I’m a fellow car driver in the mid Atlantic US and I feel deeply intimated and unsafe *around cars.* I’ve been nearly hit so many times. I feel unsafe as a pedestrian—my husband and I have nearly been hit multiple times. Can’t imagine what it’s like a cyclist. I have a newfound respect for them now.
Also the vitriol people are willing to spew online is unnerving.
My commute is only 2 miles, but I'm deliberate about which streets I ride on and which I avoid. Similar as a pedestrian. I'll quickly weigh the pros/cons of walking down this street (lots of traffic) vs that street (fewer cars, but dark).
I think we’re witnessing a clash of cultures here. Our public tolerance for aggression has increased. That has been echoed in the superhighway of social media-- there’s a paralleled tolerance for verbal incivility. Without clear and consistent guidelines, this aggression is the result.
I see that was a UK road and the car was at fault here. Many of the commenters don't seem to understand that the riders are well within their rights to occupy a space on the road and it is necessary to move away from the side to avoid being overtaken by a stream of traffic massively increasing the likelihood of being hit. I know of many people who have been knocked off their bikes and I had a few close shaves myself when I used to ride and it invariably comes down to lack of spatial awareness on the part of the vehicle driver. In the Netherlands bicycles have right of way and it works great - but again it is down to road competence. In my view that was reckless driving endangering life and the driver should be handed a 6 month driving ban as a minimum.
I don't know UK rules, but I think it's fair to say that in any country, that was aggressive driving. It looks like the video owner pulled the long segment off Facebook. But I think everyone gets the picture from the screen caps.
Absolutely right Andy. My point was that in the UK the cyclist has a right to the road (not motorways/freeways of course) and are able to occupy the space available to a car. In practice a decent cyclist will make room for someone to overtake but they are not obliged to ride in the gutter. That rider was not blocking the road as some have said but positioning himself to discourage reckless overtaking -it's a good technique but as in this case, not idiot-proof. That this can happen is not a surprise to me but I am appalled that the comments display such ignorance about the rights and wrongs of this case.
I often walk here in NC - I don't see the point of driving a couple of miles to go to a doctor appointment for example. Yet many of the motorists here are baffled by someone who would walk alongside (not on) the road so I am always ready to take evasive action from oncoming traffic. I was at my dentist one time and it became a big deal when it came up in conversation that I had walked the mile to my appointment - someone asked if I needed a lift home.
Where I am (Richmond, VA), 25% of serious injuries & deaths are people walking on city streets. Driver behavior in & around intersections is why so many people jaywalk. Drivers get right up on you at crosswalks like, "come on, move it, I'm late."
people who unironically use carbrain should have their opinion disregarded
common cyclist L
you're so immature calling everyone you hate "carbrains" go back to reddit loser
Darwin says...
I’m a fellow car driver in the mid Atlantic US and I feel deeply intimated and unsafe *around cars.* I’ve been nearly hit so many times. I feel unsafe as a pedestrian—my husband and I have nearly been hit multiple times. Can’t imagine what it’s like a cyclist. I have a newfound respect for them now.
Also the vitriol people are willing to spew online is unnerving.
My commute is only 2 miles, but I'm deliberate about which streets I ride on and which I avoid. Similar as a pedestrian. I'll quickly weigh the pros/cons of walking down this street (lots of traffic) vs that street (fewer cars, but dark).
I get plenty of drivers yelling at me when I’m cycling but the sheer volume of these hateful comments has me sick
I mean...it's X. X is a cesspool. Half those people were probably Russian trolls.
I think we’re witnessing a clash of cultures here. Our public tolerance for aggression has increased. That has been echoed in the superhighway of social media-- there’s a paralleled tolerance for verbal incivility. Without clear and consistent guidelines, this aggression is the result.
I see that was a UK road and the car was at fault here. Many of the commenters don't seem to understand that the riders are well within their rights to occupy a space on the road and it is necessary to move away from the side to avoid being overtaken by a stream of traffic massively increasing the likelihood of being hit. I know of many people who have been knocked off their bikes and I had a few close shaves myself when I used to ride and it invariably comes down to lack of spatial awareness on the part of the vehicle driver. In the Netherlands bicycles have right of way and it works great - but again it is down to road competence. In my view that was reckless driving endangering life and the driver should be handed a 6 month driving ban as a minimum.
I don't know UK rules, but I think it's fair to say that in any country, that was aggressive driving. It looks like the video owner pulled the long segment off Facebook. But I think everyone gets the picture from the screen caps.
Absolutely right Andy. My point was that in the UK the cyclist has a right to the road (not motorways/freeways of course) and are able to occupy the space available to a car. In practice a decent cyclist will make room for someone to overtake but they are not obliged to ride in the gutter. That rider was not blocking the road as some have said but positioning himself to discourage reckless overtaking -it's a good technique but as in this case, not idiot-proof. That this can happen is not a surprise to me but I am appalled that the comments display such ignorance about the rights and wrongs of this case.
Man, that is bleak.
I often walk here in NC - I don't see the point of driving a couple of miles to go to a doctor appointment for example. Yet many of the motorists here are baffled by someone who would walk alongside (not on) the road so I am always ready to take evasive action from oncoming traffic. I was at my dentist one time and it became a big deal when it came up in conversation that I had walked the mile to my appointment - someone asked if I needed a lift home.
I'm shaking my head. We are soooo silly about some things.
Where I am (Richmond, VA), 25% of serious injuries & deaths are people walking on city streets. Driver behavior in & around intersections is why so many people jaywalk. Drivers get right up on you at crosswalks like, "come on, move it, I'm late."