It was bound to happen......

nicchick

So Ive been cycling to work 3 days every week for the last three months with no stupid car driver incidents..... until today - one on the way to work and one on the way back!!!

The first - its a narrow ish road and there is a bus approaching in the opposite direction - I position myself further over in the lane to discourage the car behind in overtaking..... but he does anyway, cuts me up and slams on his brakes to let the bus past - I have to then brake hard and wait behind him for the bus to pass, even though there would have been plenty of space for me to pass the bus... grrr.

The second - approaching a roundabout at a pretty decent speed as it is down hill.... I want to turn right so I am signalling. Car from straight ahead decides actually he doesnt want to wait as he should and pulls out resulting in me nearly colliding straight into his driver door - and he has the cheek to give ME abuse?!?!

Bah, well I knew it would happen one day....
nic

DavidTQ

I had 5 bad drivers on the way home tonight one of which involved a piar of young lads in a very grotty old renault clio locked up and sliding down a hill towards me as they approached a junction adjoining the road I was on at speed, they seemed to think it hilarious, sods law that I dont get my helmet cam till tomorrow....

delcol

dont let this shake your confidence,..

it an everyday thing for us fellow commuters it comes with the territory,. you kind of get used to it after a while (i say get used to it well incidents that used to make me loose it, now dont,..)
i would like to know if people are just plain stupid arogant or just blind as to why they do these things.. i could fill a page with incidents i encounterd in just over a year of cycling to and from work.

best bet is to just keep your chin up and carry on making eye contact is also one of the best tips i was given...

redddraggon

nicchick wrote:

resulting in me nearly colliding straight into his driver door - and he has the cheek to give ME abuse?!?!

Don't you know that it's always your fault if a car cuts you up and jumps on their brakes (+similar situations) and you go back into of them?

Some tw@t did it to me and ended up with a big dent in his bodywork and I walked away with no damage.

You should be thankful that you've at least not been hurt or your bike damaged.

DavidTQ

redddraggon wrote:

nicchick wrote:

resulting in me nearly colliding straight into his driver door - and he has the cheek to give ME abuse?!?!

Don't you know that it's always your fault if a car cuts you up and jumps on their brakes (+similar situations) and you go back into of them?

Some tw@t did it to me and ended up with a big dent in his bodywork and I walked away with no damage.

You should be thankful that you've at least not been hurt or your bike damaged.

helps to know the highway code if ever you're confronted with that sort of thing...

162
Before overtaking you should make sure

the road is sufficiently clear ahead

there is a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake

163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake

move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in

give way to oncoming vehicles before passing parked vehicles or other obstructions on your side of the road

167
DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example

where the road narrows

when you would force another road user to swerve or slow down

Its one of the things that gets my goat, when drivers pull of a piss poor dangerous overtake and they dont even save a second in doing so, happens all the time approaching queues and red lights, what do they think they are achieving??

Totalnewbie

Comiserations nicchick. I used to get really upset about these things (still do sometimes, I have pet things that annoy me) but am trying more to let it wash over me these days and not spoil my enjoyment.

belgiangoth

They live in cages, they should be pitied.

nicchick

Ah dont worry it hasnt put me off in the slightest - I now much prefer to cycle than to drive and walking takes ages......

To be honest I am suprised it took 3 months before it happened! I puposefully pick a slightly longer route so I avoid the main heavy traffic route.... It has a big hill but it uses quieter backstreets 20 mph roads.

I wasnt really suprised that the guy at the roundabout pulled out, he had that look about him! I also dont trust car drivers as in the morning they are usually sleepy and not paying attention, and in the evening it is dark and want to get home as fast as possible.....

nic

pete236

You're not the only one having problems on the commute!
Wednesday night (1730): Very wide single lane each direction with fencing between each carriageway. Me hugging the curb to keep out of the way. One woman + kids + arrogant (ugly) teenager in passenger seat. Overtakes (15mph ish) then pulls in while only halfway past. Results in wing mirror clipping handlebar! I mean, I know i've got a nice arse but you don't have to get that close!
Thursday night same time ish: cut up (again a woman!) with a Police mobile speed camera van over the road!
Tonight: Polish lorry driver pushes past, narrow single carriageway. Forgets he is 50feet long and cuts in with me barely behind the cab! Big skid at 20mph, sooo close to going under the back wheels! 2 miles or so later 4way traffic lights. Me on green being followed closely by a car. Two cars wanting to turn right (across in front of my lane) Car edges out, stops, edges out, stops, then when I get there makes to go - leans on the horn and fat old git swears at me. If he can't see a bright LED headlight, front reflector, pedal reflectors, reflective wrist bands, day-glo fluorescent reflective shoulder strap on a light top with refelctive strips on my helmet, then he shouldn't be on the road! Thankfully the car behind was close otherwise I would have stopped and had a not-so-gentle word or 3!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

DavidTQ

to counter the bad luck of recent days tonights commute (first with the helmet am) saw a uniform record for space given to me by other motorists:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3c14fIWalw

Never normally consistantly get given this much space Didnt have one close over tak all night

BentMikey

Never ever hug the kerb mate. Only go there when you're pulling left to avoid other vehicles, it's your escape space.

prj45

DavidTQ wrote:

Never normally consistantly get given this much space Didnt have one close over tak all night

I reckon 96% of drivers are pretty spot on when it comes to dealing with a cyclist, you've got to repsect that, big up to them.

DavidTQ

Most of them are generally pretty good, in that video they were going further than normal, which was down to one of two things either the odd looking borg cam \ boeing 747 engine stuck to my helmet or the 2 computer keyboards in boxes sideways on my panniers making my bike look even wider than the normal panniers .

I think looking wider at the back definetely gets noticeably more space from cars over taking. I did a short ride without panniers on the other day and hated how close every car got. Im actually considering permanently carrying the now empty keyboard boxes on the back just to ensure I get plenty of space. they dont actually make my bike wider, they just make it look it from the back

Random Vince

pulled off the roundabout onto a single lane one way street, turning right at the end, and personally, when i drive it i do no more than 20mph

there's a car behind me revving its engine constantly, he's in too lower gear.

turn right onto my gf's road, its a two lane road, i let something coming past me the otehr way get past and then take primary between the parked cars at the narrow point, just starting to pull off to the left and stop when he revs his engine, honks and pushes past, slowing down as he does so so he can look at me

i shout that it's not wide enough as i fall into a parked car.


and the gf is now all worried about me biking places.

been trying to persuade her to try road biking, not gonna happen now.

prj45

Random Vince wrote:

been trying to persuade her to try road biking, not gonna happen now.

Result for the car driver, that's one less cyclist on the road.

What they didn't consider its that very likely one more car on the road, which helps nobody at all, least of all them.