There's one part of this story that interests me, and I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed it:
I saw a cyclist about half a mile away. I moved right over to straddle the white line down the centre of the road because there was no oncoming traffic. I’ve always been told to give the cyclist plenty of room, because the vacuum created by the lorry when you’re going quite quick can pull them in front of the car that’s behind you.
After his experience, he sounds his horn when he's approaching a cyclist to let them know he's there.
Why doesn't he just slow down?
So many large vehicles go flying past me when I'm on the roads, and it's bloody scary, even if they are right on the other side of the road. If you haven't got a problem with your hearing, you can hear a lorry thundering up behind you - I grip the bars and think, "Hold your line, don't look round," because I've found they pass closer if I look round - but if you're listening to music so loud that you can't hear a lorry approaching, you probably won't notice the horn either.
The local bus drivers around here are obviously well trained because they give you plenty of room, and they slow down when they pass you, but so many drivers seem to think they're driving well because they're on the other side of the road, when all they need to do to make your experience of being passed more comfortable and less terrifying is to slow down.
Edit: Forgot to add, a lot of drivers round here sound their horns when they're approaching you - and some manage to wait until they're alongside you. I make sure I never look round, never jump, and never wobble. I just totally ignore them.
