Welsh Cycling president says cyclists need to be more aggressive and claim the road

Aggression is the very last thing a cyclist needs to show. A cyclist needs to be assertive and ride in a defensive manner at all times. This is so very different from an aggressive style of riding. I wonder what the Police feel about this statement. I am imagining situations where cyclists are deliberately holding cars up and causing unnecessary road chaos only to then tell the Police "I was just doing what Bill Owen's told me to do". I wonder if he will pay the legal fees as well?

Part of the problem is the disproportionate sense of entitlement a small minority of drivers have, i.e. "I'm in a car, you're on a bike - get out of the effing way - you're holding me up".

Chances are they wouldn't behave like that toward someone riding a horse ...

Maybe education is the answer.

@Sporran: "defensive" is probably a better word. However, often this is even more likely to provoke road rage from aggressive drivers.

I find that most drivers appreciate what you're doing, as long as you don't take the piss by continuing in "primary" position when there's no need to do it, especially if you ostentatiously swerve nearer to the kerb when the road gets wider.

@Jackh: I feel like I'm being used by the council as a moving traffic blocker.

Me too. I don't want to be a mobile item of traffic calming.

He is right about the need to ride in a certain manner. Like others have said, "defensive" is probably a better word. However, often this is even more likely to provoke road rage from aggressive drivers.

Bad road design is often more at fault, particularly with ill thought out cycle lanes where you're forced in and out of the traffic every 100 metres.

Here's a prime example, while touring over the summer holidays I got into an altercation with a boy racer in Cambridge. The provision of cycling lanes there is an example for the rest of the country, however they have this feature at some traffic islands where there is a bollard in between the kerb and the traffic island, with the cycle lane going to the left of the bollard and the road going to the right.

The trouble is that the space for the cycle lane is literally about 12 inches wide. With my big panniers my bike was too wide to go through the gap safely, so I was riding on the road section, and cycling well out to the right to make it clear to the traffic this is what I was doing, but I still copped a load of abuse from a passing nutjob who believed I should be in the "effing cycle lane" and pulled over to threaten me. If I hadn't been about a foot taller than him and pumped full of adrenalin I might have been physically attacked.

This is the sort of thing we're up against.

Thanks for the link to the Bikeaware petition - I've signed it. One can live in hope that something might happen to improve things.

British Cycling, CTC and Sustrans should stand together on this issue of turning the blame toward the motorist (instead of insisting helmets, high viz etc are required) - but they are all so tied up with government funding streams they dare not bite the hand that feeds them (well not bite hard enough to make a real difference)

Sadly any amount of campaigning for safety and riding aggressively, assertively or defensively isn't going to do much as the IQ in our country continues to dwindle

"Assertive" is the word he is looking for (just the mistake Jon Snow made about 2 years ago).

Cyclists DO have to make an effort, but not just on the road also involving campaigning. Each and every cyclist needs to write the letters and get the point across, put pressure on Government, the DfT, your Council, letters to the press at national and local levels.

You also need to arm yourself with the facts. Don't assume something because you've heard someone say it in person or on facebook, get on the government websites and look at data, look at serious studies.. Also, sign the petitions (Gov's epetitions, etc) and join the campaigns and cycling groups. You will add to the cyclists' voice

Assertive riding is defensive riding - as someone else said, it's what motorbike cops do, and I learned it when I took my motorcycle test decades ago.

What Mr Welsh Cycling should have said is that cyclists can save some (but not all, as Captain_slog can attest) grief by sometimes taking the lane to make sure they're visible and can not be overtaken without a lane change, especially when roads narrow or have pinch points, and that motorists should expect that sort of riding.

Riding assertively means being confident and behaving as though you're driving a small car; making it plain that you're in charge of your destiny, and not some idiot in a car who would put your health at risk by overtaking at a dangerous point.

Cycle assertively. But that in itself can provoke. Here's what happened to me this very evening. I'm in the middle of my lane (primary position), as the tarmac to the left is all beaten up. Doing 20-odd mph in a 30 zone. So the car behind me goes round a traffic island in the centre of the road to overtake me on the right-hand side.

I suppose you could say he was being considerate and giving me plenty of space.

Trouble is how many motorists are talking on their mobiles and not concentrating on the task ahead? Driving safely and within the speed limit. Hope Simon makes a full and speedily recovery!

And people wonder why cyclists are using video cameras and posting footage online.

Otherwise yo,u were asking for it"

Yes - this guy's opinions remind me of those people who say "she was asking for it, she was wearing a short skirt"

Top tip for avoiding rape - don't rape people

Top tip for avoiding cyclists being hit by vehicles - don't drive into cyclists

There seems little point in comparing UK with the Netherlands. We are where we are.

Agree with British Cycling that greater driver awareness is the key to reducing fear of traffic and encouraging more people to saddle up.

You can support the only national campaign dedicated to making cycling part of the driving test here http://bikeaware.org.uk

Message duplicated in error.

Defensively is good word, when riding 1. wear a helmet 2. always look over your shoulder before making any major movement , left of right etc... If you feel intimidated then look the motorist in the eye get their attention to what you are doing... 3. DON'T use an MP3/ipod player when cycling , you need to be aware of whats going on around you.

I've had lots of accidents when cycling but only really when racing... although got knocked off by a spooked horse, ended up crashing into a field gate and a skateboard going through the middle of the pack when out on a training ride (2 clubs together about 40 riders), you could do that back in the 80's

Why are cyclists sharing space with cars driving 60-70mph?

Is that how the Dutch got 25% of their journeys made by bike?

No, of course it isn't. They have high-quality dedicated bike lanes between major towns and cities.

No amount of skilled cycling will prevent you being killed if an irresponsible motorist is speeding, talking on their phone, or simply not bothering to pay attention.

Nor will it make roads feel safe, a necessary condition to get kids and families riding on our roads.

While the terms of the discussion are limited to how assertive one should be, we will NEVER make bike journeys a normal part of British life.

"Defensively" in this context is all about being assertive and confident in your road positioning - it's exactly how the police driving manual tells you to drive safely so I don't see why it shouldn't work for cycling too.

Neither aggressively nor defensively: assertively and confidently is the way to do it.

"made funding available to local
councils"

That's your problem right there. There are national campaigns for motorbikes, drink-driving and so on. Why are the most vulnerable left to local councils that can't even keep the roads reasonably flat?

"The president of Welsh Cycling has called on cyclists to be more aggressive when riding on the road."

If that's what he really said then he needs to rethink it. What cyclists need to do is ride more defensively, claiming the road just as the IAM said earlier. That's not the same as being aggressive. The image I have of him is swinging a d-lock at some numpty in a BMW who has driven too close and has subsequently stopped to release a stream of invective at the not-to-be-cowed pres.

Agressive was the wrong word to use. Mr. Owen: you're not helping.