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Have drivers got more aggressive since the Highway Code changes?
I was at the football in south London with a friend on Saturday, both of us cycle as our everyday way of getting around, and out of the blue he asked me, "Have you noticed drivers getting way more aggressive in the past few weeks?"
I said, "Could be, what with the Highway Code changes and all the misreporting around them in the press," and he looked at me blankly.
"What Highway Code changes?" he said.
So after castigating him for not reading road.cc, I explained them to him and also some of the inaccurate and divisive coverage we've seen in the mainstream media, and he said, "Yup, that would do it."
That got me thinking - more than four weeks on from the changes, what is other people's experience? Have you noticed drivers following the revised rules, ignoring them, or becoming more aggressive? Let us know ...
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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26 comments
Where I am in south Wales it has gone from one extreme to the other since the changes, with some drivers give massive, more than usual amounts of passing room and others (usually van drivers) getting much more aggressive with their close passes and abuse.
A lot of the bad driving is most likely caused by the anti-cycling talk you get from a number of talk radio presenters, on air and on social media, I don't need to name them, you all know who these overweight inadequates are by know.
the ones who didn't care before still don't care now.
I've seen a lot of aggressive comments on social media, although mostly it's giving way to pedestrians that has the drivers riled up.
Out on the streets, things seem slightly better. I think 1.5m for overtaking a cyclist is much clearer than the old rule.
"Nearly got run over yesterday trying to walk across the cycle lane on Embankment. Bikes from both directions flying along at breakneck speed. Really dangerous"
reply
"Have you literally ever seen a road?"
20s plenty
except too fast for bikes, but not nearly fast enough for cars
But bicycles, innit?
(It is odd how people don't think about crossing a busy cycle path (even a two-way one) in the same way that they'd cross a road...).
When wearing my 'cyclist' hat or my 'pedestrian' hat, I'm not sure that anything has particularly improved.
But, hey, nothing's got worse so that's something...
(at lunchtime, a large Mercedes was driven across a zebra crossing at speed about eighteen inches in front of me as I stepped out, but that's not any worse than normal in my experience...),
On my morning spin out in the lanes today, I had several oncoming drivers waiting for me, pulling off the road such that I wasn't even sure they'd stopped 'for' me - they didn't need to.
I had several oncoming drivers waiting for me
I'm very pleased to hear of this positive change! It certainly doesn't apply up here, so I suppose it depends on the drivers knowing that they do or don't live in an area with a police force that detests cyclists for being whingers who can't even be bothered to get killed or injured before they start moaning
In my experience (50 km+ per day in London) there has been a definite improvement in driver behaviour in terms of close passing, at a heuristic estimate I would say around 30% more are really thinking about their passing distance and waiting longer for passing opportunities. I haven't noticed any increase in aggression, either. The only real downside is that not every driver thinks about what is in the oncoming lane, several times I've had to move over and hug the gutter because a driver is making a textbook move-into-the-other-lane pass on a cyclist but hasn't checked carefully enough what's coming. There are some of life's little ironies that can be relished, but being taken out by a driver who was actually trying to do their best for cyclists would not be one of them…
I don't think I've noticed any change - same mix of good and bad drivers. (I feel bound to ask, though, Simon: which South London football?)
I was going to ask the same re S London football. I was at Selhurst Park as usual on Saturday, on two wheels of course
As regards close passing, I'd say drivers are about as bad as usual, more aggressive than say 10-15 years ago in other words.
So was I (and Tuesday). Do you park at the wonderful advertised facilities (the portakbin steps near the Fanzine?)
I wasn't there on Tuesday. I took the two wheeler with the engine as the old banger MTB I'd normally use has a flat tyre (I don't like using the good MTB if I'm going to leave it anywhere) and I've been too focussed on servicing my BMXs to replace the inner tube. I park the Suzuki in the corner of the Sainsbury's car park on the bit of kerb where motorbike parking is allowed. There's a rail in the carpark I lock the old MTB to if I use that.
Last week a bloke in a pick-up drove past me at a slow-ish rate observing the 1.5m rule (and maybe a bit more), while at the same time shouting through the lowered passenger window: "that alright mate?!" in what sounded like a sarcastic manner. He didn't wait for a response. Make of that what you will.
The day after the new rules came in, a BMW passed me (good wide pass fully on the other side of the road) then screamed move over you c*** through the open window (past his 10? year odl son.
I was riding secondary at most, and he was not delayed for even a second.
Still, a sarcastic but safe pass would be an improvement for a lot of drivers.
I'd say no I dont think it has, with the caveat it still feels too early to judge if people are responding to the changes,or just the publicity, or some 3rd outside factor we havent accounted for.
I think anecdotally those that were cautious drivers anyway are simply being more cautious at the moment, to the point they are increasingly becoming annoying with it as they become too cautious. Those that arent are simply driving as they were before. I've not encountered anyone being overly aggressive of late,even if many still do daft and dangerous things.
But its a complex interaction because the drivers you meet are a factor of where you ride & when,which can be decided by weather or boredom or just how you feel that day, I can go on many loops & meet barely any driver and think all in the world is marvellous, and then do the same loop the next week and feel everyone is out to kill me.
Well we can all have our assumptions challenged. Feels good to 'fess up to that if you can though (never easy even for the most modest), so have a point.
I obviously hope the KSI numbers will go down. However let's see. I think it would be fair to give this some time before pronouncing. Also sadly I doubt we're keeping a specific check on the effects. We don't gather particularly good statistics on the roads, not ones that are terribly useful for improving safety rather than shrugging our shoulders or congratulating ourselves. Very few places do.
Since most of this was just reinforcing what careful - and courteous - drivers (and cyclists) should be doing anyway I suspect the effect is likely to be rather small. No doubt the reckless will go on as before*. Even with all the publicity because outrage I'm not sure how much additional awareness most people have got.
* I've never been sure how much of the carnage can be attributed to "wrong 'uns" and how much is what you'd expect when you have a large chunk of the population habitually doing a dangerous activity. Especially one which has been normalised to be casual and commonplace. Also noting we've stopped at a rather low level with our safety measures provided by infrastructure and rules. For me I'd split things as the "completely illegal" vs. the rest e.g. medically unfit, using vehicle for crime, drunk / high, unlicenced, untaxed / illegally modified vehicle, totally outrageous driving e.g. way over speed limit, driving wrong way round roundabout etc. and serial traffic offenders (didn't change). Arbitrary and I know there's a lower level of illegal e.g. speeding, phone use, general lack of care and attention which can be equally deadly.
As a pedestrian, I've had a number of occasions where a driver has waited patiently for me to cross a side road, where previously daring to set foot on the road would have been met with at least an angry stare and possibly a blast on the horn as they brushed past my nose. It was quite disconcerting the first couple of times.
As a pedestrian, I don't know if more people are giving me priority willingly, but that's partly because I've been emboldened in taking it (i.e. looking, crossing, but still being prepared to stop for a wrong-un). However, I also have a young child who is currently learning how to cross roads - I'm not teaching this method!
In Lancashire there has been no change because drivers here know that Lancashire Constabulary has no record of paying attention to the old Highway Code, never mind any pinko Namby Pamby so-called Rule Changes which they don't accept
I find more drivers are waiting and not overtaking and overtakes are also better.
The alleged rear ending at junctions has not materialised.
amazing really.
Just like it never used to happen when people had to wait to turn right ebcause of oncoming traffic
I think it's had a bit of a polarising effect. The cautious majority have become even more careful, but the reckless idiots seem to be emboldened to drive closer and faster than before.
In the last month, I've had two drivers angrily beep at me for absolutely no reason other than I was on the road ahead of them. One then swerved to side-swipe me whilst holding down the horn (police report submitted - I must chase it up!).
Exactly this.
The percentage of good overtakes leaving the correct amount of room seems to have increased slightly, however the number of close passes has not been reduced at all and although it is impossible to say for sure, I get the impression that more of these are intentional, rather than careless, than before.