Bad Cyclists and Bad Motorists – Which Are Worse?

When a motorists breaks the speed limit and causes a severe accident, I never hear people come up to me and say

“you motorists are so irresponsible putting people’s lives at risk”

Yet, other people will frequently say to be:

“You cyclists, are so irresponsible cycling through red lights.”

The fact is there are responsible motorists, there are dangerous motorists.
There are responsible cyclists and there are cyclists who ignore basic rules of the road.

When Motorists risk other people’s lives I don’t feel any collective guilt, so why I should I feel any collective guilt for other cyclists behaving irresponsibly?

The standard of Cycling is very bad. Cyclists frequently make the following errors.

  • Cycling without lights
  • Cycling through red lights
  • Being impatient and taking risks on the road.
  • Cycling in an aggressive way.

I would be very happy if bad cycling practises were more heavily punished. But, at the same time, I feel obliged to say the danger from bad driving is far greater than from bad cycling practices.

In the UK, over 3,000 people, every year die on British Roads. These deaths are by and large caused by dangerous and irresponsible driving. They are not caused by cyclists using the pavement.

When a cyclist ignores basic safety procedures, he puts his life at risk. But, to a large extent he doesn’t threaten the well being of other road users. If a person on a bike cycles without lights and goes through red lights, he is at greater risk of an accident to himself – but car drivers are not really threatened themselves.

However, when car users break the speed limit and ignore responsible safety procedures they do put other road users at risk.Frequently I witness car drivers put my life at risk through:

  • excessive speeding,
  • passing so close I can practically touch the card,
  • Ignoring the rules of roundabouts – I’m sure some drivers don’t actually know you are supposed to give way on a roundabout.
  • Being impatient
  • Drink driving (not so easy to see, but, statistics suggest it does happen.)

Quite often when a driver creates a potentially fatal accident I feel they are often unaware of their dangerous bad driving. Once a van passed me, the van actually touched my right arm, so I banged on the van. The van stopped and shouted at me for banging on his van. He couldn’t appreciate it wasn’t safe to pass a cyclist so close that he nearly dragged me under the van.

The Real problem is that bad driving is not so visible and we have become accustomed to turning a blind eye to dangerous driving.

When a cyclist cycles without lights, his fault is obvious to see. When car drivers almost fall asleep at the wheel it is not at all visible. But, it is the bad, careless driving which will cause the deaths of other people.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t try and improve bad cycling practices – far from it. Cyclists should be made to look after their own welfare. However, we should never forget that the 3,000, largely avoidable, deaths are to a large extent the result of bad motoring.

The law is inadequate – we wait until someone has been seriously injured or killed before taking legal action. However, this action only satisfies a desire for justice and vengeance – it is doing nothing to prevent accidents. It is bad motoring that needs to be more seriously tackled. Taking away people’s motoring licence would be the most effective solution.

Interesting Article



9 Responses to Bad Cyclists and Bad Motorists – Which Are Worse?

  1. MJ July 30, 2011 at 3:26 am #

    “”"Frequently I witness car drivers put my life at risk through:

    excessive speeding,
    passing so close I can practically touch the card,
    Ignoring the rules of roundabouts – I’m sure some drivers don’t actually know you are supposed to give way on a roundabout.
    Being impatient
    Drink driving (not so easy to see, but, statistics suggest it does happen.)”"”

    I dont do any of those things yet you still feel you have more right to break the law than i do. You say theres 3000 deaths on the roads, with around 31million motor vehicles on the roads thats a pretty good rate and the UK has some of the safest roads in Europe even if its safety figures have stalled a bit in recent years. Most accidents in my opinion are due to driver error or someone not being seen, recent studies have shown visibility out of a modern car is far less than it was in the 80s and entire cyclists and motorcyclsts can disappear behind a windscreen pillar and entire children be invisible out the rear window, so you have more chance of having an accident now, but also more chance of surviving it should it happen (as visibility is reduced due to all the safety features on new cars) so double edged sword. Alot of cyclists who are not drivers and have never driven do not understand this side to the equation and do not realise that its very easy for us to sometimes not see you even if we are looking for you. Personally i feel obligatory use of a high visibility jacket for all motorcyclists and cyclists would mostly solve that problem. And the EU’s law passing compulsory DRL’s in cars from 2013 shows they feel extra illumination even on vehicles could prevent accidents. The incident you mentioned with the van i think is another example of someone not knowing the width of their own vehicle, more common with cars as previously small cars like Fiesta’s are now actually quite big, vehicles are getting bigger but the roads arent are they?!?

  2. MJ July 30, 2011 at 3:00 am #

    They’re both as bad as each other. Believing its ok for cyclists to flout the law because you cant cause as much damage by doing so is the horrific attitude of too many cyclists which is what makes motorists dislike them. The red light one is the worst one, you cannot be a road user and wanting to be treated like one one minute, to then feel ‘its ok for me to cross a red light im a cyclist how bad could it be?’ the following minute, you’re either a road user and want to be treated as such, or you’re a law dodger who is fair game to be run over, which is it? The madness is if you run a red light or ignore a traffic sign (i travel up a one way road on my way home from work and everyday theres at least 2 cyclists coming towards me) and i crash into you, you’ll say its my fault and the stupid courts will probably agree. Such daft laws will merely encourage reckless cyclists to do what they damn well please with no consideration for the highway code or other road users, because they know in the event of an accident they’ll never get blamed. If you ride at night without lights yes you’re putting your life at risk, and if i crash into you it probably wont hurt me, but thats beside the point. I dont want to crash into you, i dont want to run people over, i dont want to be sued because a dark clothed cyclist was in the road at night and i couldnt see them, i dont want my car or confidence damaged so that im afraid to drive again in case i hit someone. All this wiggle worming round the laws trying to justify why its ok for a cyclist to bend the rules slightly but not ok for a motorist to do so is why motorists get fed up of the self righteous attitude of cyclists. I feel doing 31 in a 30 limit with nothing else on the road isnt harming anyone, but its still illegal and anti-motoring organisations will remind me very quickly that ‘the law is the law.’ You’re right that the road deaths are not caused by cyclists on the pavement, but its still in the highway code that you MUST NOT cycle on the pavement and can carry a £500 fine for doing so. Careless cycling can carry up to £1000 fine (i’d say going the wrong way down one way streets, ignoring traffic signs and signals counts as careless cycling). Your opinion that laws should apply strictly to those in a metal box but loosely to those on a bicycle are just disgusting. Constant justification of minor law breaking is unacceptable. Im not saying it should be the other way around, i just want everyone to play by the rules. Im a motorist and i abide by the rules and laws of the road, i dont run a red light even if i think its safe to do so, i dont go the wrong way down a one way street, i dont call myself a ‘road user’ one minute then decide to drive on the pavement, whether or not me doing so would cause more or less damage than a cyclist doing it is irrelivant and does not provide a legitimate basis for breaking the law. I recommend all cyclists re-read the highway code, specifically the MUST and MUST NOT segments. Such as cyclists MUST obey all traffic signs and signals at all times. Whether you think you’ll cause a 7 car pileup or not is irrelivant, the law is the law. The sooner cyclists start riding in accordance with the law the sooner motorists will give you a break.

  3. Lenee krantz orlando fla August 13, 2010 at 1:23 am #

    I am frustrated at the cyclist on my community bike trail. The trail is there for everyone. The cyclist that waits till they are right on top of your back then yells at you .right or left and expects you to know what that means let alone only gives you a split of a second to react is a high risk to everyone on the trail. Cyclist use the trail to train for races and top of their speedsup to 25-30mph when there are children, seniors and dogs on the trail also!
    Yesterday I was hit from behind by a cyclist going at top speed! He threw me into the air,I fliped got knocked out and landed hard on my back.. When I came to I had no air in my lungs… When I stood up both of my arms were completley numb! He kept going and did a complete hit and run!! He knew he hit me hard because every witness said he looked back and wouldn’t stop!! I’ve been to the nurosergen and been getting a lot of doctor visits in .. I have no insurance and he not only caused me damage to my neck he has pretty much ruined my money situation!!
    He was a professional racer, and it shocks me that someone who has a passion for his sport could be so careless and irresponsible!! If he would of hit a child or a senior that morning he would of killed them!!

  4. Ben May 22, 2009 at 5:47 pm #

    I, admittedly, cycled through a red light at a pedestrian crossing today. I slowed down to allow the pedestrian to cross to the other side, checked it was clear and then continued on. 30 seconds later whilst going over a roundabout a driver shouts out “Red lights apply to you too!” whilst looking over at me through his passenger side window and trying to negotiate the roundabout…

  5. tejvan December 16, 2008 at 12:57 pm #

    Thanks for comment Dave. Like many, I learnt alot from your cycling articles on your blog

  6. Dave Moulton December 16, 2008 at 12:47 pm #

    Thanks for the link to my POB article which I label as “Satire with a message.” Everything you say in your piece is true, but cyclists are a minority, and minorities always get the shitty end of the stick. Any minority is always judged by the worst behavior in that group.
    Life is unfair; we can either piss and moan about it, or do the best we can in spite of it. As individuals, we can make sure our own behavior on the road is exemplarily, and hope that we set an example to others.

    • MJ July 30, 2011 at 3:10 am #

      Any minority which feels its ok for them to break the law but not ok for others to do so deserves the shitty end of the stick. Im sure theres plenty of fine cyclists out there, theres too many of them and too few deaths for there not to be but i would class myself as a safe driver (and used to be really into cycling as a kid and still do the odd bit out in the countryside but i’d never dare use a bicycle in a busy city) as i always drive in accordance with the highway code, i do not break laws no matter how minor and try to justify it like the article above does. These people saying its ok for cyclists to run red lights or cycle on the pavement because ‘i cant cause as much damage as a car’ are the same people who will jump on any motorist who does 32mph in a 30mph limit with no effect on anybody else and ram ‘the law is the law’ down their throats. This always seems to end up an argument of who ‘owns’ the road or who has the biggest moral authority to be there, cyclists seem to think they have the greater moral right to be on the road as they pollute less and can cause less damage in an accident. As far as im concerned its not about either or, i just want everyone going by the rules. If we all play by the rules then nobody gets hurt. The police give cyclists a very easy time of it, constant cycling the wrong way down one way roads, cycling on pavement, jumping red lights etc all traffic offences applicable to cyclists but rarely get punished for it, so think about that the next time you complain about the ‘shitty end of the stick’.

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