Got peeped at... but why?!
willspilsbury
Posts: 10
I'm posting this here despite a) being on a mountain bike and b) not actually commuting - because I was using normal roads to get 'back to base' after an epic bike ride today. So I figured people who deal with traffic all the time were the best to consult.
TODAY, I got pepped at by a woman driving a silver Nissan Micra as she passed me and I could see her waving her arms too. I can only assume it was because I had to swerve to my right by about 1ft to avoid a massive pothole right in front of me. But had this lady in the silver car passed me properly and given me the room she is supposed to give, even with swerving 1ft to my right I wouldn't have been anywhere near her.
As it happened, I only ended up getting close to her because she chose to pass me with about 0.8m spare, if that. I wish I had had a camera mounted to my helmet to record the whole incident but after forking out £500 for the bike this month, the camera has got to wait a few weeks.
Who was wrong here? Me for having to swerve to avoid a pothole or her for passing me far too close?
Thanks in advance
TODAY, I got pepped at by a woman driving a silver Nissan Micra as she passed me and I could see her waving her arms too. I can only assume it was because I had to swerve to my right by about 1ft to avoid a massive pothole right in front of me. But had this lady in the silver car passed me properly and given me the room she is supposed to give, even with swerving 1ft to my right I wouldn't have been anywhere near her.
As it happened, I only ended up getting close to her because she chose to pass me with about 0.8m spare, if that. I wish I had had a camera mounted to my helmet to record the whole incident but after forking out £500 for the bike this month, the camera has got to wait a few weeks.
Who was wrong here? Me for having to swerve to avoid a pothole or her for passing me far too close?
Thanks in advance
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Comments
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She was in the wrong but don't dwell on it. I had the same thing happen last week.0
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Stay a good 0.5 from the curb if you don't already. Gives you room to avoid obstacles, cars pulling out, doors opening, etc. and forces cars to overtake properly. If you get the chance, calmly say you were avoiding a pot hole. Apart of this, don't worry about it.0
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Drivers tend to pass you with as much room as you leave from the curb so ride a metre out and they'll give you an extra metre when they pass.I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0
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Initialised wrote:Drivers tend to pass you with as much room as you leave from the curb so ride a metre out and they'll give you an extra metre when they pass.
Can I temper this with "depending on the road size, traffic & conditions" ...
Whilst there are sections were I'll take the whole lane, if I were to ride a meter out from the white line (no curb) I would quickly have a queue of vehicles and quite likely with some irate drivers ... and fair enough too, cos for the most part - if I moved in a little bit there would be enough room for them to pass without endangering me or traffic coming the other way.
IMHO, road positioning isn't just numbers - it's common sense & reading the road/traffic.0 -
"peep peep" and arms waving always means "You are completely awesome, I wish I was exactly like you" 8)0
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Was she waving a piece of paper with her phone number written on it?
Ignore her. She misjudged it and blamed you for her error. It's normal; move on and forget about her.0 -
Did you do a shoulder check before swerving? Swerving a foot is quite substantial!willspilsbury wrote:I can only assume it was because I had to swerve to my right by about 1ft to avoid a massive pothole right in front of me.
Anyway, you were on a mountain bike should have bunny-hopped the pothole
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Can't you bunny hop a road bike? Best hit the trail centre and brush up the off-road skills, never know when they'll come in handy.iwearshorts wrote:
Did you do a shoulder check before swerving? Swerving a foot is quite substantial!willspilsbury wrote:I can only assume it was because I had to swerve to my right by about 1ft to avoid a massive pothole right in front of me.
Anyway, you were on a mountain bike should have bunny-hopped the potholeI used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
Loving the willful misinterpretation :rolleyes: Of course I mean you should rigidly stick to exactly one metre from the curb :exasperated-smiley: [/sarcasm in case you hadn't noticed it yet!]Slowbike wrote:Initialised wrote:Drivers tend to pass you with as much room as you leave from the curb so ride a metre out and they'll give you an extra metre when they pass.
Can I temper this with "depending on the road size, traffic & conditions" ...
Whilst there are sections were I'll take the whole lane, if I were to ride a meter out from the white line (no curb) I would quickly have a queue of vehicles and quite likely with some irate drivers ... and fair enough too, cos for the most part - if I moved in a little bit there would be enough room for them to pass without endangering me or traffic coming the other way.
IMHO, road positioning isn't just numbers - it's common sense & reading the road/traffic.
The 'one metre' is an example and I'd temper the 2x trend as tapering off between 1/3-1/2 the width of the lane.I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
Thanks everyone! I shall make sure I leave myself enough room from the kerb - and try my best to scan ahead for poor road surfaces.0
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I know - and you know .. but how many will read this 1 meter thing and stick to it come-what-may ... then next we'll be seeing a laser measuring device to tell you how far away from the curb you are ...Initialised wrote:
Loving the willful misinterpretation :rolleyes: Of course I mean you should rigidly stick to exactly one metre from the curb :exasperated-smiley: [/sarcasm in case you hadn't noticed it yet!]slowbike wrote:IMHO, road positioning isn't just numbers - it's common sense & reading the road/traffic.
The 'one metre' is an example and I'd temper the 2x trend as tapering off between 1/3-1/2 the width of the lane.
Some ppl lead, many follow - it's the followers you need to be careful of.0 -
willspilsbury wrote:Thanks everyone! I shall make sure I leave myself enough room from the kerb - and try my best to scan ahead for poor road surfaces.
Unless there is a pinch point, when I sit in the middle of the lane, I tend to position my bike where most vehicles would put their left wheel or maybe a bit to the right of this.
This tends to miss most of the crud at the side of the road, and reduce the need to swerve. I also try to keep out of the door zone.
Going where the left wheel would be also has the advantage that cars have to actively take action to avoid you, which does tend make them give more room.0 -
I can, am a mountain biker who commutes 8)Initialised wrote:
Can't you bunny hop a road bike? Best hit the trail centre and brush up the off-road skills, never know when they'll come in handy.iwearshorts wrote:
Did you do a shoulder check before swerving? Swerving a foot is quite substantial!willspilsbury wrote:I can only assume it was because I had to swerve to my right by about 1ft to avoid a massive pothole right in front of me.
Anyway, you were on a mountain bike should have bunny-hopped the pothole0 -
Get used to it if you're going to do more roadwork. It happens all the time.
Not saying it's right, it's just how it is.0 -
It used to really bug me but these days I can nearly get wiped out by a speeding MG ZR and remain calm only to get annoyed later when I spot that I'd have gotten a PR on that Strava Segment if I had been able to commit to that corner without some other nutter enjoying the back roads.jongooligan wrote:Get used to it if you're going to do more roadwork. It happens all the time.
Not saying it's right, it's just how it is.I used to just ride my bike to work but now I find myself going out looking for bigger and bigger hills.0 -
You get peeped at, you'll get used to it. And please don't get a camera and become one of those angry YouTube idiots that everyone now thinks represents the average cyclist.0
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Never swerve to the right unless you know what's behind you. I remember reading about someone who swerved to avoid glass and was killed by a truck.Smarter than the average bear.0
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antfly wrote:Never swerve to the right unless you know what's behind you. I remember reading about someone who swerved to avoid glass and was killed by a truck.
A foot's not much - and shouldn't be an issue unless someone's driving badly - but I'd also avoid any quick moves right without knowing what's behind. You might be in the right if you got hit, but that wouldn't be much comfort if you got hit!
Another advantage of riding a bit away from the kerb is that it gives you some space to the left if needed.0 -
notnot wrote:antfly wrote:Never swerve to the right unless you know what's behind you. I remember reading about someone who swerved to avoid glass and was killed by a truck.
A foot's not much - and shouldn't be an issue unless someone's driving badly - but I'd also avoid any quick moves right without knowing what's behind. You might be in the right if you got hit, but that wouldn't be much comfort if you got hit!
Another advantage of riding a bit away from the kerb is that it gives you some space to the left if needed.
This.
I often swerve left when being overtaken too close.0
