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[Gaffers]

I shall await the incoming abuse

http://road.cc/content/news/172326-insurance-firm-offer-cyclists-cheaper-car-insurance-%E2%80%93-because-theyre-better#sthash.ucOLsLQH.dpuf

[Mr Gav]

I`ve always said that motorcyclist`s make better drivers as they`re more aware of whats going on around them, the same possibly applies to cyclists though many probably drive already.

[zirk]

I had a push bike once, pushed it all over the place because I kept falling off.

Can't remember the last time I fell out of a car.

[Entwood]

I have no doubt the sentiment can be applied to some, perhaps many, cyclists, but the "blanket" statement is a tad optimistic IMHO. There will ALWAYS be good cyclists/bad cyclists/good drivers/bad drivers and then the extra category .. idiots  ......

Just like the cyclist idiot this morning who, unfortunately, is the type who gives all cyclists a bad name .. when actually he was just a prat of the highest order (who had to walk home and it will cost him .. I'm pleased to say).

The story .. I was out walking the hound (on a lead before anyone asks) approaching a school with a light controlled crossing but no "lollipop man". A queue of ladies with assorted prams/pushchairs/ kids - some loose some attached by tethers - all waiting patiently for the lights to change. I was just walking past with no intention to cross, there was sufficient room left for me to walk though the groups of waiting ladies.

Road lights go amber / red .. idiot cyclist (MAMIL) veers off the road, mounts pavement via a dropped kerb, and sounding bell loudly attempts to ride through the ladies, who are about to start crossing the road, causing some consternation. I solved the problem simply by stepping in front of him causing him to swerve into the light post buckling his front wheel. He was not a happy bunny. When I pointed out that a) he is supposed to stop at red lights, b) he is not allowed to ride on the pavement and c) he was a prat.... I got a mouthful of abuse. As I smiled and walked away the lights changed and the waiting cars pulled away, which he would have been with had he shown a little patience and consideration for others.

Do I feel guilty ??  not in the least. Would I do it again ? certainly. Those ladies will now think ALL cyclists are prats like him .. when the vast majority are certainly not.

[05omegav6]

I shall await the incoming abuse

http://road.cc/content/news/172326-insurance-firm-offer-cyclists-cheaper-car-insurance-%E2%80%93-because-theyre-better#sthash.ucOLsLQH.dpuf

Monumental cockwombles...

Be fair to say that if you drive anything other than a car... be it a large van/bus/hgv/bicycle/motorbicycle or drive regularly for anything other than commuting then you will have a better perception of the road around you... having eyes in places you didn't know existed and spidey senses is great, but don't forget that cyclists, and to a degree motorbicyclists, have unencumbered all round vision. Driving larger vehicles, the blindspots can be horrendous, so you have to be just as aware of your environs as the seemingly more vulnerable cyclist, if not more so, as the damage you can inflict if you get it wrong doesn't bear thinking about.

If you only drive a car, and predominantly use it for commuting, then you should pay a premium. The reasons being that you're only interest is the view in front and your sole focus is getting to work at almost any cost. This will be apparent in any other driving you do... case in point... all the grockles haring around the countryside in the summer.

If you drive any other class of vehicle, then you should receive a discount for every other class on your licence, say 5% for C1 and D1 respectively, 10% for C and D, and a further 10% for E. If you have taken a cycling proficiency course then that should qualify you for a 10% discount too, and for the B/BE only licence holders, if you take, and pass the current trailer test regardless of when you passed your test, then you would qualify for 10% as well.

So in summary, cyclists don't hold the monopoly of roadcraft, and whilst they do tend to have better spatial awareness than your average Audi driver, they aren't the only vulnerable road users

[Varche]

My dad said to me when I was a teenager " everyone should have a go at all forms of transport to appreciate the issues driving them". He cited bikes, horses and up to lorries. I think he was spot on.

How many motorists turn left on cyclists becauses they can't wait for them to pedal past?
How many motorists don't slow down or even stop and wait for a horse and rider?
How many people bleat about a lorry able to do up to 56 mph overtaking a lorry able to only do 50 mph and holding everyone up?

Many motorists lack consideration or even awareness of other road users.

As an aside, I haven't seen the figures for how other European countries are doing after the ten year EU plan to reduce road deaths. By the end of Novemeber Spain had already exceeded the figure for last year. This has prompted a camaign for catching speeding drivers on the lovely open country roads. Gulp 

[STEMO]

No.

[tigers_gonads]

I shall await the incoming abuse

http://road.cc/content/news/172326-insurance-firm-offer-cyclists-cheaper-car-insurance-%E2%80%93-because-theyre-better#sthash.ucOLsLQH.dpuf

I wonder when insurance companies are going to offer cheaper insurance to cyclists if they drive a motor vehicle ?

Oh hang on a minute, cyclists don't have insurance do they 

Just a gimmick to get more business imho 
Kin ell, they will have some fat bloke with a waxed tash trying to be a opera singer or chucking in  little soft toys of dessert animals with the insurance next 

[Mr.OmegaMan]

If cyclists had to have a license to ride one (so they know to ware appropriate clothing I.E, hi-vis, front and rear flashing lights etc..)  ...which lets be honest most don't and on a dark country road with dark clothing and no lights the first thing they do is blame the car if there's an accident 

Oh and not forgetting the need to have an MOT, TAX and Insurance... I'm sure that would weed most of the idiots on cycles leaving the people who do ride with some common sense 

[tigers_gonads]

If cyclists had to have a license to ride one (so they know to ware appropriate clothing I.E, hi-vis, front and rear flashing lights etc..)  ...which lets be honest most don't and on a dark country road with dark clothing and no lights the first thing they do is blame the car if there's an accident 

Oh and not forgetting the need to have an MOT, TAX and Insurance... I'm sure that would weed most of the idiots on cycles leaving the people who do ride with some common sense 

Agree with that bud 

Problem is, they will end up on the pavement just like in Nigel's post 

[Kevin Wood]

Monumental cockwombles...

Be fair to say that if you drive anything other than a car... be it a large van/bus/hgv/bicycle/motorbicycle or drive regularly for anything other than commuting....

Idiots exist in other categories too.  Witness the @rseh0le in the fully loaded skip lorry I saw this morning whilst commuting (with my eyes open and driving, largely, in obeyance with the highway code, shock horror)!

How the driver of such a vehicle deems it sensible to use a mobile phone while negotiating a housing estate swimming with pedestrians, I'm not quite sure, but it doesn't convince me of tingling spider senses of awareness surrounding his vehicle. No cheap insurance for him, methinks!

[Sir Tigger KC]

I failed my Cycling Proficiency Test.     

[Nick W]

I failed my Cycling Proficiency Test. 

Wow. And yet you passed a driving test? You did take a driving test?


As for the original question, then I think  a competent cyclist makes a better driver and the same holds true for other vehicles. The real problem is that many road users are so bad at what they are doing, that they shouldn't be allowed to walk along the pavement without being preceded by a man with a red flag. Some of the causes of this lack of skill are curable - lack of training/experience etc - but many are not - physical problems, poor temperament, etc.

[aaronjb]

lack of training/experience etc - but many are not - physical problems, poor temperament, etc.

Like the taxi driver who took me from Heathrow to Bracknell last night who appeared to have all the spatial awareness of a pineapple..

[05omegav6]

lack of training/experience etc - but many are not - physical problems, poor temperament, etc.

Like the taxi driver who took me from Heathrow to Bracknell last night who appeared to have all the spatial awareness of a pineapple..

That wasn't me for the record

Fair point Kevin, complacency is another human attribute which cannot be trained out... but the effects can be minimised with refresher training and causing the individual to assess why any given situation occurs... 'That was close... why did it happen? What could I have done differently to prevent it from happening again?'

Take Mr Emds recent encounter... the hgv driver had failed to spot a large car entering his blind spot whilst negotiating an unfamiliar junction. Equally, although he felt that he had left enough space alongside the the trailer as he negotiated the roundabout, Emd failed to appreciate that the hgv might need to move right in order to negotiate its chosen exit to the left...

Not everyone is perfect all of the time, and we are all capable of being utterly imcompetent at a moments notice. What we could do with practicing on a daily basis is considering why someone might have taken a particular course of action* and accepting it without becoming riled. Also allowing a bit more time for EVERY journey in order that it can be stress free... if you're commute is five minutes or fifty, allow another 15-20 minutes, enjioy the journey a bit, and get to work in time to get settled. 

* By this I mean bikes swerving due to wind or potholes or car doors, hgvs taking two lanes (or more to negotiate a roundabout), buses negotiating parked cars in bus lanes etc rather than driving a skip lorry around a housing estate whilst on the phone when people are taking the kids to school. Clearly this type of behaviour is beyond justification.