Almost died! With pictures!

rjsterry

Just jaw-dropping. "...didn't see you overtaking..."?! No wonder you were speechless. It's a dual carriageway, so obviously no right turn, quite apart from pulling out without looking. Glad your here to tell us about it and definitely report it before mows someone down. Sounds like he was in a world of his own.

jejv

S h i t.
Glad you're OK.

daviesee

meanredspider wrote:

Glad you are OK!!!!

Please report it before the driver really does kill someone

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

PBo

I must say, I read many accident/near miss reports on here, and whilst there's some crazy sh1t goes on out there, often I'm not particularly horrified.

But this is a whole new level of "WTF?"

I don't often chip in with "report it", cos I often don't think it's justified. But..

For gods sake report it.


This wasn't just careless, or unfortunate, or a misjudgement. This was a$$holery of the highest order.

Personally, I'd go for lobotomy rather than eunuchisation. After all, don't eunuchs live longer?

peat

PBo wrote:

I must say, I read many accident/near miss reports on here, and whilst there's some crazy sh1t goes on out there, often I'm not particularly horrified.

But this is a whole new level of "WTF?"

Same here. Totally loony manouvre to be trying.

jay197

cookdn wrote:

"Report it" +1. I've nearly been taken out by taxis u-turning into my path a couple of times, but an HGV :shock:

Hi Cookdn,

even taxis, which are legally allowed to make those U-turns, cant do a U turn over a central reservation, let alone a HGV.

This is just dangerous driving which is far more serious offence than opening the door without looking etc, or ar$ehole black cabbies who, as you rightly said, just slam on their brakes, and do a U-turn without warning.

Good thing there are loads of CCTV on that road, it was so dangerous for peds that, there used to be a 20mph average speed camera there a couple of years ago, but the black cabbies (surprise surprise) lobby-ed to get it removed, so now that road has 3 or 4 30mph speed cameras, so it is a known black spot.

regards,

Jay.

pangolin

You've convinced me guys don't worry - I am off to the station at lunch.

Worst thing about these situations is there isn't really anything you can do to stop it. It was still very much daylight but even so I had my front light on medium (150 lumens) pointed down slightly. I guess 600 lumen strobe at eye level is an option?

willy b

Origamist wrote:

@pangolin - if you're not happy with the response you get from the company take it up with the Traffic Commissioner as they have responsibility for the licensing of the operators of Heavy Goods Vehicles and of buses and coaches:

Wow that looks terrifying! Great work on avoiding anything more serious though.

Depending on the company they might be a member of the RHA (Road Haulage Association) so might be worth a call?

Bad legal driving I can just about live with, but this bit of driving is just crazy!

Wrath Rob

First off, scary stuff and glad you made it through in 1 piece.

pangolin wrote:

I guess 600 lumen strobe at eye level is an option?

I've now got 2 lights on the bike, the Ayup for when it gets properly dark and a Smart on flash for when its not nice and sunny. In this case though, I suspect he simply had a cursory glance for cars and then pulled out. If you'd have been a motorcyclist at 30+ then it could have been curtains :shock:

BigLights

faaaark that's hardcore. I had a very much milder incident yesterday and I can sympathise with the feeling a bit shaky afterwards. Do report it otherwise he'll keep doing this sort of thing. This is why I have Big Lights.....

PBo

^^^
So how did you get your user name??

Origamist

willy b wrote:

Origamist wrote:

@pangolin - if you're not happy with the response you get from the company take it up with the Traffic Commissioner as they have responsibility for the licensing of the operators of Heavy Goods Vehicles and of buses and coaches:

Wow that looks terrifying! Great work on avoiding anything more serious though.

Depending on the company they might be a member of the RHA (Road Haulage Association) so might be worth a call?

Bad legal driving I can just about live with, but this bit of driving is just crazy!

I'd personally not bother with the RHA - they just represent their members and campaign on their behalf. The Traffic Commissioners have regulatory teeth (they are appointed by the DfT) and if you want redress against the company/driver, this is the more effective route.

In this case, you are probably lucky you do not have helmet cam film of the incident as most people here will imagine the horror of a HGV suddenly blocking all escape routes with an illegal, dick move. If it was on cam, lots of folk would suddenly start to question your anticipation skills...

Koncordski

On a plus point, kudos on the pictures! Come down that hill everyday, usually it's minicabs pulling out across the 'cycle lane' without looking. Will be careful of construction traffic now as well!

Ian.B

PBo wrote:

I must say, I read many accident/near miss reports on here, and whilst there's some crazy sh1t goes on out there, often I'm not particularly horrified.

But this is a whole new level of "WTF?"

I don't often chip in with "report it", cos I often don't think it's justified. But..

For gods sake report it.


This wasn't just careless, or unfortunate, or a misjudgement. This was a$$holery of the highest order.

Personally, I'd go for lobotomy rather than eunuchisation. After all, don't eunuchs live longer?

^^^ wot he said!

Cleat Eastwood

Ian.B wrote:

PBo wrote:

I must say, I read many accident/near miss reports on here, and whilst there's some crazy sh1t goes on out there, often I'm not particularly horrified.

But this is a whole new level of "WTF?"

I don't often chip in with "report it", cos I often don't think it's justified. But..

For gods sake report it.


This wasn't just careless, or unfortunate, or a misjudgement. This was a$$holery of the highest order.

Personally, I'd go for lobotomy rather than eunuchisation. After all, don't eunuchs live longer?

^^^ wot he said!

+1

its good that you talk about it too - I know its easy to face a shock like that and run it over and over in your mind. Don't let it put you off passing that junction with confidence next time - if you ride timidly the asshole will have won.

hegyestomi

Brrrrrr....
Don't want to see or hear any more cycle related accidents or near misses. Feel pretty scared already...

spasypaddy

can i just comment on the quality of the paint drawings!

glad you're ok mate, i want to see more paint drawings!

Kieran_Burns

BigLights wrote:

faaaark that's hardcore. I had a very much milder incident yesterday and I can sympathise with the feeling a bit shaky afterwards. Do report it otherwise he'll keep doing this sort of thing. This is why I have Big Pants.....

FTFY

pangolin

spasypaddy wrote:

can i just comment on the quality of the paint drawings!

glad you're ok mate, i want to see more paint drawings!

Cheers Confusing stories with no visual aids are always annoying so I figured I'd take the time to make it a bit more interesting and understandable. Any requests?

spasypaddy

pangolin wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

can i just comment on the quality of the paint drawings!

glad you're ok mate, i want to see more paint drawings!

Cheers Confusing stories with no visual aids are always annoying so I figured I'd take the time to make it a bit more interesting and understandable. Any requests?

a scale representation of you bollocking him in a third person perspective

Kieran_Burns

spasypaddy wrote:

pangolin wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

can i just comment on the quality of the paint drawings!

glad you're ok mate, i want to see more paint drawings!

Cheers Confusing stories with no visual aids are always annoying so I figured I'd take the time to make it a bit more interesting and understandable. Any requests?

a scale representation of you bollocking him in a third person perspective

graeme_s-2

Yikes! That's truly terrifying.

Do report it to the Police, but don't be surprised if they don't do anything. I got hit by a lorry a few months back.

I was coming up to the T junction to turn left and would have been just behind where the silver hatchback is here:

http://goo.gl/maps/0vd6Q

The lorry was coming from where the google camera car is, and turning left into the side road. He swung out wide, covering both lanes of the road, all the way to the curb. I yelled and swerved to the left into the gutter. My right shoulder and thigh collided with the lorry's right wing and I was bounced onto the grass verge. Luckily for me I reacted quickly and moved left, as otherwise the lorry's wing would have been coming from my left and I'd have gone straight under the front of the lorry.

I was left covered in mud (it was pissing it down) with a grazed knee and a broken Garmin mount. Driver stopped and we swapped details. I reported it to the Police. They asked me if I had the driver's details and when I said they did they told me there was nothing for them to do and said they wouldn't take a report.

I reported it to the driver's company. They were incredibly apologetic, reimbursed me for the broken Garmin mount, sent the driver on a retraining course and made a note of the incident on his record. They hand delivered the cash for the Garmin mount to my house, and as they were a company that supplies corner shops with confectionery they also gave me a bag full of goodies.

Have to say I was very pleased with the response of the company, but totally dismayed by the response from West Midlands Police, although this has been typical of my experience with them where motorised vehicle/cycle collisions are concerned. They're incredibly reluctant to even record them, never mind do anything about them.

tailwindhome

I think it speaks volumes about that incident that we have got to page 3 without someone blaming you.

Really is a bad one.

You're a lucky hedgehog/anteater/aardvark/whatever you are.

kieranb

I also had a narrow escape with a lorry (one of those big lorries that carry waste from building sites) doing a u-turn on Kennington Road as I approached the junction with Lambeth Road. The driver didn't indicate or see even see me and swung out just as I was nearing him. We exchanged a few words but that was it. I think my 15 years experience commuting in London saved me.

walkingbootweather

TailWindHome wrote:

You're a lucky hedgehog/anteater/aardvark/whatever you are.

Hero in half shell - or was that something else?

Anyway glad to hear you're not road kill Pangolin.

mudcow007

walkingbootweather wrote:

Hero in half shell - or was that something else?

Anyway glad to hear you're not road kill Pangolin.

kudos for the turtles song - brings back fond memories

jedster

To pull that stunt in car would have been awful. In an HGV? No person who would even consider doing that should have a job driving an HGV.

Do contact the company too. Even if the police don't prosecute there is a decent chance they will sack him on the spot.

And BTW sounds like your wits and bike handling saved your life. Nicely done

pangolin

spasypaddy wrote:

pangolin wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

can i just comment on the quality of the paint drawings!

glad you're ok mate, i want to see more paint drawings!

Cheers Confusing stories with no visual aids are always annoying so I figured I'd take the time to make it a bit more interesting and understandable. Any requests?

a scale representation of you bollocking him in a third person perspective

This is basically a photo of what happened so I will probably take it to the police when I go.

memsley89

^^^ that sir, is genius! ^^^

pangolin wrote:

You've convinced me guys don't worry - I am off to the station at lunch.

Is it lunchtime yet?

pangolin

Yep have been. Given form to fill in and already told that without a licence plate they aren't likely to do much, and it's pretty likely the cameras aren't even on. Give it a go though was her advice, so I will.