Cyclists are better drivers than motorists

[g7jhp]

Interesting and not surprising that cyclists are better drivers than motorists

[anonymous-user]

Some cyclists are, some are definitely not

[dundarach]

I can drive better than ride.

I'm too worried about falling off, cold hands, sore arse, sore arms, stupid hat, daft high viz, to really look all around me enough, therefore I choose to ride where it's quiet and safe.

However in the Rover 75, I waft along in auto in big squashy leather seats, taking all the time in the world to watch everyone zooming aggressively around.

Far, far batter and safer in the car!

[g7jhp]

JPJPJP said:

Some cyclists are, some are definitely not

Yep. I spotted it in one of the "I hated cyclist" threads.

Interesting stats...and proves the point riding a bike helps road awareness.

[james7]

g7jhp said:

Interesting stats...and proves the point riding a bike helps road awareness.

I wonder where they got the information about being a cyclist from? And what the criteria was? ie once a week, month, year etc

At face value i think it could show something else. That feeling vulnerable on the roads could make you a better driver, which is not a surprise imo.

Personally i think that one of the biggest contributions to having so many accidents is that people feel safe in their cars. Isolated and removed from their surroundings, with more safety features than a health and safety convention. There is very little perceived danger in driving for the average person.
Combine that with cyclists often cycling for fun, as well as necessity, means they might have more interest in what they do. You could also interchange cyclist with motorcyclist, keen car driver, sports car driver etc.

The majority of car drivers dont really care as long as they are ok and get where they want to, and imo are unaware of whats going on around them when they are in their safe bubble.

[Randy Winkman]

I'd have thought it completely obvious that people who drive cars but also ride bikes are going to be better car drivers than those that only drive cars. They just have a greater range of skills and experiences to draw upon. How would it not be the case?

[HardtopManual]

james7 said:

Personally i think that one of the biggest contributions to having so many accidents is that people feel safe in their cars. Isolated and removed from their surroundings, with more safety features than a health and safety convention. There is very little perceived danger in driving for the average person.

Wasn't it Clarkson who said, "if you want to make cars safer, replace the driver's airbag with a big metal spike."

[DukeDickson]

g7jhp said:

JPJPJP said:

Some cyclists are, some are definitely not

Yep. I spotted it in one of the "I hated cyclist" threads.

Interesting stats...and proves the point riding a bike helps road awareness.

For balance, works the other way as well. I'm far better on a bike from having done the IAM thing a long time ago.
There are always going to be dangerous bellends & the with the fairies oblivious, but observation, a bit of thought and the like pretty much always do the trick.

[InitialDave]

Randy Winkman said:

I'd have thought it completely obvious that people who drive cars but also ride bikes are going to be better car drivers than those that only drive cars. They just have a greater range of skills and experiences to draw upon. How would it not be the case?

Yes, seems completely logical to me. I'd assume that for any baseline starting level of competence, the wider a variety of vehicles you drive/ride, the better you'll be overall.

[DukeDickson]

InitialDave said:

Randy Winkman said:

I'd have thought it completely obvious that people who drive cars but also ride bikes are going to be better car drivers than those that only drive cars. They just have a greater range of skills and experiences to draw upon. How would it not be the case?

Yes, seems completely logical to me. I'd assume that for any baseline starting level of competence, the wider a variety of vehicles you drive/ride, the better you'll be overall.

Not really. It is far more about how you think about what's going on around you & the potential changes, consequences and so on.

Off-road is probably a fair bit better on this front, but still majorly about what's going through your head, rather than what you like/don't like, what you have/haven't done, which you did first or do more of.

[InitialDave]

DukeDickson said:

Not really. It is far more about how you think about what's going on around you & the potential changes, consequences and so on.

Well, that's kind of what this is all about, isn't it? The more different ways you use the roads, broader the experience you have to influence your decision making.

[james7]

HardtopManual said:

Wasn't it Clarkson who said, "if you want to make cars safer, replace the driver's airbag with a big metal spike."

He has been known to come out with some odd things but I reckon that might work

[Vipers]

james7 said:

HardtopManual said:

Wasn't it Clarkson who said, "if you want to make cars safer, replace the driver's airbag with a big metal spike."

He has been known to come out with some odd things but I reckon that might work

Same lines on the biggest nut on a motorbike is the one on the seat.

[Daveyraveygravey]

james7 said:

.... You could also interchange cyclist with motorcyclist, keen car driver, sports car driver etc.

The majority of car drivers dont really care as long as they are ok and get where they want to, and imo are unaware of whats going on around them when they are in their safe bubble.

Motorcyclists are amongst the worst in my experience. I used to have a view that because they are vulnerable and only have two wheels, they would understand the issues cyclists face. But watching them zooming around the place, most of them close passing me, it seems to me like they are aware of their own vulnerability but give absolutely no stes about anyone else on the road. In most cases they can overtake where nothing else can, they think they can out-brake and out-manoeuvre anything else on the road, so they tend to care less for other road users.

[Usget]

DukeDickson said:

InitialDave said:

Randy Winkman said:

I'd have thought it completely obvious that people who drive cars but also ride bikes are going to be better car drivers than those that only drive cars. They just have a greater range of skills and experiences to draw upon. How would it not be the case?

Yes, seems completely logical to me. I'd assume that for any baseline starting level of competence, the wider a variety of vehicles you drive/ride, the better you'll be overall.

Not really. It is far more about how you think about what's going on around you & the potential changes, consequences and so on.

Off-road is probably a fair bit better on this front, but still majorly about what's going through your head, rather than what you like/don't like, what you have/haven't done, which you did first or do more of.

But how you think about what's going on around you, is influenced by your own experiences.

I'd say I'm definitely a better driver, especially round city centres, now that I cycle as well.

[VEX]

Totally agree,

Far better at predictive driving because you have to do it so much when riding.

Even just down to the fact that I want to be given space when overtaken by a car (on my bike) so I give a cyclist the same treatment when I am driving.

[warp9]

While I agree with the points made - as a daily city cyclist , I certainly class my driving abilities as much, much better than the average Joe - however, there is another factor at play here.

An important insurance underwriting risk factor is the total number of miles driven per annum, as is commuting to and from work. If you cycle a significant number of your regular journeys and/or to/from work (i.e. do less miles) you will be exposed to less risk of having a crash in a car, ergo make less claims. It would be interesting to know the average mileage cyclists drove compared to non cyclists when compiling these figures. But then that probably wouldn't make great news spin.

[boobles]

I would say that this cyclist is far better at riding a bike than the chap driving the car... Or running !!! Lots of swearing by the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PFRdEUN240

Edited by boobles on Thursday 10th January 13:33

[popeyewhite]

'Better' implies more skill, to which I disagree. If they'd said cycling makes a driver safer then yes, that's probably true.

[james7]

boobles said:

I would say that this cyclist is far better at riding a bike than the chap driving the car... Or running !!! Lots of swearing by the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PFRdEUN240

Edited by boobles on Thursday 10th January 13:33

I would not exactly say the cyclist was showing very good road manners or behavior. In my opinion the cyclist was doing a much worse job at being a road user than the car was.
If roles were reversed would you say the same about the car driver?