Let’s start of by levelling the field a bit. Yes I hate a number of other commuter cyclists too, but I tend to hate brainless cage dwellers equally as much.
The cries I hear about us jumping red lights and not paying road tax are tired and more than a little pointless now. In the UK cars can be on the road paying no road tax and totally legal. If you watch a set of lights there will be cars diving through after they have just changed red when they can, and there is no camera to catch them out.
There are no totally innocent or guilty group on the road and most of the things I hate seeing are as prevalent in all groups.
Negligible observations. There is one thing jumping a light when it is safe and all directions have been checked, it is quite another when someone drives or rides through without even bothering to check. The same goes for not bothering to look before turning, especially when you haven’t signalled, or being polite to your passengers by looking at them while talking rather than the road ahead.
Bullying. Similar to above in some results but different in approach. This is when riders or drivers see there is someone following the rules and forces their way through endangering all around them. Most common is the 4x4, white van man, taxi or toy racer, but there is no group that doesn’t contain bullies. If you went the wrong way or took the wrong lane to cut past traffic and force your way in, congratulations you are a bully and a major cause of road deaths every year.
Them and us. I have been guilty of this and told people that they should trade their cage for something more in keeping with their driving ability, like a bus pass. In reality I have however given cyclists as much grief as car drivers proportionately, when they are out at night in trendy black gear and no lights, I ride past and tell them how stupid they are. There are unfortunately a lot of groups on the road who feel that demonstrating their superiority means being inconsiderate to all others.
There are a few cases when I have known bullying or them and us to have backfired beautifully.
Some years ago a couple of gym buddies of mine had organised shared travel home. Driver was a bit over average size, and the other was over 20 stones (280 pounds, 130kg approx). One journey, the bigger guy was shattered and laid down in the back seat, there was a nice case of bullying with them being carved up on a roundabout. Driver sounded the horn and carver stopped to give the driver what for, as he steamed back to have a go driver got out and the sleeping beauty in the back awoke thinking he must be home. Driver noticed face of carver pale as he watched someone unfolding out of the back rubbing his eyes. He didn’t stick around to find out his opinion.
One biker I knew remembered very clearly someone bullying his way toward a motorway junction from the outside lane, deciding that a biker in the way should simply move aside. His opinion changed when the biker who had just had to avoid potential death pushed a button and was able to produce a pretty light and sound show, only available on undercover police bikes.
One thing to remember when commuting is that we all have the same aim, to get home quickly and safely. Regardless of what vehicle the person is using there is a strong chance of is a family or loved one at home wanting to see them again. Before you do something dangerously stupid try thinking how your family would feel if you were that person and didn’t make it home because of an idiot. If you are too much of a muppet to care consider that in the UK death by dangerous driving carries a maximum 12 years imprisonment and this maximum is used frequently. If you think you have too much to lose with a minimum 6 year absence, like your job, home and virtually everything else, drive or ride with intelligence and integrity.
None of us are innocent and I am far from it. I will be the person you see riding up the middle of two lines of stationary, or close to traffic, ducking through the lights when there is nothing coming the other way and generally doing what I can to avoid stopping without putting others at risk. I also get it wrong on occasions, my observations are among the best because I know I will be coming off worst, and I have years of experience at spotting stupidity ahead. That said I do miss things on rare occasions and can be more aggressive on the road than I should be. I use the principal if in doubt shout so have upset people when unsure if they have seen me, when pointed out I apologise, but I am usually gone before a response can be made so will have wound people up who were actually safe. I ride assuming everyone else is largely useless and am usually wrong because most people are at least competent, however riding this pessimistically has kept me alive and I will not be changing it.
One final thing to remember. Virtually all of us consider ourselves to be better than average drivers. By sheer use of statistics this means over half of us are wrong.
The picture is for those in doubt. And yes I really am that ugly.
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