That second video made me cringe. IMO the cyclist was in the wrong and I was impressed the Audi driver didn't respond negatively when the cyclist started patronising him on his motoring ability, I wouldn't have been so kind.
I agree. Granted, the driver was parked on the pavement, but it was clearly a bit of an unusual street with the width of road available and all the parked cars. Had the car been sat fully on the road, he'd have taken the wing mirrors off every car he passed.
Sure, the driver pulled away "without looking" but as a car driver you dont expect someone to be undertaking you, especially on a road like that, and you certainly dont expect some **** on a bike to fly past you thru a 1ft wide gap without slowing down or showing some caution. Its entirely feasible the car driver DID look, in his rear view, just as he were about to pull away, but by that point the cyclist was already hard over to the left and/or alongside the car. The cyclist did the same thing at the beginning of the video to the reversing van. If your on a cycle, then imo you need to realise and accept that your the odd one out, and your performing actions that arent normal rules of the road, like undertaking people or squeezing to the front of the queue, and you need to show caution. Clearly some drivers are complete buffoons, and the A3 driver in the first clip looks to be prize moron.
Cyclists often **** me off, because they get all high and mighty. I try to work with two simple rules regarding other road users, show me respect, and dont try to enforce your views and/or driving style on me, and i'll show you respect in return and will leave you in peace to drive how you want (so long as said driving is considerate, otherwise you break the first rule). Deliberately act to annoy me however and you'll get no respect and probably some abuse/horn/main beam.
For instance, if somone catches me up on a back road or fast a road, and is clearly driving faster than me, then i'll find a suitable place and wave them on past. If the same person catches me up on a back road and promptly sits right up my bootlid trying to force me faster/out the way/whatever, then they'll get promptly ignored and i might even slow down since they're acting like a knob.
Same goes with cyclists, horseriders, folk driving tractors or whatever else. If your WILLINGLY causing an obstruction, then in my eyes your a wnaker and wont get any respect from me. Someone riding their bike neatly along the edge of the road allowing me room to pass without endangering myself and my passengers by forcing me onto the other carriageway will get my respect and will be passed with a minimal of fuss. Someone riding their bike two abreast, or out in the middle of the road to deliberately stop me getting past, is a wnaker and will be treated as such. I expect someone driving a tractor to be FULLY aware that hes in a large slow vehicle and pull over whenever the opportunity presents itself should he notice a queue of cars forming behind.
The car drivers that REALLY get the red mist are the ones who deliberately try and stop you overtaking. You'll catch up with them on some fast windy A-Road because they're dribbling thru the corners, yet every overtaking opportinuity (ie a streight bit) that presents itself they floor it up to 60+ and/or position themselves so you cant see anything, leaving you either stuck behind them, or having to make a stupidly high speed overtake to get past them. All they'd have to do is notice its a streight, hold of the throttle and click the left indicator on, and you'd be out past them no problem nice and safely.
