Interested to know the statistics of how many of us drive or not, how it affects you as a cyclist and driver.
I notice I give cyclists a lot more time and slow down behind them as I know full well if I pass them they will catch up with me at the red light. Hopefully this is noticed as helpful and not intimidating...
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Do you drive too?
(23 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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Yip, and I love my car and love driving. Possibly because I don't use it to commute.
And I'm the same as you, I think I give cyclists more time and more room than a lot of other drivers, which in the main is because I'm reading the road like a cyclist and realise those bits where going past would be fruitless and/or dangerous.
I've thought about the intimidating aspect as well, and try to hang back a bit so it doesn't feel like I'm right on their back wheel.
Plus, I've got a citycycling sticker in my back window, so I've got to behave... ;)
Posted 13 years ago # -
"Hopefully this is noticed as helpful and not intimidating..."
Er, yes. That's a difficult one, I'm sometimes suspicious when cars are staying behind!
I can drive (passed test at 17 - first time).
Have owned motor vehicles at odd times in past.
Have had jobs and volunteering where driving was a key part.
Now only drive hired vehicles (very rarely).
Got through the 'oh, you've got kid(s) now, you'll have to get a car' quite easily.
OK so I lived in centralish Edinburgh - but so do many child rearing car owners...
Posted 13 years ago # -
I learnt to drive but never got a licence, Im pretty handy with a tractor and a loader but Im coming to the conclusion I dont really want to drive, tho Im being pushed to take my test again...
Posted 13 years ago # -
Yes, but rarely (usually actually driving only when going out of town) and not at all since my wife upgraded/upsized her car to something too big from something almost as small as possible. I tried my best to convince her she didn't need it before sprogging (she mostly used it to get to work less than three miles away) and will continue to demonstrate that I still consider it non-vital, even unnecessary, hopefully eventually getting the time to calculate the TCO to demonstrate that buses and trains to parentville aren't as pricey as they seem.
I gave way/left room/drove unthreateningly and extremely watchfully when in control and make appropriately alarmed/disapproving noises (and clutch at grab-handles and depress the invisible brake pedal) as a passenger when cyclists are given insufficient room or time/the accelerator is pressed at any point between seeing a red light ahead and arrival thereat/a lane-change is initiated without a reasonable delay between looking, signalling and manoeuvring. I would drive as if anyone could do anything at any time (including falling off the pavement or falling off their bike when they hot a pothole) rather than trusting them to do what they ought to do (which observations as a cyclist confirm to be unlikely to be the case).
Posted 13 years ago # -
My car rarely moves these days. Mainly to take the kids to band practice (they both play trombone)or weekend trips to the shops (oh joy!)
Posted 13 years ago # -
@Anth - "Plus, I've got a citycycling sticker in my back window, so I've got to behave... ;) "
Oooh stickers! Where can I get one?Posted 13 years ago # -
Can't remember where I got it made actually. Just a one off (citycycling.co.uk rather than citycyclingedinburgh.info). I'll dig around and see if I can find the place...
Posted 13 years ago # -
I tend to be a bit more aware around bikes these days, and leave them room. Though a very small minority of cyclists leave me wondering why I bothered, when they obviously don't care.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"very small minority of cyclists leave me wondering why I bothered"
They split into 3 categories -
under-trained/experienced
antagonistic (to other road users)
suicidal
Posted 13 years ago # -
I drive but i rarely take the car if i'm just my self, spent last week between the ERI and the house (probably driven what i would do in a few months in a week) and have spent a fortune on petrol and parking, partly because i had stuff to move around, partly becuase i had passengers and partly becuase i couldn't face riding to and from the infirmary a couple of times a day. Did ride up twice from the office on Monday and Tuesday but mainly because it was quicker to go straight there than go get the car and try to drive to Little France at 6 in the evening.
I often worry about the intimidation vs giving space. I was in the highlands earlier in the year driving up a steep tight section with a roady up in front, waited a solid 10 minutes to find a straight wide section i could safely pass him and i was starting to worry he was being made nervous by my presence but he gave me a thumbs up as we got to the safe passing place so i guess he realised i was being patient and not working out the best place to kill him....
Posted 13 years ago # -
I can drive, in that I have a licence, but I don't have a car and haven't hired one for several years.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I drive and my driving style has certainly changed since I got my bike.
I'm extra careful to give room to cyclists and when I see I'm heading towards a set of traffic lights at red I take my foot off the accelerator and try to ensure that I get to the lights just as they change to green so I don't have to
unclipstop.Posted 13 years ago # -
I haven't driven a car since passing my test since the insurance was too expensive and it's easier to just cycle or take public transport. It doesn't even occur to me these days that I could use a car to get from a to b when planning a trip.
Posted 13 years ago # -
can't drive. never tried to learn. can't foresee that changing in the short to medium term. Therefore can't answer if I would cycle any differently if I did learn. I try and cycle in such a manner that I use the road and behave as if I were a car.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Yes love my van ( but seem to spend more time under it with a welder than driving it)
I give cyclists loads of room and am quite happy to hang back and wait to overtake when it's safe to do so. I've never found that doing so has impeded my journey time!!
I have found that by giving cyclists room and waiting for them to get out of the way before left turning etc sometimes freaks them out.....it's almost as if they don't expect a van to see them let alone give them space to move.Posted 13 years ago # -
I do drive but not to work. My wife says that cycling has given me an annoying tendency to keep moving forward at junctions as if I'm on a bike and trying not to fall over. I enjoy driving when the Scenic is full of children; on my own less so.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I used to have 4 cars but now I'm down to three. Only the '97 Volvo works and its MOT is tomorrow. I suspect it will just fail on the front nearside tyre but I've mended the offside brake light (sanded off some corrosion on the contact strip).
Having an almost identical but non functioning '94 Volvo in the drive means I can strip it for parts if I'm in a hurry or the shops are shut. I used it as a donor for a fan belt last week. The '71 VW has been in my mum's garden since 2000.
I use a car when I need to move the boys around. I rarely use it on my own. From January I'll be picking number 4 son up from nursery by Pashley and trailer.
We're currently at piano lesson and sitting in the traffic on the way here was no fun at all.
Next month I have to spend a day with the SQA. I complained about their lack of info on how to get there by bike. They emailed back saying there are bike racks in the basement of their building so I don't need to leave a Pashley in the street all day or use a folder.
Posted 13 years ago # -
What would I tick. Yes I drive, or have a licence to drive, and can drive, but don't own a car and have not done so for very many years, and have therefore not driven for a very long time. Perhaps the question should be are you licenced to drive.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"I have found that by giving cyclists room and waiting for them to get out of the way before left turning etc sometimes freaks them out.....it's almost as if they don't expect a van to see them let alone give them space to move. "
I had a van slow down as lights changed this morning! I was on the left (even though I wanted to turn right) as I was still a little way away and I knew the light sequence is short. The lights changed before the van passed me and they slowed down! Meant I was able to signal and get into position rather than have to manouver myself round it. Great stuff.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Yep i drive. An artic for a living and car when needed. i have been driving prob since about 14years old, have raced cars,motor bikes,worked as a mechanic. Love cars. but, been cycling since before school !Have raced bikes and repaired them since day one. Love bikes. Slow down in the lorry to allow cyclists to procede safely all the time, size of the truck means that many other road users tend to follow what ive done, ie pulling right out to overtake cycles as opposed to scraping along their thighs ! Now the weather is turning I am looking forward to travelling the A9 and whiskey trail to elgin etc, in the real snow ! take my sleeping bag !
Posted 13 years ago # -
If only all "professional" drivers were as professional as you, splitshift. World would be a better place for all concerned.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I have held a clean driving licence since I was 17, I have held a number of advanced driving qualifications and have been a full qualified driving instructor. But I don't own a car any more, simply because I don't want the hassle of owning one.
Posted 13 years ago #
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