly driven vehicles coming at you the other way.

V

How much effort is it to duck into a convenient passing place.

[PRSboy]

Its not really a question of

Its not really a question of ‘giving in’, merely an acceptance that a car is likely to be quicker cross-country than me.  If that means ducking into a gap for 5 seconds to let them past then I will usually do it, if the road is hard to pass safely on.

 

[Hirsute]

Fiat 500 then !
Fiat 500 then !
A lot of cars weigh around 1.5 T

[David9694]

Duncann wrote:

Simple courtesy shouldn’t be thought of as a problem.

You mean like not using your half tonne car to threaten people?  Yes, that simple courtesy would indeed be nice, and shouldn’t be thought of as a problem.

[Dnnnnnn]

David9694 wrote:

Why does the driver’s poor planning/time management  have to be my problem? 
I agree about mutual respect …

Not sure the second sentence really flows from the previous statement.
Simple courtesy shouldn’t be thought of as a problem.

[David9694]

Not sure I understand the

Not sure I understand the specific plumber / electrician /van reference.  If any driver is starting to over boil after 20s of alleged “delay”, then there’s something wrong, isn’t there? 

Remember too that in many situations, including this one, the car/van is an illusion of speed e.g. in a typical Jeremy Vine London video, he typically catches-up a driver at junctions 3-4 times over in clear conditions. 

[Simon E]

I’d suggest that 3 or 4

I’d suggest that 3 or 4 minutes is a long time to be driving at 12-15 mph, even I might get hacked off by that. Think of it as being on a shared path and riding up behind a family walking their dog across the whole width and deliberately ignoring you.

I ride on country lanes a lot and find that, for many drivers, waiting 20-30 seconds behind me bowling along (I’m usually not hanging around) is considered an excessively long time; the delay must feel particularly painful for a plumber or electrician driving a van. Consequently I pull over at the first opportunity because the alternative is a close pass on what is often a single track road with an uneven verge.

What I find worse is the drivers who won’t slow or pull into a passing place or the pull onto my side of the road around a parked vehicle because they are happy to bully a cyclist into pulling onto the verge (or at least the edge of the road). That happens far too often as well.

[Author]

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