Rob_1 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I encountered someone cycling the wrong way up the 3rd lane on the ring road (near the train station), whilst texting on Thursday night. I had to swerve and normally I leave loads of room, but I must admit I was completely shocked! The car behind me was even closer... I was in the works van waiting at the lights on Pond Hill today when a car came from the direction of the station, turned left and drove past me the wrong way down the one-way system. Also this morning, I was waiting at the lights on park square roundabout. They turned green, I set off and a car came from the parkway and went through fully red lights (he knew what he was doing because he was looking in my direction after he went through). A few weeks ago I was out on a training ride and was on the A57 just before Woodhouse Road roundabout. It's two lanes at that point, but a white van passed me so closely he actually brushed my elbow, 6" further left and I'd have been the victim of a 40/50mph hit. I could go on and on and on about bad driving, and we all see it every day, yet nobody has any real animosity towards other drivers. Yet they have towards cyclists when realistically cyclists cause them zero hassle whatsoever, and certainly less than other motorists ever do. It's just an irrational hatred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liza D Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 In the relative short time I've properly lived in Sheffield, I've witnessed a disproportionate amount of abuse and aggressive deliberate dangerous driving from motorists towards cyclists. As a motorist only I find this extremely shocking and wondered where all this animosity comes from, and why anyone even bothers to commute by bicycle in Sheffield? I don't normally have a problem with them. I do however get annoyed when there is one in front of me going side to side so that I can't pass. A few idiots give others a bad name. The city spent £1000s making all these "cycle tracks" yet most cyclists will ride along side them but not actually use them. That does bug me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattleonard Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I don't normally have a problem with them. I do however get annoyed when there is one in front of me going side to side so that I can't pass. A few idiots give others a bad name. Unless they're going side to side across two whole lanes of traffic, then the fact that you can't pass is probably a sign that it's wouldn't be safe for you to pass there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal9001 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Perhaps by going onto the pavement where there weren't any pedestrians or houses for them to come out of, the cyclist was an attempting to avoid this. There are houses for them to come out of and he is speeding up as he gets to them. I walk out of my home and don't expect to find a cyclist speeding right past my front gate. The pace for the speeds he get up to is on the road. ---------- Post added 12-07-2015 at 09:03 ---------- You've not shown how long the roadworks are though. The road works go the full length of the houses on the left, about 300 yards. Regarding people's comments about drivers moaning he would slow up traffic through the road works, I would prefer him to slow me up than risk hitting a pedestrian. If you watch the video, I was giving him plenty of room and staying back. I would have been happy to hold back for the extra 30 seconds it would have put on my journey. In my humble opinion, he was just being impatient and consequently risked putting pedestrians in danger. I would have been happier if he had kept his speed down on the pavement, but his speeding up showed no concern for others. Edited July 12, 2015 by Hal9001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotta Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I was in the works van waiting at the lights on Pond Hill today when a car came from the direction of the station, turned left and drove past me the wrong way down the one-way system. Also this morning, I was waiting at the lights on park square roundabout. They turned green, I set off and a car came from the parkway and went through fully red lights (he knew what he was doing because he was looking in my direction after he went through). A few weeks ago I was out on a training ride and was on the A57 just before Woodhouse Road roundabout. It's two lanes at that point, but a white van passed me so closely he actually brushed my elbow, 6" further left and I'd have been the victim of a 40/50mph hit. I could go on and on and on about bad driving, and we all see it every day, yet nobody has any real animosity towards other drivers. Yet they have towards cyclists when realistically cyclists cause them zero hassle whatsoever, and certainly less than other motorists ever do. It's just an irrational hatred. I have animosity towards bad drivers too. Normally have no issues with cyclists (I cycle myself) but the one on Thursday was the worst I've ever seen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal9001 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I have animosity towards bad drivers too. ! Same here, we should all be courteous and consider other road users whether they are on foot, one, two, three, four and all the way up to sixteen wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky B Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I don't normally have a problem with them. I do however get annoyed when there is one in front of me going side to side so that I can't pass. A few idiots give others a bad name. The city spent £1000s making all these "cycle tracks" yet most cyclists will ride along side them but not actually use them. That does bug me. Do you use roads that don't go where you need to go? Or require you to get out and push your car along, or travel at two thirds of your available speed? Or that are full of obstacles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The road works go the full length of the houses on the left, about 300 yards. So no chance of a cycle getting through them on a single phase of the green light then? The problem isn't so much slowing you up, it's when the cars on the other side get a green light and set off and he's still trying to get through... Regarding people's comments about drivers moaning he would slow up traffic through the road works, I would prefer him to slow me up than risk hitting a pedestrian. If you watch the video, I was giving him plenty of room and staying back. I would have been happy to hold back for the extra 30 seconds it would have put on my journey. In my humble opinion, he was just being impatient and consequently risked putting pedestrians in danger. I would have been happier if he had kept his speed down on the pavement, but his speeding up showed no concern for others. He should have gone at jogging pace if he was going to use the pavement though. ---------- Post added 12-07-2015 at 18:37 ---------- The city spent £1000s making all these "cycle tracks" yet most cyclists will ride along side them but not actually use them. That does bug me. Have you considered why they might do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc55 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I was honked at aggressively in Rotherham yesterday by a guy on the opposite side of the road ... can only think it is because I was cycling on the shared pedestrian / cycle way and he thought it was a pavement ?? I also had to go through a red light yesterday to go over the road crossing for one of the reasons highlighted above - I missed the green light, so stopped & waited, but the induction loop didn't trigger, so after a couple of cycles (no pun intended) had to go through the light to use the road crossing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexAtkin Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I don't normally have a problem with them. I do however get annoyed when there is one in front of me going side to side so that I can't pass. A few idiots give others a bad name. The city spent £1000s making all these "cycle tracks" yet most cyclists will ride along side them but not actually use them. That does bug me. What do you mean by "side to side"? Could they be: Weaving around pot-holes? Weaving because they are trying to maintain their speed and its hard to maintain perfect balance when doing that, especially if its even slightly uphill? Also as others have said, often the cycle tracks will take you miles out of your way, or the motorists are driving too close for it to be safe so you ride further out, closer or IN the primary position. Motorists get ****** about having to take detours that literally just cost them a few pence/minutes more. For a cyclists however a detour could ultimately mean you never get there, as you can't just fill up your stamina at the nearest petrol station. What people forget, not all cyclists are in perfect health, or you might see them near the END of their trip when they are worn out. In fact, I started cycling BECAUSE my health is poor and I wanted to try and improve my lung capacity while also not have to deal with the stress of buses, especially having to catch two to get to the Hallamshire Hospital which means setting off an hour or more earlier than it takes on a bilke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts