Cyclopath

Cyclopath. Noun. A person with this behaviour (usually a car or taxi driver) shows an irrational and deep rooted hatred of cyclists that is impervious to any logic or reason. The behaviour is exhibited variously from a belief that cyclists should be responsible in some way for the upkeep of the roads (as drivers wrongly believe they do through "road tax", correctly called VED) through to the belief that cyclists have no right to use anything other than the extreme nearside of the road, must always wear high visibility clothing and helmets, and should be licensed with visible identification. Ultimately this belief may progress to physical threats and abuse, so-called "punishment passing" and harassment both verbal and physical. The condition has yet to be classified as a mental illness under DSM-IV but is well recognised by the cycling community as a sociopathic condition. There is some evidence that it extends to institutions such as the Police and the Judiciary. The term is believed to have first been used in a post to Critical Mass London in December 2014.