Say it quietly - - cyclist season is coming :-(

[GMB]

Old chestnut but just saw this in the Guardian newspaper today   -   it' awful😁😎

Extract today:      - - 

 

Men accused of pushing cyclists into ditches for fun go on trial in France

Two men accused of driving up to cyclists in rural south-west France and pushing them into ditches for fun have gone on trial in Toulouse for organised violence and could face up to five years in prison.

The two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested last year after a spate of cyclists being pushed off their bikes on quiet country roads. One victim told the newspaper La Dépêche: “It was April … I’d gone out on my bike for the afternoon. When I got to a little country road … I felt a car was following me silently. It was driving very slowly behind me when it could easily have overtaken me. Then after a few minutes it drove up beside me. The car’s passenger suddenly pushed me down.”

 

Another man described being on a weekend cycle ride with two friends when a car pulled up beside him and the passenger allegedly reached out a hand and pushed him into a ditch.

 

At least 12 cyclists were hit over a period of several months, some sustaining injuries including a wrist fracture and a collar-bone fracture.

One man, 51, described cycling on a country lane when a vehicle approached. “I moved to the side to let it pass, it slowed alongside me. I felt a violent blow to my left ear,” he said, adding that he had been slapped or punched by the person in the car.

Another cyclist said their feet and bike were touched by someone reaching from the car. “Seeing that I didn’t fall, the passenger reached out his arm and violently pushed me to the ground,” they said.

Another allegedly had tomatoes thrown at him from a car.

Brice Zanin, a lawyer for several of the cyclists, told France Inter radio: “The only motive was idiocy, because once the victims had been pushed off their bikes, the men drove off laughing in their car. It was idiocy and a desire to have fun to the detriment of others.”

[Malc1]

The car was following “ silently “.           Clearly a discerning Lexus driver 🤔

Malc 

[Rabbers]

12 hours ago, Malc1 said:

The car was following “ silently “….

Or maybe the guy on the bike had his headphones on ….

[ganzoom]

I didn't realise cycling was seasonal. Google tells me I spent more time on my pedal bike yesterday getting around than the car. 

[Malc1]

That’s one way to save fuel for sure   Well done. Just don’t put yourself at risk of being hit by any car drivers you’re upsetting 😂

Malc 

[lexusbro]

On 2/1/2024 at 12:49 AM, GMB said:

Old chestnut but just saw this in the Guardian newspaper today   -   it' awful😁😎

Extract today:      - - 

 

Men accused of pushing cyclists into ditches for fun go on trial in France

Two men accused of driving up to cyclists in rural south-west France and pushing them into ditches for fun have gone on trial in Toulouse for organised violence and could face up to five years in prison.

The two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested last year after a spate of cyclists being pushed off their bikes on quiet country roads. One victim told the newspaper La Dépêche: “It was April … I’d gone out on my bike for the afternoon. When I got to a little country road … I felt a car was following me silently. It was driving very slowly behind me when it could easily have overtaken me. Then after a few minutes it drove up beside me. The car’s passenger suddenly pushed me down.”

 

Another man described being on a weekend cycle ride with two friends when a car pulled up beside him and the passenger allegedly reached out a hand and pushed him into a ditch.

 

At least 12 cyclists were hit over a period of several months, some sustaining injuries including a wrist fracture and a collar-bone fracture.

One man, 51, described cycling on a country lane when a vehicle approached. “I moved to the side to let it pass, it slowed alongside me. I felt a violent blow to my left ear,” he said, adding that he had been slapped or punched by the person in the car.

Another cyclist said their feet and bike were touched by someone reaching from the car. “Seeing that I didn’t fall, the passenger reached out his arm and violently pushed me to the ground,” they said.

Another allegedly had tomatoes thrown at him from a car.

Brice Zanin, a lawyer for several of the cyclists, told France Inter radio: “The only motive was idiocy, because once the victims had been pushed off their bikes, the men drove off laughing in their car. It was idiocy and a desire to have fun to the detriment of others.”

What a despicable act! Can't believe people would get their laughs from hurting innocent cyclists like that. Makes you think twice about riding on quiet roads alone. Stay safe out there, fellow cyclists!

[Malc1]

And even yesterday there they were down a busy country lane with room for one car and a cyclist width …… just 2 cyclists abreast, chatting,  not caring a fig for their own safety and the innocent motorist trying to use the road 

I hope other cyclists ride more thoughtfully for others on the road 

I'm reluctant to toot them just in case they wobble and cause an accident 

Malc 

[GMB]

2 hours ago, Malc1 said:

I'm reluctant to toot them just in case they wobble and cause an accident 

Just a spelling correction for you   -- not "toot"   --  "shoot"

[GMB]

3 hours ago, Malc1 said:

I hope other cyclists ride more thoughtfully for others on the road 

Some do, a lot don't. My feelings are that a lot of them are just plain  *)(*^*&^ 3&^&^%&^,*^(*^,(&%^&^&, aaargh my brain hurts .(*^$"£"$£%))(^.    Just sayin'

[Rabbers]

While confessing to a certain moral embarrassment, I am taking the opportunity offered by this thread to record an increasingly negative evolution in my attitude towards cyclists.  There was a time when my primary - indeed my only - concern as a driver was for their safety.  Today, my ethical standards seem to have sunk so low that I find the objective of not hitting a cyclist to be secondary to that of avoiding the expensive repair of my activated pop-up hood mechanism were I to do so.

[GMB]

It would be a good idea if all cyclists had to take (and Pass) obligatory training which included courtesy and respect for other road users. All failures could be sent to the now redundant Rwanda camp maybe?

[VFR]

Was following a 2 abreast cyclists out of Tavistock recently, 30 mph with no chance of a overtake so just sat well back and wait and see, had they noticed me and or been single file then an passing “may” have been an option but as they were busy chatting away it was a no no.

Further down the road they slowed and move into the center section where you wait to turn right, so window down I said would help lads if you maybe used single file ?

F this & F that shouted out from men clearly in their 50’s and covered in all the gear and they wonder why drivers are starting to do stupid things ?

[Malc1]

I've now resorted to offering them the same sort of sign language they offer me as a motorist …….. but they have to show the first signs of aggression before I likewise respond ……. I’m getting intolerant and don’t believe that will improve with my age and frustration …….. beware aggressive intolerant and bad road sense cyclists, your time to feel my wrath is fast approaching 😨

Malc 

[Tickedon]

Many years ago, I used to live in zone 2 of London and occasionally cycled into the office in the city of London (40 minutes at a reasonable pace). Most of the route was a cycling path or one of the blue cycling “superhighways”. The most dangerous other road users…. were other cyclists. They’d ignore red lights and try to weave through an entire group who were correctly cycling through on a green. It was also very clear which cyclists were also drivers, and thus had some ability to anticipate what other road users might do, and those who were clearly lining themselves up for a Darwin Award….

 

[GMB]

10 hours ago, VFR said:

Further down the road they slowed and move into the center section where you wait to turn right, so window down I said would help lads if you maybe used single file ?

F this & F that shouted out from men clearly in their 50’s and covered in all the gear and they wonder why drivers are starting to do stupid things ?

I think this sums up a lot of our experiences. They are on some strange mission to antagonise and upset everyone else. What miserable lives they must lead when they have that attitude to life in general. I feel sorry for their wives.

It is a ways a pleasure, and a bit of a surprise, when you see cyclists ( especially in a group😼 ) behaving correctly and courteously, unfortunately becoming a rare event.

Whatever happened to the days when the vast majority of people in public were decent, law abiding, polite and respectful. There's a lot of angry, disturbed folk out there.  Take care, drive defensively, and always be aware of your surroundings, especially if you ride a motorcycle.😇

[dutchie01]

Who is up for an experiment. Get a bike and drive around town for 30 minutes. See how you think of motorists....

[GMB]

Yes, I think there's a war going on. It would be nice if all of us behaved courteously but I can't see that happening any time soon.  But I do think blocking country roads just to be b-minded is asking for a response from some folk, when single file would be a simple fix and totally appropriate under the circumstances when they see traffic behind backing up.  Not a lot any of us can do about it but grin and bear it and try not to get stressed.  BTW I know someone who puts his windscreen washers on when he passes them - not that I recommend this to anyone!😉.

 

[Rabbers]

11 hours ago, dutchie01 said:

Who is up for an experiment. Get a bike and drive around town for 30 minutes. See how you think of motorists....

Bernard, there is no need for the experiment.  It requires no feat of the imagination to understand how and why cars are a danger to bikes.  If the relationship between motorists and cyclists have worsened in recent years it is because the latter have been made to feel privileged by regulatory and media sympathy, leading to a situation where the cyclist population has increased in numbers (and average age) even in places where it was traditionally always very large.  The general result, it seems to me, is that cyclists have developed unjustified degrees of self-confidence and self-righteousness that too often puts them in harm’s way with little or no awareness of the fact, and manifestly with an irritatingly excessive, albeit unconscious, reliance on the good sense of motorists. 

[Redefined]

As a very courteous driver of 25+ years or so and also a very careful cyclist of approximately the same amount of time. I'm really very sorry to see a thread of this caliber on this here otherwise excellent forum. If drivers respected cyclists and cyclists respected drivers, it would be lovely.

In the meanwhile, just be aware that drivers kill cyclists and not the other eay round. All that reports like the (the topic of the) Guardian article and threads like this do is dehumanised cyclists even more and make it fair game to abuse a certain part of the population.

If anyone genuinely doesn't know how to overtake a cyclist or two, then maybe reach out to your local driving instructor school and get some more lessons. If we cannot afford that then just imagine you're overtaking a horse drawn carriage. I can assure you that none of this is intended in a condescending manner.

Lastly, I do acknowledge that there are unsavoury characters in both the cyclists and motoring world. Let's not be one of those and keep our standards high please. If all cyclists that commute to work got a car, there would be alot more cars  on the road.

With all due respect, just think (and be considerate)!

[GMB]

29 minutes ago, Redefined said:

If all cyclists that commute to work got a cat

I think owning a cat is a calming influence, good for the blood pressure etc and I like cats, especially as we were adopted by up to 8 cats when we lived in France - they adopted us, we did not find them!

Trouble is cats kill all the wildlife and our neighbour's cats use our garden as a toilet.  At least they don't go down country lanes two or three abreast blocking the traffic.  Now there's a picture!

[First_Lexus]

I’ve noticed a worrying trend in Reading of (mainly) youngsters on electric scooters acting as if they’re immortal. They weave in and out of traffic on major and minor roads, onto pavements…hardly ever wearing helmets either. They’re lethal and virtually impossible to predict, and it’s fair to say most of those I’ve seen don’t respect the ‘rules of the road’ (or show any sense of self-preservation!)

[Malc1]

12 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

I’ve noticed a worrying trend in Reading of (mainly) youngsters on electric scooters acting as if they’re immortal. They weave in and out of traffic on major and minor roads, onto pavements…hardly ever wearing helmets either. They’re lethal and virtually impossible to predict, and it’s fair to say most of those I’ve seen don’t respect the ‘rules of the road’ (or show any sense of self-preservation!)

And in my area often zoom zip contra the traffic flow along the road ……. one of ‘em will die one day soon …… oh, and then blame the fickle motorist for not being a mind reader 🥵

I hate to say this, but some silly cyclists do this too in my area 😨

Malc 

[dutchie01]

It all reminds me of back in the days when i was skiing and snowboarding came along. I hated those snowboarders with gusto. Interfering with my relaxed skiing technique going from bar to bar. The snowboarders did hate the skiiers for thesame reason. Cars and bicycles should not be on thesame road its just way too dangerous.

oh and i hate cats as well

[Gary H]

I won't waffle on too much as it's genuinely a subject I really could moan on about all day. Cutting a long story short - I'm not a fan of the modern cyclist. At all. 

I know others will disagree and that's absolutely fine. In my opinion it should be seasoned cyclists who should be put behind the wheel of a car. Preferably along a lengthy country lane or dense urban road (it's got to be at least a few miles long), in which they'll have a variety of cyclists in front of them. One cycling in the middle of the left hand lane (despite there being no potholes or debris towards the kerb), similarly one doing this despite there being an empty combined cycle/pavement there that's significantly narrowed the road (i.e - what I come across going to work, most days), one that's constantly weaving for no clear reason and the classic - riding two abreast without a care in the world. To add in a bit of realism, perhaps set them a time limit in order to get along this road - for instance to simulate an appointment or time they're due into work for example. I would like them to do this, twice daily (during rush hour) over the course of a week. I'm hoping that may teach them why motorists get frustrated and what they could do to minimise that impact. 

No doubt people will ask me "are you a cyclist?" and/or "do you cycle?". My honest answer? No. I haven't cycled since I was about twelve. I didn't like it even as a child. I preferred walking. I passed my driving test when I was 17, got a car and therefore any need for an outdated mode of transport such as a pedal bike became redundant. Plus dealing with arthritis in several joints (and from a young age) has always meant cycling equals 'pain' to me. 

[Malc1]

Should cyclists have some form of DVLA Licence proving sufficiency and competency on the public highway ?? 
Say at age 16+. ? 
Malc