Cyclists hit on cyclelane "I rest my case"

downfader

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/new ... ticle.html

Whilst I agree with the guy on the basis of pavement cycling, the very last paragraph grates with me:

I have not recently heard of any cyclist using a cycle lane being hit by a motor vehicle. I rest my case.

How can he rest his case? He's provided no data to support any form of argument, for all the readers know he could have stuck his fingers in his ears and gone "la la la". :?

Time for a letter...

Gavin Gilbert

There was a tragic incident a few months ago when a well known cyclist was hit on the A4 cyclepath in in Hounslow. My understanding is that he was hit by a vehicle turning across the cyclepath which is a marked section of the footway.

downfader

I remember that, Gavin. Annoyingly I didnt remember it for my letter. Wonder if anyone else has sent one in?

Cunobelin

I have cycled through Lincoln - it is not easy to cycle on the pavements due to the number of illegally parked vehicles.....

It always amazes me how few of these "reporters" ever see them, or do they simply accept illegal parking as OK?

chuckcork

downfader wrote:

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/Cyclists-avoid-footpaths/article-1063277-detail/article.html

Whilst I agree with the guy on the basis of pavement cycling, the very last paragraph grates with me:

I have not recently heard of any cyclist using a cycle lane being hit by a motor vehicle. I rest my case.

How can he rest his case? He's provided no data to support any form of argument, for all the readers know he could have stuck his fingers in his ears and gone "la la la". :?

Time for a letter...

I've almost run into vehicles when I've been in a cycle lane, when they've overtaken me, got barely in front, and then parked. Does that count? I've also had enough near misses with vehicles overtakingme too close, when I've had to leave dedicated cycle lanes due to someone parking in them. If I was hit then I assume it wouldn't be my fault as I wasn't were I should (and couldn't) be?

I've also had plenty of near misses with peds on shared cycle/pedestrian paths. People just don't recognise that the path is there, however it is designed or whatever pretty colours it is painted. They aren't any less dangerous for peds than people cycling on the footpath, in fact probably more dangerous as the cyclist is fixed on remaining on the path, will possibly be travelling at speed, and won't be allowing for someone to step sideways into their path, whereas a cyclist on the footpath has the clear responsibility to avoid anyone else (not that they should be there in the first place)

Interesting also to note the comments area on the webpage referenced at the top of this thread is disabled.... :?:

downfader

Actually speaking to my mother she was nearly off'd about 2 months back. Coming down hill on one of our main bridges there is a cyclelane. She's coming downhill doing about 25mph and a taxi starts to ghost next to her, passes her and immediately pulled in to the kerb forcing her to brake hard and put her hand on the back of the cab to stop.

No damage done but she gave the driver a mouthful who just replied with the usual "what? I didnt hit you" :roll:

chuckcork

downfader wrote:

Actually speaking to my mother she was nearly off'd about 2 months back. Coming down hill on one of our main bridges there is a cyclelane. She's coming downhill doing about 25mph and a taxi starts to ghost next to her, passes her and immediately pulled in to the kerb forcing her to brake hard and put her hand on the back of the cab to stop.

No damage done but she gave the driver a mouthful who just replied with the usual "what? I didnt hit you" :roll:

If she'd taken out his wing mirrors I wonder what he would have said then?

downfader

chuckcork wrote:

downfader wrote:

Actually speaking to my mother she was nearly off'd about 2 months back. Coming down hill on one of our main bridges there is a cyclelane. She's coming downhill doing about 25mph and a taxi starts to ghost next to her, passes her and immediately pulled in to the kerb forcing her to brake hard and put her hand on the back of the cab to stop.

No damage done but she gave the driver a mouthful who just replied with the usual "what? I didnt hit you" :roll:

If she'd taken out his wing mirrors I wonder what he would have said then?

I ended up making a complaint on her behalf, though they never replied. I could tell everyone what firm it was, but tbh whats the point..

Porgy

the problem with cycle lanes is that they are not continuous and therefore you are forced to constantly exit and re-enter them - not to mention obstacles such as parked cars, public phone boxes, potholes, pedestrians, fences, ditches, caravans, trees, etc.

Often in order to use a cycle lane you give up your right of way on the road - and therefore it's in the constant exiting and enetering the cycle lane that the problems start - and this is why accidents probably don;t happen in the cycle lane, but between cycle lanes.

And that's why i don;t use them.

nor do I cycle on pavements it has to be said.

This, I might sadly add, is an attitude adopted by the majority of the two wheeled fiends.

So Stuart R Dawson of Wyberton - why don;t you f.uck right off :evil:

Cunobelin

downfader wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

downfader wrote:

Actually speaking to my mother she was nearly off'd about 2 months back. Coming down hill on one of our main bridges there is a cyclelane. She's coming downhill doing about 25mph and a taxi starts to ghost next to her, passes her and immediately pulled in to the kerb forcing her to brake hard and put her hand on the back of the cab to stop.

No damage done but she gave the driver a mouthful who just replied with the usual "what? I didnt hit you" :roll:

If she'd taken out his wing mirrors I wonder what he would have said then?

I ended up making a complaint on her behalf, though they never replied. I could tell everyone what firm it was, but tbh whats the point..

Was that to the Council Licensing Office.

I always wait ten days and then put in an FoI request for the incident. A useful tactic as it forces them to deal with the matter.

downfader

Cunobelin wrote:

downfader wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

downfader wrote:

Actually speaking to my mother she was nearly off'd about 2 months back. Coming down hill on one of our main bridges there is a cyclelane. She's coming downhill doing about 25mph and a taxi starts to ghost next to her, passes her and immediately pulled in to the kerb forcing her to brake hard and put her hand on the back of the cab to stop.

No damage done but she gave the driver a mouthful who just replied with the usual "what? I didnt hit you" :roll:

If she'd taken out his wing mirrors I wonder what he would have said then?

I ended up making a complaint on her behalf, though they never replied. I could tell everyone what firm it was, but tbh whats the point..

Was that to the Council Licensing Office.

I always wait ten days and then put in an FoI request for the incident. A useful tactic as it forces them to deal with the matter.

Nah it was direct with the company. They're one of the biggest here. Funnily enough I know that they've had several more serious complaints in the last year (make of that what you will). In retrospect I should have gone to the licensing office but I didnt think at the time.

Too long ago and too much effort to take it up again tbh.

bompington

I have actually been hit in a cycle lane, in circumstances that I suspect may be quite common:
Approaching traffic lights at crossroads, the road widens into 2 lanes: left hand for left turn, right hand for ahead & right. There is a standard cycle path on the left.
There is always more traffic in the RH lane, so the queue is longer. Cars wishing to turn left don't like to sit behind this queue, so as soon as the road is wide enough, they pull left to get round it.
And the cycle lane gives them a useful extra couple of feet to do this. Just a pity if a cyclist is coming up the cycle lane, encouraged by the absence of any traffic in the LH lane, at exactly the same time as they swing left...
The highway code quite specifically allows bikes to "undertake" on the left, I was, I suppose, pushing it a bit going at 25 - the driver never looked in his mirror, just watch any time you see vehicles pushing into cycle lanes, they never do.
The car hit me side on, I recall with some satisfaction the sound of my pedals scraping down the side, I was still going a lot faster than him as he pushed me onto the kerb, at which point the bike flipped over, I landed on my head & the back of my right shoulder with my hands still on the bars (I assume that because the bruising & damage to gloves was on the knuckles). A few bones broken but not so bad overall.
But what really worries me is that I see drivers doing exactly the same thing all the time. How often do cyclists get hit like this? "Not recently"? I doubt it.

downfader

bompington wrote:

I have actually been hit in a cycle lane, in circumstances that I suspect may be quite common:
Approaching traffic lights at crossroads, the road widens into 2 lanes: left hand for left turn, right hand for ahead & right. There is a standard cycle path on the left.
There is always more traffic in the RH lane, so the queue is longer. Cars wishing to turn left don't like to sit behind this queue, so as soon as the road is wide enough, they pull left to get round it.
And the cycle lane gives them a useful extra couple of feet to do this. Just a pity if a cyclist is coming up the cycle lane, encouraged by the absence of any traffic in the LH lane, at exactly the same time as they swing left...
The highway code quite specifically allows bikes to "undertake" on the left, I was, I suppose, pushing it a bit going at 25 - the driver never looked in his mirror, just watch any time you see vehicles pushing into cycle lanes, they never do.
The car hit me side on, I recall with some satisfaction the sound of my pedals scraping down the side, I was still going a lot faster than him as he pushed me onto the kerb, at which point the bike flipped over, I landed on my head & the back of my right shoulder with my hands still on the bars (I assume that because the bruising & damage to gloves was on the knuckles). A few bones broken but not so bad overall.
But what really worries me is that I see drivers doing exactly the same thing all the time. How often do cyclists get hit like this? "Not recently"? I doubt it.

Part of St Denys road in southampton is now like that (minus the two lanes - drivers create 2 "lanes" themselves). I had been wondering if it could happen like that.

Cheers for the reply!

Headhuunter

Cunobelin wrote:

I have cycled through Lincoln - it is not easy to cycle on the pavements due to the number of illegally parked vehicles.....

It always amazes me how few of these "reporters" ever see them, or do they simply accept illegal parking as OK?

Also many motorists and peds also seem to go apopleptic with rage at RLJ-ing and cycling on the pavement yet will happily drive at 40mph in a 30 zone without a second thought. A speeding motorist is more likely to do more damage, or even kill, than an RLJing cyclist...

toontra

Funnily enough the only time I've been hit by a vehicle was when I was in a cycle lane in Carlisle and a huge HGV tried to squeeze through a non-existent gap in slow-moving traffic. I was lucky not to have been badly injured/killed.

I'll use a cycle lane if it's there and not going to put me in more danger (which many of them do) but I wouldn't for a moment ever consider myself "safe" when using them - quite the opposite.

KeithG

A budding Olympic cyclist was killed in Oban last year being hit by a lorry while in a cycle lane.

pinno

Come on folks - Join the Shoot Clarkson Campaign - check the arguments out.

Porgy

pinarello001 wrote:

Come on folks - Join the Shoot Clarkson Campaign - check the arguments out.

I don't want to shoot Jeremy Clarkson - it'd be far too quick for him.

How about hang draw and quarter Jeremy Clarkson?

OldSkoolKona

Here's the thread with links to the info on the fatality last year on the A4

http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/foru ... t=12605016

topovolante

theres a road leading to a junction in wigan were cars try splitting into two lanes were only one exists therefore they go into the cycle lane leaving bout 3-4 inches for bikes to pass
and they expect us to use these.REALLY

also i didnt know that bout cyclists not allowed on pavements do they expect little kids ie 5 or 6 to be on the roads
when my younger sister was learning to ride on the roads aged bout 8/9 with the rest of the family she got rammed up the back by a driver who did all but touch and then sound his horn made her jump and almost fall off
:shock: :!:

Porgy

topovolante wrote:

also i didnt know that bout cyclists not allowed on pavements do they expect little kids ie 5 or 6 to be on the roads

Read this:

You see, while riding on the pavement is technically illegal, the Home Office was careful to issue guidance about how and when cyclists should actually be penalised for doing so. And in a letter written back in 1999, Home Office minister Paul Boateng said the following: "The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so." In other words, it was not designed to fine people like me.

So I'll be taking Mr Boateng's letter down to court in a few weeks, in the hope of overturning my fine. Hardly worth the time for a £30 fine. But it's a matter of principle.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/james-daley-i-was-handed-a-16330-fine-for-riding-on-the-pavement-1365928.html