Any closer and he'd need a condom

[BentMikey]

Advocating hearing instead of looking is very poor cycling advice, Stuart. It's a good thing you're not a cycling instructor. I accept that looking at the very moment that van was about to pass might not be very good, but that can easily be avoided by looking more regularly - at which point you could have avoided the problem of looking at the wrong moment. The face view, and the looking around often does much to discourage most (but not all) such close passes.

Besides, Gandalf is an excellent rider, experienced, and looks plenty when I last rode with him. I don't see him needing such substandard advice.

 

[hackbike 666]

Sometimes I get the impression motorists don't actually know they have committed an offence when they pass so frigging close...or what they have done wrong for that matter...

 

[StuartG]

Advocating hearing instead of looking is very poor cycling advice, Stuart.

But I didn't!

One SHOULD always be aware of what is alongside and behind as well as in front. One maximises the use of the eyes to where the main controllable dangers lie. And that is usually in front. (pedestrians, junctions, cars breaking, potholes ...). This event is probably not forseeable until the vehicle is alongside so the last glance round or in the mirror is likely to have been a few seconds short of seeing the imminent danger. Your ears fill in those blind spots (or alert you to look if possible) as it is the only continuous 360 degree detection system you have got.

In this case if a vehicle is too close alongside there is no point in looking around. You need to be looking ahead to see how close your dare go to the gutter or is there a drop kerb escape, or do you keep going straight to maximise braking.

To sacrifice hearing by using headphones is the lesson to be learnt here. I hope you are not an instructor for contesting the importance of hearing to anticipate danger not only puts you on the wrong side of me but the author of Cyclecraft too.

I really hope this doesn't fall on deaf ears but AFAIR we have been round this argument before.

 

[BentMikey]

That's a little more reasonable Stuart, but it's not what you were advocating in your earlier post. The bolded bit is almost always wrong. If you can't look behind at that moment because of a developing situation, your looks earlier will have done the business, assuming you're looking as sufficiently often as you're supposed to be.
Hearing isn't really going to do anything for Gandalf in this situation, and you most definitely shouldn't be hearing danger before you've seen it, as that is a categoric fail in looking. There's no lesson about using or not using hearing in this video.

I trust your trousers survived the fright. I am with you that looking behind when travelling at speed on a straight road is not always the best strategy. Its probably more a lesson in not wearing headphones. I guess you heard the danger before he came into vision. A vehicle too close does sound different and gives you those vital milliseconds warning to prepare to brake, check out the gutter ahead so as to make the best of a quickly narrowing situation.

Living to complain about appalling driving is the real result. The vid shows you held your nerver in a fightening situation. Well done!

 

[BentMikey]

I'll issue you the same challenge I issued 4F - headcam, post it on youtube and here, and let's discuss your looking.

 

[StuartG]

The bolded bit is almost always wrong. If you can't look behind at that moment because of a developing situation, your looks earlier will have done the business, assuming you're looking as sufficiently often as you're supposed to be.

Two points here.

The frequency I swivel is not a constant - except when lane changing or where there is a significant hook left risk - when it should be a mantra (check, check again and once more to be sure). It has to be balanced with other risks. In the country I don't have a problem but it congested urban situations I just can't do enough swivelling to guarantee spotting fast developing situations such as this without compromising forward anticipation. That's why my urban bike has a mirror to infill but my country bike does not. Mirrors are second best but better than nothing. (I don't have a mirror on my country bike so as not to be tempted to use it when I do have time to look round you will be pleased to hear).

The difference between us here, I feel, is that I have a more flexible approach to gathering environmental data, yours is more rigid. There may in reality be no right or wrong as this may match our different personalities and information processing abilities.

The second point is that many of us are imperfect. We get distracted (if only by an earlier idiot), we daydream, we just get tired. These are not excuses, but they are reality and, like with emergency service sirens which in a perfect world would be unnecessary allow our hearing to be a lifesaver. Deaf cyclists have no choice here but iPod wearers do and, I would argue, have made the wrong choice.

 

[e-rider]

The police will do nothing unless 'contact' is made so even 1mm is accpetable!

 

[Davidc]

That was dreadful and a copy of the video should go to Surrey police traffic division.

shite, that was close

people would not pass a horse in that way

Don't you believe it - my daughter used to ride one, and she and friends used video 8 to make a short film of it. Car Culture doesn't discriminate, horse, cyclist or pedestrian, none are cars so drive them off the road.

It was a long straight stretch of road and as such I can't see what benefit there would be in constantly swivelling my head round. YMMV.

I look behind when necessary, such as when I'm approaching a pinch point, junction, or changing road position.

I know I'm guilty sometimes of not looking behind on long straight bits of road, but even though I don't always practise it I do agree with Crankarm on this. You can only ride defensively if you know what's going on all round you, and with idiots like that around you unfortunately do need to be riding defensively.

 

[Ghost Donkey]

That was a shocker. On a more positive note, best thread title I've ever seen.

 

[Tynan]

Hello all

tacking on my wvm clip for today, my first ever offering, apologies for the camera in pothole recording mode but I think the essence of the affair is there

heard him coming, saw him starting to pass me very wide with enthusiasm, started to wonder how he manage the island, and well ...

Wood Street in E17 this morning R247VND for the reg plate types

[media]http://www.ruedelagare.co.uk/CAM/2010-09-24 10:26:59.323-SUNP0002.mov[/media]

 

[g00se]

Hello all

tacking on my wvm clip for today, my first ever offering, apologies for the camera in pothole recording mode but I think the essence of the affair is there

heard him coming, saw him starting to pass me very wide with enthusiasm, started to wonder how he manage the island, and well ...

Wood Street in E17 this morning R247VND for the reg plate types

[media]http://www.tynandean.co.uk/CAM/2010-09-24 10:26:59.323-SUNP0002.mov[/media]

It's asking for a password?

 

[Tynan]

It's asking for a password?

oops, sorry, should work now

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Not for me.

404 Not Found error

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Aaah, okay now.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Yikes!!!