Rounded on by pedestrians!!!!!!

[betty swollocks]

Sweeping into town yesterday on my fixie, I decided to take a mini roundabout at speed, only to have to stop on a sixpence because a driving school car entered said roundabout from my left directly in front of me. Whether the driver simply didn't look or thought she would chance it, I was unable to discern. Anyway, I toyed briefly with the notion of keeping going and sweeping round its nose, but was prevented by doing so by other traffic.......hence my emergency stop.
Thirty yards ahead was a ahead zebra crossing, where the driver stalled, enabling me to catch her up and come alongside on her outside and yell through her open window, "I bet you'd fail if you did that on your test!"
I was of course referring to her nearly taking me out moments earlier, but overhearing bystanders and pedestrians were not to know this. Comments like

"You rude man!"
"How could you be so cruel!"
"You miserable ****er!"

were hurled at me.
Trying to explain to them about what had happened earlier would have been useless, so I made a rapid exit once the crossing was clear.
Thinking about it later: she may actually have been on her test, which may be why the 'instructor' did not intervene at the roundabout.
If she was, I wonder if she did fail?

 

[asterix]

Thinking about it later: she may actually have been on her test, which may be why the 'instructor' did not intervene at the roundabout.
If she was, I wonder if she did fail?

Fail, for sure.. Nerves would be no excuse, IMO.

Nevertheless, seeing a learner on the road must have alerted you to the possibility that something was likely to go pear-shaped?

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Clocktower RA per chance?! Nearly been taken out there myself in the past.

 

[betty swollocks]

Clocktower RA per chance?! Nearly been taken out there myself in the past.

Not quite: the mini rab before you get to the Clocktower

 

[betty swollocks]

Nevertheless, seeing a learner on the road must have alerted you to the possibility that something was likely to go pear-shaped?

Indeed: which is why I was able to stop in time. had brake covered!

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Ah, that section of road down past the Chequers needs re-surfacing too.

 

[PaulB]

The general public will always back the person they perceive to be the underdog in any given situation. A female learner driver is probably not the ideal person to pick on at any time. I'd have put it down to experience and moved on.

 

[John the Monkey]

Gosh, when will you cyclists learn? The correct response to nearly being killed is to doff your cap and offer a suitably deferent apology for being on the road paid for by the driver's taxes.

Think yourself lucky the mob didn't pursue you with flaming torches and pitchforks aloft!

 

[betty swollocks]

A learner driver probably wasn't the best person to vent your spleen on.

Agreed. But if you do not apprise them of what very nearly happened, how will they know better next time?
It also occurred to me that it might be an instructor driving. After all, they gunned the throttle and took off into the rab really quite fast.
In such a short period, so many thoughts and considerations go through your mind, don't they?

 

[col]

Some just cant help themselves, a learner driver makes a mistake and you swoop , wow what a great help to all.

 

[betty swollocks]

Think yourself lucky the mob didn't pursue you with flaming torches and pitchforks aloft!

I'd have breathed on them a la Shrek!

 

[PaulB]

Agreed. But if you do not apprise them of what very nearly happened, how will they know better next time?

You're probably better off leaving that to the instructor mate. Non-players off the green and all that.

 

[Paulus]

I was just going to say the same thing, The instructor/examiner should of warned the pupil that you were there and stopped her from driving onto the roundabout.

 

[John the Monkey]

I tend to agree. A learner driver probably wasn't the best person to vent your spleen on. But then again, I wasn't there, so what do I know?

I'd say that overwraught people in control of 1/2 ton lumps of metal are bad folk to vent at, full stop. However, nearly being spread across the tarmac because of someone else's inattention can test the patience of the most placid to breaking point.

 

[col]

Of course its nothing to do with wanting to hit a roundabout with traffic on at speed is it?