Vox pop: Cyclists: What's the most annoying thing about motorists?
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00:00They pass very, very close to you, don't seem to notice you there. I presume they don't, or they're doing it on purpose.
00:07And again, when you're going along the road, cars will pull out in front of you because I just don't seem to see you.
00:15So I think that's some of the main things that annoy me.
00:19So close pass?
00:20Yeah, close passes, being pulled out on from when I'm on the main road and they're on the side road.
00:26It's very common actually, because even when they see you they think, oh I've got time.
00:29Because they can't estimate how quickly cyclists can go sometimes.
00:33So they pull out and you have to brake, which is quite a common occurrence.
00:37Happened to me this morning in fact when I was out on my bike.
00:40So I think they're the main two.
00:42Is there anything that ties them together? How would you summarise?
00:46I think it's just that they're not aware of cyclists.
00:51And if you say to people, you pass me really closely.
00:54I mean you do get the obvious bullshit where you say, well you know, what are you playing at, don't pay taxes etc.
01:00But most people say, did I?
01:02And they're just completely unaware of what they're doing and how dangerous it can be for a cyclist to be passed about that far away from your elbow.
01:12I find myself, every time I hear a car behind me, without thinking about it, I'm heading right into the kerb.
01:18Which actually isn't all that safe to do.
01:20There's all kinds of rubbish hidden right in the kerb there.
01:24A lot of motorists are nice.
01:30But what's pretty annoying is passing you very closely at speed.
01:38You know, pretty close.
01:41The highway code says a metre and a half.
01:45Well, some people don't observe it, especially those who are travelling fast and are in a hurry to get somewhere.
01:52That's why I'm in Niagara.
01:55And what is the answer to that?
01:59Well, some police forces elsewhere have actually been alert to that and they have a spell of really being active and doing things about that.
02:11And that worked for a little bit. I think it may have been in the Midlands that it was happening.
02:16And the other thing is that I do know of some cyclists who have cameras on their helmets and they just send them off to the police and say, look what happened to him.
02:27What do you think? Is it the root of a close pass? Why does it even happen, do you think?
02:34I think they don't. I don't think it's malicious necessarily. I think they just don't think and then they come really close and they're in a hurry.
02:44Do you think all drivers should be cyclists for a day?
02:48I think some of them are. Actually sometimes when they do really nice things to me on the road, I'm thinking, yeah, you're a cyclist as well.
02:55Yeah.