Close encounter of the First kind...

[Bigsharn]

So on the way into work today, a police car pulled out of the side road in the video, only sounding sirens at the last second before pulling out.

First instinct is to get out of the way. I can't go on/near the kerb because the police car's likely to hit me, so I move into the centre of the road, with enough room for a bus on my left hand side (so the police car has plenty of space to pull out and not hit me).

Unfortunately, the police car goes the other way, I set off, indicate back into the carriageway and the bus sees it as a good time to squeeze past, with the car following close behind.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G7MoHNrMjQ[/media]



Pretty ignorant tbh, I'm not sure whether to write to the company or not, it's not dangerous driving per se, but it's certainly not courteous. (I won't bother with the car, he probably never saw me for the bus)


The other thing is, could I have done anything different to stop this? As I mentioned I was just doing what I could to make sure the police car had enough room to go either way.

 

[gaz]

The other thing is, could I have done anything different to stop this? As I mentioned I was just doing what I could to make sure the police car had enough room to go either way.

Not stop? A bicycle will barely block the path of a 'slow' moving police car, so you could probably get away with continuing before you know which way the police car goes and then maybe pull over (on the left) if it's best to do so.

 

[HLaB]

Was there another police car ? the one we see in the video pulled out well before you reached it and you seemed to stop way too long. If you wanted to stop the undertake (assuming there wasn't a second police car) it had been better to slow down slightly whilst holding a primary position and pulling off faster.

 

[marinyork]

Not stop? A bicycle will barely block the path of a 'slow' moving police car, so you could probably get away with continuing before you know which way the police car goes and then maybe pull over (on the left) if it's best to do so.

The bridge is very narrow. You never know how things are going to behave. I've see the other end of the bridge get rammed solid and police trying to get through many a time or even the middle of the bridge. I'd have probably done the same as Bigsharn. It seems an entirely sensible move.

If the police car was doing the manoeuvre I think it was I also know why it put it's sirens on at the last minute .

 

[gaz]

The bridge is very narrow. You never know how things are going to behave. I've see the other end of the bridge get rammed solid and police trying to get through many a time or even the middle of the bridge. I'd have probably done the same as Bigsharn. It seems an entirely sensible move.

If the police car was doing the manoeuvre I think it was I also know why it put it's sirens on at the last minute .

Local knowledge = vital factor.

 

[rugbyluke]

Seems like a very nice place to cycle where is that??

 

[BentMikey]

I'm not sure I'd even have stopped for the police car in the video, without any local knowledge of course. It looked far in front and that you'd never have impeded its progress in any way. I'm guessing the bus driver got impatient and just undertook you.

 

[Bigsharn]

Sorry, I should have worded it a bit better, there was a police car pulling out of the side street on the left (which is the sirens you hear at the last second) As you can see on the video, I'm practically level with the side street before I hear sirens, hence such a dramatic swerve (I honestly thought I was going over his bonnet)

As I'm sure Marin knows, that street is left turn only for cars, which is probably why he put his sirens on to get through... It would have been nice if he had warned the traffic a little sooner so I could have taken primary and stopped but it's not him who's at fault here, it's the driver behind me.

Google street view of the road... It gives a better idea than my cheap videocam

& to save clogging the topic up... Yes Mikey, that's right, but you can hear him

 

[BentMikey]

Ah OK, I understand! He doesn't appear on the video at all, is that right?