Accidents and incidents

[jonny jeez]

PS, is anyone else now humming "You can call me Al".

brilliant, that'll stick for a few days now!

 

[ufkacbln]

Ive found the more I look like a cyclist the more stick I get . If I wear jeans and a baseball cap no one bothers me , if I wear a helmet and high vis the bully drivers seem to appear . Looking like a bloke on a bike seems to work for me .

The DfT did some research that showed drivers thought cyclists in lycra and helmets were "competent"

For this reason they could "handle" close overtakes and there was no need to slow down or give additional room!

 

[donnydave]

There are two or three specific places on my commute where if I don't take primary then you can almost guarantee a misjudged close pass or pulling in before they are fully past - the worst point on my commute is a blind corner which always has slow moving traffic due to crossroads immediately afterwards. Sadly it routinely happens that taking a good strong primary at these points doesn't eliminate the close pass, it just moves it further up the road where I get punished for looking after my own safety. If I block someone from overtaking on the blind corner (practically every morning and often its the SAME PEOPLE!!) then they "remember" and extract justice further up the road. Even after the queue (where I sail past and can save myself 2 or sometimes 3 full cycles of traffic lights), maybe 5 or even 10 mins later I'll get it eventually. At least the punishment passes are normally on my own terms where I can move left it necessary.

 

[Drago]

^^^ This is why I give someone a cheery wave of thanks as they overtake if I've held them up by taking a strong primary. As you say, its often the same people and they do remember good manners.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Had a car go head on overtaking at 80mph.
Nearly crushed between parked cars and overtaking truck.
McDonalds trash thrown into front wheel.
Carved up deliberately by left turning bus.
Too many close overtakes to remember.

Basically we're throwing ego driven self-gratification artists into cars and letting them do what they please, so there's going to be some clashes. Speeding, intimidation and mobile use are legalised through lack of enforcement. Children scratching their balls think they're invulnerable, over entitled driving gods.

Then there's the days when all goes well and you realise the majority are the same as you.

Drivers need aptitude training and massive penalties. Cyclists need their rights enshrined in specific and heavily enforced laws.

Regardless of everything I love cycling with a passion.

 

[donnydave]

^^^ This is why I give someone a cheery wave of thanks as they overtake if I've held them up by taking a strong primary. As you say, its often the same people and they do remember good manners.

If someone has had to wait even for a couple of seconds I do wave as they go by and over time I have "trained" the regulars I see on my commute and get good passes off the vast, vast majority of people. On this particular blind corner they can't pass straight afterwards as the traffic is nearly always stationary immediately after the corner so I can't wave thanks, but all they remember is being held up for a few yards before the corner. Not sure what I could do differently, I'm open to suggestions

 

[Drago]

Before this turns turns into a 'burn car drivers at the steak' thread, we must remember that for every conscientious and sensible cyclist there are ten who ride like twunts, rlj, on the footway, no lights at night etc. Before we worry about enshrining the rights of 2 wheeled road users perhaps those same 2 wheeled road users could help themselves and their own image somewhat.

Remember, It isn't and shouldn't be car v bicycle. It should be sensible v twat, and simply perching atop 2 wheels doesn't automatically exclude someone from the latter category.

 

[summerdays]

Before this turns turns into a 'burn car drivers at the steak' thread, we must remember that for every conscientious and sensible cyclist there are ten who ride like twunts, rlj, on the footway, no lights at night etc. Before we worry about enshrining the rights of 2 wheeled road users perhaps those same 2 wheeled road users could help themselves and their own image somewhat.

I think your stats are heavily skewed! I would say it was the complete reverse personally, same for car drivers.

 

[Drago]

I must confess to not drawing upon anything more authoritative than my own observations as I totter about the Queens highway.

 

[jonny jeez]

If someone has had to wait even for a couple of seconds I do wave as they go by and over time I have "trained" the regulars I see on my commute and get good passes off the vast, vast majority of people. On this particular blind corner they can't pass straight afterwards as the traffic is nearly always stationary immediately after the corner so I can't wave thanks, but all they remember is being held up for a few yards before the corner. Not sure what I could do differently, I'm open to suggestions

I am convinced, perhaps naively, perhaps not... that some regular drivers actually enjoy "collecting" thanks on their travels. I had a typical wvm have his passenger wind the window down just to shout "good on ya mate" to me on Monday after I held him in primary as I passed a bus rank in lewisham...he was chuffed to bits, thumbs up and everything.

Made me as happy as it made him.

Funny how that works Inuit?

 

[vickster]

Cyclists need their rights enshrined in specific and heavily enforced laws.

It would be fair also to have cyclists who transgress to be appropriately punished? A cyclist RLJing is not only a danger to the cyclist for example, similarly no lights, riding on the pavement

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

I used to commute from Bury, through Manchester to Bredbury. It was a 20 mile commute each way. You know there are certain places that will cause you problems and try to avoid them. I found going through Manchester the easiest bit, as all the cars were at a standstill. It was easy to pick a route through them. I had the most problems coming out of Manchester in the evenings. Cars pulling out on you from junctions, close passes etc etc. I ride assetively, I do not give cars the option of over taking in pinch places and do not ride in the gutter. I never bothered with bright clothing (black is what the cool kids wear!) and I only wear a helmet because it shuts my Mrs up!
All that changed a few months ago when a woman pulled out of a junction on a quiet road just a mile from where I work on a Saturday afternoon. I came around a corner in the middle of my side of the road (to stop people overtaking me on a blind bend) and 40 metres down the road I went straight through the drivers side window at 30mph when she pulled out on me giving me no time to take avoiding action. I had various cuts, bruises and pains but I had also broken my neck and back. Luckily it was a stable fracture and I did not injure my spinal chord. I was in an aspen collar for 10 weeks and had numbness in one of my arms for a while. I am slowly getting better and hopefully I will commute again, but this injury has changed my outlook on a lot of things. I will always wear a helmet, it may or may not have saved me from further injury, but looking at it I can see it has actually absorbed some of the impact and I think that is a good thing. I will also always wear bright clothing. I dont think we should have to wear it, if road users actually bothered to look properly, before pulling out of junctions or before they do a manouvre they would see other vehicles and cyclists, but we do not live in a perfect world and I want to do everything I can to stop this happening to me again. The other thing that changed my general outlook on life. While I was laying in the hospital bed, looking up at the 9 ceiling tiles above me, not knowing if I would have the use of my arms and legs again, I decided to not worry about small things like working too many hours etc etc. Do the things you want to do, you may not be here as long as you think.

 

[fossyant]

Ooch where was the accident

 

[Archie_tect]

Martin, it may seem odd to have 'liked' your post, but it was to endorse your last 2 sentences- glad you are OK!

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

Ooch where was the accident

Just outside the Arden arms. The woman pulled out of the junction opposite. First time I have seen anyone pull out of it in 2 years of commuting!