Nigeyy
Legendary Member
since other people have posted their mistakes on this board, I feel I should only confess to my most recent one as well.
I was cycling home on Monday, lovely evening with the bright sun getting low in the sky. Visibility was good, mild temperature, gentle cooling breeze, everything was right in the world. Anyway, my commute home is pretty much north to south, and I get to a t-junction where I take a left and head eastwards before taking another right about a 1/4 of a mile further along.
I get to the junction, and I see a car indicating to take a right (remember, I'm in the States so people are on the right hand side of the road driving) into the road I'm coming out of, and in a split second I think:
i. the car is slowing down, it has it's indicator on,
ii. better chance it is actually going to turn
iii. it's a good distance away
iv. I've checked, there are no cars coming the other way
v. I'm going for it! And I cross over the lane to take the left turn....
First, I have to say that I did have time for this manoeuvre, and did cross the road safely. However as soon as I completed it, I realized I'd made a serious miscalculation -the sun was directly in the sight of the oncoming driver. Had the driver been indicating with no intent to turn, and had I not clipped in properly or somehow fallen, I'm of the opinion I might well have been easily run over. Not such a bright idea, eh? (ooh, groan, bad pun)
So I came away with the following:
1. when a judgement is made in haste, it's much more likely to be a poor one!
2. I also believe you more likely to make a hasty decision on a road you are very familiar with -all the more reason to be more alert....
3. Remember to try to put yourself in the position of another road user and what they may experience. I've actually changed my commuting route based on solar glare or put my headlights on when I'm driving for this reason, but this time I had a brain freeze and totally overlooked it.
If you commute in the hours when the sun is setting or rising, and as the sun rise and sun set times change, remember to take this into consideration!
I was cycling home on Monday, lovely evening with the bright sun getting low in the sky. Visibility was good, mild temperature, gentle cooling breeze, everything was right in the world. Anyway, my commute home is pretty much north to south, and I get to a t-junction where I take a left and head eastwards before taking another right about a 1/4 of a mile further along.
I get to the junction, and I see a car indicating to take a right (remember, I'm in the States so people are on the right hand side of the road driving) into the road I'm coming out of, and in a split second I think:
i. the car is slowing down, it has it's indicator on,
ii. better chance it is actually going to turn
iii. it's a good distance away
iv. I've checked, there are no cars coming the other way
v. I'm going for it! And I cross over the lane to take the left turn....
First, I have to say that I did have time for this manoeuvre, and did cross the road safely. However as soon as I completed it, I realized I'd made a serious miscalculation -the sun was directly in the sight of the oncoming driver. Had the driver been indicating with no intent to turn, and had I not clipped in properly or somehow fallen, I'm of the opinion I might well have been easily run over. Not such a bright idea, eh? (ooh, groan, bad pun)
So I came away with the following:
1. when a judgement is made in haste, it's much more likely to be a poor one!
2. I also believe you more likely to make a hasty decision on a road you are very familiar with -all the more reason to be more alert....
3. Remember to try to put yourself in the position of another road user and what they may experience. I've actually changed my commuting route based on solar glare or put my headlights on when I'm driving for this reason, but this time I had a brain freeze and totally overlooked it.
If you commute in the hours when the sun is setting or rising, and as the sun rise and sun set times change, remember to take this into consideration!
