Cyclists! Why do they ride in the middle of the road?
Discussion
yonex said:
When I turn right I look behind, stick my arm out and if it's safe make the turn. When I turn left I look behind......
Any reason why you object to this simple solution or are you just a miserable b
d?
You might do but unfortunately many (and I hesitate to say majority otherwise I'll need to provide the stats to Will) of the cyclists in London do not indicate or even look behind. Any reason why you object to this simple solution or are you just a miserable b
d?Trafalgar Square this morning was a prime example. Now I realise other road users don't always indicate but I do get the impression that a greater population of cyclists are guilty of this.
yonex said:
WinstonWolf said:
Will my daughter's My Little Pony bike be required to have brake lights and indicators?
Absolutely and it will have to be SVA'd taxed and insured. Oh and pop £20 in the post to DVLA for her provisional 
Shall I go on?
fulham911club said:
You might do but unfortunately many (and I hesitate to say majority otherwise I'll need to provide the stats to Will) of the cyclists in London do not indicate or even look behind.
Trafalgar Square this morning was a prime example. Now I realise other road users don't always indicate but I do get the impression that a greater population of cyclists are guilty of this.
Trafalgar Square this morning was a prime example. Now I realise other road users don't always indicate but I do get the impression that a greater population of cyclists are guilty of this.
I don't think it's a greater proportion - no-one appears to be particularly good at the "mirror, signal" bit.
I don't think fitting indicators to bikes will change a thing though.
Mr Will said:
Let's flip this around, why should they have them? Is a lack of indicators or brake lights causing a significant number of accidents, or do you just want bikes to have them because cars have them?
This is my final post on this topic, because it's pointless. There are some cyclists on PH that just gang up when someone makes any suggestion, call them stupid, pick out irrelevant points, avoid answering questions with more questions and ultimately solve nothing or convince anyone of their opinions. You're a poor representation to the cycling community, plenty of my mates cycle but they don't seem to be s about it when you suggest that they may be in the wrong in the some areas.You still haven't come up with a reason why bikes can't have lights, so I'll take that as you conceding. Natural selection will take it's course, the dumb militants will die before they spread their seed, and if they do survive I'm sure finding a mate will be difficult when they have to explain to a (insert sexual preference here) that you shave your legs to decrease your drag coefficient when riding at a bar.
We laugh now at sky scraper builders eating their lunch at the top, the man that walked in front of a car holding a red flag in the old days, the fact we used to paint watches with radioactive paint and then clean the brushes with our mouths. I bet in 2050+ people will be laughing at bikes not having indicators on their bikes, especially when I imagine a Honda jazz would probably be able to do 0-60 in 4 seconds by then.
Tomalawk said:
There are some cyclists on PH that just gang up when someone makes any suggestion, call them stupid, pick out irrelevant points, avoid answering questions with more questions and ultimately solve nothing or convince anyone of their opinions.
Only when they're stupid suggestions.Tomalawk said:
WinstonWolf said:
Will my daughter's My Little Pony bike be required to have brake lights and indicators?
If you're letting your daughter ride her My Little Pony bike on a NSL, you won't have a daughter for very long.Not withstanding the fact that the indicators would be so close together they'd be useless
will_ said:
fulham911club said:
You might do but unfortunately many (and I hesitate to say majority otherwise I'll need to provide the stats to Will) of the cyclists in London do not indicate or even look behind.
Trafalgar Square this morning was a prime example. Now I realise other road users don't always indicate but I do get the impression that a greater population of cyclists are guilty of this.
Trafalgar Square this morning was a prime example. Now I realise other road users don't always indicate but I do get the impression that a greater population of cyclists are guilty of this.
I don't think it's a greater proportion - no-one appears to be particularly good at the "mirror, signal" bit.
I don't think fitting indicators to bikes will change a thing though.
Tomalawk said:
You still haven't come up with a reason why bikes can't have lights, so I'll take that as you conceding.
Yes, it's possible for them to have lights. Or a wavey flag on a pole. Or one of these lollipop things:
You still haven't told me why they should though?
Tomalawk said:
You're a poor representation to the cycling community, plenty of my mates cycle but they don't seem to be s about it when you suggest that they may be in the wrong in the some areas.
Pointing out flaws in your arguments is inappropriate? You are the one who is swearing when we suggest you are wrong... s about it when you suggest that they may be in the wrong in the some areas.Mr Will said:
You still haven't told me why they should though?
Try and grow up will you Mr Will. It is obvious he thinks they are a good idea as it would help other road users understand when they wish to change direction or when they brake. He thinks it is a good idea. Many others don't.
Why can't you leave it as that rather than keep going on about it like a petulant child?
fulham911club said:
Not saying that indicators on a bicycle make any sense but rather that basic cycle training needs to be taken by many (and probably the majority) that ride in London.
"Probably the majority" of cyclists already have a driving licence.I'd suggest education and training for ALL road users would be of benefit. Then perhaps trucks wouldn't turn into cyclists, moped riders might stay out of bike boxes, peds might look before stepping into the road whilst texting and cyclists might position themselves better and singal appropriately.
A lack of basic training and skills is not a cycling specific problem.
Surely it is up to the person proposing adding cost, complexity and inconvenience to justify it. I think people suspect that the only real justification on offer is "because I have to have them on my car".
If I felt that hand signals weren't obvious enough (and I don't) I'd rather use gloves or wristbands with flashing LEDs embedded in them.
The decelerations and speeds involved with bicycles don't make brake lights worthwhile, IMO. You shouldn't need to see a brake light on the back of a bike to avoid running into it.
If I felt that hand signals weren't obvious enough (and I don't) I'd rather use gloves or wristbands with flashing LEDs embedded in them.
The decelerations and speeds involved with bicycles don't make brake lights worthwhile, IMO. You shouldn't need to see a brake light on the back of a bike to avoid running into it.
will_ said:
fulham911club said:
Not saying that indicators on a bicycle make any sense but rather that basic cycle training needs to be taken by many (and probably the majority) that ride in London.
"Probably the majority" of cyclists already have a driving licence.I'd suggest education and training for ALL road users would be of benefit. Then perhaps trucks wouldn't turn into cyclists, moped riders might stay out of bike boxes, peds might look before stepping into the road whilst texting and cyclists might position themselves better and singal appropriately.
A lack of basic training and skills is not a cycling specific problem.
Being a cyclist and having a driving license doesn't give you the right to use your indicators in a car and totally forget about the need to warn other road users when you want to change direction or turn on a bicycle.
I never said that a lack of basic training was a cycling specific problem but most do not indicate when turning or moving direction. And for this I suggest basic training. Stop turning the thread into your usual rant about "everybody else doing something wrong. It's always somebody else's fault"
WinstonWolf said:
You haven't answered my question. Which bikes would you have fitted with indicators and brake lights?
Not withstanding the fact that the indicators would be so close together they'd be useless
That's a difficult one really to call, and really is not for me as an individual to determine on my own as someone on the internet but rather a group of people because that's how we do things in 21st century Britain (Apparently anyway). Really we shouldn't be advocating road usage to minors on their own without training, kids are pretty lethal to themselves on bikes. But if was I was to say so, maybe something like all bikes who want to use mains roads need them but you also need something like cycling CBT (which would be overridden by a full driving license) as well.Not withstanding the fact that the indicators would be so close together they'd be useless
If you can read a number plate at 20.5 meters away, I think if you'll be able to work out if the light is flashing on the right or left side.
fulham911club said:
will_ said:
fulham911club said:
Not saying that indicators on a bicycle make any sense but rather that basic cycle training needs to be taken by many (and probably the majority) that ride in London.
"Probably the majority" of cyclists already have a driving licence.I'd suggest education and training for ALL road users would be of benefit. Then perhaps trucks wouldn't turn into cyclists, moped riders might stay out of bike boxes, peds might look before stepping into the road whilst texting and cyclists might position themselves better and singal appropriately.
A lack of basic training and skills is not a cycling specific problem.
Being a cyclist and having a driving license doesn't give you the right to use your indicators in a car and totally forget about the need to warn other road users when you want to change direction or turn on a bicycle.
I never said that a lack of basic training was a cycling specific problem but most do not indicate when turning or moving direction. And for this I suggest basic training. Stop turning the thread into your usual rant about "everybody else doing something wrong. It's always somebody else's fault"
If having a driving licence doesn't equip someone to use a bicycle on the roads then clearly the driving test isn't sufficient. Such an implication suggests that drivers don't know about signalling, use of mirrors and blind-spot checks, traffic signs and signals and basic road positioning. I'd say most drivers are perfectly equipped to ride a bike on the road - heck, some people can ride a moped on a car licence! Yet you want even more training for cyclists than you do for moped riders? On what rational basis?
A lack of basic training is not, as you accept, a cycling specific problem. It is a problem for all road users. That is what I said.
As to it being "somebody else's fault" - did you see that I included cyclists in that list?
Don't turn this into your usual position of it all being the cyclists' fault, when you already know that you can't support it.
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