[Closed] “Motorist punches cyclist in the head”

Roadies riding in big groups like this annoys me as a driver – would be more considerate if they broke into smaller groups with a space in between to allow cars to overtake.

Say you were to replace those cyclists with X number of cars, say three given approximate length. Would you be angry at that too ? and if those three or so cars were in a line and didnt leave enough room for you to overtake cleanly without forcing your way in, would you be angry at that also.

You sound like an impatient driver. Much like the driver in the clip. Would he have been happier if instead of cyclists taking up three car lengths, it was 3 cars, or a bus or a truck. No, he HAD to get past, and that type of idiot is the type that causes accidents.

One day a car driver is going to get a proper shoeing from a cyclist they have harassed.
There is this belief that you a weedy nerd if you cycle on the uk highways, and are therefore fair game for bullying behaviour. Whether that is using the vehicle as a weapon to intimidate, or as a protective shell from which to dispatch vitriolic abuse

Unfortunately most cyclists are well balanced, reasonably educated people so the morons who like to pick on people rarely get what they deserve, which is a shame

And you can bet that if/when this does happen, the cyclist will get far more than a caution.
Motorist punches cyclist: caution
Cyclist punches motorist: be lucky to get away with anything less than assault

this is the bit I have real difficulty with. Not being able to do an emergency stop as the riders behind will crash into you. To me that is unsafe and why i will never ride in a close group like that. thats just my opinion tho

Sorry for the late reply, had an outbreak of work. In that situation, I could stop, if I had to, say a child in the road or something but it would cause problems behind. The situation in the video would on balance of likely outcomes not cause me to do an emergency stop.

I just fail to understand why the advantages of slipstreaming mean you are prepared to reduce your safety margin. OK it does not appear to cause a lot of accidents but it makes me shudder. thats as much my issue as anything else but i will not slipstream another cyclist and only those I know and trust are allowed to slipstream me

In that situation above I would have emergency stopped behind the car.

Basic rule for me - never get in front of a road rager.

I just fail to understand why the advantages of slipstreaming mean you are prepared to reduce your safety margin

It's fun, I enjoy it and in 30 years of doing it I have come to no harm or caused harm to others. In the same time period mountain biking even my strictly wheels on the ground style has caused more than a few significant injuries. Life would be very dull without risk and the risk in group rides is very low, less than solo rides IME.

I just fail to understand why the advantages of slipstreaming mean you are prepared to reduce your safety margin.
Why do people ride mountain bikes down steep hills very close to trees?

Why do people remove the limiters on electric bikes, thus reducing their safety margin?

NOne of those things are putting your safety in the hands of others. thats the differnce

I know I am an outlier on this but there is no way on earth I am allowing any other cyclist to ride that close to me. I had a wheelsucker ride into the back of me when I braked ( I hadn't spotted him)

Several people on this thread have said the cyclists in the video could not have emergency stopped as the cyclists behind would crash into them.

You learn to read the riders in front of you tj as many many roadies have been doing for years and years and years

Several people on this thread have said the cyclists in the video could not have emergency stopped as the cyclists behind would crash into them.

Do they have a crystal ball. Had I been behind in that situation I'd have been rapidly backing out of it to make space. It could have caused a crash, I doubt anyone would be seriously hurt.

I've been on a group ride where a car cut into the middle of a group and caused it to do its auto emergency braking as it was so close to cyclists in front...only one rider went through the back window and luckily he was fine 😜😆

You learn to read the riders in front of you tj as many many roadies have been doing for years and years and years

I get that and as I said its my issue really but as far as I am concerned only one person is responsible for my safety - me. I am not relying on others to ensure I am safe.

Somewhat of a digression tho.Same with motorbikes. I had been watching police riders "formation flying" I tried it with a pal of mine I really trust - I just could not do it. I want my 2 second gap!

Police flying formation. I bet thats a bugger to ride around.

No ones making you do it
So stop now please, ta.
I dont understand quadratic equations but as im not 14 no ones making me do them so i dont shit the bed over it

You know that zwift ad on the telebox
Fast is fun. Thats why. And its faster and funner for longerer if you draft the rider in front.
Being a few inches from disaster also heightens the experience, see also base jumping, IOM TT Etc