Very minor ding yesterday - but odd circumstances

PBo

Approaching some lights on green to go straight over a junction, 2 cars turn right across my path. No probs, they had the time. 3rd car also indicating right, and I can just tell he's going to follow them. Slam on anchors. Stare at the rear of disappearing car in disbelief, as I provide some free Anglo-Saxon language lessons, driver oblivious. I'm stranded in middle of the road now. Push down on pedal to start moving again.........


.......and the next car also turns right and hits my front wheel!!!!!

You can't make this stuff up!

It was light, I have a red jacket, white bike, so no visibility issues. I was already in the middle of the road!

To be fair, it was low impact, I wasn't even knocked off. Driver very upset, had been distracted by car behind her driving aggressively too close to try and beat lights. But took responsibility.

Looking back I was also annoyed with myself, as when I started to push off I was still looking at the departing car, shaking my head, instead of the direction I was going.....

meanredspider

Glad you weren't hurt. Seems like both you and the car that hit your bike were distracted by the bad driving of others.

Whilst on the "run down" to my job being made redundant and starting in Amsterdam, I've been driving more during the middle of the day and I'm stunned by the poor driving I observe. I suppose it's a mix of "professional" drivers (people who drive for work - including White Van Man) and (being ageist) older people. I hate it.

rubertoe

Oh, I am so looking forward to passing my driving test. Not.

EKE_38BPM

Glad you're OK.
It seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other here. You should look in the direction you're going, the driver shouldn't be intimidated by others and should look where they're going. But, as usual, the cyclist is more vunerable.

veronese68

I had something vaguely similar a while back. I couldn't cross a mini roundabout as I had to stop and wait for the back end of a coach turning right to clear the roundabout. Once it had gone I carried on across the roundabout, at which point I realised the car behind the coach had started to move, although I was already on the roundabout and on his right. I tried to accelerate clear, but he hit my back wheel. He didn't stop as he didn't know he'd hit me. I caught him almost immediately and had a right go at him.
With hindsight I think when I started moving I may have been in the blindspot caused by the windscreen pillar, although I have no idea how he didn't see me passing right in front of his bonnet.
I was also wearing red, riding a very bright green bike and it was broad daylight. I now have an Exposure light on flash mode in broad daylight as I've been hit twice in perfect visibility.
Glad it was only a minor knock.

meanredspider

I had a bizarre one this morning: crossing the Tore roundabout at a good-ish pace (20mph or so), a lady pulled onto the roundabout in front of me, obviously then spotted me and slowed, then seemed to change her mind again and accelerated again. By this time, I was level with her door (trying to exit the roundabout) - I'm afraid she got the benefit of some very "blunt" language. The shot of adrenaline is always useful

unixnerd

With hindsight I think when I started moving I may have been in the blindspot caused by the windscreen pillar

These have gotten much larger over the years, partly due to stronger passenger cells in cars and the need to house an airbag in the A pillar. I've very aware of the blind spots in my current car and a bit paranoid at junctions as a result. I find the biggest problem is reversing as the blind spots to the rear are huge.

rolf_f

unixnerd wrote:

With hindsight I think when I started moving I may have been in the blindspot caused by the windscreen pillar

These have gotten much larger over the years, partly due to stronger passenger cells in cars and the need to house an airbag in the A pillar. I've very aware of the blind spots in my current car and a bit paranoid at junctions as a result. I find the biggest problem is reversing as the blind spots to the rear are huge.

This is true. And important as the airbags are needed for all those extra collisions caused by all those blindspots. Still what are a few extra collisions when we are all so much safer*.....

* well, not me as my car is devoid of any airbags!

PBo

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Glad you're OK.
It seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other here. You should look in the direction you're going, the driver shouldn't be intimidated by others and should look where they're going. But, as usual, the cyclist is more vunerable.

Genuinely curious as to if you think it was 50 / 50? Fundamentally, irrespective of the fact that I was distracted, I was already in the middle of the road, with right of way, and the other car turned across my path.

EKE_38BPM

PBo wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Glad you're OK.
It seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other here. You should look in the direction you're going, the driver shouldn't be intimidated by others and should look where they're going. But, as usual, the cyclist is more vunerable.

Genuinely curious as to if you think it was 50 / 50? Fundamentally, irrespective of the fact that I was distracted, I was already in the middle of the road, with right of way, and the other car turned across my path.

No, I don't. That post is badly worded on my part.

The driver should have looked before turning and it was wrong of them to turn into oncoming traffic, so they take the VAST majority of the blame for the collision, but in an ideal world you wouldn't have been moving whilst looking at the previous car.

I'm not saying it was your fault, but, with hindsight, you know that you could have done things differently to avoid the collision.
Re-reading it, I don't know why I wrote "6 of one..." Because it clearly isn't.

Enough backpedalling?

PBo

ha, ha. nicely reversed!

I was genuinely interested if - via your cycle training role - you knew of some obscure fact e.g. right turners have equal right of way - that did make it 50/50, as I definitely admit that I started going forward again without looking...

EKE_38BPM

No obscure rules. In a nut-shell, when crossing the path of traffic, the traffic has the right of way.

But we all know this.