Police pull over 'two abrest' cyclists - argument ensues

[Hungrymc]

J4CKO said:

If its so safe two abreast, do you not go out on your own ?

To be fair, I've seen a few riding single file and further out into the carrigway than some 2 abreast riders.

I've never, ever ridden 2 abreast on the road. It just feels ridiculous to me. Nice to be able to chat I guess.

[Master Bean]

I cycle in a club, sometimes we go single file if there is a 'car back,' other times we go two abreast if the road is wide but there is less distance for the overtake. We are constantly checking behind and telling one another what is around us. Not all groups will be as good/disciplined.

[e21Mark]

It's amazing the attitude some folk display thanks to the power of GoPro.

Idiots that give cyclists a bad name.

[saaby93]

Master Bean said:

I cycle in a club, sometimes we go single file if there is a 'car back,' other times we go two abreast if the road is wide but there is less distance for the overtake. We are constantly checking behind and telling one another what is around us. Not all groups will be as good/disciplined.

If the road is wide and clear?
In the other thread we were discussing whether there was really less distance for an overtake two abreast by the time youve taken into account moving out and moving back in angles

If there's traffic trying and otherwise able to make progress single file seemed best - with some gaps every few cycles for pull ins.

[fatboy b]

grumbledoak said:

"I'm gonna enjoy this!"

What a pair of fkwits.

Quite!

They may not have been breaking the law, but they're not really being considerate to other road users. They seem to get off on pushing limits to create 'situations' that they can then appear to look really clever on videos. Knobheads.

[Rich_W]

spookly said:

Antony Moxey said:

spookly said:

Up in the Mendip hills you see hundreds of cyclists getting in the way in big groups, and as soon as you pass one group you'll find another within a minute or two. They never do anything to let traffic pass. I get that it is a nice place to ride, walk, or drive, but they can be a menace in some areas.
I never get annoyed by a single cyclist, but when they are unnecessarily two abreast, or in a big pack, it's just antisocial.

So 'hundreds of cyclists' is antisocial? That's a bit ironic isn't it? How about never letting traffic past - has it occured to you that they ARE the traffic? Perhaps it's you who is being antisocial considering them to be a 'menace' that you desperately need to pass?

Or perhaps I have somewhere to travel to, and all the hobbyist cyclists snarl up the entire road network in that area and cause big delays.
Maybe they should stick to tracks or velodromes. Or do what I do and use a mountain bike to ride somewhere that I'm not holding anyone up, or likely to get poleaxed by 2 tons of metal.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-cyclist, I'm anti-bell ends who hold me up on the road for their hobby/enjoyment. So the same goes for horses, pedestrians who walk into moving traffic, and HGVs/coaches driving unnecessarily down narrow roads. If you are cycling for transport fine, these people aren't.

This evening I drove my usual 20mile commute home. I was held up many times, sometimes I was stationary in a long line of people in little tin boxes. Not once by a cyclist, and I saw many of course.

Didn't they know I had somewhere to be? How dare the road network not be solely for me and others to get out of my way instantly....

spookly said:

Do you drive up hills at 5mph with a huge trail of cars behind you, then do 20mph in an NSL, then get to the heady heights of 40mph downhill? No?? So not at all the same then.

ETA: Yes, that makes people in any mode of transport who dawdle at well below the speed limit without good reason just as annoying.

I'm fairly sure the good reason is that they cant go any faster.


btw. Limit is a limit, not a goal. Sometimes you have to drive below the speed limit. And I'm not going to pretend I haven't exceeded the speed limit by a good margin in the past. But it doesn't make it right.

CrgT16 said:

... treat others like you want to be treated and driver/pedestrian/cyclist road user just stop being wkers.... you know who you are!

I often do, but believe me there's still the 2% of s on our roads that simply cannot negotiate past a cyclist safely. These are normally the sort of people that frequent any cycling thread on PH with their ignorant nonsense about how Road tax and "how dare they get in my way. I have a car" But I don't see them pulling over when a P1 comes rocking up behind their stbox

Hackney said:

Passing single file cyclists would be easy and would not require going right over to the other lane,

And would result in Not enough space being given to a single file rider.

Here's a handy hint, which I genuinely want to see the Government introduce. (Note speeds are in Km per hour (so 60KPH is 37.5mph)

Hackney said:

So, basically, be polite, don't be a dick.

Sadly the 2% I mentioned earlier feel that doesn't apply if you're in a little metal box. In which case do whatever the fk you want

[Section 8]

Riding 2 abreast may be legal but all of the self righteous spouting off will not help when some idiot not paying attention texting on their phone drives over your favourite head. Thankfully I don't see it too often but you are asking for trouble if you think you are going to remain safe 4-5 ft in the carriageway with God knows what barrelling up behind you.

[TooMany2cvs]

Rich_W said:

Here's a handy hint, which I genuinely want to see the Government introduce. (Note speeds are in Km per hour (so 60KPH is 37.5mph)

That's actually less space than the HC recommendation.

Highway Code said:

Rule 163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should
...
give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car

[Heaveho]

Everything about those two idiots was stereotypical and ridiculous......the attitude, the lycra, the go-pro, the fact they posted it up, and, as I'm clearly already making myself really popular, the accents. Pair of utter nimrods, and clearly happy to inconvenience others for no good reason. The copper may have been technically in the wrong, but he looked like the golden child compared to them.

If cyclists think it's ok to demand that much room from passing cars, why don't they give that much when they skim past pedestrians in the park?

Edited by Heaveho on Monday 22 May 21:51

[saaby93]

TooMany2cvs said:

That's actually less space than the HC recommendation.

That isnt a recommended space Weve done this before

It's showing someone leaving at least as much space as they would a car, i.e. they could be leaving a bit more there

As you said

Highway Code said:

Rule 163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should
...
give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car

And it's usually useful to quote the one about 'drop back if necessary to allow the overtake to complete'

[DoubleD]

If there was another cyclist in that picture then you wouldnt be able to give the gap that the single cyclist has been given.

[anonymous-user]

That Audi has an illegal plate, for starters.

[TooMany2cvs]

DoubleD said:

If there was another cyclist in that picture then you wouldnt be able to give the gap that the single cyclist has been given.

You would give them the space you'd give a car - one lane.

[DoubleD]

TooMany2cvs said:

DoubleD said:

If there was another cyclist in that picture then you wouldnt be able to give the gap that the single cyclist has been given.

You would give them the space you'd give a car - one lane.

But you cant give as much of a gap with 2 cyclists on that road as you can with 1. The car will be closer if its going to pass.

[V8RX7]

Idiots not surrounded by a metal box, antagonise idiots who are surrounded by a metal box.

I know who's survival I'd be backing.

[768]

TooMany2cvs said:

If they left that much room to overtake a car they'd be on the grass.

[Olf]

Same cop has to deal with peeling guys like this off the road when their attitude proves an inadequate shield to two tons of fast moving metal. Shame on them for not just sucking up a bit of well intentioned advice.

I'd have been interested in their response if he'd got off the bike and just said 'lads - you may be within your rights but I've been to too many accidents involving the deaths of factually correct cyclists'. Maybe he can adapt his style for when he meets st for brains like this next time.

[anonymous-user]

Heaveho said:

If cyclists think it's ok to demand that much room from passing cars, why don't they give that much when they skim past pedestrians in the park?

You can't seriously compare the potential impact of 2 tons of metal whizzing past you to 80kg of human and bicycle?

No one would like to by hit by a bicycle, and it would certainly hurt, but it's not comparable to a car.

How many pedestrians are killed after being hit by cars vs hit by bikes? I suspect those statistics will tell all we need to know.

[J4CKO]

It isnt even so much the rare 2 cyclists side by side, the group of twenty plus seemingly oblivious, chatting and weaving, the safety in numbers thing, seem it on organised rides and that, coupled with drivers on a short fuse generates friction, for some any cyclist being there is enough to set them off so a group seemingly ignoring them soon gets them boiling, admittedly the self same drivers will sit for hours behind other cars, stationary, happy as a pig in st but a few roadies impeding their way for even a short time can set them off.

So, a little give and take, for drivers the acceptance that sometimes other road users may slow them down and to get over it, and for cyclists, perhaps make an effort to let drivers through, it isnt hard, rear view mirrors are available, cars being there, on the road, should not be a surpirse.

Cyclists, no calling car drivers "Cagers", stop for red lights and stop acting like Ronaldo when someone comes withing three feet, drivers avoid "Lycra Clad" it makes you sound like the Daily Mail, no mentioning Road Tax, really, its been done to death and mentioning "Childrens Toys" when refering to bicycles is poor form, Clarkson said it and it was moderately original but now, you just sound like a tit who quotes Clarkson and tries to pass it off as you being funny, oh and can you avoid spatting cyclists wherever possible.

And all, stick your bloody cameras up your arses and film your thoughts !

[Olf]

swerni said:

Copper came across as an idiot.
I can't see how they were inconveniencing anyone, very wide road, plenty of room to over take and light traffic.
As for being in park, you must have been watching a different video.

Who are they ?
Love a bit of generalisation

Did you not notice the clear road ahead of them and then the 20+ cars that drive by as soon as they get pulled over?