We share the road with a variety of other users. In Oxford we have everything from Refuse collection lorries, innumerable double decker buses, to packs of tourists who follow a small umbrella of the tour guide oblivious to any passing traffic.
If you wanted you could very easily get frustrated with tourists who pack into popular tourist squares. But, if you live in a tourist town, it’s far better to have different expectations. It’s only a small area and it’s not the end of the world to have to wait a few seconds. You can always get really close to them and then ring your bell really loud so they jump out of their ‘I love NY T Shirts’ and nearly drop their Canon compact cameras. Not that I do that, of course.
Tourists in Road
It’s a real pain when you’re in a rush to get everywhere as quickly as possible, because you invariably look upon anyone in your way as an unwarranted obstacle. If you plan for unexpected moments of waiting and log jam, you can remain unperturbed by the inevitable.
Far more important is sharing the road with vehicles which have the capacity to deal much more injury than a passing tourist stepping into your path.
The secret of sharing the roads is empathy for other road users. If you only think of your right of way, it leads to an arrogant approach and unnecessary inconvenience to other users. It’s a two way street (headed by Gail Porter) is a good example, of how cyclists and lorry users can both consider the other users. I like the idea of cyclists sitting in lorries, and lorry drivers sitting on bikes.
When in a car, I get annoyed if you see people on a bike at night without any lights. I’m annoyed because it is really hard work picking them out and you could easily run into them. You get annoyed if someone on a bike crosses red lights in the direct flow of passing cars. This pales in comparison to the frustration you feel when your on a bike and a car gives you no space or pulls in front of you. The difference is that you know how vulnerable you are on a bike. In a car, you aren’t physically threatened by bad cycling, but, on a bike you are. This is probably why being a cyclists makes you more motivated to encourage better road standards.
Sheep in Road
I would love to see some of our Tabloid car proponents al Petronella Wyatt, Jeremy Clarkson et al. get on their bike and cycle across London. That might give a different perspective and lessen their invective.
Who is the Best At Sharing Roads?
I have seen so many different types of road use, I can’t say one road user is good and another bad. It all depends who is behind the wheel / handlebars and what kind of mood they are in.
But, I do really appreciate it, when people are self-giving in using the road.
Related
My experience of cycling recently is that the only drivers who have given me less than a foot when overtaking and overtaking on blind bends have been BMWs, Jags and a Porsche Cayenne. Maybe just my bad luck?