What annoyed you today whilst driving ?

kharma45

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Lorry drivers who are clearly sitting texting, Met one today who was weaving slightly. Drove past looked up and he was sitting texting.

Waiting for the Glider after work at Lanyon Place where the lights change frequently to allow pedestrians to cross, you see a lot of cars stopped. Never fails to surprise me how many are on their phones.
 

kharma45

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Agree but I’ve seen too many near misses involving cyclists on dual carriageways, the speed difference is high and whilst it would be a driver’s fault, whose fault it was doesn’t matter if you’re dead.

what would you say caused those near misses?

The amount of people using phone driving has got shocking recently something needs to be done about it.

One of the police forces in GB went round on a bus they hired to get a view into all the cars for a day and fined everyone they spotted. Less conspicuous than a marked car too.
 

quattro Rick

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Thanks for taking the time to reply, especially from the perspective of a cyclist. I could understand the debris part, however as mentioned, there was a cyclist using the lane further ahead so I can’t see the issue. Also, the cyclist in question was in lane 1 for as long as I saw him, so it wasn’t simply a nip out to avoid a rock / broken bottle etc.

Hands up, shouldn’t have beeped, no excuse. I wouldn’t drive past a tractor beeping in a similar manner as there is no crawler lane or specified lane for tractors or other slow moving vehicles.

Again, appreciate your response and my problem isn’t with all cyclists, simply those that seem to be above using their designated lanes and not abiding by the Highway Code.

I beep at a tractor if I'm passing them after they've driven past several lay bys with 10 odd cars queued behind, it's pure ignorance.

I regularly see them driving on the road from Armagh to newry and sitting on the road, there's a hard shoulder to pull into and let faster moving traffic past, it's what I do in the lorry if there's a couple of cars sat behind me, or even if I spot one gaining at pace.


Yes there's nothing about cycling in the cycle lanes being mandatory, but the highway code does mention if operating a slow vehicle with a queue of traffic to pull over and let them pass

This is what irritates me about cyclist or tractors, they expect people to take risks to pass when there's a large build up behind.


I don't mind coming across a cyclist and having to slow down before being able to pass safely, but if there's nowhere to do so and a queue builds up behind me, someone's going to get impatient and create a hazard situation.



On a free flowing dual carriageway if you can't spot a much slower moving vehicle well in advanced then you're not being very attentive, this is regularly demonstrated by cars being caught behind a tractor in lane one because they didn't notice their closing speed Vs the slow big tractor with flashing lights 😒
 

scub

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I would have thought a cyclist doing 15 mph on a dual carriage way on which even the slow lane will be moving at twice that speed, would be irresponsible /or dangerous?
especially as mentioned, given the fact that there was another slow moving vehicle in the other lane & leaving the other traffic nowhere to safely pass.
therefore basically slowing that whole part of road down to the push bikes speed.
throw in the fact that there is a cycle lane built specifically for this stretch of road (brushed to tour de France standard or not) & its no wonder horns get pumped /hand gestures get waved & cyclists get the reputation they have with many other road users.
respect for other road users is a 2 way street (pardon the pun).
can cyclists see that point of view without getting all offended & precious??
 

swansty

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I beep at a tractor if I'm passing them after they've driven past several lay bys with 10 odd cars queued behind, it's pure ignorance.

I regularly see them driving on the road from Armagh to newry and sitting on the road, there's a hard shoulder to pull into and let faster moving traffic past, it's what I do in the lorry if there's a couple of cars sat behind me, or even if I spot one gaining at pace.


Yes there's nothing about cycling in the cycle lanes being mandatory, but the highway code does mention if operating a slow vehicle with a queue of traffic to pull over and let them pass

This is what irritates me about cyclist or tractors, they expect people to take risks to pass when there's a large build up behind.


I don't mind coming across a cyclist and having to slow down before being able to pass safely, but if there's nowhere to do so and a queue builds up behind me, someone's going to get impatient and create a hazard situation.



On a free flowing dual carriageway if you can't spot a much slower moving vehicle well in advanced then you're not being very attentive, this is regularly demonstrated by cars being caught behind a tractor in lane one because they didn't notice their closing speed Vs the slow big tractor with flashing lights 😒
I Hate to say it but..... no one is “forced” into doing something hazardous. The driver makes the call and is ultimately responsible. If the overtake is hazardous then sorry but it simply should not be done. Of course if I was behind a cyclist or other SMV I would be frustrated and no doubt shouting away to them inside my car but still, any blame for putting myself or indeed oncoming cars in danger would be firmly with me should I choose to perform a dangerous overtake. Better to be late in this life than early in the next.
 

kharma45

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I beep at a tractor if I'm passing them after they've driven past several lay bys with 10 odd cars queued behind, it's pure ignorance.

I regularly see them driving on the road from Armagh to newry and sitting on the road, there's a hard shoulder to pull into and let faster moving traffic past, it's what I do in the lorry if there's a couple of cars sat behind me, or even if I spot one gaining at pace.


Yes there's nothing about cycling in the cycle lanes being mandatory, but the highway code does mention if operating a slow vehicle with a queue of traffic to pull over and let them pass.

you’ll find no argument from me here, but this was a dual carriageway way. If you can’t overtake slower traffic safely on one you shouldn’t be on the road.

I don't mind coming across a cyclist and having to slow down before being able to pass safely, but if there's nowhere to do so and a queue builds up behind me, someone's going to get impatient and create a hazard situation.

That’s the crux of it. Drivers creating a hazardous situation rather than having patience and waiting for a safe opportunity to pass. At the end of the day, you’ll suffer the most minor of delays in the grand scheme of things. Not as if you’re stuck doing 15mph for 30 miles.

On a free flowing dual carriageway if you can't spot a much slower moving vehicle well in advanced then you're not being very attentive, this is regularly demonstrated by cars being caught behind a tractor in lane one because they didn't notice their closing speed Vs the slow big tractor with flashing lights 😒

Agree. In this situation there is no reason anyone should have been massively held up unless other drivers were being absolute tubes.

I would have thought a cyclist doing 15 mph on a dual carriage way on which even the slow lane will be moving at twice that speed, would be irresponsible /or dangerous?
especially as mentioned, given the fact that there was another slow moving vehicle in the other lane & leaving the other traffic nowhere to safely pass.
therefore basically slowing that whole part of road down to the push bikes speed.
throw in the fact that there is a cycle lane built specifically for this stretch of road (brushed to tour de France standard or not) & its no wonder horns get pumped /hand gestures get waved & cyclists get the reputation they have with many other road users.
respect for other road users is a 2 way street (pardon the pun).
can cyclists see that point of view without getting all offended & precious??

The tractor was in that lane getting ready to turn off. Perfectly normal situation on our DCs without grade separated junctions where you can have slow moving traffic on the inside, and a vehicle slowing to turn right off the DC. There wouldn’t have been the ability to safely overtake then either. You’d just have to wait. In reality, neither situation is causing any major disruption and it shows a lack of patience and courtesy towards other road users.

If it hasn’t been a cyclist on the inside, and say been another tractor, would we even be having this discussion? I very much doubt it
 

Chris666

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Calling a hard shoulder with some paint on it a cycle lane really shows how out of touch people are, the first place a broken/breaking down vehicle is going to be steered to..

Dual carriageways are the highest limit, longest, generally straightest with the best forward visibility roads a cyclist can legally be on. If you can't manage to look where TF you're going and think about changing lanes well in advance, it's little wonder cyclists seem to appear out of thin air, on blind cornered B roads.
 

quattro Rick

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I Hate to say it but..... no one is “forced” into doing something hazardous. The driver makes the call and is ultimately responsible. If the overtake is hazardous then sorry but it simply should not be done. Of course if I was behind a cyclist or other SMV I would be frustrated and no doubt shouting away to them inside my car but still, any blame for putting myself or indeed oncoming cars in danger would be firmly with me should I choose to perform a dangerous overtake. Better to be late in this life than early in the next.

No you're absolutely right, the blame lies with the person who creates the hazard by overtaking unsafely, but you do regularly see it, cyclist followed by lorry or a few cars and one gets impatient and bombs past everyone.

I was merely stating that if cyclists and tractors adhered to pulling in with a queue of several vehicles behind there would be much less need for anyone to overtake recklessly.
 

quattro Rick

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Cyclists aren't obliged to pull in under HC/169. Safe overtaking is down to the driver

Yeah but courtesy dictates don't be a cnut and hold everyone else up. Tractors have been pulled for holding up traffic.

The highway code does say to pull over when able if there's a build up behind you whilst on a slower vehicle. If cyclists are to share the roads a little decency goes a long way.

The same reason I give plenty of room when passing them should be the reason they pull in for 15 secs every so often on single carriageways
 

Coog

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On that stretch I always used the cycle lane. Though some parts of it are so bad you're on pure gravel - better a puncture than being hit.

There's been cyclists killed on that stretch of the road.

Incidentally a few years ago some guy in a Z3 blasted his horn at a group of cyclists and cut the lead guy up overtaking them. He didn't expect them to catch him up at the petrol station a few miles down the road. Wasn't such a hard lad blasting his horn then. People get on like p***ks in the car.
 

Chris666

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Yeah but courtesy dictates don't be a cnut and hold everyone else up. Tractors have been pulled for holding up traffic.

The highway code does say to pull over when able if there's a build up behind you whilst on a slower vehicle. If cyclists are to share the roads a little decency goes a long way.

The same reason I give plenty of room when passing them should be the reason they pull in for 15 secs every so often on single carriageways
 

Lyons

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It’s all well and good saying cyclists are allowed to cycle on dual carriageways and it’s down to the driver to read the road and make adjustments accordingly, that’s lovely, but the fact remains that you are making the choice to put yourself in that situation. Dual carriageways are among the fastest moving (70mph in cases) stretches of road. At the end of the day a magic bubble or air of arrogance isn’t going to protect you if someone ploughs into you.
 

quattro Rick

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The bit where the lorry is clearly doing 34mph and pictures are being taken, presumably with a phone.

Yet cyclists, courtesy, respect etc

Took all of about half a second to grab a snap to demonstrate how slow surefreight guys go.

90% of the time I drive with one hand anyway, took away zero attention from the road etc

I didn't realise I had my own personal guardian police man keeping an eye on everything I do. I'll be sure to let you know next time I take a corner at the posted limit or drive 61 on a 60 😒
 

Chris666

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Took all of about half a second to grab a snap to demonstrate how slow surefreight guys go.

90% of the time I drive with one hand anyway, took away zero attention from the road etc

I didn't realise I had my own personal guardian police man keeping an eye on everything I do. I'll be sure to let you know next time I take a corner at the posted limit or drive 61 on a 60 😒
Just half a second, it was only a short text, emergency phonecall, had an urgent twitter message, snapchat for the lads yeooo.

Where does it end, when does it end? When some discourteous, disrespectful cnut of a cyclist who's done no wrong gets flattened by a driver who's posting a banger on insta? Nah, we all know it'll be the riders fault anyway, sun in my eyes your honour.

2 years after quitting cycling myself(due to a hit and run) I'm still astounded by the blase attitude afforded to the vulnerable, on a driving forum....
 
Last edited:

Coog

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It’s all well and good saying cyclists are allowed to cycle on dual carriageways and it’s down to the driver to read the road and make adjustments accordingly, that’s lovely, but the fact remains that you are making the choice to put yourself in that situation. Dual carriageways are among the fastest moving (70mph in cases) stretches of road. At the end of the day a magic bubble or air of arrogance isn’t going to protect you if someone ploughs into you.

Well this is it. With the added bonus of people driving while texting or taking snapchats you're just putting yourself at the mercy of absolute idiots.
 
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