BentMikey
Rider of Seolferwulf
- Location
- South London
LOL at the idea an Exposure Joystick is brighter than car headlights.
I might ruffle a few feathers here - but my approach is when this, or other driver error occurs, treat it as an error by yourself. The basic skill of safe cycling is anticipating other people's errors and hence avoiding a collision.
Its hard blaming yourself rather than the idiot. But that helps you reflect on why you did not spot it was going to happen. The sixth sense is not a mystery. I have a rab near me where, because of the road layout most motorists do not signal their exit correctly. But it is possible to anticipate with a very high degree of accuracy which exit they will take. Its a combination of speed, positioning, driver's body language and much more. Same applies with whether a vehicle is going to stop.
Its a skill that requires experience and humility, it helps if you are a driver too. It also requires eternal vigilance. But it reduces near misses dramatically. And when one occurs it is an antidote to your road rage (which often leads to dangerous riding) as your store yet another nugget of learning for the future.
The key is not to give up (as most novice riders do) after some near misses. Obviously take a safer route if you can. Then if you can't concentrate on reading the road from the driver's viewpoint. It can only get better and your riding safer.
I think some of the answer is much harsher penalties for careless driving and far more effort made to enforce them. This benefits everyone including car drivers if it does improve peoples concentration. Also more effort put into enforcing the laws.
Awareness is absolutely key and I think that it's not outrageous to have the driving test actually include a cycling element and a pedestrian element. If that is unworkable then drivers must have to spend some time as a more vulnerable road user before they are allowed to take a test. They must be made to see the road from the perspective of the cycle, motorcycle and pedestrian.
Fair point. That's more in keeping with what I was trying to say.Harsher penalties will not improve concentration levels - it may make people slow down and take more care though.
+1.What the others said, plus: while riding around the roundabout, make eye contact with any motorist approaching the roundabout. It's tougher for them to pretend they didn't see you, if you've actually looked straight at them and they've looked at you.
Here lies the body of Johnny O'Day,
Who died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right, as he rode along,
But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong.
LOL at the idea an Exposure Joystick is brighter than car headlights.
I might ruffle a few feathers here - but my approach is when this, or other driver error occurs, treat it as an error by yourself. The basic skill of safe cycling is anticipating other people's errors and hence avoiding a collision.
Its hard blaming yourself rather than the idiot. But that helps you reflect on why you did not spot it was going to happen. The sixth sense is not a mystery. I have a rab near me where, because of the road layout most motorists do not signal their exit correctly. But it is possible to anticipate with a very high degree of accuracy which exit they will take. Its a combination of speed, positioning, driver's body language and much more. Same applies with whether a vehicle is going to stop.
Its a skill that requires experience and humility, it helps if you are a driver too. It also requires eternal vigilance. But it reduces near misses dramatically. And when one occurs it is an antidote to your road rage (which often leads to dangerous riding) as your store yet another nugget of learning for the future.
The key is not to give up (as most novice riders do) after some near misses. Obviously take a safer route if you can. Then if you can't concentrate on reading the road from the driver's viewpoint. It can only get better and your riding safer.