car driver vs cyclists?

[hunnymonster]

Has anyone ever experienced a caravan pulling over to let the mile-long tailback they created past? Because in 25 years of driving, I haven't...

New contentious topic - Caravans should be restricted to driving between the hours of 11pm and 5am and subject to annual MOT inspections and £10000/yr road tax (per wheel) and not allowed to park anywhere that it disturbs the view of anyone else. After all Wordsworth didn't write:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er dale and hill
When all at once I came upon a bloody caravan park

 

[AJP]

Has anyone ever experienced a caravan pulling over to let the mile-long tailback they created past? Because in 25 years of driving, I haven't...

New contentious topic - Caravans should be restricted to driving between the hours of 11pm and 5am and subject to annual MOT inspections and £10000/yr road tax (per wheel) and not allowed to park anywhere that it disturbs the view of anyone else. After all Wordsworth didn't write:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er dale and hill
When all at once I came upon a bloody caravan park

Hmm, in fact i do! Frequently! And out here, the caravan has to go through the same sort of yearly checks that the car does. If it doesn't pass...i don't get my "Roadworthyness certificate" and it can't be used. Most of those who criticise caravans are those who have never experienced the pleasure of a cost-efficient, fun holiday in with your own surroundings and luxuries with you. (Alot would like to try i guess but are worried what others would say if they actually bought one - work colleagues, friends) :lol:

To be honest a caravan should be no more of a hinderance on the road than a truck - and certainly less of a hinderance than a tractor. Don't forget the more recent converts to caravans will also have had to take yet another DVLA test for their B+E license as they don't have grandfather rights to it.

 

[hunnymonster]

Yeah, but in sausageland drivers actually mostly obey the rules - lane discipline, no elephant racing, etc...

 

[AJP]

Yeah, but in sausageland drivers actually mostly obey the rules - lane discipline, no elephant racing, etc...

:lol: :lol:

They sit quite close behind you though on the Autobahn. When there are no posted speed limits, there are no actual limits (130KPH is the advised).

 

[1gear]

No, i have the same rights as just about anyone on the road. Just because i dont have the top speed of cars, motorbikes, doesn't give me less rights.
I was well within my rights to overtake, i broke no laws by doing this. Im well within the law to over take aswell.
I saw him pull out so instead of just braking hard and sitting behind him i just went around him. Just as if i had pulled out a car would have gone around me.
Do you know the speed at which a bicycle has to be doing under, before you can over take legally when the road stops you from doing so(double white lines in the middle, or broken white lines for the other side of the road)
Now, if we go by this alot of cars break the law, but i was within my rights to overtake him! He was going quite slow, slower then a tractor would have, and if a slower vehicle had been doing that speed you would have just gone around him.
The time when i went past the woman and tapped on the back of her car i was filtering, technically, so get infront of traffic. This is something alot of motorcyclist do and im sure you have done in traffic aswell.
At narrow sections of the road i will move out. If you would like to read cycle craft, which IIRC the government helped to write, it advises you to do this.
You do this so you dont get some idiot trying to squeeze past you at the last moment. Im sure you will have had this, being a cyclist yourself?
Now, im not the best cyclist, and probably not the safest on the road, but ive cycled in quite a few places in England and done many miles in England, ive also cycled in Wales, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Chek Republik.
I can shift at speed if i so wish. No, i do not wear a hi-vis vest. Personally, i see them as un-needed. My club cycling kit is Yellow, Green and black. This makes you stick out wonderfully. At night i have a very bright rear light, with two other rear lights which are not so bright and one light on my helmet. On the front of the bike i have two quite bright lights plus one light on my helmet.
The helmet lights are the best for riding in traffic at night i find. Stop people who are pulling out from side roads, whos view is blocked by cars see me in the dark. The hi-vis wont work then. The reflective stripes only work when the light is shone on them.
Oh, and i dont overtake at any opportunity. I quite often just sit behind and wait for the traffic ahead to go.
Ok? :roll:

 

[cheese_dave]

Rights?

Remind me again how much it costs to road tax a bicycle? And how often you have to have your bicycle MOT'd by law to make sure it's safe enough to be on the road? And which cycling test you, by law, have to pass before you are certified as competent to take your bicycle out onto the road with us dangerous drivers?

Sorry if this has already been brought up.

I'm not having a pop, 1gear, I try my best to give cyclists their space, cos I know that's what I want when I'm out on my bike.

Let's face it, there are idiots on bikes, and idiots in cars.

<rant mode>

I'd also like to add my vote to the caravan/horsebox/tractor/James smegging Irlam lorry thing - what's a tractor doing driving down the A50 between Knutsford and Holmes Chapel at 35mph AT RUSH HOUR??? Ban them to country lanes or at least keep them off the blasted road between 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm.

</rant mode>

 

[1gear]

Rights?

Remind me again how much it costs to road tax a bicycle? And how often you have to have your bicycle MOT'd by law to make sure it's safe enough to be on the road? And which cycling test you, by law, have to pass before you are certified as competent to take your bicycle out onto the road with us dangerous drivers?

Sorry if this has already been brought up.

I'm not having a pop, 1gear, I try my best to give cyclists their space, cos I know that's what I want when I'm out on my bike.

Let's face it, there are idiots on bikes, and idiots in cars.

<rant mode>

I'd also like to add my vote to the caravan/horsebox/tractor/Jeff smegging Irlam lorry thing - what's a tractor doing driving down the A50 between Knutsford and Holmes Chapel at 35mph AT RUSH HOUR??? Ban them to country lanes or at least keep them off the blasted road between 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm.

</rant mode>

OK cheese dave. You have highlighted some incompetence ony our part.
Firstly, you do not know about Road tax(its VED my friend ) Nor do you understand how it is worked out.
Ill start with this point first. VED is measured on the amount of Co2 put out by a vehicle. So, the less Co2 put out by a car, the cheaper the VED. So, if you were to get a car, say a VW Polo Blue Motion, which puts out under a certain limit, you dont pay road tax. There is also a seat and a few other cars which are the same.
This makes your 'road tax' argument completely pointless, because how can you tax a cyclist for breathing? Going by this you would have to tax alot of people by just going around.
My bike doesn't get MOT'ed. You are correct on that. But, here is where the problem comes. How can you expect everyone with a bike to do this? Children on bikes. Do you want to get them to pay for an MOT aswell? By law they should also be on the road, and infact many children do ride on the road.
As for tests, many people have done cycling proficiency. Many children still do this. The school just up the road(junior school) had the children out on the road practising junctions the other week, after quite a while practising in school. Theres no law to do this, but do you want to stop kids riding a bike untill they are competent enough to do a test? If you did this then many wouldnt do the test, and if you think back to when you were a kid and riding your bike, you would have had to do a test to do that.
Normally, if you ride on the road you learn yourself how to ride. Its how most people have learnt to ride on the road. Those who deem it too dangerous and cant ride on the road tend not to. Or dont last long on the road.
There are idiots on bikes and idiots in cars. Ive seen plenty of idiots on bikes, and have just rode off from rides at times if there's been an idiot out, or expressed my view.
I have the same rights on the road as anyone else. Every cyclist does. Having the opinion that cyclist dont have the right to be on because they dont pay road tax is just stupid.

I dont get why you are moaning about the 'Jeff Irlam' lorry(its James Irlam by the way, owned by Eddie Stobart) or even the caravans, horseboxes(horses are pointless though) Do you know what the speed limit is for HGVs along single carriageways?
Whats your problem with them? I cant drive a car and tow something. You now have to do a separate licence to tow, although you did used to get given it, same with minibus and 7.5tonner.
Tractors, not a fan of them. I think they do sometimes just go out to annoy people, and moan about any type of weather. Its too warm, theres been too much rain............ :roll:

Its ok though, you have the same uneducated view as most car drivers :lol:

 

[cheese_dave]

Dammit, lectured by a 12 year old...

I do have a bicycle as well, you know.

You can't have "rights" when you're a bloke on a bike going up against someone driving a vehicle weighing three quarters of a ton. Every morning I drive over the bridge at J17 on the M6, and like as not someone in a huge lorry will pull out in front of me. He has no right to do that, other than the fact that the amount of damage he will suffer as I smash into him is the same as the bulldozer in HHGTTG... none at all.

I remembered it was "James Irlam" about two seconds after I left the house following that post BTW. I've edited it now. My problem with them is that they don't go as fast as I want to, and I can't overtake them.

My main point was, idiots on all sides. Don't you like my boobs?

 

[1gear]

Dammit, lectured by a 12 year old...

I do have a bicycle as well, you know.

You can't have "rights" when you're a bloke on a bike going up against someone driving a vehicle weighing three quarters of a ton. Ever morning I drive over the bridge at J17 on the M6, and like as not someone in a huge lorry will pull out in front of me. He has no right to do that, other than the fact that the amount of damage he will suffer as I smash into him is the same as the bulldozer in HHGTTG... none at all.

My main point was, idiots on all sides. Don't you like my boobs?

Im 18.
Ive proved you wrong
I do have rights. Everyone is equal. Its just that some people have to use their car to try and make them feel better :lol:
So, what were you bitching about with the James Irlam lorry, the caravans, and horse boxes?
Do you know the speed limit for HGVs(or is that LGVs) on single carriageways?
(now dont go and look it up )
How your theory goes though, i should one day be at the top of the food chain on the road. I shall have to remember all the car drivers that annoy me and ram them all :lol: :lol: :lol:

Personally, i think if anything happens, everyone should get out, shake hands, maybe even have some man hugs, before getting on our way

 

[cheese_dave]

My point about the lorries, horse-boxes, etc., is that they go very slow when I want to go faster. I don't care what the legal speed of them is, I want to do 60 when the national speed limit applies. I don't want to be stuck behind something slow. It refers to something HM said earlier on in this thread.

Glad you feel happy to have scored a point over me. I'm old enough not to care. I have these boobs to play with.

 

[hunnymonster]

I dont get why you are moaning about the 'Jeff Irlam' lorry(its James Irlam by the way, owned by Eddie Stobart) or even the caravans, horseboxes(horses are pointless though) Do you know what the speed limit is for HGVs along single carriageways?

Taking the points in reverse - HGV drivers rarely stick to the 40mph limit - and a blind eye is turned to this because on a road like the A1 in North Northumberland if they did slow the HGVs to 40mph it would be solid gridlock and nobody able to turn right at all - ever.

As for the B+E trailer gang - inevitably they are undertaking leisure journeys - around here there aren't many roads so alternatives are not practical (I have 3 sensible choices to go to Edinburgh: direct 44 miles, alternative 1: 68 miles, alternative 2: 73 miles) - none is a road particularly conducive to overtaking and most people bimble along around 55mph steady. It turns a 48 minute pleasurable journey into a 2+ hour stressful journey on a summer Saturday morning & Sunday afternoon.

The caravanners do 55mph on the straights (which all have speed cameras) but come to a bend (there are lots) regardless of the severity of the bend (be it 10 degrees from straight or almost back on yourself) they're down to 35mph, or a speed camera (they're down to 35mph) or they spot the Talevan camera van (they're down to 35mph)... compare and contrast with 99% of the HGV drivers - they slow down on the straights to let as many people past as possible... the caravanners actively speed up to bunch as many people behind them as it's humanly possible to do. They even manage to get two caravans abreast on the 2 crawler lane sections - it's absolutely un-fucking-believable.

Then when they get where they're going they make an eyesore that's visible from space with 4503459834 caravans stuffed in a field.

BURN THE LOT OF THEM.

Seriously they ought to be banned off the road between 0500 & 2300 - taxed at £10kpa per wheel and subject to monthly MOTs and a reasonable compulsory eyesore tax of £10/minute they're stationary anywhere

 

[Pig Cat]

Glad you feel happy to have scored a point over me. I'm old enough not to care. I have these boobs to play with.

Perhaps this is the ultimate difference between men and women. If we had boobs we just wouldn't be able to leave them alone. It all just comes down to self-control...

 

[cheese_dave]

HM, I feel your anger.

I also feel my boobs, which makes the anger go away.

 

[1gear]

I dont get why you are moaning about the 'Jeff Irlam' lorry(its James Irlam by the way, owned by Eddie Stobart) or even the caravans, horseboxes(horses are pointless though) Do you know what the speed limit is for HGVs along single carriageways?

Taking the points in reverse - HGV drivers rarely stick to the 40mph limit - and a blind eye is turned to this because on a road like the A1 in North Northumberland if they did slow the HGVs to 40mph it would be solid gridlock and nobody able to turn right at all - ever.

As for the B+E trailer gang - inevitably they are undertaking leisure journeys - around here there aren't many roads so alternatives are not practical (I have 3 sensible choices to go to Edinburgh: direct 44 miles, alternative 1: 68 miles, alternative 2: 73 miles) - none is a road particularly conducive to overtaking and most people bimble along around 55mph steady. It turns a 48 minute pleasurable journey into a 2+ hour stressful journey on a summer Saturday morning & Sunday afternoon.

The caravanners do 55mph on the straights (which all have speed cameras) but come to a bend (there are lots) regardless of the severity of the bend (be it 10 degrees from straight or almost back on yourself) they're down to 35mph, or a speed camera (they're down to 35mph) or they spot the Talevan camera van (they're down to 35mph)... compare and contrast with 99% of the HGV drivers - they slow down on the straights to let as many people past as possible... the caravanners actively speed up to bunch as many people behind them as it's humanly possible to do. They even manage to get two caravans abreast on the 2 crawler lane sections - it's absolutely un-fucking-believable.

Then when they get where they're going they make an eyesore that's visible from space with 4503459834 caravans stuffed in a field.

BURN THE LOT OF THEM.

Seriously they ought to be banned off the road between 0500 & 2300 - taxed at £10kpa per wheel and subject to monthly MOTs and a reasonable compulsory eyesore tax of £10/minute they're stationary anywhere

They rarely stick to 40mph often because of time and them wanting to get where they are going. My dad who drives a lorry used to go faster on single carriageways when he worked for the other company, then what he does now. He sits at 40mph on single carriageways and bimbles along.
However, companies are getting drivers to stick to the 40mph limits. Even though the limits are now out of date, with some limits being set because of the fuel shortages a while back and going by old brakes etc.
We also have a caravan, and we happily go along doing the speed limits and dont really cause much of a tail back.
Sounds more like the caravaners by you dont really know how to drive.

My point about the lorries, horse-boxes, etc., is that they go very slow when I want to go faster. I don't care what the legal speed of them is, I want to do 60 when the national speed limit applies. I don't want to be stuck behind something slow. It refers to something HM said earlier on in this thread.

Glad you feel happy to have scored a point over me. I'm old enough not to care. I have these boobs to play with.

So, because you cant do the speed you want and you have to go slower, you hate it :? My god, i think you need to relax abit more :lol:
Im quite happy to score a point over you. One of my MOST favourite things ever is racing pensioners on bikes :lol:

 

[hunnymonster]

However, companies are getting drivers to stick to the 40mph limits. Even though the limits are now out of date, with some limits being set because of the fuel shortages a while back and going by old brakes etc.

As was the 70mph speed limit...

We also have a caravan, and we happily go along doing the speed limits and dont really cause much of a tail back.

As a caravanner you'll be blind to it - too busy admiring the rig to notice that they're not adhering to the Caravan Club's own guidelines - if you have a tailback, pull in and allow it to pass - I have never seen this happen in 25 years. Government says it wants the polluter to pay - it's one of few things that I agree with them on - caravans slow me down from the speed where I get optimal fuel economy... I want them to pay too.

Sounds more like the caravaners by you dont really know how to drive.

They don't know how to behave responsibly - a vehicle not towing a trailer along gently rolling single carriageway road can maintain 55mph, a vehicle towing a trailer can't and will cause a tailback, according to the Caravan Club, he should pull in and let them past. IT NEVER HAPPENS EVER.

So, because you cant do the speed you want and you have to go slower, you hate it :? My god, i think you need to relax abit more :lol:

I detest wasting fuel because some moron can't react to what is going on behind him - the sad fact is that I've never ever seen a caravan being driven responsibly and pulling in when it builds up a tailback - it's not a local thing - we happen to live on one of the 5 main cross-border routes so see caravanners from all over the UK (and beyond) behaving in a most selfish, irresponsible & antisocial fashion.

It makes my day to see a caravan in a field, wrecked, turned into a pile of matchwood - and it happens a lot. The downer is that if you see it happen and don't make it past the wreckage before the police get there, it's a 50+ mile detour to get around it.

Incidentally the irresponsibility extends to dual carriageways & motorways too - caravanners driving inappropriately fast and getting a snake on - that's always good to see a 'van flip a Range Rover/similar over.

 

[cheese_dave]

So, because you cant do the speed you want and you have to go slower, you hate it :? My god, i think you need to relax abit more :lol:
Im quite happy to score a point over you. One of my MOST favourite things ever is racing pensioners on bikes :lol:

Should also point out that driving too slow is as much against the law as driving too fast. It can cause accidents. It's all about people not driving appropriate to the road conditions.