left hooked this morning.

Simonb256

Cycling to work along the A41 Wednesbury, someone pulled out to over take, when level slowed down to match my speed and tried to cut through me, (I was level with passenger door).

I honestly don't see how that could actually happen, The only thing I can thing of is that she misjudged my speed, but slowing down to match my pace then doesnt make sense, unless its some bizarre coincidence (it's a 50mph road, I was doing just under 20).

Before someone tries to smite me by saying that 20mph is too fast to go past an side road to an industrial estate (as someone tried to before), it was a dual carriageway (and the only sideroad for around a mile in either infront or behind, and there was good visability of traffic on said side road), 20mph was slow and I was doing around 30 up to that point (I slowed down primarily due to it starting to go uphill again, and not really through choice).

I'm sure there's bits I missed so once people pick the above apart I'll fill the holes in which I missed.

Didn't get the reg but its only a small industrial estate and I'm sure I'll see her again.

Just managed to stay up and etc, rear wheel was dancing all over the place and I pretty much ended up following her round the corner. She made eye contact through her rear view mirror after she eventually passed, so I'm not sure if thats just because of my shout of 'Woah..." or because she knew what she was doing.

Still trying to work out how she could not of seen me to be honest.

SimonAH

Crikey - find her and report her to the police pronto.

I suspect that you've suffered from the same issue that I do fairly regularly - drivers see a bike and then just pigeon-hole it as travelling at 5mph. I probably didn't even occur to her that she hadn't comfortably passed you before turning.

And then to make eye contact before driving off!!!!!!!! Monday morning wooly-headedness does not excuse this.

rjsterry

I've come to the conclusion that eye contact means nothing to motorists - either that, or it's very easy to look as though you are looking someone in the eye, when actually you are looking straight through them.

I think SimonAH has it right: a case of her assuming you were traveling slowly, rather than actually assessing how fast you were going.

Simonb256

I would report her but I honestly feel that it would amount to nothing.

I've had one agressive driver in the past and the police refused to do anything as there wasnt a collision. That driver was the old "if I pull in front and slam the brakes on he'll have to pay for my already cracked bumper".

Police didnt even bother to take a statement or even talk to me on that incident and that was with the reg number.

Butterd2

SimonAH wrote:

I suspect that you've suffered from the same issue that I do fairly regularly - drivers see a bike and then just pigeon-hole it as travelling at 5mph. I probably didn't even occur to her that she hadn't comfortably passed you before turning.

+1, this is a pretty common occurrence in my experience.

As for eye contact, had a ped walk out in front of me this morning, shouted the usual "Whoa" and swerved to go in front of her. She looked me in the eye but then instead of freezing bolted. I ended up swerving further and further across to try and miss her until she was practically running down the road with me in pursuit.
To be fair to her was was apologising profusely as she ran, so hopefully has learnt a lesson.

EnglishChris

Butterd2 wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

I suspect that you've suffered from the same issue that I do fairly regularly - drivers see a bike and then just pigeon-hole it as travelling at 5mph. I probably didn't even occur to her that she hadn't comfortably passed you before turning.

+1, this is a pretty common occurrence in my experience.

This happened to me in October cycling up to Kew along Strand on the Green. There are parked cars in bays all along both the side of the road but at some points this is broken where the pavement extends out into the road (only as far in as a car width). The pavement extensions have bollards on them and there are speed bumps across part of the road. Its done in such a way that you can just keep cycling along the left without having to change course around the pavement / cars / bollards.

A car overtook me as we were approaching one of these, and as his rear door drew parallel with me, he realised there was another car coming the opposite way and he just drifted across left leaving me with rapidly diminishing room between him and the upcoming pavement / bollard. I had three choices: let him hit me, ride straight into the bollard, or bail. So I bailed, let the bike go and took the bollard right in the chest. I was too winded to even shout at him. He didn't stop. Ended up with a broken rib. Didn't get his number plate (and neither did the oncoming driver, who did stop to see if I was ok), and couldn't even tell you what car it was.

He might not even have realised what he was doing as the drivers seat was in front of me, but he literally overtook me about a second earlier so its no excuse!!

On the way home on Friday afternoon...on the A205 around Barnes heading to Putney where the road goes from one lane to two lanes at the lights, then back again, then back to two lanes etc. A car overtook me fairly slowly, so close to me that she clipped my right hand and handlebar with her left wing mirror!

I wobbled, shouted at her and then glared at her when I passed her at the lights. How does someone get that close without realising it! It was daylight, I had a reflective backpack cover on.

mudcow007

i feel your pain!!

last summer i was riding along queens drive (main ring road around liverpool) the stretch i was on is a 40mph a girl in a mini, indicates then over takes me, as soon as she is passed me decides to turn left so i have to grab my brakes, i skid hit the kerb an have to jump off my bike. i shout at the driver she looks at me in the mirror and carrys on

grrrr

desweller

Sadly it seems that to stay safe you have to be super-aware. I find myself looking far down the road to see what the drivers around me are about to react to, so that I can position myself better. It does put a bit of a crimp on the fun factor of the ride though. Bloody towns.

dhope

DesWeller wrote:

Sadly it seems that to stay safe you have to be super-aware. I find myself looking far down the road to see what the drivers around me are about to react to, so that I can position myself better. It does put a bit of a crimp on the fun factor of the ride though. Bloody towns.

Par for the course, certainly in London, I spend a lot of the time looking further up and making sure I'm not in that space when a driver realises they need to move into it.
Don't think it's poor driving necessarily, I expect I have slightly better lines of sight as I'm a little higher up on a saddle than I would be driving and slightly to one side or another even if primary.

coopster_the_1st

EnglishChris wrote:

This happened to me in October cycling up to Kew along Strand on the Green. There are parked cars in bays all along both the side of the road but at some points this is broken where the pavement extends out into the road (only as far in as a car width). The pavement extensions have bollards on them and there are speed bumps across part of the road. Its done in such a way that you can just keep cycling along the left without having to change course around the pavement / cars / bollards.

A car overtook me as we were approaching one of these, and as his rear door drew parallel with me, he realised there was another car coming the opposite way and he just drifted across left leaving me with rapidly diminishing room between him and the upcoming pavement / bollard. I had three choices: let him hit me, ride straight into the bollard, or bail. So I bailed, let the bike go and took the bollard right in the chest. I was too winded to even shout at him. He didn't stop. Ended up with a broken rib. Didn't get his number plate (and neither did the oncoming driver, who did stop to see if I was ok), and couldn't even tell you what car it was.

I use to live on this road and can visualise the road/bollards/speed humps you are talking about.

IMO, and it may be a bit late now, but you should be riding as close to the humps as you can on the left side of them and then moving out into the road(a foot or so) after going around them. This indicates to the driver that he will have to make a proper pass and over take you by going over the hump on the other side of the road.

With the humps on the road you are not holding up traffic much by doing this