A bizarre incident on Saturday

[TwickenhamCyclist]

Sat waiting at traffic lights (on the upright, nopt the bent), car in front puts car into reverse and shunts back into me ( a deliberate reverse, slow and far enoguh distance for me to get mostly out of the way, and not to be just a wrong gear selection), I hop to the side so his bumper just shoves my rear pannier bag.

I shout, he stops, I go around him and sit in front in primary, as there is obviously a reason for him reversing and he wants to go back/turn around/not go through the junction, right?

Lights change, I go, so does he following behind

"What WAS all that about?" - rigid look straight ahead, ignore cyclist pretend he's not there

As one of Paul Whitehouse' characters might say - "how queer"

Automatic transition, thought they were in neutral and just didn’t pay attention as they took their foot off the brake?

 

[Paulus]

Could the driver just of been a pilchard and got in the wrong gear and went backwards instead of forwards? I have seen this done before.

 

[400bhp]

Automatic transition, thought they were in neutral and just didn’t pay attention as they took their foot off the brake?

+1

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Automatic transition, thought they were in neutral and just didn’t pay attention as they took their foot off the brake?

No, I was sat behind when the gear was selected (when reverse light came on) and the car then moved slowly but deliberately

 

[400bhp]

Trying to anticipate a light change then but selected the wrong gear.

 

[david1701]

David – you are Karl Pilkington and I claim my £5

I had to google, I still don't really get it

 

[davefb]

i've been in the car with my mate, when he managed to select reverse instead of 1st.


i suspect it probably scared the car behind more than us when we started to move the wrong way....





(mind you i had some problems with a gearbox once, it started to select reverse sometimes incorrectly :-/ you'd think it'd be something substantial, but it was a flimsy bit of plastic which had basically broken, stopping the gear stick moving across from 1st... 1st or reverse , which is it gunna be when you release the clutch ? )

 

[TwickenhamCyclist]

I had to google, I still don't really get it

Now google Lobby Lud!

 

[srw]

Wrong lane selection? He reversed to try again for the right lane, slowly enough for you to get out of the way.

Whatever, for your own sanity and the sake of good road order I'd assume that he wasn't trying to kill you, just a bit of a plonker.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Wrong lane selection? He reversed to try again for the right lane, slowly enough for you to get out of the way.

Nope, only one lane

Whatever, for your own sanity and the sake of good road order I'd assume that he wasn't trying to kill you, just a bit of a plonker.

Those are my thoughts...only posting it due to the bizarre "Mr Magoo" nature of the incident

 

[StuartG]

Bikes don't register in the rear view mirror. I've had it before. The driver thought it my fault I couldn't be seen. Yours, I guessed was just too embarassed to apologise.

Its really scary though. You see the lights come on and think WTF. Then in slow motion you see yourself about to be crushed. Its hard not to stand rabbit-style rather than take your eyes off and look around for a safe escape route.

Sympathies.

 

[TwickenhamCyclist]

Ho well Tiger - Very odd – i can understand mistakenly getting into reverse rather than neutral in an automatic, but putting a manual gear box into reverse usually takes some “extra effort” not easily done by mistake – i think then what others and yourself have posted is the logical conclusion – bizarre behaviour but it wasn’t malicious and then the driver was either too embarrassed or scared to acknowledge you afterwards.

Backs up my rule number one when on the road (on bike, in car or on foot): That until proved otherwise just assume every other road user is a myopic idiot, void of any awareness of their surrounding and others, totally lacking in the skills needed to anticipate, ignorant of the laws of mechanics and physics, with little if any knowledge of best practice on the road and who ranks getting from A to B quickly a lot higher than preserving your life (... I could go on!!)

 

[jonny jeez]

Report it to the Police!

what for?...driving without a brain cell

it was just a mistake and he was to embarrassed to look at you...If I don't look you're not there (Jasper Carrot sketch?!)

Bizarre yes... but not malicious