Ozmacca - hit it on the head! I used to pedal a pushbike (or push a pedalbike) and was appalled at how drivers treated me. When I learned to drive, I took (and still take) great care around cyclists, even the ones who hang onto my rear bumper, scrape their handlebars down my car cutting in, suddenly veer out in front of me because there's a 4" gap there and scream abuse at me for turning left, despite me signalling for the last 30 yards and checking every 2 seconds for anyone coming up behind. Whilst learning to ride the motorbike, I had a trucker in my 'class'. We were having a natter over tea one day and he admitted that he'd been driving for 20 years and never noticed motorbikes or cyclists. Being up in a cab, he just hadn't seen them as potential accidents. Now that he was down on the bike, he realised just how vulnerable they are. Consequently, when he went back to his truck or car, he was a more observant and careful driver. I've always thought that all learner drivers should spend at least a week on 2 wheels (motorised or not), just so they realise how invisible they are to what seems to be 75% of the vehicle driving population.

And you know what pisses me off most? I'm still not that confident in my own abilities, so I don't filter through traffic, I sit in it like I was a car. I get other bikers cutting in front of me! I had a scooter rider actually kick my leg out from under me (thank heaven I had the other down too or I'd've dropped the bike into the traffic!) because he was cutting in front of me at lights and scooting along with his feet. There's a scrape on my topbox that isn't from the garden wall, but the BMW Cissymobile (a motorbike with a roof!) who cut in too close whilst he was filtering.

Make everyone who uses the road ride a bike!!! Shall we make it our new Mudcat campaign?

LTS