How do you deal with people overtaking too close

johntheboy84

I've not got to the end of this thread yet, I only started road riding this year but a few things have dawned on me:

1. Until I started riding I got a shock as to how much room you really should leave and I've probably got too close or impatient myself in the past. If a driver's never ridden on the road they won't know this.

2. HGV and bus drivers need to be guided more thoroughly when sitting advanced driving/HGV training. It's not always the gap but the wind and noise can really catch you out. Inner cities are probably worse but I'd say a good 20% of the busses I encounter get too close.

3. We live in England, it's full of morons, each time I go out (and not just on the bike) I pray I meet the less moronic ones.

At the same time I think cyclists can sometimes wind other road users up. I tend to keep a bit further from the curb to avoid gravel and drains but some riders I've seen when in the car do like to be in the middle of the lane. Also the two abreast.... Not an issue on a quiet lane with no cars but I've seen people with a couple of cars behind them still two abreast chatting away, cars unable to pass safely. For me that's inconsiderate, putting themselves at danger and giving cyclist a bad reputation.

Grumble done, I'm off for a brew.

diamonddog

MUTTER TW*T
AND
CARRY ON

is what I usually do when overtaken too closely.

secretsam

I think it's a lot better now than it used to be. You still get the odd moron, but losing your rag won't make them any less of a moron.

redbikejohn

I've not commuted for weeks due to crappy weather but jumped back on the bike today. On the A40 between beconsfield and gerards cross a bin lorry passed soooo close it scared the crap out of me no need for that.

Bo Duke

I've been knocked off twice by trucks, one of which nearly killed me. Personally I spend as much time looking for idiots as I do on anything else. You can guarantee there's someone out there on his phone, eating, laughing at the radio instead of concentrating.

As the doctor said to me, 'You're the softest thing on the road, the car driver will be ok, the lamp post will be ok, you're going to suffer most of everyone'. Think about it guys. Please.

redbikejohn

another day another close one. removal lorry came so close i could have touched it. the road narrowed down and he just wasn't going to wait for me so pushed though in a gap i thought was too small
Then a car overtook me and turned left cutting me off

Bozman

A lot if cyclists seem to get a little too wound up about cars and lorries coming too close, if they don't clip me or force me to take major evasive action I just get on with it, I don't let them get in to my head.
A lot of my routes are around the Alton Towers area so during the summer months I'm bombarded with little to55ers shouting abuse out of Saxos and 4x4s trying to force me in to a hedge bottom, sod em, I'm out to enjoy my ride and they're going to have to do a lot more than that to ruin it. Plus, there are days when you catch them up and they're stuck bumper to bumper miles from AT, its a hot day the windows are down the the kids are restless, you slow down and give them a nod as you pass by, abuse usually follows so you turn your head and smile.

johntheboy84

Had a good chuckle today while I was out. There's a main road near me I ride along, 40mph with traffic islands every so often so people can cross. Quite often people don't want to slow slightly until I get through the islands so they can overtake a little safer.

Today someone really didn't want to wait, went through (didn't get too close to me) but because he didn't want to wait, he belted the curb and blew out his front tyre.... And from the sound it made May have snapped a wish bone as well.

Oh how I laughed when I rode past.

redbikejohn

LOL

StillGoing

I was out in the wind and rain yesterday on the return leg of my ride. It was so cold I'd lost the feeling in the left hand and couldn't change gear on the front so was stuck in the small ring. Entering a village about 10 miles from home there's on coming traffic and the numpty behind decides to overtake me. OK fair enough I thought, I'm stood a decent distance out from the kerb so he will be close and I have an escape route. What I didn't bargain for was he was towing a caravan and immediately starts to pull to the left as his car has passed me with the caravan forcing me up to the kerbs edge. A couple of seconds more and the bike and possibly me would have been under the caravan. Despite the shouts with various expletives, he didn't stop and because I was stuck in the small ring, I couldn't create enough speed to catch him. The ladies front bottom!

FionaBiker

Some really interesting posts here! I've not had any near misses yet but I guess its only a matter of time

redbikejohn

Two more on the way home tonight in the rain ! In a roundabout car in the wrong lane shoots out in front of me to go the wrong way for that lane. Bike locked up, rear end at 90 deg, got right foot down to control it and with a bit more front got it stopped in time. Luckily i race enduro bikes so being all crossed up doesn't freak me out too much and can still make critical decisions ...
Next I was almost home and there was a bus parked on the opposite side of the road - cars decided not to recognize my right of way to MY side of the road. Pushed to curb.

Kieran_Burns

I wasn't sure if I'd got involved in this convo, so...

http://youtu.be/WtQC0M05Cv8
email sent to company, driver disciplined. (helped that the manager cycles the same route!)

http://youtu.be/HRBQq1jQlNU
guy actually hit me. He stopped, we chatted - all smiles

http://youtu.be/Fer0Gkdkyfc
vid sent to Police. Driver spoken to. ALWAYS gives me plenty of room now.

http://youtu.be/_dA0ufC9gqc
email sent to company with link to vid (it's private) satisfactory answer back

This is the scary one:
http://youtu.be/V9a_D-B6hFw
Long conversation with Transport manager (who was VERY apologetic) driver was disciplined.

The moral is: the camera helps... but I got it so I could film daft / good stuff - look at the rest of the vids....

VmanF3

I don't get wound up by other road users, I'm sure there are things I have done on various forms of transport that has upset someone somewhere down the line.

I do have a different outlook though based on my sailing days - on the water you never have a 'right of way'; you are what's known as the stand on vessel, the opposite being give way vessel. Generally speaking, the stand on vessel should continue until it becomes apparent that the give way isn't going to (give way). It's both parties duty to avoid a collision. On the roads I hear too many stating they have right of way, when in fact a little common sense could alleviate a situation.

No point being right and injured or worse!

Bozman

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I wasn't sure if I'd got involved in this convo, so...

http://youtu.be/WtQC0M05Cv8
email sent to company, driver disciplined. (helped that the manager cycles the same route!)

http://youtu.be/HRBQq1jQlNU
guy actually hit me. He stopped, we chatted - all smiles

http://youtu.be/Fer0Gkdkyfc
vid sent to Police. Driver spoken to. ALWAYS gives me plenty of room now.

http://youtu.be/_dA0ufC9gqc
email sent to company with link to vid (it's private) satisfactory answer back

This is the scary one:
http://youtu.be/V9a_D-B6hFw
Long conversation with Transport manager (who was VERY apologetic) driver was disciplined.

The moral is: the camera helps... but I got it so I could film daft / good stuff - look at the rest of the vids....

Just looks like your average 60 mile ride to me, nothing to write home about.

Pituophis

Close call with a difference........

I pulled up at traffic lights just as they turned red, and a car pulled up at the side of me, giving me plenty of room.
Out of the passenger window, a very large French mastiff thingie has it's head out and is looking at me, but not making any noise or looking anything other than curious.
Now, I've had a lifelong fear of dogs but its calm demeanor has me fairly relaxed.
A couple of pedestrians crossed the road, and me and the dog watched them amble across as I casually cleaned my glasses.
I put the glasses back on and the dog launched its self out of the window, luckily getting its legs in a tangle in its rush to grab me. On its second lunge its owner had hold of it somewhere firm enough to halt it again.
I think I squeaked our lords name in vain, as I leapt sideways off the bike to cower behind it! :roll:
I heard the owner shout "Shaddappp!" but I don't know if he meant me or the dog. We both complied. :oops:

Now, I'm not sure how I could guard against that type of road rage incident happening again in the future, other than wearing something other than cheapo safety glasses, but one thing is for certain; I would really, really have liked to have been in the car behind, watching my performance! :roll:

redbikejohn

tangled_metal

VmanF3 wrote:

No point being right and injured or worse!

A few weeks after passing my driving test at 17, first time round, I started advanced driving lessons. One of the first classroom sessions I got told a rhyme that went on about a guy, possibly Fred, and it went something like Fred having right of way until he was dead. Can't remember the rhyme but the idea stuck. Don't assume right of way will keep you safe. Ride or drive so you can account for bad or dangerous driving from others.

BTW I was in north Wales this summer and the sticker part of a carpark ticket had a safety message from the police. It was that cycling safety sign with a car 1.5m from a bike. Never realized they used it here. I heard over on the continent they used this sign/symbol to promote safe driving around cyclists. It's good our police understand the importance of giving cyclists a safe distance and also promotes the 1.5m space good practice for drivers.

redbikejohn

Ref the right of way comments - being a keen motorcyclist for 34 years and has made me very aware of traffic and drivers potential actions. Which is why I've not been posting about actual contact with cars. I anticipated their moves and had my hands covering the brakes etc but anticipation only works so far, at some point you have to keep going, or else you have to stop dead at each turning and wave the car out! The guy yesterday at the roundabout broke all the rules ref lane control and undertook the person waiting for me then cross the lanes to go the wrong way for his lane. Its only due to the fact that its happened to me several times of my motorcycle that I was ready for it - well only just!

macleod113

generally i just get on with it but when someone is soo wreckless i do tend to vent.

this morning i was taking a corner past Notts County football ground and a Fiesta was so close to me i was centimetres from being knocked off. it was actually on the bend of a road and i was never hugging the kerb but the driver just kept coming expecting me to get out of his way. i may have slightly cursed and questioned his parentage and slowed and took the primary until i calmed down. in looking back a few times he didnt even try to apologise he just kept going.
its just a shame there is arrogance and ignorance around.

slowbike

VmanF3 wrote:

I do have a different outlook though based on my sailing days - on the water you never have a 'right of way'; you are what's known as the stand on vessel, the opposite being give way vessel. Generally speaking, the stand on vessel should continue until it becomes apparent that the give way isn't going to (give way). It's both parties duty to avoid a collision.

That's fine - to a point - you generally can't do anything about a close pass until it's too late and whilst it works quite well with vessels of the same speed it doesn't work so well when you've got significant disparity in it - the faster vessel has longer to avoid close quarters than the slower one.

VmanF3 wrote:

On the roads I hear too many stating they have right of way, when in fact a little common sense could alleviate a situation.

No point being right and injured or worse!

I agree - assume there is no "right of way" ... only Priority and perhaps we'll start getting somewhere ... 1/2 the problem is that many drivers assume they do have right of way

patrickf

It's that time of the year chaps so be careful out there.

I had two today. 30cm from a bus passing me this morning in Notts. On the way home as I stop at a set of lights a dear drove her Merc into my leg. Luckily it was more of a tap so no damage, but she didn't have a clue she'd hit me!

I need a good helmet cam that actually works in the dark. My current cam is pretty useless at this time of the year. Any recommendations?

markhewitt1978

cougie wrote:

Clearly the bus was too close - but I wonder if the driver realises this or does he just think - that cyclist punched my bus ? Bloody cyclists ?

There was a case a while back in Kent where a cyclist had been closely passed by a bus and he slapped the side of it. He complained to the bus company about the poor driving, and in turn the bus company tried to claim he'd 'damaged' the bus and made it clear if he tried to persue it further they counter claim against him.

siboyslim

patrickf wrote:

It's that time of the year chaps so be careful out there.

I had two today. 30cm from a bus passing me this morning in Notts. On the way home as I stop at a set of lights a dear drove her Merc into my leg. Luckily it was more of a tap so no damage, but she didn't have a clue she'd hit me!

I need a good helmet cam that actually works in the dark. My current cam is pretty useless at this time of the year. Any recommendations?

I can recommend the Mobius for night duties mine is perfect.

Get one from Joovuu.com https://joovuu.com/gb/home/227-mobius-waterproof-case.html

Coupled with a waterproof case it's hard to beat.

Si

Manc33

The other night a woman flashed a taxi to pull out, it didn't seem to matter that I was doing 25 MPH about 50 feet away. Luckily the taxi driver knew better and looked, he saw me and waited. As I went past I gave the woman the dirtiest look I could.

Never take someone else's word for it that you can pull out on a road, ever!

patrickf

siboyslim wrote:

patrickf wrote:

It's that time of the year chaps so be careful out there.

I had two today. 30cm from a bus passing me this morning in Notts. On the way home as I stop at a set of lights a dear drove her Merc into my leg. Luckily it was more of a tap so no damage, but she didn't have a clue she'd hit me!

I need a good helmet cam that actually works in the dark. My current cam is pretty useless at this time of the year. Any recommendations?

I can recommend the Mobius for night duties mine is perfect.

Get one from Joovuu.com https://joovuu.com/gb/home/227-mobius-waterproof-case.html

Coupled with a waterproof case it's hard to beat.

Si

Interesting, cheers. Not seen that one before.

surrey_commuter

How do you deal with people overtaking too close?

I found out the answer this morning and it is to politely point out the error of the miscreants ways. At which point I apologised we swapped pleasantries and went on our way with me being more observant of other people's personal space.

Schoie81

On my way home last night someone passed me on a fairly straight stretch of road with nothing coming the other way and it felt as though their wing mirrors almost brushed my elbows. Looked up to throw my best "what a prat (or words to that effect)" face and noticed holographic letters across the back of the car POLICE.... What hope is there of the average driver giving cyclists enough space if the people who are supposed to be on the roads to protects us don't do it??

Manc33

Schoie81 wrote:

On my way home last night someone passed me on a fairly straight stretch of road with nothing coming the other way and it felt as though their wing mirrors almost brushed my elbows. Looked up to throw my best "what a prat (or words to that effect)" face and noticed holographic letters across the back of the car POLICE.... What hope is there of the average driver giving cyclists enough space if the people who are supposed to be on the roads to protects us don't do it??

There's always a few bad apples. "Here's that guy on his bike again, let's scare him this time" he said to his colleague. Maybe he was late getting to the freemasons lodge, or maybe it was a genuine emergency - someone on the inside at McDonalds rang him when the donuts were starting to run low. For those that aren't sure if I am trolling/joking, I am.

iron-clover

I've taken to doing the 'give more room wave' once they've passed, and hope they see it in their rear viewer. Basically I swing my right arm out to point straight right a couple of times as if you're pushing something to one side.

It also brilliantly shows the minimum distance you need- i.e. if you can touch the other vehicle with outstretched arm then they are too close (1m is absolute minimum). Vehicles behind then also take note and don't try to squeeze past too and wait for that oncoming car to pass before overtaking safely.

It suits me better than the primary position for most of the riding I do on wider country link roads where most of the time cars can pass safely with oncoming traffic as well apart from the occasions where the road might narrow a touch or there are two large cars coming at one another- in the city I can keep pace with the traffic so I sit in the primary as the default anyway...