Gears to grind
PET HATE
1 Bad drivers
It’s no real surprise that drivers rank highly among cyclists’ pet hates. They “transfer their frustrations onto more vulnerable road users who they see as holding them up,” explains Wednesday Jones. Becky Evans is frustrated by drivers who yell at her: “the usual ‘get on the cycle path/pavement/out of the way/pay car tax/wear hi-vis’ rubbish. All this points towards victim-blaming the cyclist for a driver’s lack of patience or competence.” David George feels invisible while cycling: “even when wearing hi-vis, because they are always looking for a car sized object and not a bike.” Tim Bailey sums it up. “People in cars see it as their right to drive as they please and not with the consideration they would treat people with in other situations.”
EXPERT ADVICE
“We’ve got every right to be on the roads,” explains Sam Jones, Communications and Media Manager at Cycling UK. “Don’t cycle in the gutter.” Sam encourages the secondary position (roughly one metre to the left of the traffic flow and not less than 0.5). Cycling UK believes data is necessary for major change to occur – both in policy and when it comes to allocating resources to this issue. The organisation encourages riders to report all such incidents to the police and upload footage of dangerous driving to portals like Nextbase.
