If you are a regular cyclist you will become aware of how significant is the gap cars will leave when overtaking. A significant minority will pass too close. It definitely affects the nerves, you can feel a pull of air from the car as its draught affects you. The highway code states a car should leave as much room to a cyclist as it would to passing another car. However, I think many motorists ignore this. Also, its probably the case that motorists are not aware of how close they pass.
I have seen quite a few articles which suggest cars can offer significantly different amounts of space depending on how the cyclist dresses.
If you look an inexperienced cyclist. – Old lady, basket, ordinary clothes, no helmet, fishnet stockings e.t.c. then cars tend to give more room. If you look a professional cyclist with lycra and helmet ancedotal evidence suggest cars give less room.
I was speaking to a friend who usually always cycles to work with helmet, but he tried for a week without a helmet. He said that although he felt more vulnerable, he also found cars gave more room.
It is hard to quantify how much space cars give, and ancedotal evidence is unreliable, but it is an interesting observation.
- One thing for certain whenever a car / bus passes withing 10cm I always give it a good bang with my hand (not to damage the car, but make sure the driver isn’t sleeping).
When I drive I always give cyclists plenty of room. I was taught to do this by my driving instructor. But I think I do give more room when driving to the old lady then I do to the guy in lycra on a racer (although I’ll still give him plenty of room). Probably just because I think the old lady is more vunerable, so consciously make an effort.
I tell you what I have noticed. Well to start I should say I have never been a big cyclist, so the times I’m riding at dusk or in the dark are so few and far between that I never purchased lights before quite recently. Well since I’ve had lights, cars give me a HUGE birth…they make this massive, respectful semi-circle around me whereas before they never. Now it would be ill thought out to assume that before the lights drivers never saw me, as if that was the case I’d be dead. It’s just that the lights seem to earn you a LOT more respect. It’s like they’re thinking “you’ve made the effort for MY safety, so I’ll make more of an effort for yours”. I now have two front and two rear lights and would NEVER go out without them in dim light.
I was disheartened to hear that cyclists WITH helmets got less room off cars and other vehicles than bare headed riders, though. For the life of me I can’t work that one out. Now I don’t know whether to wear a helmet or not.
Maybe it is a little rude. But sucking a cyclist under your vehicle is hardly polite
Oh, so it perfectly acceptable to give vehicle a little tap if they are too close. Good.
Thanks for letting me know. I thought it might be rude of me
Reading the title of this post:
Strange.
No people involved.
Cars and bikes.
And buses.
Just another example of how living in an over-mechanised society somehow dehumanises us all.