Beebo
Firm and Fruity
- Location
- Hexleybeef
Hints and allegations.
Accidents and incidents
- Thread starter Dom_Cee
- Start date
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Hints and allegations.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Yeah, that's about it. Don't look like a racer if you're not racing. Don't dress like a builder (hard hat and hi-vis) even if you are a builder (put the hat and coat in your bag). Look like a human. Cloth cap. Sit a bit more upright if you're holding someone up and nothing discourages it. Show them your face if you can (eye contact doesn't matter if you don't need much from them).
I've been riding for decades and the worst thing caused by drivers that I remember was my flailing bag straps being "pinged" by the wing mirror of a dozy driver who was operating their satnav while driving. I've not yet been knocked off, but I have had some near-misses and one road rager get out of their car (didn't catch me because I had a bike and they were fat
). Both of those were during the only few years when I lived in an area with below-average cycling levels and almost no cycleways worth using... so I wore a helmet and hi-vis and now I think I probably compounded the problem!
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
I'm the same as mjray, I've been riding for donkeys years and rarely have incidents, I commute in my work clothes, including steel toe capped boots, usually with a cycle jacket thrown on top, I ride assertively most of the time, if I hold someone up I'll wave them through when I think its safe and give a thank you wave when they come past, I'll thank any driver thats been patient and gave room to work in, I get the odd close pass but rarely anything else.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Why does a dentist wear steel toecap boots to work?
vickster
Squire
For extra purchase on the patient's chest when pulling teeth perhaps?
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
???
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I was being sarcarsetic chum.
crazyjoe101
New Member
- Location
- London
I find I get better treatment when I'm all 'dressed up' like the lyca roadie, but I think this is because I tend to be travelling much faster when in my proper kit.
I know exactly what you mean about the cyclists, very rarely have I ridden in rush hour traffic in Central London (at least not in the same direction), but the times I have I've seen many cyclists with absolutely shocking riding habits.I got knocked off, lights, hi viz. Driver got too close overtaking, caught my handlebar, I ended up in hospital (well three different hospitals)
In central London rush hour, personally I find the sheer number of cyclists as much of a menace as the drivers
I think there are a higher proportion of 'bad' cyclists amoung cyclists than there are 'bad' drivers amoung drivers, but cars have a much higher potential for causing harm in my opinion.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I've been commuting daily ( a very modest 11 miles round trip ) in central London for five years. It's not at all bad really. The only gratuitous unpleasantness was being shot with a water pistol of piss by a passenger of a car on the Cromwell Road. Yes, you get the occasional close pass but over time you get a bit less sensitive about it. When I get a real rush of fear and adrenaline, I try and have words with the driver but that's only happened about half a dozen times since I've been riding. I was doored once, riding at less than walking pace up the inside at a set of red lights. I was on the pavement in a split second with the bike on top of me as the passenger opened the door. He was extremely apologetic and I wasn't hurt.
I'm tempting Fate, but I don't have any real complaints about motorists so far.
EDIT: Despite what the media and others might like everybody to believe, it isn't " a war out there". It's blooming good fun.
I'm tempting Fate, but I don't have any real complaints about motorists so far.
EDIT: Despite what the media and others might like everybody to believe, it isn't " a war out there". It's blooming good fun.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Dom_Cee
New Member
- Location
- Middlesbrough
Wow thats rather bad, so its almost more than often that the driver isn't looking out or just abit of a aggro fulled road hogger, The first thing that jumps to my mind is Jeremy clarkson with his anticycling thing and all that, even in jest it doesn't give a good outlook of cyclists and watching top gear used to watch i should say seems to breed these sort of drivers in my opinion. Would a solution be placed almost inside of the driving lessons and part of the test to actually drive is road perception and other people on the road, If there is one i apologise I havent started to learn yet.
I started commuting in London in 2007. I've been clipped once by a car driver who was distracted and let his car drift into the cycle lane as he was about to pull out into a different lane. That just resulted in cuts and bruises.
Other than that, I see crap driving sometimes, but usually anticipate it long before the driver actually does the stupid thing he didn't realise he was considering and slow down or move out accordingly. I have at most maybe 2 "near misses" a year where I genuinely didn't anticipate someone doing something sudden - I ride on average 4 days a week, 40 miles a day.
I know a guy that seems to have near misses every week, and has been knocked off 4 times. But although I've never ridden anywhere with him, I know from the way he talks that he rides like a knob and makes no allowance for anything if he feels it's his right-of-way.
Since '07, I think drivers have become remarkably aware of cyclists in London. Unfortunately the other side of this is that we now have this ugly "them and us" situation that seems to have developed. That never felt like the case 7 years ago.
Most important thing to remember of course though, is that for every bike journey that has some kind of incident, there are I expect hundreds of thousands that don't.
Other than that, I see crap driving sometimes, but usually anticipate it long before the driver actually does the stupid thing he didn't realise he was considering and slow down or move out accordingly. I have at most maybe 2 "near misses" a year where I genuinely didn't anticipate someone doing something sudden - I ride on average 4 days a week, 40 miles a day.
I know a guy that seems to have near misses every week, and has been knocked off 4 times. But although I've never ridden anywhere with him, I know from the way he talks that he rides like a knob and makes no allowance for anything if he feels it's his right-of-way.
Since '07, I think drivers have become remarkably aware of cyclists in London. Unfortunately the other side of this is that we now have this ugly "them and us" situation that seems to have developed. That never felt like the case 7 years ago.
Most important thing to remember of course though, is that for every bike journey that has some kind of incident, there are I expect hundreds of thousands that don't.
crazyjoe101
New Member
- Location
- London
It depends on what you class as an incident really. I consider myself a competent and reasonable cyclist, but in the year I've been properly road cycling I'd say I've had 3 noteworthy incidents. Small incidents that I don't remember on an iduvidual basis? Many many many more, these probably occur about once or twice every three rides, as a rough estimate.
That said, I find the majority of drivers at least attempt to drive well; most are 'average', many are 'satestfactory' and then there are the ones who are good or great, even those are more common than the bad drivers, in my experience.
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