Cyclists still facing 'near-miss terror' from aggressive drivers

The London Cycling Campaign says the number of people riding bikes in the city has surged during the pandemic

It was a bright, clear day and my friend and I were cycling. There were very few cars on the road, which was wide and straight.

We were side by side when we heard a car horn some distance behind us. The driver was hitting it repeatedly. Initially, I didn't think the blaring was aimed at us.

Then, suddenly, there was a red flash as the car passed by extremely fast about a metre away from us. It was the closest I have come to being hit on a bike, and it was absolutely terrifying.

Were we doing something wrong?

Most drivers are pretty good and overtake responsibly, but there is a minority who seem to treat cyclists like cockroaches.

All I know is that a stranger in a sports car with the roof up nearly killed my friend and I. He then sped away onto the A1. I didn't get his registration.

It felt like pure hatred and aggression had been directed at me.

Cycling is just one of various forms of transport used by Tom Edwards

The debate around cycling can be vitriolic - and I would like to point out that I also drive a car, use the train, the Tube and buses. I also walk.

Cycling to me is just a form of transport used to get to another form of transport - but it is certainly the one that attracts the most abuse. I have never been shouted at for simply getting on a bus.

Is there something that prompts some motorists to reckless behaviour around more vulnerable road users? Or are they just the kind of mindless idiots that you meet in many walks of life?

What does the Highway Code say?

Rule 66 of the Highway Code states: "Never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends."

But the wording is due to be changed and some cycling campaigners say riding two abreast is safer as it reduces the overtaking length and time cars have to spend in the opposite lane.

Perhaps some motorists do not know that the Highway Code says, you are meant to give 1.5m when overtaking a cyclist.

Or is their failure to do so caused by a hatred of the minority of people who cycle?

I personally find it incomprehensible that a transport mode provokes such fury.

Polarised debate

Boris Johnson - pictured here in 2013 - has long been a fan of cycling

It doesn't take long for any debate about cycling to reveal polarised opinions.

Red light jumping will come up, which is clearly illegal and unsafe, although cars do it too.

Some want registration plates for cyclists, presumably to stop red light jumping - although his car being registered did not stop that driver nearly killing me.

Others seem to think the roads were made for cars, even though cyclists used them many years before motor vehicles were even invented.

During a pandemic which has led to an obesity crisis, and at a time when we are trying to become carbon neutral, nearly all global authorities see cycling and walking as part of the solution.

London, for example, needs fewer motor vehicles on the roads to avoid making the congestion worse.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his transport advisor Andrew Gilligan both believe cycling can be a force for good.

In the face of opposition, they introduced cycle lanes in London that started the growth of a safe cycle network - but the problem seems to be bigger than infrastructure.

It's about changing attitudes on the roads and making it socially unacceptable to be hostile towards cyclists - and that is a massive challenge.