Can West Midlands police really do this????
Discussion
Crackie said:
I am acutely aware of the dangers faced on the roads by cyclists; having lost a family member in a cycling accident in 2014. I do give 'that' space you refer to but this thread is about punishing motorists for encroaching on some subjectively measured 1.5M distance. My point was the cyclist is just as responsible for their position on the road as the car driver is for theirs. The motorist could well be leaving adequate space during an overtake and the cyclist could be the one responsible for closing 'their' gap to less than 1.5M.
Why not use the other lane, then then the cyclist will have ample room to move around and still keep a massive gap?grumpy52 said:
Cyclists?
They're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
It would be fThey're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
king hilarious if a bad driver killed one of your loved ones while cycling wouldn't it 
It wouldn't actually though. Stop being a
and think about what you actually said.WinstonWolf said:
grumpy52 said:
Cyclists?
They're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
It would be fThey're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
king hilarious if a bad driver killed one of your loved ones while cycling wouldn't it It wouldn't actually though. Stop being a
and think about what you actually said.
Retroman said:
Crackie said:
I am acutely aware of the dangers faced on the roads by cyclists; having lost a family member in a cycling accident in 2014. I do give 'that' space you refer to but this thread is about punishing motorists for encroaching on some subjectively measured 1.5M distance. My point was the cyclist is just as responsible for their position on the road as the car driver is for theirs. The motorist could well be leaving adequate space during an overtake and the cyclist could be the one responsible for closing 'their' gap to less than 1.5M.
Why not use the other lane, then then the cyclist will have ample room to move around and still keep a massive gap? 
. I still cycle regularly, and have done for over 45 years, both in and out of town. I'm fully aware of how selfish/ignorant/stupid some motorists can be; patronising advice from you telling me how to position my car on the road isn't necessary. Edited by Crackie on Saturday 17th September 10:43
Crackie said:
FFS, I do, . I still cycle regularly, and have done for over 45 years, both in and out of town. I'm fully aware of how the selfish/ignorant/stupid behaviour of some motorists; I don't need patronising advice from you telling me how to position my car on the road.
If you have a genuine concern about cyclists closing the gap, then leave a bigger gap. . I still cycle regularly, and have done for over 45 years, both in and out of town. I'm fully aware of how the selfish/ignorant/stupid behaviour of some motorists; I don't need patronising advice from you telling me how to position my car on the road. Never a day goes by when i'm cycling and the other lane is clear to use for an overtake but people still give me about 1ft spare.
WinstonWolf said:
Stoofa said:
grumpy52 said:
Cyclists?
They're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
We used to, by driving really close to them.They're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
Alas this thread tells me we can't do that any more.
its obvious these comments were said in jest - just relax or 'on ya bike'
dingg said:
WinstonWolf said:
Stoofa said:
grumpy52 said:
Cyclists?
They're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
We used to, by driving really close to them.They're getting far too much attention .
Can't we have an annual cull , thin them out a bit ?
Alas this thread tells me we can't do that any more.
its obvious these comments were said in jest - just relax or 'on ya bike'
It's about as 'funny' as cancer.
Retroman said:
Crackie said:
FFS, I do, . I still cycle regularly, and have done for over 45 years, both in and out of town. I'm fully aware of how the selfish/ignorant/stupid behaviour of some motorists; I don't need patronising advice from you telling me how to position my car on the road.
If you have a genuine concern about cyclists closing the gap, then leave a bigger gap. . I still cycle regularly, and have done for over 45 years, both in and out of town. I'm fully aware of how the selfish/ignorant/stupid behaviour of some motorists; I don't need patronising advice from you telling me how to position my car on the road. Never a day goes by when i'm cycling and the other lane is clear to use for an overtake but people still give me about 1ft spare.
Crackie said:
imho the car driver has the bigger responsibility because the cyclist is more vulnerable but this doesn't absolve the cyclist of all responsibility. The point you don't seem to appreciate is that there are situations / scenarios where the cyclist is culpable ??
Of course. I agree fully.chow pan toon said:
The plan to get even more cars on the road in rush hour...
Still eases congestion IME.Since cycling has taken off on my short 5 mile school run I would come across, on average 5 cyclists - but due to the lanes combined with idiots who can't overtake they generally had a huge tailback behind them and we were all forced to drive at their pace - removing them and adding 5 cars would speed it up no end.
V8RX7 said:
chow pan toon said:
The plan to get even more cars on the road in rush hour...
Still eases congestion IME.Since cycling has taken off on my short 5 mile school run I would come across, on average 5 cyclists - but due to the lanes combined with idiots who can't overtake they generally had a huge tailback behind them and we were all forced to drive at their pace - removing them and adding 5 cars would speed it up no end.
Crackie said:
imho the car driver has the bigger responsibility because the cyclist is more vulnerable but this doesn't absolve the cyclist of all responsibility. The point you don't seem to appreciate is that there are situations / scenarios where the cyclist is culpable ??
I'd argue the opposite. As the more vulnerable road user, I'd say the cyclist bears the greater burden in ensuring safety over all else.As with most things on the Internet, the problems faced by cyclists are vastly overblown on here. I bike to and from the office and, because I value my life and I have a brain in my head rather than an overly developed sense of 'rights', I ride like everyone is out to kill me. I have absolutely no trouble whatsoever. Those who do seem to come a cropper (it's rare, but not unheard) are typically the Lance Armstrong wannabes who ride as though the world owes them something rather than as thought they live in the same world that I do.
People are odd.
creampuff said:
As for the 1.5m suggestion. That has no basis in reality whatsoever. Each overtake is on its merits and they have no power whatsoever to dictate 1.5 metres. If the HC guidance is followed, well then cars often overtake other cars with well under 1.5m clearance so the chance of a prosecution based on an opinion of an overtake with less than 1.5m clearance, with no other factors involved, is zero.
It's not clearance, it's space. Examine the photograph in the HC. This seems like a good initiative to me and my defence of it is fortified by the views of some on this thread.
Quite simply, if you view cyclists as relatively greater hazards than most other hazards that you encounter whilst driving then you are incompetent. Additionally, if you think that drivers should have some sort of societal high ground due to paying road tax, holding insurance, licence plates, believing cyclists should use [voluntary] cycle paths etc etc then you mark yourself out as not only incompetent but ignorant.
I say this as an enthusiastic road driver and member of John Lyon's original High Performance Club, a (reasonably) competent track driver and also a road cyclist for the last 20 years.
You need to have some respect for others on the road, whether it be a horse rider, old person who may not be inclined to drive close to the speed limit, a member of the emergency services, a cyclist, a pedestrian in a rural area with no pavement, a farmer with a slow moving vehicle, a young inexperienced motorcyclist doing something unwise, a foreign truck driver missing your presence due to his position...
The list could go on and on, but the bottom line is your skill as a driver is in part marked out by your ability to deal with all of these things, including cyclists.
Quite simply, if you view cyclists as relatively greater hazards than most other hazards that you encounter whilst driving then you are incompetent. Additionally, if you think that drivers should have some sort of societal high ground due to paying road tax, holding insurance, licence plates, believing cyclists should use [voluntary] cycle paths etc etc then you mark yourself out as not only incompetent but ignorant.
I say this as an enthusiastic road driver and member of John Lyon's original High Performance Club, a (reasonably) competent track driver and also a road cyclist for the last 20 years.
You need to have some respect for others on the road, whether it be a horse rider, old person who may not be inclined to drive close to the speed limit, a member of the emergency services, a cyclist, a pedestrian in a rural area with no pavement, a farmer with a slow moving vehicle, a young inexperienced motorcyclist doing something unwise, a foreign truck driver missing your presence due to his position...
The list could go on and on, but the bottom line is your skill as a driver is in part marked out by your ability to deal with all of these things, including cyclists.
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