Another dithery old man.

[gavroche]

Just thought I would post the closest pass I have had yet:


I am sorry for yet again confronting this driver but there was no way that I was going to let something as dangerous as this go. The guy was elderly but him and his wife were genuinely listening to me even though they didnt say a word.
It really shook me up as I didnt expect him to go that close to me.

BTW: Sorry for shouting at the end but I lost my temper a bit.

Sorry to be a spoilsport Matthew but this video shows you breaking the law yourself as you are overtaking a vehicle on a zigzag line.
Please note that zigzag lines mean you cannot park or overtake.

 

[Matthew_T]

Sorry to be a spoilsport Matthew but this video shows you breaking the law yourself as you are overtaking a vehicle on a zigzag line.
Please note that zigzag lines mean you cannot park or overtake.

If you look at the video closely, I overtake them just before the zigzag lines. Their front wheel is behind it.
Plus with the severity of their actions, I think something like this can be deemed as allowable, I didnt put anyone in danger did I?

 

[numbnuts]

Another dithery old man

you'll be old one day

 

[gaz]

Sorry to be a spoilsport Matthew but this video shows you breaking the law yourself as you are overtaking a vehicle on a zigzag line.
Please note that zigzag lines mean you cannot park or overtake.

Oh come on, before you are going to try and accuse someone else of breaking the law, perhaps you should try and read the law.
I'll post it for you..

24.— Whilst any motor vehicle (in this regulation called “the approaching vehicle”) or any part of it is within the limits of a controlled area and is proceeding towards the crossing, the driver of the vehicle shall not cause it or any part of it—
(a)to pass ahead of the foremost part of any other motor vehicle proceeding in the same direction; or
(b)to pass ahead of the foremost part of a vehicle which is stationary for the purpose of complying with regulation 23, 25 or 26.

My bold. And as such, a bicycle (which is not a motor vehicle) is legally allowed to overtake stationary vehicles that are stationary on zig zag lines.

 

[steve52]

speaking as i find , your first shout /scream seemed an overeaction, the tone of voice used when telling him to wind the window down seemed agresive allmost bullying , i do apreciate that you dont see it this was, but would you have used the same tone if he was younger and likely to rise to a challenge? but he was in the wrong, and nowatter what rules we impliment theres allway going to be idiots momentary lapses ectect i wouldent have even botherd to shout, because it happens so often

 

[Brandane]

Agreed that it was a close overtake (this time, but not some of your others), especially as he had the lane separation area which he could have moved into (perfectly legally as the white lines surrounding it are BROKEN).

However, as has been said frequently before, one day you are going to chin the wrong person and end up in a nasty situation where you could well be the victim of an assault or worse. Plus, some of your overtaking in the face of oncoming cars leaves a lot to be desired too. I doubt if the driver of the oncoming blue Micra will be going home with a very high opinion of cyclists tonight.

Calm yourself and you might live longer .

 

[Origamist]

Matthew, that was a very close pass (it looked like he was skimming your right hand side) and I too might have shouted in that situation.

If you can't bite your tongue, try to be calmer and more polite when you pull along side to have a chat. I know this is counterintuitive as you are understandably angry/upset, but people rarely respond well to being hectored when waiting in traffic.

Narrow lanes and medians are often problematic for cyclists. If you position yourself a couple of feet further to the right, you'll have more options.

 

[fossyant]

That was a bad pass - but it happens. I tend to leave it be.
I had a pull out this week by a 'old dodderer' when training (not a SMIDSY as the bugger saw me and then decided to go). I thought, bugger this - instead of applying copious amounts of brakes, I pulled to over take and passed the driver - shouting "thankyou" at the drivers window, still going faster, pulled in front, and turned right around and pointed at my glasses. Needless to say, they passed me about half a mile later with a wide berth !

 

[dawesome]

Anyone know Earlham Road, Norwich? West-bound, going downhill fast past the cathedral, doing 25 easy, a Clio approaches the Old Palace junction on the right 100 yards ahead, slows but doesn't stop, then pulls out to turn right, the same direction I'm going. He accelerates quickly but I slow to thirty feet from his bumper bumper and cover the brakes, we're still doing 20, then he indicates left.
I holler and grab the brakes, he turns left up Mill Hill and I just manage to avoid colliding with his wing. I shout again, and in an instant decide to give chase. In twenty years' cycling I've never chased a driver. At the top of the hill he slows for oncoming, I point left for him to pull over, and draw near. I didn't shout, I said "What was that!" The man says straight away "I'm very sorry". He was calm, mid seventies, I hadn't screamed or sworn. "Had you seen me at any point?" I asked. "I'm very sorry!" he said. "Accepted" I said. "Please be careful, that was really scary", and left. The point is Matthew, it didn't make me feel better. No idea if it did any good. The good bits of riding outweigh the bad. You can't go around expecting aggro because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even in Norwich, where you can only get a mini cab licence if you can PROVE you've sociopathic tendencies.

 

[snorri]

This is why we need to have a statutory age where you then need to retake your driving test. I think this would make the roads a lot more safer and possibly decrease the amount of elderly related deaths on the roads.

Agreed, maybe we should have annual testing from 17-25 years as this seems to be the most crash prone age group.

 

[endoman]

Matthew, there must be some lovely quiet country roads were you are, why not ride on those? 70 miles for me today, probably passed by about 50 cars in the whole trip, lovely.

 

[Stephen wilby]

Just thought I would post the closest pass I have had yet:


I am sorry for yet again confronting this driver but there was no way that I was going to let something as dangerous as this go. The guy was elderly but him and his wife were genuinely listening to me even though they didnt say a word.
It really shook me up as I didnt expect him to go that close to me.

BTW: Sorry for shouting at the end but I lost my temper a bit.

I think it is the tone in which you speak to people that is the problem. There is nothing wrong with telling them where they are in the wrong but it is just the way you try and get your message across. Remember how you deliver the message is just as important as the message itself. You seem very agressive to me and i wouldn't like being shouted at like you seem to do regularly.

Oh and after he passed you so close and you shouted at him why on earth would you go in front of him and put yourself in that position again?

 

[Matthew_T]

Oh and after he passed you so close and you shouted at him why on earth would you go in front of him and put yourself in that position again?

I took a very strong primary position and didnt allow any room for him to overtake. I agree that it would have been safer to go behind him though.


In this situation I agree that I was very agressive and I shouldnt have shouted at him but I was extremely annoyed at the danger he had posed to me. Once again it was an elderly driver who had nothing to say for himself but I might have scared him into keeping his mouth shut.
I will be reporting this incident to the police tomorrow, thats for sure.

 

[Globalti]

Matt, if you don't mind me saying, I think you need to lighten up a bit. There's a danger in crying "wolf" too often - when the time comes when you really need help people might dismiss it as just another Matthew T rant. It looks to me as if your new-found energy as a cyclist combined with a healthy dose of testosterone (got any to spare?) is pulling you along. The other point is that one day you're going to pick an argument with a driver who will get out and deck you, or worse; there are some nasty people out there. Why not heed the advice to get out into the country and ride some quieter roads? How about joining a club? You sound like a fast enthusiastic rider and a club ride would be an exhilarating outlet for all that energy.

 

[Brandane]

I will be reporting this incident to the police tomorrow, thats for sure.

Don't waste your energy. The best result you can hope for is that they might find time to visit the driver and have a word with him. But probably not; and even if they do, will the old guy change his driving habits? If you start running to the Police every time you have a close pass, then you might find that you are the one on the end of a talking to from them. Just telling you how it is in the real world.....