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Highway Code Shakeup. Cyclists Encouraged To Use Middle Of Road

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11 minutes ago, alchresearch said:

Sadly wouldn't work.  It would end up costing more processing and policing.  That's why dog licences were abolished - it cost more to process them that they cost.

I pay £15 a month vehicle tax....the government seems to think its worth it and the system is already in place

 

But Im getting a little bored with all the pedantic comments so i'll just sum up


If cyclists use the roads they should have the same rules, laws and costs as other vehicles

 

Simple 👍

Edited by Jack Grey

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As a daily cyclist, pedestrian and motorist here's my two penneth...

 

Cyclists- I commute (cycle) daily through town and I'm not going to ignore the fact that there are a lot of cyclists who ignore the rules of the road, sometimes dangerously. This ranges from doddering, wobbly "noobs" on Dutch bikes who don't seem to be aware of any rules, to elitists who think their Strava time takes priority over the rules. That said, there are plenty of us who do follow the rules.

 

Motorists- Personally I've not had many drivers showing a bad attitude to me on the bike, or driving dangerously. The close misses I've had have always been at junctions, when they can't seem to decide how much time they've got and then pull out too late anyway,  almost T-boning me. Motorists need to stop banging on about "road tax" and cyclists.

 

Pedestrians- I have to agree that these days the majority are oblivious to their surroundings (in town, at least). People walk around staring at their phones or have headphones in (or both), they step out into the road without looking, walk unsuspectingly on cycle lanes and seem annoyed when you appear in front of them on a bike.

Joggers/runners are frustrating on narrow or single track trails when they have headphones on and can't hear you approach. I've had two instances where a runner was startled when I passed them and shouted at me for not alerting them before I passed, even though I tried.

 

The changes to the highway code, I don't see what the big deal is. The advice has always been to take centre lane (primary) position when it's safer to do so.

I think, as more bicycles (and potentially e-scooters) appear on the roads, it wouldn't hurt if there was a mandatory (but free of charge) online theory test for anyone who uses the roads. 

Edited by RootsBooster

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9 minutes ago, Jack Grey said:

I pay £15 a month vehicle tax....the government seems to think its worth it and the system is already in place

 

But Im getting a little bored with all the pedantic comments so i'll just sum up


If cyclists use the roads they should have the same rules, laws and costs as other vehicles

 

Simple 👍

You a pay £15 a month emissions tax, the tax isn't due on zero emissions vehicles. Cycles are zero emissions too so the tax wouldn't be due on them either.

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17 minutes ago, Jack Grey said:

I pay £15 a month vehicle tax....the government seems to think its worth it and the system is already in place

 

But Im getting a little bored with all the pedantic comments so i'll just sum up


If cyclists use the roads they should have the same rules, laws and costs as other vehicles

 

Simple 👍

You say that as though other vehicles all have the same costs. There are plenty of cars that don't pay VED (used to be called road tax).

What's your position on that?

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2 hours ago, RootsBooster said:

As a daily cyclist, pedestrian and motorist here's my two penneth...

 

Cyclists- I commute (cycle) daily through town and I'm not going to ignore the fact that there are a lot of cyclists who ignore the rules of the road, sometimes dangerously. This ranges from doddering, wobbly "noobs" on Dutch bikes who don't seem to be aware of any rules, to elitists who think their Strava time takes priority over the rules. That said, there are plenty of us who do follow the rules.

 

Motorists- Personally I've not had many drivers showing a bad attitude to me on the bike, or driving dangerously. The close misses I've had have always been at junctions, when they can't seem to decide how much time they've got and then pull out too late anyway,  almost T-boning me. Motorists need to stop banging on about "road tax" and cyclists.

 

Pedestrians- I have to agree that these days the majority are oblivious to their surroundings (in town, at least). People walk around staring at their phones or have headphones in (or both), they step out into the road without looking, walk unsuspectingly on cycle lanes and seem annoyed when you appear in front of them on a bike.

Joggers/runners are frustrating on narrow or single track trails when they have headphones on and can't hear you approach. I've had two instances where a runner was startled when I passed them and shouted at me for not alerting them before I passed, even though I tried.

 

The changes to the highway code, I don't see what the big deal is. The advice has always been to take centre lane (primary) position when it's safer to do so.

I think, as more bicycles (and potentially e-scooters) appear on the roads, it wouldn't hurt if there was a mandatory (but free of charge) online theory test for anyone who uses the roads. 

The main problem I can forsee is not with cyclists but with pedestrians wondering into the road without looking and any forthcoming accident automatically being the drivers fault .

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4 minutes ago, spilldig said:

The main problem I can forsee is not with cyclists but with pedestrians wondering into the road without looking and any forthcoming accident automatically being the drivers fault .

If a pedestrian 'wanders into the road without looking' - and they do - it is their own silly fault. As a pedestrian, I keep my wits about me even  when on the footpath - non-road-legal cyclists seem to think they have priority on the footways round here. As an aside, why are cycles no longer fitted with bells - at least that way a cyclist had some way of warning of their approach?

 

As a pedestrian crossing roads I assume vehicles/cycles and their users are blind, and never try to cross when they are close by -except on a zebra/pelican crossing when the gap between me and them is sufficient to allow evasive action if needed.

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28 minutes ago, spilldig said:

The main problem I can forsee is not with cyclists but with pedestrians wondering into the road without looking and any forthcoming accident automatically being the drivers fault .

It will be the motorist's fault, that's what changes.

A motorist should approach a junction at a safe speed (meaning they'll be able to stop if necessary). If a pedestrian is present and could potentially step out into the road, anticipate that it might happen.

17 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

If a pedestrian 'wanders into the road without looking' - and they do - it is their own silly fault. As a pedestrian, I keep my wits about me even  when on the footpath - non-road-legal cyclists seem to think they have priority on the footways round here. As an aside, why are cycles no longer fitted with bells - at least that way a cyclist had some way of warning of their approach?

 

As a pedestrian crossing roads I assume vehicles/cycles and their users are blind, and never try to cross when they are close by -except on a zebra/pelican crossing when the gap between me and them is sufficient to allow evasive action if needed.

Most bikes are still sold with bells supplied, usually the owner removes them because they look naff. I have a compact bell on both of my bikes which doesn't look too bad, I use it in town but I'd say only about 25% of people are aware enough (not distracted by music or a handheld screen) to take notice.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is a non-road-legal cyclist?

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4 minutes ago, RootsBooster said:

It will be the motorist's fault, that's what changes.

A motorist should approach a junction at a safe speed (meaning they'll be able to stop if necessary). If a pedestrian is present and could potentially step out into the road, anticipate that it might happen.

Most bikes are still sold with bells supplied, usually the owner removes them because they look naff. I have a compact bell on both of my bikes which doesn't look too bad, I use it in town but I'd say only about 25% of people are aware enough (not distracted by music or a handheld screen) to take notice.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is a non-road-legal cyclist?

You must be one of the very few, because when I've seen bikes parked up, none of them seem to have bells. I would agree that the vast majority of people seem totally unaware of their surroundings - wherever they are, considering the number I have skirt round, but that seems to be the norm these days.

 

Non-road-legal bikes - those not displaying lights, but that is possibly my logic just telling me that if they are going to ride on the road (or footpath) at night, it would be a good idea to have some lighting.

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3 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

You must be one of the very few, because when I've seen bikes parked up, none of them seem to have bells. I would agree that the vast majority of people seem totally unaware of their surroundings - wherever they are, considering the number I have skirt round, but that seems to be the norm these days.

 

Non-road-legal bikes - those not displaying lights, but that is possibly my logic just telling me that if they are going to ride on the road (or footpath) at night, it would be a good idea to have some lighting.

Like I said, most owners remove the bells because they look naff and there's no legal requirement for them.

I agree about bike lights, there are too many cyclists who don't use them. There's no excuse these days, we live in a time where you can buy a decent set of lights for about £10.

You can even buy some poundshop lights, which is better than nothing.

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40 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

As an aside, why are cycles no longer fitted with bells - at least that way a cyclist had some way of warning of their approach?

What proportion of cyclists do you think don't have voices?

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13 minutes ago, RootsBooster said:

Like I said, most owners remove the bells because they look naff and there's no legal requirement for them.

I agree about bike lights, there are too many cyclists who don't use them. There's no excuse these days, we live in a time where you can buy a decent set of lights for about £10.

You can even buy some poundshop lights, which is better than nothing.

There should be a legal need for them - a cyclist, especially on a footpath, zipping past you at speed and very close is an unnerving experience. Makes me jump, and I'm usually aware of my surroundings.  TBH, 'looking naff' isn't really an excuse for removing a warning device.

7 minutes ago, altus said:

What proportion of cyclists do you think don't have voices?

I imagine 99.99% recurring do, but very few use them.

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1 hour ago, RollingJ said:

If a pedestrian 'wanders into the road without looking' - and they do - it is their own silly fault. As a pedestrian, I keep my wits about me even  when on the footpath - non-road-legal cyclists seem to think they have priority on the footways round here. As an aside, why are cycles no longer fitted with bells - at least that way a cyclist had some way of warning of their approach?

 

As a pedestrian crossing roads I assume vehicles/cycles and their users are blind, and never try to cross when they are close by -except on a zebra/pelican crossing when the gap between me and them is sufficient to allow evasive action if needed.

Where are all these cyclists on pavements? I'm a regular walker on the footpaths of Ecclesall and Ecclesall Road, Sharrowvale, city centre, Broomhill, Ranmoor and I rarely see cyclists on footpaths. I've never seen an incident between a ped and cyclist. Not saying they don't exist, but in the numbers that the comments on here suggest, nope?

4 hours ago, Jack Grey said:

I pay £15 a month vehicle tax....the government seems to think its worth it and the system is already in place

 

But Im getting a little bored with all the pedantic comments so i'll just sum up


If cyclists use the roads they should have the same rules, laws and costs as other vehicles

 

Simple 👍

Happy to pay the appropriate tax for my zero-emissions vehicle. I also happily obey the rules of the road.

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