Drivers don't know cycling road rules, quiz results show

Not sure the law firm Irwin Mitchell fully understand the law. The question about riding on the pavements is misleading, as pavements can be designated as "shared use", therefore cyclist can use them under those circumstances.

Yeah, I got two wrong... I thought we came under the same rules for alcohol as other road users, and I thought the ASL question was a trick question, as I'd never seen a re ASL box.

So, I am a danger on the roads basically.

Regarding the overtaking distance - "the same amount of space needed to pass another vehicle" - this wording is not really clear and to me it encourages close passes. Why ?

From diagrams/images it clearly means - "treat the narrow cyclist as if they were as wide as car and then add your overtaking gap."

but the words only, could be interpreted as "the size of gap between your nearside and the cyclist, needs to be the same as between your nearside and a slower cars offside". Which is possibly too little in many cases.

How about a new message ..
"*twice* as wide for those who ride?"

2 wrong. The rickshaw / added seat one and riding on pavements (I went for local bylaws since there are plenty of cycle lanes in London that are on the pavement. Guess I'm wrong by a definition).

2 wrong. The rickshaw / added seat one and riding on pavements (I went for local bylaws since there are plenty of cycle lanes in London that are on the pavement. Guess I'm wrong by a definition).

Stupid quiz, used 'Right of way' where it meant priority.

By the way, I think the law for motorists at ASLs is that they have to stop at whichever of the two stop lines they are able to safely stop at if the light is red - so if it turns red as they are approaching and they aren't able to safely stop at the first line then they are supposed to wait behind the ASL. That's why the police say that a motirist waiting in an ASL box hasn't necassarily done anything wrong.

I think it might be better if instead motorists were told to ignore the second stop line and go through the junction if they pass the first line as the light turns red.

I (well technically we) have been accused of 'illegally' riding two abreast several times and been given abuse... Not sure how many of them did actually check the highway code when they got home as I politely suggested to them

considering the Police don't seem to know the law about ASL infringement, its not surprising motorists and some cyclists don't know either?

I've directly asked a number of PC and PCSO during their "crackdowns" in London, sat on my bike in an ASL next to them on the pavement, and 3/4 of them did not know either what the law was, or what the penalties for breaking this law actually was.

God help us.....

100%

Re pavements/never, it applies where there's an adjacent roadway, but may not otherwise IIRC.

"all traffic signs and signals apply to cyclists as well as motorists"

Like a speed limit sign?

Actually the stop line thing got fixed in the May 2014 traffic reforms I believe.
http://www.ctc.org.uk/news/traffic-signs-reform-signal-better-cycling-in...

Prior to that reform you could only legally enter the ASL box on amber or red via a feeder-lane which didn't have a stop line on it.

The pavement one got me too though. "Never", really?
That's a bit misleading. There are tons of shared use pavements round me.

When taken at face value, rather than dwelling on the minutiae of some questions' wording, the quiz seems fair enough, no doubt alerting some non-cyclists to errors in their understanding.

Including something on the whole "two abreast" argument might have been worthwhile, another popular inaccuracy that it would also be worth dispelling.

Otherwise, just light-hearted fun, nothing more. The reach of the survey was miniscule anyway.

Oh, I got 7/8. Cycling when drunk thing caught me out.

Didn't know the passenger one, how often does a bike have two seats and not be a tandem or a kiddie carrier?

Oh and the stop line one, needs to be read properly. But I guess it's to educate not to just get 100%

I'll take issue with Q1. "as much room as you would when overtaking another vehicle" is not a set distance and is one of the most wooly bits of the entire HC.

The red light/ASL question is misleading.

Where there is an ASL there are two lines but the first isn't a stop line, only the second. Cyclists are not allowed to ride past the second, so they can never cross a stop line when the lights are red. The question also says the ASL is a "red boxed area" which isn't necessarily true.

Mmmm it tells me I got one wrong, I said that you cannot cross a stop line at a red light (to access a ASL)

I was under the impression that these could only be accessed through the appropriate cycle lane which doesn't have a stop line, ie the first (motor vehicle) stop line doesn't cover the full width of the road.

The "correct" answer was that cyclists can never ride on the pavement.

Except some pavements have clear signage indicating that they're shared use for pedestrians and cyclists.

Consider also the toucan crossing. Clearly the cyclist is not expected to mount/dismount in the carriageway*.

Ergo, the quiz is wrong, the condescending manner all the more offensive, and we shouldn't take it seriously.

*although no-one has yet been able to point out clear guidance stating how far from the crossing I can continue on my bike. A crossing for cyclists built into a route where cycling is otherwise prohibited. A farcical piece of infrastructure illustrating the lack of thought given to routes for cycling.