Social Skills - the art of cycling in traffic

On congested roads when peopl, desperate to keep moving in cars, buses and trucks, meet someone on a bike they often see them anot as a fellow traveller but as an opportunity to capture some precious space. Subconciously they may try to bully you out of your priority by for example - creeping out of side roads in to your path, or drifting into the lane you are using.

If you meet this intimidation with a confident manner - 'this is my right of way and I intend to use it' - the seeming hazard evaporates. You have to watch out for the one in 10,000 who's actually asleep, has looked where you are and seen an empty road. This slight risk make a good understanding of your emergency braking distance important.

In conflict situations where you have right of way it more important to decide quickly whether to defer or enforce your priority. If you decide to defer the crucial thing is not to get angry, so all the surrender costs is the short time it takes, and the energy needed to re-accelerate. if you choose to keep going and exercise your priority be bold and clear. The thing to avoid is uncertainty which can escalate to the point where a motorist's formal demonstration of threat starts to become a real danger.

It's not your job to show people they're wrong and you're right, or to try to teach them to behave better - all you have to do is get where you want with the minimum stress. Practice being forceful without being angry. free assertiveness training is another bonus of cycle-travel!!

A bell can be very useful when you're being pushy, but if you're at risk a shout is better. A bold audible warning can confirm whether people are trying a bluff or have genuinely overlooked your presence.

Don't rush your journeys, it is easy to get infected by the pushy attitude that strikes people struggling to move motor vehicles.

Don't fall for the victim mentality. Conditions for cycling in Northern Ireland may not yet be perfect, but it is still the most reliable, healthy, and entertaining way to get around!