Driving too close to a cyclist.

[Chippy_Tea]

I drive a truck and being in the lake district i have to be aware cyclists could be round every bend, this should send a strong message to all drivers.

A lorry driver has become one of the first UK motorists to be fined for driving too close to a cyclist.

During a safety campaign on the issue, West Midlands Police officers have posed as cyclists to catch drivers.

Dean Littleford, 60, from Birmingham, denied driving without due care and attention in Park Lane West, Tipton, in November.

But he was fined £1,038 and had five points added to his licence by Dudley Magistrates' Court.

Almost 200 offenders have been stopped by police as part of the GiveSpaceBeSafe scheme, which was launched in September, with 13 going on to be prosecuted.

PC Mark Hodson from the Central Motorway Police Group said: "Most offenders watch the footage, accept their driving was below par, and elect for a driver improvement course or an offer of three licence points and £100.

"This was a clear case of a close-pass - the cyclist was nearly forced into the kerb and the actions of the truck driver could easily have caused a very serious collision.

"He maintained his innocence, though, and has now been convicted in court."

Police want drivers overtaking cyclists "to be patient, plan your overtake, and give plenty of room".

The Highway Code states drivers should give the same room as when overtaking another vehicle which is about 1.5m or an open car door's width.

The force said reports of "close passes" have halved since the operation was introduced.

The 56-year-old Wednesbury cyclist involved in this case said he felt the scheme "gives cyclists the confidence and reassurance that such dangerous driving will not be tolerated".

 

[Ajhutch]

You have my sympathy, I've spent a lot of time in the south lakes and those roads must be very difficult. I learnt to drive in rural Somerset and similarly you had to be very patient if behind a cyclist as the roads are so narrow.

I cycle now but am fortunate that most of the roads I use have bike lanes. I try to behave well and uphold my responsibility as a road user but I have to be honest and say I cut some corners, literally and metaphorically, on occasions. I'm better than many cyclists though who seem to think traffic lights and zebra crossings don't apply to them.

I think this scheme is good but there needs to be balance, it's not ideal if one incident leads to someone losing their livelihood. I guess this specific case is a good example though, it could have been resolved much more quickly and cheaply if he'd admitted fault.


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[Chippy_Tea]

You have my sympathy, I've spent a lot of time in the south lakes and those roads must be very difficult.

What does annoy me about a certain sort of cyclist is their insistence on riding two abreast on totally unsuitable roads, most cyclists seem to have a lot of common sense (probably self preservation) but you get these bunches of Wiggins wannabees who in my view do it to wind motorists up, i certainly wouldn't ride two abreast on most roads in the lakes.

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[Pavros]

I wouldn't mind but a lot of cyclists cause a lot of the problems:
Weaving through queues of traffic
Going through red lights
Not using cycle lanes
Not wanting to put their foot down/unclip at junctions which means they wobble all over
Riding two abreast on unsuitable roads
Getting out of the saddle when climbing a hill resulting in wobbling all over the road
Not being aware of anything around them

I see at least one of the above every day on my 10 mile commute and it really annoys me. I don't think I used to do any of these when I used to cycle.

 

[JFB]

On my cycle ride to work I go through a chicane which is my right of way. So far this year four cars have seemed to think its ok going through the same time as me(scary!)
One was even a driving instructor!!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I hope this doesn't turn into a cyclist bashing session as that was not my intention, they have as much right to be on the road as motorists its just a minority i have mentioned do the majority no favours.

I saw one at the lights doing the wobble thing i thought he was just showing his balancing skills off i didn't realise the reason was he didn't want to un-clip.

 

[chub1]

What does annoy me about a certain sort of cyclist is their insistence on riding two abreast on totally unsuitable roads, most cyclists seem to have a lot of common sense (probably self preservation) but you get these bunches of Wiggins wannabees who in my view do it to wind motorists up, i certainly wouldn't ride two abreast on most roads in the lakes.

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Quite agree. There are far too many who couldn't give a flying fart about cycling two or even three abreast and who patently do it on purpose.
Was driving over Kingston Upon Thames bridge a while back at 8.45 am on a saturday.As always the 'i'm a Bradley Wiggo' mob were out,three abreast over the bridge and it's two lanes both ways:twisted::twisted:.They were getting hooted no end by traffic behind them. I was in right hand lane so as to turn right at the roundabout and gave em a load of abuse as i drove pat them over the bridge only for the three leading w#####s to give it back whilst the pack looked behind them to see how much traffic thay had backed up:twisted::twisted::twisted: a###holes

 

[JFB]

Makes me laugh all this bike bashing. How often do you see a cyclist breaking a rule? And how often do you see a motorest breaking a rule?
Sometimes I cycle over a motorway bridge and just shake my head lol

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I think we can all agree there are bad cyclists and bad motorists as i said above lets not turn this into a cycle bashing thread my OP was to demonstrate how motorists need to be a bit more courteous and give cyclists room.

 

[Sadfield]

Makes me laugh how motorists who moan about cyclists see it as a them and us situation where the chosen mode of transport is exclusive. When the reality is most, including myself and every cyclist I know, owns and uses a car.

When a cyclist breaks the rules, they generally put themselves in danger. As cars are heavier and faster, when a motorist breaks the rules they generally put anyone in danger.

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[Ajhutch]

Makes me laugh how motorists who moan about cyclists see it as a them and us situation where the chosen mode of transport is exclusive. When the reality is most, including myself and every cyclist I know, owns and uses a car.

When a cyclist breaks the rules, they generally put themselves in danger. As cars are heavier and faster, when a motorist breaks the rules they generally put anyone in danger.

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I think this is the key point, and why the new policy to strictly enforce overtaking space is important.

 

[Pavros]

That was the point I was trying to make. Some of these cyclists (and motorists aswell) have no idea of what is going on around them. If a cyclist does something stupid and is in an accident, they will come off worse but they don't seem to realise this.

 

[Sadfield]

Believe me, we do. It's dangerous enough when we aren't doing something stupid. Plus we aren't cocooned in a soundproof box oblivious to road and environmental conditions.

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[Pavros]

If they realise then why do they cycle through a red light across a busy junction in the centre of the town I work in? I see this at least once a week. That's just an accident waiting to happen

 

[Sadfield]

Same with anything in life, people choose to gamble on risk, not act obliviously, be it cycling, driving fast or drinking alcohol.

I see more motorist jump lights and it is always at speed as or after they change to red, because they are too impatient to stop. Cyclist tend to do it before they change to green to get up to road speed before the cars come charging up from behind them. Not right, but different.

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[Ajhutch]

If they realise then why do they cycle through a red light across a busy junction in the centre of the town I work in? I see this at least once a week. That's just an accident waiting to happen

What does or doesn't happen at lights is irrelevant to this law about overtaking cyclists in too narrow a space.

If an accident caused by cyclists jumping lights stops waiting to happen and happens then the cyclist will be injured, punished by law or both.


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[Pavros]

They aren't jumping the lights or making a quick getaway. They treat the junction as of it has give way signs and not traffic lights.
Anyway, as Ajhutch says, it is irrelevant to the OP in that all road users should give other road users sufficient room when overtaking.

 

[Sadfield]

Back to the OP, I'm a little suprised by the police graphic specifying the 0.75m gap from curb to cyclist, when the government advice is to ride centrally in narrow lanes.

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[Chippy_Tea]

Why don't they dismount at the lights go through the pedestrian crossing and get a jump on the car drivers?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Back to the OP, I'm a little suprised by the police graphic specifying the 0.75m gap from curb to cyclist, when the government advice is to ride centrally in narrow lanes.

If the car in the picture in my OP is close to the middle of the road I wouldn't call that a narrow lane.