Motorbike abuse

This morning I was abused (verbally!) by a motorbike rider. A friend
and I ride to work, often stopping 2 abreast at lights to stop the
frequent occurence of cars pulling up in front of us then cutting us
off by going left. We immediately seperate into an inline form when
the lights change, Traffic was not heavy.

This morn mr motorbike decided to race up next to me and tell me that
riding two abreast was illegal and I was being dangerous. Despite a)
me being the lead rider and totally single file at this point and b)
him riding a foot from me in a 2 abreast fashion. When i kindly
pointed out that it is not illegal to ride two abreast he pulled in
front and tried to brake hard to make us stop.

We do often ride two abreast (or more like 1.5 with front and rear
tyres overlapping) in order to force people to actually overtake
instead of sliding past us (only on roads that are wide enough/
multiple lanes) without pulling out, but this time we had not.

Grrr

CoyoteBoy said the following on 23/04/2007 14:56:

This morn mr motorbike decided to race up next to me and tell me that
riding two abreast was illegal and I was being dangerous.

(Quickly checks to make sure it is still allowed!)

Just ignore the prat and carry on :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

CoyoteBoy wrote on 23/04/2007 14:56 +0100:

This morn mr motorbike decided to race up next to me and tell me that
riding two abreast was illegal and I was being dangerous.

Did you point out that it was nowhere near as dangerous as him making it
three abreast? ;-)


--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:22:58 +0100, Tony Raven
wrote:

CoyoteBoy wrote on 23/04/2007 14:56 +0100:

This morn mr motorbike decided to race up next to me and tell me that
riding two abreast was illegal and I was being dangerous.

Did you point out that it was nowhere near as dangerous as him making it
three abreast? ;-)

Except that, if you read the post carefully, you'll see that OP was single-file
just before the m/cyclist pulled up.

CoyoteBoy wrote:

This morn mr motorbike decided to race up next to me and tell me that
riding two abreast was illegal and I was being dangerous.

It was probably just a case of he did not like you doing it as it made
it harder for him to overtake, so he tells you it is illegal.
From what you say, mr motorbike man was being extremely dangerous, and
you were cycling defensively, and making full use of the road.

If he ever does it again (pulling in front and braking hard) jot down
his number plate and report him to plod.


I was told once by a bus driver that it was illegal to turn right into a
side road[1]. To get my attention he sounded his horn whilst his bus was
stationary.[2] The opposite carriageway had no moving traffic in it,
only parked cars.

[1] I was crossing diagonal lines, boarded by hatched lines,
109: "If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not
enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to
do so."

[2]92: "The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to
warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn
aggressively. You MUST NOT use your horn

* while stationary on the road
* when driving in a built up area between the hours of 11.30 pm and
7.00 am

except when another vehicle poses a danger."

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:12:47 GMT, Martin Dann wrote:

[2]92: "The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to
warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn
aggressively. You MUST NOT use your horn

* while stationary on the road
* when driving in a built up area between the hours of 11.30 pm and
7.00 am

except when another vehicle poses a danger."

Ooooh goody! That means I am within the HC to tootle at every driver blathering
on their cell phone, as clearly that vehicle poses a danger.

I thought I was merely venting my frustration, but I was, in fact, Upholding The
Law.

I've had a prat claim that before now ... we were riding a tandem at the
time .. just the two of us. Obviously no idea what two abreast meant.

On Apr 23, 4:12 pm, Martin Dann wrote:
CoyoteBoy wrote:
This morn mr motorbike decided to race up next to me and tell me that
riding two abreast was illegal and I was being dangerous.

It was probably just a case of he did not like you doing it as it made
it harder for him to overtake, so he tells you it is illegal.

There really are people out there, qualified drivers supposedly, who
honestly believe it's illegal to ride two abreast. They also know that
you must ride in the cycle lane and wear a helmet. Furthermore it is
their bounden duty to appoint themselves deputy traffic cop to deal
with the situation. Their temporary status allows them to ignore all
other considerations such as driving safely and legally.

There is no point arguing with them so just thank them, say you didn't
know and carry on regardless. This perfectly reasonable response can
get them quite excited sometimes.

--
Dave...

Pete Whelan wrote:
Obviously no idea what two abreast meant.

I believe it's something to do with a bee quartet.

IGMC.

--
Danny Colyer URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Martin Dann wrote:
I was told once by a bus driver that it was illegal to turn right into a
side road[1]. To get my attention he sounded his horn whilst his bus was
stationary.[2]
SNIP
[2]92: "The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to
warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn
aggressively. You MUST NOT use your horn

* while stationary on the road
* when driving in a built up area between the hours of 11.30 pm and
7.00 am

except when another vehicle poses a danger."

Clearly your bike posed a danger to his bus.

--
Danny Colyer URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2