Ok own up... (signalling/observation thread).

Simonb256

Has anyone else other than me (though not for a long long time), looked over your shoulder before a manoeuvre and as you look forward again go splat into a stationary car or any inanimate object?

I did it once looking if it was safe to pull into primary when coming to a queue of traffic.

There was another incident of me going into some roadworks (just bounced off the barrier), but thats another story.

EDIT: Both incidents occured years ago and I learnt to look earlier and to judge my speed better heh.

_Brun_

I did it to a number 73 bus which had the cheek to stop infront of me. Locked the back wheel and skidded into it shoulder first.

Being 18 metres further forward, I don't think the driver noticed.

spasypaddy

Yes...

was coming upto a roundabout that i know very well and also know how busy it is i saw a gap and started going for it, the gap was big enough for the car in front of me, me and the car behind me to get out at. The woman in front of me had very different ideas though...

i accelerated straight into her back bumper as i was watching the roundabout traffic. No damage done to her car or me. or so i thought, half a mile down the road i took a corner at pace and my rear tire blew out

DonDaddyD

Nope never.

I now regularly check over my shoulder,

I'm also very cautious and anticipate what is ahead of me before I look behind to make my move.

Its also in one movement.

Step 1:
Plan ahead,
Step 2:
Assess behind,
Step 3:
Move.

If I can't move then I slow down and go back to step one.

jonginge

Erm, kinda. Did that to a moped on embankment. He was reeling in a lady on a hybrid and I was reeling him in. I assumed he was about to overtake her so I shoulder-checked ready to follow into primary. Did he overtake? did he buggery, he braked (~10mph speed change) and sat on her tail. There was nothing behind but when I returned eyes front I saw the distance to the moped rapidly closing. Hammered on the anchors and just touched his rear fairing with my front wheel. Thankfully, stayed upright, pulled alongside the mopedder and apologised, which took the steam out of his rant. Bit of a wakeup call

Bassjunkieuk

I'm in the DDD camp here, I'll try to asses what is ahead first before looking behind me.
Having said this I did let my concentration wander last night and had to swerve to avoid a car! It makes more sense once I explain that I was riding down a residential road that had problems with the streetlights, resulting in a half mile stretch that only had my bike lights and the headlights of cars behind me for illumination!

I did rear-end a bus once as it stopped quicker then I expected.

biondino

I have rear-ended Linsen!

DonDaddyD

ARGH!!!!

Enough with the Linsen flirting already!!!

whyamihere

I nearly did today. Came up to some lights (for Simon: The first set after the Queslett Island on Chester Road heading towards mine) where there was a car stopped, just as they went green. I assumed that the car would just pull off, and glanced back. The car stalled and I had to take evasive action.

iain_j

Yes about 6 months ago. I was getting impatient in a long slow queue of two-lane traffic. The car in front of me was hugging the kerb so i couldn't filter past. Then he indicated left and started turning into a side street.

Ah hah! Here's my chance to jump the queue - I checked over my shoulder to swing right around the back of the car, and filter along the inside of the rest of the queue, with plenty of space.

While i was still looking behind, the car had jammed on the brakes cos there was another car coming out of the street he was turning into. Too late - it was an old box-style car with square corners and i got one of those corners right in my ribs. I went straight down and my bike went from under me and under the wheels of a car going past in the outside lane.

iain_j

whyamihere wrote:

I assumed that the car would just pull off, and glanced back. The car stalled and I had to take evasive action.

I've done that countless times too. It's reasonable to assume cars will start to move when the lights go green - not half the drivers round here. Wakey wakey! Green means go!

bluecow

Yes, i have done that. As i was looking over my right shoulder to pull into the centre of the lane to overtake a parked car i must have dozed off, next thing <SLAM>. My front wheel bounced off the parked car (it must have reversed when i wasnt looking.. honest guv!) into the road (hey, i was going there anyway) and i fell and landed with my crotch on the top tube. I have never, ever been a) so embarrassed and b) in quite so much pain.


(The car was fine, btw)
:oops: :shock: <---- all of these things.

iain_j

The two encounters i've had with cars have, I'm told, put dents in the cars. I didn't see either (more bothered about my bike at the time, moreso than myself) but i'm somehow impressed i did that

No comeback on either - the first was the driver's fault, and the 2nd one (the one i just described), the fella was more worried about how i was rather than his car. In fact he looked more shaken up by it than i was.

Jay dubbleU

Once ran into a cow in fog - stupid thing was standing in the middle of the road and I was distracted by a car that had stopped sharply to avoid hitting another one - I came off and knackered my knee - cow was lightly bruised :oops:

unclemalc

biondino wrote:

I have rear-ended Linsen!

:shock:

Feltup

Many moons ago riding on a raleigh racer with steel rims and fat tyres I spotted a girl in my class. We'll call her Paula. She was the hottie of the year and all the other 10 yr old lads fancied her too.

"just act cool 8) and look back as you go past and say Hi!" I thought to myself.

I cruised past at a good speed but not too fast so Paula could hear me properly and turned around to say "Hi", I even showboated a bit and gave her a hand in the air Hi wave too!

What I hadn't noticed was the car which had just gone past me had now pulled in 50yds up the road. Feeling cool and wondering what my next move should be I turned back forwards only to have my vision entirely filled with the back end of a car. WHAM! My front wheel hit the bumper and my chin connected with the boot lid.

I am now lying in the road with the driver and Paula both looking down at me, I am no longer feeling cool.

After checking I am OK which I am apart from a heavily bruised chin and a massively dented ego, the driver offers to take me home but I decline and wheel my bike back with its newly bent forks.

Girls are dangerous!

mr_hippo

Many moons ago, just as I was venturing further afield, I was crossing Latchford bridge, Warrington which goes over the Manchester Ship Canal. I was fascinated by a large ship en route to Manchester, it looked as if it had only inches to spare on each side, when I came off the bike. I had hit a sign in the road that said "Caution Road Works Ahead!

CiB

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Once ran into a cow in fog...

The best opening to a post ever. :P

I once ran into the back of a tractor driven by the farmer from the place next to ours. Was only about 10, managing to stay on his tail up the lane and he just stopped. I ran into the lifters (3-pt linkage on rear of tractor] and got stuck tween the wheel and the lifter bar He just glanced at me and strolled off to his field, leaving me to extricate myself and continue in a semi-dignified manner.

biondino

I once reversed a tractor into a (insert name of big spiky farm implement here) and managed to puncture one of the f-off enormous tyres. :oops:

cee

spasypaddy wrote:

was coming upto a roundabout that i know very well and also know how busy it is i saw a gap and started going for it, the gap was big enough for the car in front of me, me and the car behind me to get out at. The woman in front of me had very different ideas though...

Apparently there is an insurance scam where people do this intentionally....the roundabout is clear, slam on the brakes and let the person behind rear end....it was on the telly not so long ago.

gtvlusso

As a "former" motorcyclist (my Ducati has magically become a new kitchen along with my Cervelo) Shoulder checks and observation are key to survival - I am always shoulder checking when changing road position (mainly to look out for up coming cyclists) or manouvering. Should be intrinsic to most of us who have had a few years in the grime.

Amazed at the amount of cyclist who don't look behind them when they make a manouver or drop from pavement to road....isn't it intrinsic?!

redvee

spasypaddy wrote:

Yes...

was coming upto a roundabout that i know very well and also know how busy it is i saw a gap and started going for it, the gap was big enough for the car in front of me, me and the car behind me to get out at. The woman in front of me had very different ideas though...

Done similar myself, watching the traffic on the roundabout but not the traffic in front of me so I stamp on the pedals of my Toys-R-Us Falcon racer and hit the back door of a bakery van softly :oops:

Nick6891

i have only ever done it once, there where things going on behind me so i kept looking over my shoulder, then i had a longer look and didnt see the car infront

linsen

I on the other hand have never rear-ended Biondino.

always_tyred

gtvlusso wrote:

As a "former" motorcyclist (my Ducati has magically become a new kitchen along with my Cervelo) Shoulder checks and observation are key to survival - I am always shoulder checking when changing road position (mainly to look out for up coming cyclists) or manouvering. Should be intrinsic to most of us who have had a few years in the grime.

Amazed at the amount of cyclist who don't look behind them when they make a manouver or drop from pavement to road....isn't it intrinsic?!

You mean instinctive. I think I misoverestimated you.

I can't help feeling that there must be a correlation between sort of cyclist who jumpy from the pavement to the road and the sort of cyclist who doesn't shoulder check.........braces for impact......

----

Never run into the back of someone when shoulder checking, but I have misoverestimated my brakes on the odd occasion. :oops:

I've had someone using tri-bars for the first time run into the back of my car, though. I guess his neck got tired and he started following the white line he could see by looking down.

always_tyred

gtvlusso wrote:

As a "former" motorcyclist (my Ducati has magically become a new kitchen along with my Cervelo) Shoulder checks and observation are key to survival - I am always shoulder checking when changing road position (mainly to look out for up coming cyclists) or manouvering. Should be intrinsic to most of us who have had a few years in the grime.

Amazed at the amount of cyclist who don't look behind them when they make a manouver or drop from pavement to road....isn't it intrinsic?!

You mean instinctive. I think I misoverestimated you.

I can't help feeling that there must be a correlation between sort of cyclist who jumpy from the pavement to the road and the sort of cyclist who doesn't shoulder check.........braces for impact......

----

Never run into the back of someone when shoulder checking, but I have misoverestimated my brakes on the odd occasion. :oops:

I've had someone using tri-bars for the first time run into the back of my car, though. I guess his neck got tired and he started following the white line he could see by looking down.

gtvlusso

Always Tyred wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

As a "former" motorcyclist (my Ducati has magically become a new kitchen along with my Cervelo) Shoulder checks and observation are key to survival - I am always shoulder checking when changing road position (mainly to look out for up coming cyclists) or manouvering. Should be intrinsic to most of us who have had a few years in the grime.

Amazed at the amount of cyclist who don't look behind them when they make a manouver or drop from pavement to road....isn't it intrinsic?!

You mean instinctive. I think I misoverestimated you.

I can't help feeling that there must be a correlation between sort of cyclist who jumpy from the pavement to the road and the sort of cyclist who doesn't shoulder check.........braces for impact......

----

Never run into the back of someone when shoulder checking, but I have misoverestimated my brakes on the odd occasion. :oops:

I've had someone using tri-bars for the first time run into the back of my car, though. I guess his neck got tired and he started following the white line he could see by looking down.

Intrinsic/instinctive - bada bing.....I had better give that degree back to Rutgers...!!

Headhuunter

I've rear ended London buses a couple of times. Usual protocol is that I am travelling faster than the bus, I flick a glance behind in readiness to overtake and in the meantime the bus utises its powerful air brakes and stops dead, at which point I slam into the back. I find this is one of the biggest dangers. I have never been hit by anything on my daily commute through the streets of London, but I have run into other things a few times.

The Chingford Skinhead

Had a few near misses with cars and one hit with a bike - always in the wet - I still need to work on recalculating the lack of stopping force when wet compared to dry.

The "hit" was from a set of lights at the bottom of a steep hill. Full of cyclists as usual with the slower ones always filtering to the front for some reason :roll: Anyway light goes green and everyone steams across the cross roads to a narrow road which narrows again shortly after you enter. I've passed the shopping baskets going over the junction and am near a beared roadie, check over my shoulder to make sure the white van man who followed us out of the junction isn't going to try and pull past by the narrowing traffic island, look front and :shock: Car in front has stopped as had roadie.

Anchors on, back wheel fishtail on wet greasy surface, I lean back, front wheel lifts off and I end up at about 45 degrees to the kerb with front wheel over the roadie's back wheel, :oops: :oops: :oops: I was very apoloogetic and he was as nice as pie about it.

I almost caught up with him at a junction further up the road but I held back as I was still too embarrassed.