People suck.
I had a short cycle on the road today, on my way home from work. Just 200m or so from the gates at work to the cycle path. Believe it or not, that was almost enough to get me knocked off my bike. Impressive, eh?
In that short distance on a dual carriageway with a 40mph speed limit only 4 cars overtook me, but 1 of them decided that as a cyclist I shouldn’t be there, I should be on the cycle path. Unfortunately he wasn’t psychic, otherwise he would have known that was my target, but on that stretch of road a steep bank of grass separates the road from the path. Instead he was moronic, and overtook me as close as he dared, even though he had all the room in the world, forcing me into the gutter and my arms into the air in an exasperated, “What the f&*k are you doing, dickhead?” He saw my display and pointed to his left, but I wasn’t sure if he was suggesting that I should be in the gutter or just pointing out the lovely sea view.
I know you guys think that you are far better drivers than the average Jo, and seriously believe that you could give Coulthard a run for his money, but that’s just not high quality driving. If a copper sees you he’s going to pull you over. Worse, if you do clip that cyclist (we’re often wobbly if the surface is poor) he’s going to end up in hospital with at least some broken bones and you’re going to end up in court shelling out a lot of cash with a very red face. What sort of argument is, “It’s not my fault, he should have been on the path”? A good driver will anticipate cyclists and adjust to overtake well in advance. We’re really not holding you up as much as you think we are – several seconds at most (count them next time). The road is usually faster and has a smoother surface, and don’t forget we pay road tax too.
Tolerance. A little bit does a lot for humanity.
