Who poses the biggest danger on the roads?

squired

Over the summer I had such a relaxing time on the bike, with not even a hint of danger the vast majority of days. However, the last couple of times I've ridden I have noticed a serious change in attitude now that the roads are a little busier and the weather has turned colder.

This morning I had two different cars overtaking me while indicating left for a turn, resulting in me needing to hit the brakes to avoid being taken out. I then saw a motorbike going round a roundabout on the inside lane, cutting to turn left, directly in the path of a car that was in the outside lane. He'd made an idiotic move, but was shouting abuse at the car. During my ride a kid stepped out, almost hitting my side. However, it also put him into the path of two cyclists behind me. As I looked round I noticed that he hadn't once looked to see what he was stepping in to, even after almost hitting me. Later, when coming off a roundabout and switching onto a cycle lane on a pavement I got a nasty stare from a fellow cyclist. The reason? Well, he was mere centimetres behind my back wheel and when I slowed to enter the bike path he almost rode into the back of me. Finally, I saw a cyclist almost hit two pedestrians who were trying to cross on a red light. The sad thing is that when I arrived at the office I realised he worked for my company.

So, who poses the biggest danger on the roads? At the moment I think everyone is as bad as each other.

spen666

not a good ride in today then mate?

el_presidente

It makes me wonder how I keep from going under

linsen

Anyone in too much of a hurry is a danger

We all need a nice cup of tea and a sit down I reckon

always_tyred

squired wrote:

Over the summer I had such a relaxing time on the bike, with not even a hint of danger the vast majority of days. However, the last couple of times I've ridden I have noticed a serious change in attitude now that the roads are a little busier and the weather has turned colder.

This morning I had two different cars overtaking me while indicating left for a turn, resulting in me needing to hit the brakes to avoid being taken out. I then saw a motorbike going round a roundabout on the inside lane, cutting to turn left, directly in the path of a car that was in the outside lane. He'd made an idiotic move, but was shouting abuse at the car. During my ride a kid stepped out, almost hitting my side. However, it also put him into the path of two cyclists behind me. As I looked round I noticed that he hadn't once looked to see what he was stepping in to, even after almost hitting me. Later, when coming off a roundabout and switching onto a cycle lane on a pavement I got a nasty stare from a fellow cyclist. The reason? Well, he was mere centimetres behind my back wheel and when I slowed to enter the bike path he almost rode into the back of me. Finally, I saw a cyclist almost hit two pedestrians who were trying to cross on a red light. The sad thing is that when I arrived at the office I realised he worked for my company.

So, who poses the biggest danger on the roads? At the moment I think everyone is as bad as each other.

Clearly the only thing in common with all of these incidents is a cyclist. Case closed.

hisoka

Godzilla, I've seen the films and he smashes uproads and blows up cars/buildings. Major threat on the roads I would say.

chuckcork

I've been told that if you're in a hurry to get somewhere because you're late, and you're ignoring rules of the road in doing so, then perhaps you should have left earlier.

Wise words for every road user really.

bluntandy

as you have pointed out. the greatest danger on the roads is not cyclists/white van man or even mums on the school run it is idiots that don't pay attention when they are travelling regardless of their mode of transport! :x

Bassjunkieuk

chuckcork wrote:

I've been told that if you're in a hurry to get somewhere because you're late, and you're ignoring rules of the road in doing so, then perhaps you should have left earlier.

Wise words for every road user really.

Summed up with a poster I saw at work once:

It's better to arrive a few minutes late then dead on time......

If you stop rushing everywhere things become a lot more bearable and a heck of a lot less stressful!
I think the biggest danger on the roads is a lack of attention. Most of the incidents the OP described could be avoided (or where avoided) because he/she was paying attention when those around clearly weren't!

chuckcork

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

I've been told that if you're in a hurry to get somewhere because you're late, and you're ignoring rules of the road in doing so, then perhaps you should have left earlier.

Wise words for every road user really.

Summed up with a poster I saw at work once:

It's better to arrive a few minutes late then dead on time......

If you stop rushing everywhere things become a lot more bearable and a heck of a lot less stressful!
I think the biggest danger on the roads is a lack of attention. Most of the incidents the OP described could be avoided (or where avoided) because he/she was paying attention when those around clearly weren't!

Back when I had a CB500 that was probably the most exhausting thing, that you could not afford to be not totally on the ball when it came to anything.

Problem I've found though is it is impossible to pick up absolutely everything, like the time I came up to the roundabout at Hamton Wick to go across Kingston Bridge. Trying to be aware of the traffic behind me, beside me, coming past in the other lane and in front of me at the roundabout, I totally missed what I couldn't directly see, namely a woman with pram crossing a pedestrian crossing (vision obstructed by a BMW).

Missed her by a good 8 feet but copped a mouthful from said saintly BMW driver, who of course then sped off over the bridge at well over the speed limit!

It is quite possible to be totally aware of things and miss the bleedin' obvious, I think its called attentional blindness? Unfortunately cylists are in the category of less likely to be seen, though how you can be overtaken and then have someone turn left on you...

AndyManc

Who poses the biggest danger on the roads?


Local councils and national governments that have exhibited their total incompetence in providing a secure and well maintained cycle network and failed to combat the appalling driving standards on our roads, not to mention the drunk/drugged/speeding/illegal drivers behind motor vehicles.

Bassjunkieuk

Speaking of the overtake and turn I had some stupid ar5e on a scooter do it to me last Thursday, what really annoyed me tho was that they where on a scooter!

Agreed it can be difficult to concentrate on everything around you to, but I feel I have become much better at this since riding my bike regularly in busy situations, sometimes I swear it's only "the force" that saves me sometimes!

Kieran_Burns

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

Speaking of the overtake and turn I had some stupid ar5e on a scooter do it to me last Thursday, what really annoyed me tho was that they where on a scooter!

Agreed it can be difficult to concentrate on everything around you to, but I feel I have become much better at this since riding my bike regularly in busy situations, sometimes I swear it's only "the force" that saves me sometimes!

That's one for the T-shirts:

Cyclists: Jedi Knights of the Road

downfader

Squirrels.






No seriously!




Was riding into work last year, a few hundred feet away and the car overtaking me hit a squirrel. Dead squirrel flopped out infront of me and I went right over his ribcage nearly crashing in the process.

urban-commuter

Agree it's more about the person and what condition they are in, any form of transport can pose a danger, even pedestrians.

Bad judgement always seems to be a component, it doesn't matter if it's caused by the person's tiredness / egotism / incapacity / distraction / lack of concentration / distorted priorities / etc.

chris281192

Buses, in a word.
i live in a relatively trafficy area and of course you have the occasional idiot car driver, but with me its ALWAYS the bus drivers which run me in to the gutter, overtake, cover me in sott and then pull into a bus stop right in front of me, leaving it to me to take evasive action.
Many say " its better to have 1 bus than 20 cars", which is a fair point, but ive nearly been run over so many times by empty buses! why do they exist?!? Whats wrong with trains, they stay out of the way.

ARRRRGGGHHHHH

ellieb

Anyone & anything

I just had a near miss with a canoe. Don't ask :shock:

downfader

ellieb wrote:

Anyone & anything

I just had a near miss with a canoe. Don't ask :shock:

Fall off a roof rack?

My father is a member of a canoe and kayak club and every now and again you hear stories from new members who havent grasped the basics of how to tie a canoe on to a car properly. One guy nearly caused a major accident on a motorway 2 years back. :shock:

msw

I've got a feeling it might be BMW drivers. Jumping red lights, overtaking then turning left, you name it -- I think I see a dumb bit of driving from a BMW about every other journey.

However I suspect there's a bit of confirmation bias here - I now expect BMW drivers to do stupid things and probably remember when they do but forget the times when they drive perfectly well. Also I don't notice the models of other cars that are driven idiotically -- I just look for the minicab licence in the back window...

Has anyone else noticed this or am I being grossly unfair?

marchant

downfader wrote:

Squirrels.






No seriously! :

Agreed, or rather it's rabbits for me. Doesn't matter how much room you give them, their suicidal plunge across my path from the other side of the bike lane always adds some spice to a morning ride.

NGale

after this evening I have decided the police are the biggest problem....let me explain.

while cycling home this evening, quite happily at a nice pace, I found myself lying in the gutter looking up at a paramedic after a police car which was behind me decided to make his presence known by turning on his sirens in order to let me know I was there and for me to move over.

I ended up on the ground with a paramedic asking me if I was ok, thankfully I was outside the ambulance station. I gesture to them at my ID card and the next thing I hear is the paramedic having a go at the copper for 'practically killing one of our control assistants' what actually made the thing even more funny was the coppers reaction of 'Well I didn't know'....so in other words any other cyclist is fair game. so go careful around the mean streets of Exeter.

Thankfully I am ok, just a few bumps and bruses which wil come up in the morning....oh and I will need a new helmet after it decided to take the impact.

karl j

to answer the OP but not go banging on about it i would have to say peoplle like the looney tune who blasted me out of the way in Norwich recently (sep. thread somewhere ) although thankfully that sort are still relatively few and far between

always_tyred

NGale wrote:

after this evening I have decided the police are the biggest problem....let me explain.

while cycling home this evening, quite happily at a nice pace, I found myself lying in the gutter looking up at a paramedic after a police car which was behind me decided to make his presence known by turning on his sirens in order to let me know I was there and for me to move over.

I ended up on the ground with a paramedic asking me if I was ok, thankfully I was outside the ambulance station. I gesture to them at my ID card and the next thing I hear is the paramedic having a go at the copper for 'practically killing one of our control assistants' what actually made the thing even more funny was the coppers reaction of 'Well I didn't know'....so in other words any other cyclist is fair game. so go careful around the mean streets of Exeter.

Thankfully I am ok, just a few bumps and bruses which wil come up in the morning....oh and I will need a new helmet after it decided to take the impact.

Are you in a position to take a complaint forward? If it was a driver it owuld be one thing, but that it was a police driver is so worrying. Why did you need to move over? What on earth was he doing misusing his sirens? What hope do we have if the police take potshots at us?

Alternatively, you may feel that life is too short, which is fair enough.

Hope you are back on the bike shortly - Exeter is a good place to ride normally!! (Right?)

phil_ss1

Hi,

Anyone who does not comply with the law and does not follow the highway code, regardless of mode of transport.


The saying I like is "Better 5 minutes late in this life, than 5 minutes early in the next..."

Phil

AndyManc

msw wrote:

I've got a feeling it might be BMW drivers. Jumping red lights, overtaking then turning left, you name it -- I think I see a dumb bit of driving from a BMW about every other journey.

However I suspect there's a bit of confirmation bias here - I now expect BMW drivers to do stupid things and probably remember when they do but forget the times when they drive perfectly well. Also I don't notice the models of other cars that are driven idiotically -- I just look for the minicab licence in the back window...

Has anyone else noticed this or am I being grossly unfair?

BMW drivers are the scum of the earth along with audi drivers, it's well known, once my head cam recorder arrives I'll show you the evidence.

sc999cs

downfader wrote:

Squirrels.

Agreed - the little b*gger who is responsible for me wearing a helmet (or one who looks just the same) shot out in front of me again yesterday. Locked back wheel as I tried to avoid it (won't bother next time) but managed to stay up again.

BTW Rodan kicks Godzilla's backside

biondino

God this thread is depressing. I have come off my bike 5 times (not including when I was a kid of course) and so far I've managed no worse than 2 broken fingers (different occasions), deep cuts and grazing, a chipped elbow, a subluxated shoulder and a hell of a lot of bruises. But I can be certain I'm going to come off again, and who knows what'll happen when I do. Sigh.

neslon

Young women, without a doubt. Either older students, or young professionals, round here they are aggressive, too fast and dangerous (and they all drive little cars)

sc999cs

neslon wrote:

Young women, without a doubt.

Keep your eyes on the road then. :twisted:

chuckcork

sc999cs wrote:

neslon wrote:

Young women, without a doubt.

Keep your eyes on the road then. :twisted:

I think the problem is they are on the road, thinking about their boyfriends, hairdos, the next party they're going to; and not the 90kg cyclist they've just stepped in front of who is travelling at 20mph...