Cyclists and the supertram

[honestjoe69 10]

Yesterday I was on infirmary road in my car. On the other side of the road was a cyclist and following closely behind was the supertram.

 

The tram driver look furious since he couldn't get past and he was honking his horn full power (it was very loud). The cyclist paid no attention to the tram and when he had the opportunity to pull in he did.

 

Now I'm not totally up on the highway code but I remember that as a car driver you should treat cyclists like any other vehicle on the road , give them at least a car width when overtaking etc, however what is the deal with the tram. Are cyclists supposed to give way to the tram since the tram can't exactly overtake?

 

The only reason I ask is my son is looking to get a mountain bike and I want to make sure he realises whats what.

 

Cheers

[babyboom 10]

Well for all you know the cyclist could have been in front of the tram for a long time going slowly on purpose to aggravate the driver.

[honestjoe69 10]

Well for all you know the cyclist could have been in front of the tram for a long time going slowly on purpose to aggravate the driver.

 

I totally agree with what you are saying.

 

If I was the cyclist I would have bounced onto the pavement (and probably get shouted at by the pedestrians ).

 

But I was just wondering in the eyes of the law should a cyclist give way to a tram?

[Zamo 10]

Unless it is a designated trams only stretch then the cyclist has as much right to use it as any other road user. He also has the right to cycle right down the middle if that is where he feels it is safe.

 

It can be difficult riding close to the edge, or pulling over, when there are tram tracks because your wheels can fall down the groove and this can throw you from the bike... not something you want to happen when you've got some **** driving 20 tons of tram right behind you!

[Heeley tyke 10]

I totally agree with what you are saying.

 

If I was the cyclist I would have bounced onto the pavement (and probably get shouted at by the pedestrians ).

 

But I was just wondering in the eyes of the law should a cyclist give way to a tram?

 

Quite a lot of push-bikers sometimes ask for all they get. They do not observe the Highway Code and treat red lights as obstacles to get through any way they can.

I can always spot a 'rogue' cyclist... He invariably wears a woolly hat!

[chris@25 10]

The tram driver sounds like an idiot to me... the cyclist did the only thing that they could safely do, wait for a space on the left to pull over into. Not the cyclist's fault that the tramway is so badly designed.

[Guest Ant]

The tram driver needs to study his Highway Code:

 

92: The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively.

 

It's bad enough with a lorry wedged up your rear end with his hand rammed against his horn (oo-er!) but if it was the supertram, I'd be soiling the saddle.

[MattTurner 10]

 

It's bad enough with a lorry wedged up your rear end with his hand rammed against his horn (oo-er!) but if it was the supertram, I'd be soiling the saddle.

 

I had that once, with a lorry. It tried to overtake and almost ran into a double decker...

 

I pull over for trams, but only when its safe to do so.

[Apple Juice 10]

 

Now I'm not totally up on the highway code but I remember that as a car driver you should treat cyclists like any other vehicle on the road , give them at least a car width when overtaking etc, however what is the deal with the tram.

 

Cheers

 

If they want to be treated equally, they need to brush up on the highway code. They should also be taxed and insured, like "any other vehicle on the road".

[Apple Juice 10]

The tram driver needs to study his Highway Code:

 

92: The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively.

 

It's bad enough with a lorry wedged up your rear end with his hand rammed against his horn (oo-er!) but if it was the supertram, I'd be soiling the saddle.

 

For all you know the tram driver could have only been alerting the cyclist of the tram's presence.

 

As there are so many aggressive and bad drivers these days, the problem is when a professional driver activates his/her audible warning device (i.e. horn) in a normal manner, people presume this is aggressive.

[gabby 10]

Hooray! Another thread about cyclists! You can never have too many of those. Keep it up, forummers!!

[fox20thc 10]

For all you know the tram driver could have only been alerting the cyclist of the tram's presence.

 

Trust me as a cyclist who has to use some of the tram route you definitely know when a tram is behind you! There is no room for the cyclist to move aside as alot of the route has raised pavement so we can't hop up onto the pedestrian pavement (apart from the fact that we get shouted at)