Drafted a lorry for the 1st time

mm1

Used to draft buses along Hounslow, Brentford and Chiswick High streets (and sometimes Hammersmith King Street) in the 1970s, especially if there were girls I knew on the bus. Do teenagers ride to school across West London anymore?

Glad someone got in a Dave Stoller (Breaking Away) reference, saw that when it first came out with my kid sister at the Kensington Odeon - spontaneous standing ovation from the audience at the end of the film, an english audience showing an emotional response to cycling 40 years too soon as it turned out.

Iamnot Wiggins

mm1 wrote:

Used to draft buses along Hounslow, Brentford and Chiswick High streets (and sometimes Hammersmith King Street) in the 1970s, especially if there were girls I knew on the bus. Do teenagers ride to school across West London anymore?

Rolf Harris, is that you?

mm1

My word you are sick. All I was saying was that 40 years ago I used to cycle across west London to get to school and that I wonder if anyone still does that? I suspect that modern traffic levels mean that very few children cycle any distance to school anymore.

veronese68

I was drafting a Ferrari in the winter, my cousin was returning it after a road test, the heat from the exhaust kept me warm and toasty.

homers_double

mm1 wrote:

My word you are sick.

It's the internet, expect nothing less!

Iamnot Wiggins

mm1 wrote:

My word you are sick. All I was saying was that 40 years ago I used to cycle across west London to get to school and that I wonder if anyone still does that? I suspect that modern traffic levels mean that very few children cycle any distance to school anymore.

You lead quite a sheltered life, don't you!

DavidJB

Iamnot Wiggins wrote:

mm1 wrote:

My word you are sick. All I was saying was that 40 years ago I used to cycle across west London to get to school and that I wonder if anyone still does that? I suspect that modern traffic levels mean that very few children cycle any distance to school anymore.

You lead quite a sheltered life, don't you!

lmao...SUCH A SICKO!

chris_bass

Mikey23 wrote:

Oh what a shame, everything comes to an end and you got me banged to rights guv ... And I was making such a lot of money out of insurance scams too

you should know comments in jest are the same as actually doing what you were eluding to! There isn't a jury in the land which wouldn't convict you, and rightly so if you ask me!

rollemynot

Kapawee

100 posts

Anonymous

New page!

rollemynot

Wow nearly 4000 views

Joeblack

I do this all the time, there's nothing quite like being shot at (and hit) to put a perspective on what you see as 'dangerous'

Daz555

domgears wrote:

this is crazy and I would never do it myself nor condone it, however you have to give respect where its due.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCwpxz3ZfFQ

These guys took it to a new level!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7_Fq56g2c

Insanity.

StillGoing

Mikey23 wrote:

@markos1963 .. Erm, because it seems entirely in the context of these tiresome trolling type threads when someone starts off with something controversial like I don't wear helmet, I run red lights, I wear earphones and its ok whee, and everyone piles in with idiot for or against posts and it develops into a flame war and everyone gets pissed off and the thread dies...

When a vehicle follows me too close I would touch my brakes as a warning and the other person would back off.. Failing that I would stop and wait. It's called safe and responsible motoring. Of course the prob with a drafter is that they would be in my blind spot and I wouldn't know they are there. I drive big disabled vans full of vulnerable peeps so I know how difficult rear vision can be. So if a crazy cyclist was in my blind spot and I braked and I was responsible for his death then it would live with me for the rest of my life.

I can't imagine that anyone would be imbecile enough to actually do this though so I assume the thread is a troll therefore my comment was wholly appropriate ...

Err no it isn't. If the car behind you brakes suddenly as a result of you hitting your brakes and careers off the road, you have caused a collision. Tailgaters may annoy you, but the way to deal with them is to either pull over and let them by, or stick rigidly to the speed limit or 5mph below it to wind them up even more. Do not tap your brake pedal to make them think you're braking. It can cause a collision, but more importantly you've told them they're annoying you and you've just made it personal.

rolf_f

philthy3 wrote:

Err no it isn't. If the car behind you brakes suddenly as a result of you hitting your brakes and careers off the road, you have caused a collision. Tailgaters may annoy you, but the way to deal with them is to either pull over and let them by, or stick rigidly to the speed limit or 5mph below it to wind them up even more. Do not tap your brake pedal to make them think you're braking. It can cause a collision, but more importantly you've told them they're annoying you and you've just made it personal.

I don't see how you touching your brakes can cause a collision. I can see how an incompetent driver can react inappropriately to you touching your brakes and cause a collision but that's them causing a collision - not you. If you can't apply a gentle touch of brakes for whatever reason without being liable for the actions of the idiot behind you then I must have misunderstood the rules of the road for a long time......

Crikey - I'd say that I'd be happy if anyone behind me careers off the road due to a light touch of my brakes provided that they do it without them hurting themselves or anyone else. If they are that terrible a driver they are better off stuck in a ditch for both their own safety and the safety of everyone around them.

Mikey23

Gosh, I think I wrote that when I was a teenager. Now I'm a doddery old pensioner and I don't drive big vans with disabled peeps in them anymore...

StillGoing

Rolf F wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

Err no it isn't. If the car behind you brakes suddenly as a result of you hitting your brakes and careers off the road, you have caused a collision. Tailgaters may annoy you, but the way to deal with them is to either pull over and let them by, or stick rigidly to the speed limit or 5mph below it to wind them up even more. Do not tap your brake pedal to make them think you're braking. It can cause a collision, but more importantly you've told them they're annoying you and you've just made it personal.

I don't see how you touching your brakes can cause a collision. I can see how an incompetent driver can react inappropriately to you touching your brakes and cause a collision but that's them causing a collision - not you. If you can't apply a gentle touch of brakes for whatever reason without being liable for the actions of the idiot behind you then I must have misunderstood the rules of the road for a long time......

Crikey - I'd say that I'd be happy if anyone behind me careers off the road due to a light touch of my brakes provided that they do it without them hurting themselves or anyone else. If they are that terrible a driver they are better off stuck in a ditch for both their own safety and the safety of everyone around them.

Of course you're responsible. But for your actions, the car behind would not have touched their brakes resulting in the loss of control and resulting impact. Yes, they are a moron for tailgating, but you're options to deal with it do not include fooling them that you are braking. It's referred to as brake testing and drivers have been prosecuted for dangerous driving when doing it to the driver behind them when observed by police. It is the same as waiting at a junction to pull onto the main road with a 30mph speed limit. In the distance you see a car approaching far off clearly exceeding the speed limit by a lot. You pull out because in your head if they were doing the speed limit, they wouldn't have to slow down to avoid running into the back of you. You pull out, (knowing they will have to brake but not emergency brake) they brake, lose control and crash. Your fault because but for your actions the collision would never have occurred. Stated case by the way.

Colinthecop

I call bullshit with the last bit...

Dealt with a fatal where a motorbike approaching a side road, doing a minimun of 120mph (according to the investigator) had nowhere to go except into the side of the 110 Land Rover that just pulled into its path...

I now shudder when I hear the phrase 'bent over backwards' - but that's a story for another day.

It was decided the LR driver was not to blame as a reasonable driver - on seeing the motorbike way down the road could not have estimated its speed to be twice the speed limit and realised it would be at the junction so soon.

The widow (or the ambulance chasing law firm she employed) took it all the way to the High Court and still lost...

veronese68

Dealing with the brake testing bit. Brake testing is braking hard to test the brakes of the person behind you, not brushing the pedal so the lights come on but the brakes are not applied. Please find an example of where somebody was prosecuted for a flash of brake lights. I won't go looking as that would be a waste of time.
I was once riding a motorbike through Richmond Park, caught up to the traffic ahead, a guy on a scooter was at the back of the line, too close to the car in front. The car in front dabbed it's brakes approaching a corner on a narrow and slippery bit of road. Perfectly normal behaviour. The guy on the scooter grabbed a fistful of brake in a panic because he was too close. That is completely the scooterists fault, not anybody else's. If you are so close that the sight of a brake light causes panic braking you only have yourself to blame.

pinno

'Scooterist'...hmmm

pinno

Daz555 wrote:

domgears wrote:

this is crazy and I would never do it myself nor condone it, however you have to give respect where its due.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7_Fq56g2c

Insanity.

Either pure confidence or insanity. Never mind the lack of helmet - no gloves. Imagine skidding on your hands at that speed.

StillGoing

Veronese68 wrote:

Dealing with the brake testing bit. Brake testing is braking hard to test the brakes of the person behind you, not brushing the pedal so the lights come on but the brakes are not applied. Please find an example of where somebody was prosecuted for a flash of brake lights. I won't go looking as that would be a waste of time.
I was once riding a motorbike through Richmond Park, caught up to the traffic ahead, a guy on a scooter was at the back of the line, too close to the car in front. The car in front dabbed it's brakes approaching a corner on a narrow and slippery bit of road. Perfectly normal behaviour. The guy on the scooter grabbed a fistful of brake in a panic because he was too close. That is completely the scooterists fault, not anybody else's. If you are so close that the sight of a brake light causes panic braking you only have yourself to blame.

Brake testing is not hard braking making someone brake. By unnecessarily using the brake light to force someone to brake, you make yourself liable to be prosecuted. Yes the idiot travelling too close is also committing offences, but so do you by flashing the brake light. Both offences fall within careless or inconsiderate driving.

A person drives carelessly or inconsiderately when the way they drive falls below the minimum acceptable standard expected of a competent and careful driver.

Some examples of careless driving are:

overtaking on the inside;
driving too close to another vehicle;
driving through a red light by mistake;
turning into the path of another vehicle;
the driver being avoidably distracted by tuning the radio, lighting a cigarette etc.
Examples of inconsiderate driving include:

flashing lights to force other drivers to give way;
misusing lanes to gain advantage over other drivers;
unnecessarily staying in an overtaking lane;
unnecessarily slow driving or braking;
dazzling other drivers with un-dipped headlights.

Colinthecop wrote:

I call bullshit with the last bit...

Dealt with a fatal where a motorbike approaching a side road, doing a minimun of 120mph (according to the investigator) had nowhere to go except into the side of the 110 Land Rover that just pulled into its path...

I now shudder when I hear the phrase 'bent over backwards' - but that's a story for another day.

It was decided the LR driver was not to blame as a reasonable driver - on seeing the motorbike way down the road could not have estimated its speed to be twice the speed limit and realised it would be at the junction so soon.

The widow (or the ambulance chasing law firm she employed) took it all the way to the High Court and still lost...

That last bit is a stated case and once formed part of the Sergeant's examination in relation to road traffic law.

rollemynot

Just drafted a gritter..........

Left a bitter taste - (edit) salty

Matthewfalle

Do it all the time down the local dual carriageway - no dramas at all.

Some small rules though:

1. Only do it on roads you know aren't full of potholes, driveways, etc
2. Decent weather conditions, decent road conditions - ie not rush hour traffic
3. Don't just watch for brake lights - listen to engine noise. The lorry driver will ease off the throttle before braking.
4. Make sure the dude knows you're there - most lorry drivers are game for a laugh so they don't mind you doing it.
5. Big thumbs up and cheery smile to the driver dude at the end.
6. Don't get dead disease.
7. Don't come running on here if it all goes wrong.

john1967

Drafting lorrys.....just another reason why other road users hate us.We want respect but unfortunately behaving like children aint gonna cut it.

Matthewfalle

john1967 wrote:

Drafting lorrys.....just another reason why other road users hate us.We want respect but unfortunately behaving like children aint gonna cut it.

Agree that it probably won't garner any respect from Random John but it's fun, makes you smile and laugh and, if you see the things I see most days, then what you'll soon start to realise is that this world needs more fun,smiling and laughter.

Let the drafting begin.

john1967

yeh ive a got a cyclist under my trailer HA HA HA HA that's so f++cking funny.

badgermilk

I cycle to have fun. Drafting a car for 30 seconds or so no and again adds to the fun so I do it.
Its all about assessing the risk, on certain section of road like the start of a dual carriage way I assess it as no more risky than general riding.

I've hit close to 40mph on a flat section and its fun

pinno

john1967 wrote:

yeh ive a got a cyclist under my trailer HA HA HA HA that's so f++cking funny.

No idea how that is going to happen. On a bike, you can decelerate far quicker than a truck. If you fall off, your concern would be a vehicle behind you running you over 'cos the truck is gone. A truck you are following can't run you over - it is ahead of you.

We used to wait on the ferry traffic. There was a junction where they had to slow right down or stop and then accelerate to 30mph within the speed limit and then they would accelerate after the end of the 30mph restriction. So it was a two tier job where the initial acceleration was relatively easy and then the tougher bit. The guys who got the street cred were the one's who could keep up with them up this long steady hill after that. Think I only managed it twice. Eye balls out and full tilt for 3/4 of a mile.
Suffice to say, the police put a stop to it. No one was ever hurt and when you are flying along, you're greatest concern is a mechanical or the vehicle behind you.
Trattors are my new quarry. Those feckers do 35mph+ these days and can slow down pdq.

Matthewfalle

pinarello001 wrote:

john1967 wrote:

yeh ive a got a cyclist under my trailer HA HA HA HA that's so f++cking funny.

No idea how that is going to happen. On a bike, you can decelerate far quicker than a truck. If you fall off, your concern would be a vehicle behind you running you over 'cos the truck is gone. A truck you are following can't run you over - it is ahead of you.

We used to wait on the ferry traffic. There was a junction where they had to slow right down or stop and then accelerate to 30mph within the speed limit and then they would accelerate after the end of the 30mph restriction. So it was a two tier job where the initial acceleration was relatively easy and then the tougher bit. The guys who got the street cred were the one's who could keep up with them up this long steady hill after that. Think I only managed it twice. Eye balls out and full tilt for 3/4 of a mile.
Suffice to say, the police put a stop to it. No one was ever hurt and when you are flying along, you're greatest concern is a mechanical or the vehicle behind you.
Trattors are my new quarry. Those feckers do 35mph+ these days and can slow down pdq.

I use scooters as a guide to how fit I am - if you can chase one down and overtake it while looking like you're not trying then you know you're on it.

Also did a few weeks of this with buses but that got a bit sketchy, even by my standards so knocked that one on the head.

Re trailer comment - nah - I'm with Piña on this one. Especially if you know how to ride.