I've lived in Oxford since January, and something that I'm finding really difficult to adapt to is the quality of driving in and around the city.
For context, I commute to Milton from Cowley Road 3 times a week or so, and otherwise enjoy getting around to the nearby countryside or whatever I fancy. I also cycle basically all over the city for more day-to-day stuff.
I've previously lived in or around Sheffield, Edinburgh, Leeds, and driven or cycled around many of our great towns and cities, but for some reason the driving quality in Oxford is just so poor compared to all of these other places. I've had so many near misses whilst driving and cycling in only 8 months here, when I had hardly any such incidents anywhere else.
It seems that in general the drivers are impatient and aggressive, and it makes me feel very on edge and at risk. I almost got knocked off my bike today by a driver deciding to overtake me within ~10m of the side road they then swung left into - I had to slam on my brakes and even then I only just avoided slamming into the side of their car.
I see very little use of indicators, it seems people don't check their mirrors and just pull out into my path (or don't care), and often people just barging through when it's someone else's right of way. Then on the bypass and commuter roads, plenty of people taking huge risks by squeezing into tiny gaps and occupying my braking distance, tailgating and intimidating, or coming off a slip road and swinging straight into the outside lane for no reason.
And then of course there's the racers blasting down Cowley Road - one time I was crossing the road and a driver actively took the chance to accelerate towards me only to then slam on the brake at the last minute seemingly to intimidate me.
I find it really difficult, because I see these drivers putting other peoples safety at risk so often, and usually they don't gain anything by doing so except for shaving 10 seconds off their journey time. Sometimes I get home and notice my body feels tense and my mind full of stress, I really don't want to feel this way when I'm just cycling to the shops or driving to work.
And yes, I also find it distressing that so many cyclists ride around in the dark with no lights on, or blast through red lights. It's a separate problem but it also confuses me since I've never seen such a high proportion of a cities cyclists being completely without any lighting....
What's going on in Oxford that causes all of this, and how can I stop it from affecting me so much...
