Bad form?

[AndyPeace]

I may have got this wrong?

- You're coming off the rab on to St Peter's Drive, and immediately crossing the hatched area onto the little island?
- And then carrying on ... up the shared use pavement on Crookbarrow Way?

Fwiw - that'd give me kittens.

If there was nothing more than very light traffic, I suppose I might think of coming off the rab directly into the hatched area, braking and turning over on to the island - but that exit is designed purely for cars to come off ... fast. Something tells me I'd only do it once, though.

There's no signalling (aye and no time for signalling) that'll work to make your manouevre clear or expected for traffic behind you?

That looks like one truly horrible roundabout - and given the kerb on Crookbarrow Way, I'd be a wimp and find some route that gets on to the cycle paths some way before the rab, or even walk it.

But maybe I'm reading your route wrong.

It's proberly not the best choice of route. Though the traffic is ussually quite calm when I pass through that way, it is on route to the M5 just a few miles away. That said the exit leads to housing estate which is all 30mph max, with regular pinch points, so nothing exits that fast. I've only ridden that way for 3 months but have not had any problems there, except the close call yesterday.

It would be a far more sensible manouver to leave the roundabout and signal to pull over to the left, get off cross the road then carry on my way.. or exit into crookbarrow way and signal to pull over, dismount and get on the cycle path.. but is all a bit cumbersome. I could just stay on the road, but it is a fast duel carrigeway section, so this may not be popular, particularly with a suitable cycle path running next to it. There are plenty of extended routes I could take but these aren't always options when commuting to work

 

[PaulSB]

I was not particulary vexed by this , though it did warrant a tut, though I'm not sure who at?? the driver or me?? My current route to work takes me over a roundabout, but where I exit I turn right, leaving the road and joining a central reservation in the road which a cycle path crosses. I check, signal to leave the roundabout and position my self in primary position, check again then signal right by moving my arm up and down (I think that's the correct gesture for pulling over to the right/leaving road to the right?).
Today I do this and as I go to turn I see a car that has decided to overtake me, despite my primary position and the lack of space. He crossed over into an area of road that is hatched in white lines, which I though meant it was not part of the road, so I was suprised to see him there. No harm came of it but could have been nasty. My bad or his?

Your bad in my opinion. One of my customers is St Peters GC so I happen to know this road. I think you should turn right on the roundabout and take the first opportunity to join the cycle path on your left.

Could you join the cycle path prior to the roundabout and then use the crossing point correctly?

It might be an idea to brush up on your hand signals!

 

[Dan B]

Curious to know how you'd take the route I suggested. Starting to think my waving arm signal is wrong, I don't do it to be polite, I do it to inform traffic where I'm going. Perphaps I should just signal right.

I'd venture a guess that 4/5 drivers don't know what the wavey arm signal is at all, and half of the rest think they do but are wrong.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I'd venture a guess that 4/5 drivers don't know what the wavey arm signal is at all, and half of the rest think they do but are wrong.

This is palpable nonsense.

More than 93% of drivers know exactly what that means - and in metric units that's closer to 104%.

It means "My aircraft is suffering with an infestation of voles". It always has and it always will.

I have known that for as long as I can remember and when I see the signal given, I always react and respond accordingly.

 

[Matthew_T]

Not sure what you mean by "letting pedestrians cross", they either have priority over you or they don't.

Occassionally there is a pinch point without a crossing however a pedestrain may be waiting to cross. If the traffic is light and I dont have anyone behind me, then I will wave them across. Most of the time they wait and point out the car about half a mile behind me. I then just let them know that I have stopped and they can cross quickly if they want.
It might not be the safest of things, but if the peds has crossed when I instructed them to, then noone would have been held up.

I shouldnt stop when peds dont have right of way but a little courtesy never goes a miss.

 

[snorri]

.
It might not be the safest of things,

 

[AndyPeace]

Your bad in my opinion. One of my customers is St Peters GC so I happen to know this road. I think you should turn right on the roundabout and take the first opportunity to join the cycle path on your left.

Could you join the cycle path prior to the roundabout and then use the crossing point correctly?

It might be an idea to brush up on your hand signals!

Yeah I thought it was. You are right in that the hand signal is wrong, the signal I used does mean slowing down/stopping. St Peter's GC?, Garden Center? I approach from Norton Road (which the Garden Center is on). As you can see there is a cycle route that exits Norton Road to the left then crosses the rab exits BroomHall Way (a busy exit) and St Peter's drive (less busy). I'm thinking if the traffic is light I will stick to the road and just exit the rab onto Crookbarrow way, if it looks busy I'll exit Norton Road turning left to the Cycle Path. If I leave the road to the cycle path do you think I signal with just a left hand signal or the slowing down /stopping gesture?

 

[Boris Bajic]

Occassionally there is a pinch point without a crossing however a pedestrain may be waiting to cross. If the traffic is light and I dont have anyone behind me, then I will wave them across. Most of the time they wait and point out the car about half a mile behind me. I then just let them know that I have stopped and they can cross quickly if they want.
It might not be the safest of things, but if the peds has crossed when I instructed them to, then noone would have been held up.

I shouldnt stop when peds dont have right of way but a little courtesy never goes a miss.

This is a lovely gesture Matthew, but it may not always be well placed on a modern road system.

The pedestrians may have seen something you have not. They may walk more slowly than you think they do. They may misinterpret your signal. There are so many variables.

I am concerned by two elements of your post: The first is your own admission that it may not be the safest thing to do. The second is the implication that you believe yourself empowered to instruct a pedestrian to cross the road.

Keep being lovely to other road users, but my strongest advice is that you take the safest option at all times and that you avoid instructing any other road user to do anything. All the jokes that will ever be needed have been written, so there is no need for the following:

Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Matthew_T instructed it to.

Besides which, it is not even funny.