Overtaking cyclists

I find that a lot of learners are extremely hesitant to pass cyclists.

In many cases, the road is wide enough, our car is positioned fully to the right of the cyclist (so there is no chance of a collision unless either of us decide to go sideways), yet the learner will brake to 15mph annoying the entire queue, forcing them all to brake and pile up. No wonder drivers sound their horns.

If the road is that wide, there is no need even to break speed. Simply steer a little to the right and keep your right foot on the accelerator. Press it and you'll be past in no time. It's far better to pass quickly then return to the left, than spend an extensive and unnecessary time out in the middle of the road where you're a risk to oncoming traffic. You must give the cyclist enough room; at least as much as you would give a car. That said, there's nothing to stop you passing safely at 30mph or whatever the safe speed for the road is. It is unacceptable to slow to an absolute crawl.

Of course, the usual forward planning and judgements will apply. Be aware of impending direction changes the cyclist will make on reaching parked cars. On some narrow roads where there is no room for a car between the cyclist and oncoming traffic, then you have to plan your approach so that you reach the cyclist when there is a gap in that traffic, not when you reach a pinch point and have to slam on the brakes.

I cannot disagree with this enough - if the people behind are having to break they are crap drivers and it is their own stupid fault. They should be leaving enough room that they can slow and avoid pile-ups.

I never suggested they were slamming on harshly, although my use of the words "pile up" may have implied a crash, which wasn't my intention. Let's just say that dawdling along at 15mph for no good reason forces all the following traffic to brake significantly over time and bunch up. This is completely unacceptable.

The examples that I have seen on the road are not merely "adding a couple of seconds to their journey" as you put it, but are creating congestion which lasts a lot longer and would have continued for the entire length of a main road had I not verbally intervened. Causing congestion like that is bad for the environment and encourages others to take risks. You wouldn't like it if you were stuck behind a massive tailback that existed needlessly behind one solitary driver with no skill or judgement.

I accept that beginners will take a while to develop this skill and judgements and in the early stages, a beginner may be forgiven for a short hold-up, but the OP must understand the "end goal" here. There is a defined outcome that all drivers must follow when they pass their tests and are unleashed onto the roads. This defined outcome is about safe driving for life, not just the temporary periods when one is learning the basics. If drivers don't understand what is expected of them eventually, they will continue to drive badly. The OP should understand how she should drive the day after passing, so aside from a couple of word choices, I stand by my previous post.

Of they take risks that is their bad and they shouldn't force others to do the same.

I was uncertain at a junction and someone flash on me and honking me, pulled out and had a car hit me at 60mph side on. It was the worst experience of my life. Allowing other drivers to pressure you is the worst thing you can do.

Now I understand. It was your decision alone to proceed onto a 60mph road, which you should do based on your observations alone. The driver sounding the horn didn't "force you" to pull out, that was your decision. Reacting to a horn by pulling out regardless was dangerous, as you discovered. Also ask yourself why the driver was honking... were you there for ages missing gap after gap? It sounds like you have problems judging the speed and proximity of fast moving traffic.

The OPs situation is a different risk altogether. Passing a cyclist on a wide road is a far lesser risk than emerging onto a national speed limit road. Done safely and in a timely manner, this will prevent following drivers from sounding horns out of impatience, but at no point should the driver react to a horn note by driving directly into a danger.

My message to any driver is that if you find yourself regularly honked at every day, then something is amiss with your judgement. If you react to a horn in a blind panic by driving into a collision situation, then something is definitely wrong.

Bloody hate cyclists.

That is all.

From the cyclist's perspective, make sure that you give the cyclist enough room - if you don't, it's not only dangerous but terrifying for the cyclist. What is enough room? At least 1.5m between your wingmirror and their elbow / handlebars; ideally a bit more if you're going at 40mph+. However, we're not horses, so there's no need to slow down in the same way. If a cyclist appears to be deliberately cycling in the middle of the road, this is usually because it's not safe to overtake, and so the cyclist is giving you a sodding big hint that you shouldn't try it. So, make sure you check for hazards, from narrow roads to traffic islands.

If the road isn't safe to pass (not wide enough / island ahead / oncoming traffic / blind bend) then it's not safe to overtake, and you shouldn't try to do so, regardless of how annoyed other drivers get. It's better to have an annoyed driver than a dead cyclist.

On a related note, never, ever try and overtake a bike when it's going around a corner. Cyclists often have to go 'wide' around a corner - if you're going at any speed, you simply can't stick to the curb line on a left hand bend - and you don't know what might be coming in the opposite direction. There's also no point in trying to overtake a cyclist when you're coming into red lights - chances are that 10 seconds later the cyclist will overtake you again and go to the front of the queue.

Well, not all of you are

Oxford/Wilmslow road needs to either get full cycle lanes or ban cyclists though. It's ridiculous at times.

@ OP. It's very rare you can't overtake a cyclist safe, almost immediately. Don't trust them not to do something stupid though, and never let others pressure you. Just calmly take whatever opportunity you have to get past them. I'm the same with motorbikes, they give me regular coronaries. If a red light or something is coming up though, don't bother - they usually jump it or get ahead anyway.

Assume everybody else on the road is a retard, and you'll be fine

Or ban cars, as they're doing between Hathersage rd and Grosvenor st

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tbf I don't care about that part; only travel as far as Rusholme for curries and stuff! It's the part going from St Peters Square to about the student union where bikes are most dangerous. Students literally have no clue how to deal with traffic it seems At least in Cambridge we had cycle routes and stuff!

Bikes don't kill people, but cars (& buses & lorries) sure as hell do. There are crap drivers, and there are crap cyclists, but it's very rare for someone who cycles dangerously to do damage to anyone other than themselves (when was the last time you heard of a cyclist hitting someone and killing them? QED), whereas someone who drives dangerously is much more likely to kill someone else.

You are also possibly making the mistake of thinking that bikes have less right to be on the road than cars do, which simply isn't the case from whichever point of view you look at it (legal, moral, tax etc.).

The road design around the SU - St Peters isn't fantastic, but as crap cycling goes it's never particularly struck me as a bad area. Rusholme is about as bad as it gets for crap driving though - I can't begin to tell you how many near misses I've had down there.

@ OP. It's very rare you can't overtake a cyclist safe, almost immediately.

Don't trust them not to do something stupid though, and never let others pressure you. Just calmly take whatever opportunity you have to get past them.

Assume everybody else on the road is a retard, and you'll be fine