Minimum Passing Distance Petition
Discussion
blueg33 said:
I thought the highway code already stated that plenty of room should be left when passing cyclists
Eg Rules 212, 213 and 163
Whats the point of changing a law that wont be policed anyway?
It impossible to police, however how many drivers adhere to the highway code ?Eg Rules 212, 213 and 163
Whats the point of changing a law that wont be policed anyway?
Having cycled extensively though France the 1.5 m signs seem very effective, the only issue is that people pass you with space but at higher speeds.
Totally pointless.
The vast majority of drivers are considerate when passing cyclists to reduce the risk of crashing into them. For those who brush past at 40mph, if the the risk of killing someone isn't enough persuasion to give someone a bit more room then I doubt a small fine will change anything.
The vast majority of drivers are considerate when passing cyclists to reduce the risk of crashing into them. For those who brush past at 40mph, if the the risk of killing someone isn't enough persuasion to give someone a bit more room then I doubt a small fine will change anything.
MKnight702 said:
I'll sign the petition, if you promise to sign one about making the use of available cycle lanes compulsory.
I do try to give cyclists as much room as I am able, but frankly some of them are their own worst enemies.
Near me there is a narrow bridge that has a completely separate cycle bridge next to it, and yet every morning there are cyclists who insist on pedalling their way over the narrow bridge holding up all the traffic. Or the roads in Harston that have bollards in the middle every hundred yards and a cycle path which most of the lycra crew ignore meaning that the queue of traffic stretches back the entire length of the village as nobody can safely get past the cyclist doing 15-20mph down the main road.
Sorry, but I have to ask, why are you even posting in Pedal Powered? You've clearly never ridden a bike in your life.I do try to give cyclists as much room as I am able, but frankly some of them are their own worst enemies.
Near me there is a narrow bridge that has a completely separate cycle bridge next to it, and yet every morning there are cyclists who insist on pedalling their way over the narrow bridge holding up all the traffic. Or the roads in Harston that have bollards in the middle every hundred yards and a cycle path which most of the lycra crew ignore meaning that the queue of traffic stretches back the entire length of the village as nobody can safely get past the cyclist doing 15-20mph down the main road.
47p2 said:
One of my regular routes takes me along the A77, the local authorities have kindly provided a cycle lane. Sadly it's unusable as the surface is full of sunken drain covers, broken tarmac, detritus washed in to the kerb and cars parked whilst the lazy owners nip into the shops. I've had a number of arguments with selfish motorists on this stretch of road...
Google map van was there on a quiet day by the looks of this...
every cycle lane like this needs double yellows down the inside, it's so fGoogle map van was there on a quiet day by the looks of this...
king obvious it hurts to realise the authorities don't see it.It doesn't make a difference!
There's a stretch like that near me, except with double yellow lines painted. Every time I ride down it I count the cars parked on the cycle lane - only once has there been none.
I took to tweeting both the council, especially when they mentioned anything about their flagship cycle network policies, when there were more than 10 cars. It went through loops of not being able to ticket anyone due to the double yellow lines being partially covered in leaves - but they couldn't send a street sweeper down because of all the parked cars. I then raised a separate issue with the council about all the debris in the cycle lane, which eventually got cleared. So I raised the parking issue again, but the double yellow lines were slightly faded, so they couldn't ticket anyone.
At this point I gout our busybody local councillor/wannabe MP involved and to be fair to him the lines were refreshed, but made no difference to the cars parking there. What did made a difference were visits from parking enforcement who now has no excuses not to issue tickets, it has gone from 10-15 cars parked in the cycle lane to 1 or 2. It has taken a lot of effort though. Simply adding double yellow lines may not be the solution.
There's a stretch like that near me, except with double yellow lines painted. Every time I ride down it I count the cars parked on the cycle lane - only once has there been none.
I took to tweeting both the council, especially when they mentioned anything about their flagship cycle network policies, when there were more than 10 cars. It went through loops of not being able to ticket anyone due to the double yellow lines being partially covered in leaves - but they couldn't send a street sweeper down because of all the parked cars. I then raised a separate issue with the council about all the debris in the cycle lane, which eventually got cleared. So I raised the parking issue again, but the double yellow lines were slightly faded, so they couldn't ticket anyone.
At this point I gout our busybody local councillor/wannabe MP involved and to be fair to him the lines were refreshed, but made no difference to the cars parking there. What did made a difference were visits from parking enforcement who now has no excuses not to issue tickets, it has gone from 10-15 cars parked in the cycle lane to 1 or 2. It has taken a lot of effort though. Simply adding double yellow lines may not be the solution.
loudlashadjuster said:
The Govt. would achieve far more with a public education campaign. Even if they are derided at the time, stuff like 'clunk click, every trip' and 'knock-off Nigel' (actually, that's quite apt 
) tends to stick in the public's imagination long after the ads have gone from the screens.
Making something socially unacceptable has far more impact than legislation in many ways, look at drink driving and how long that took from legislation (1966 IIRC) to it really being something most folk wouldn't even consider (well into the 1980s it seems).
Chuck a few million at WPP and tell them to come up with a funny campaign that marginalises dangerous and selfish attitudes towards cyclists and wait a few years, results will come.
Probably far better ROI than tins of green paint and the odd blue sign.
This, every time! It's not rocket science and it's been proven to work yet we insist on re-inventing the wheel every time a new issue crops up.) tends to stick in the public's imagination long after the ads have gone from the screens.Making something socially unacceptable has far more impact than legislation in many ways, look at drink driving and how long that took from legislation (1966 IIRC) to it really being something most folk wouldn't even consider (well into the 1980s it seems).
Chuck a few million at WPP and tell them to come up with a funny campaign that marginalises dangerous and selfish attitudes towards cyclists and wait a few years, results will come.
Probably far better ROI than tins of green paint and the odd blue sign.
Education, education, education!
HardtopManual said:
MKnight702 said:
I'm just about to go into the garage and get the bikes out so we can cycle over to some friends this evening.
There's a big difference between bimbling along a towpath and trying to make safe progress on busy roads.davepoth said:
There shouldn't be. Go to any country in Europe where cycling is firmly embedded in the culture and you will find that most people are bimbling along on 50 year old boneshakers - grandmas, people carrying their shopping in trailers, cargo bikes, you name it. The one thing you hardly ever see is a peloton of lycra clad directors of small and medium enterprises riding bicycles that cost around a year's salary for someone on the minimum wage.
Even an 18 year old will be earning more than £10k per annum on a full time contract for a 37.5 hour week at the national minimum wage. Which is more than most bikes in the European pro peloton will cost.Does it also upset you that some folk go to do their weekly grocery shopping in stuff like Bentley's Continental Speed, for the price of which you could buy whole streets of houses in some parts of the UK? Surely that's a ridiculous thing to be spending one's money on, when a faded red 1993 Astra Club would do the job just as well?
yellowjack said:
Even an 18 year old will be earning more than £10k per annum on a full time contract for a 37.5 hour week at the national minimum wage. Which is more than most bikes in the European pro peloton will cost.
Does it also upset you that some folk go to do their weekly grocery shopping in stuff like Bentley's Continental Speed, for the price of which you could buy whole streets of houses in some parts of the UK? Surely that's a ridiculous thing to be spending one's money on, when a faded red 1993 Astra Club would do the job just as well?
In the UK, cycling is a "lifestyle choice"; shaved legs, lycra, nutrition, sportives, holidays to watch the TdF, the lot. That's a bit abnormal. Most of Europe just hops on an old bike in their work clothes and pedals to work.Does it also upset you that some folk go to do their weekly grocery shopping in stuff like Bentley's Continental Speed, for the price of which you could buy whole streets of houses in some parts of the UK? Surely that's a ridiculous thing to be spending one's money on, when a faded red 1993 Astra Club would do the job just as well?
davepoth said:
In the UK, cycling is a "lifestyle choice"; shaved legs, lycra, nutrition, sportives, holidays to watch the TdF, the lot. That's a bit abnormal. Most of Europe just hops on an old bike in their work clothes and pedals to work.
'Performance' cars, too, are a "lifestyle choice". Pilgrimages to French racing circuits, beer, tents, ridiculous car stickers and expensive vinyl wraps, the lot. It's a bit abnormal. Most of Europe just wears dungarees to drive a 2CV across a ploughed field to deliver milk and eggs... ...see, I'm posting on Pistonheads. It's a bit daft for me to kick off mocking the annual pilgrimage to the Circuit de la Sarthe, or rounding on some balding fella in a branded zip-up jacket who thinks that managing to pilot a 3 Series Coupe around the Nordschleife for a couple of laps without bending it makes him some kind of mutant Prost/Priaulx/Plato hybrid. Clue: This is the quiet backwater of Pistonheads that we like to call "Pedal Powered"...
4x4Tyke said:
jesusbuiltmycar said:
a petition calling for the introduction of a minimum passing distance when overtaking cyclists
Will this also apply when cyclists are undertaking ?If a bicycle rider gets it wrong whilst passing a car too closely and clips the door mirror of that car, the car is likely to remain largely undamaged, and the driver might not even notice if they are paying as much attention as most do during 'rush hour' (
@ 'rush' hour). The car will certainly not move, nor fall over beneath the wheels of the bicycle.So whilst it might not seem fair (Wah! Wah! It's not faaaaaiiiiir! He's CHEATING!!!!!
), it is entirely proportional AND reasonable to expect a fast moving car to leave plenty of space when passing more vulnerable road users. The definition of what "plenty of space" constitutes varies between vehicle types. Slower moving vehicles having lower mass pose lower risks than heavier, faster moving ones so please, quit being obtuse for once in your life.davepoth said:
In the UK, cycling is a "lifestyle choice"; shaved legs, lycra, nutrition, sportives, holidays to watch the TdF, the lot. That's a bit abnormal. Most of Europe just hops on an old bike in their work clothes and pedals to work.
Having lived in the Netherlands I agree with this. Over there cycling in a way of getting from A to B. Here cycling is a sport/hobby for most.Even if it was put in the HC, it wouldn't make much difference, most motorists don't know half of the code as it is.
A non starter really. And yes I am a motorist and cyclist. On the subject of bikes, pity more dont have bells on them so they can indicate their presence when cycling on shared walks with pedestrians.
A non starter really. And yes I am a motorist and cyclist. On the subject of bikes, pity more dont have bells on them so they can indicate their presence when cycling on shared walks with pedestrians.
Vipers said:
Even if it was put in the HC, it wouldn't make much difference, most motorists don't know half of the code as it is.
A non starter really. And yes I am a motorist and cyclist. On the subject of bikes, pity more dont have bells on them so they can indicate their presence when cycling on shared walks with pedestrians.
[shrug] I've got bells on ALL of my bikes. I use those bells to warn A non starter really. And yes I am a motorist and cyclist. On the subject of bikes, pity more dont have bells on them so they can indicate their presence when cycling on shared walks with pedestrians.
On the subject of pedestrians on shared use paths, a pity more of them don't have some form of advanced walking training. Perhaps then they'd recognise the huge pictograms of pedestrians and bicycles painted either side of that solid white line down the middle of the path, and stick to the side which best matches their description. And FFS quit staring at me like I've taken a dump in your handbag when I pass you when YOU are on the WRONG SIDE of the path AND you ignored my frantic ringing of my bell. This is exactly why cyclists choose to ignore these useless white elephant "cycle facilities" and revert to riding on the road...
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff