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Yorkshire-based car and motorcycle ColinAppleyard.com has issued a press release regarding a survey it carried out. At the base of the release is this advice:
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Some tips for drivers:
Don’t be in a hurry to overtake – afford the cyclist the same respect you’d give to any road user
Behave like you’re overtaking a car or motorcycle – wait until oncoming traffic has passed before moving out
Give plenty of space on your overtaking manoeuvre – don’t squeeze the cyclist into the gutter
Be courteous – they’re road users with the same right to the highway as you
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The release is a Tour de France promotion.
"We’ve got decades of experience in a different kind of two-wheel racing," said Robin Appleyard, referring to the company’s long-standing support of motorcycle sport. "But we’ve never seen excitement quite like this."
According to the company: "Cycle safety awareness up 90% thanks to the Tour de France."
Drivers in the region have become "more aware of cyclists on the county’s roads."
The attitudes survey of "2100 drivers and regular cyclists" claimed that the build-up to the Tour de France Grand Depart "has made them consider cyclists as equal road users to motor vehicles."
Here are more of the survey’s findings:
59 percent of drivers admitted they had driven discourteously around cyclists in the last two years
10 percent of drivers say the Tour de France has made them consider buying a bike
65 percent of cyclists say they’ve noticed a greater courtesy toward them in the last month
Appleyard added: "[The coming of the Tour de France] is doing away with the erroneous assumption of ‘At least I pay my road tax‘". Noting that Vehicle Excise Duty is calculated on a vehicle’s emissions, he said: "As a zero emission vehicle the cyclist pays the same duty as an electric-powered car like the Nissan Leaf."
And Appleyard also said there’s a significant crossover between both modes of transport: "Most cyclists are car users as well. They know what it’s like both in the saddle and behind the wheel, and lead by example for other drivers."
