It me or do SUVs alway drive to close

[pete75]

Need I explain that minivan is the American name for people-carrier?

Well you learn something new every day. BTW this isn't America and here the name minivan means one of these.

[karlt]

I find it strange that cyclists are so biased towards certain makes and types of car..

Everyone is, not just cyclists. You'll find that people saying Audi and BMW drivers are bad is pretty universal.

I don't know what proportion of vehicles on the road are Audis, but they make up 50-80% of cars overtaking too close on my commute.

[toomsie]

I find it strange that cyclists are so biased towards certain makes and types of car..

Everyone is, not just cyclists. You'll find that people saying Audi and BMW drivers are bad is pretty universal.

I don't know what proportion of vehicles on the road are Audis, but they make up 50-80% of cars overtaking too close on my commute.

It is reflected in the cost of car insurance for those cars.

[greyingbeard]

Of course SUVs drive too close. They are too big for our roads.

[Phileas]

I can't confidently say I notice a strong trend for any vehicle type. Confirmation bias is a very easy trap to fall into.

Me neither (after 20 years of cycle commuting)... except perhaps white vans.

[ferdinand]

IHowever, I would like to point out that I am a cyclist, have 5 bikes and also drive a 4x4, and it is a BMW! What does that make me? A murdering mania one minute and a complaining cyclist the next?

Yep Especially if you ask the cyclopath lobby !

More seriously, I think this may have di to with the extra width of an SUV and people who drive them only part time, and something narrower at other times.

Even a big Merc S Class is a good foot narrower than a Range Rover, so if the driver places themselves in the same position on the road you can see the problem.

My most expensive road accident was when I pulled out of a space concentrating on the traffic, not the Saab parked in front, in a Fiat Multipla immediately after having driven a small hatchback. The overlap was about 9 inches and it cost about 7k. Never again.

Ferdinand

[reohn2]

BMW X5 width overall inc wing mirrors = 2197mm
Range Rover width overall inc wing mirrors = 2191mm
Merc S class width overall inc wing mirrors = 2130mm
Ford Focus width overall inc wing mirrors = 2045mm

76mm(3inch) on either side, between the widest SUV and an average family car is not a huge difference,I think you'll agree.

[ferdinand]

BMW X5 width overall inc wing mirrors = 2197mm
Range Rover width overall inc wing mirrors = 2191mm
Merc S class width overall inc wing mirrors = 2130mm
Ford Focus width overall inc wing mirrors = 2045mm

76mm(3inch) on either side, between the widest SUV and an average family car is not a huge difference,I think you'll agree.

Yes, but no.

I'll concede that my difference was too large, because my S Class figure was without wing mirrors, but I also note that large SUVs are around 2220mm in width, which was my Range Rover number. See, for example:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/f ... imensions/

And drivers sit on the right so have a greater awareness of closeness on that side, which will tend to make them drift left.

And that in the variations in passing distances noted in the research of Dr Ian Walker in 2006 differences of around 100mm are significant. So if the close passing by SUVs hypothesis is accurate and widespread, the width could be why.

http://drianwalker.com/overtaking/

Howevwer, Dr Walker failed to detect any difference in passing proximity distances between SUVs and Cars in his research, so perhaps it is all a red herring anyway .

Ferdinand

[reohn2]

I wish I could agree,it would let the bad SUV drivers off the hook to an extent.
However,the difference of 76mm on either side between a Focus,one of if not the most popular car on the road and an X5(pretty standard width SUV) isn't enough for a 'get out clause'.If people can't judge the width of the vehicle they're driving then they shouldn't be driving them,end of.
I rarely get close overtakes from people carriers Galaxies(2154mm),Espace(2104mm) Multipla(2152mm) or Ford Cmax(2067mm)sized vehicles which are as numerous as SUV's if not more,and not that much smaller.
I'm inclined to think that there's 'baggage' attached to some SUV drivers and mostly German prestige vehicles,IME that small percentage is higher than other classes of vehicle.

To be clear I consider anything less than a metre to be a close pass,though at that distance won't get a reaction from me unless the speed differential is high.I start getting vocal at about 600mm,if the speed differential is low the car gets a slap,if the speed differential is high the pass close and I'm ready for it, I'll dive into my safety zone/buffer which is usually the 0.8 to 1m distance I ride from the curb.

On a slightly different tack though related I feel, when on the content,Italy,France,Spain,I'm immediately struck by the lack of SUV's,they're usually utility or forestry vehicles,the prestige/unnecessary/large SUV's are almost completely absent,yet the roads are less crowded than here generally.
There also tends to be more 'vanity' reg plates on prestige SUV's/German cars,in the UK,just an observation,perhaps another ego indicator? .

All that said I had a close encounter with Toyota Aygo on Friday,blind summit narrow road,following a blind S bend seemed to be the perfect place for Mr Aygo to overtake despite me being in primary and another vehicle coming the other way,which he couldn't see,and who had to brake hard to avoid a collision,I dived into buffer zone Mr Aygo carried on regardless

Edited to make clear

[coffeedrinkerUK]

On the road I don't find SUVs any worse than any other vehicle's In fact I have encountered no problems with them and hope it stays that way. Buses can be very courteous here in this city, Taxis can be a bit sharp and women are incredibly considerate in the main. The only real run ins iv had is with builders wagons and old people.

[Cyril Haearn]

Advance news report dated 1. April 2015. The police blitzed motorists today and found that every single one obeyed the law, all obeyed stop signs, none went faster than allowed.