Dangerous trucker vid

[tongskie01]

What jimbo would have done there would be.....

On noticing the truck close up, signaled to the driver jimbo was pulling over. jimbo would have pulled over and let the truck pass.

Thus negating the tailgating, close pass and cutting in.

By his proximity, he was obviously in a rush to get somewhere, so jimbo would have let him though and completely eliminated the risk of being flattened.

i agree. sometime we should learn how to share the road. just slow down and let him pass. it doesnt take much of your time. 3-4 seconds?

 

[tongskie01]

I'm not sure it's really worth arguing about, but here's an anecdote from my last (until I switched jobs) 17 mile commute. I would ride for about 5 miles in either direction on the A90. The road is a 40mph single carriageway but with two lanes in either direction and it carries a constant stream of traffic, including buses and lorries. Streetview here and here.

When I first started, I was relatively timid and rode, a-la Jimbo, in the gutter. My theory was that by minimising how much I was in the way of traffic, I would maximise the amount of room I got and have to worry less about being creamed by close-passing HGVs and buses or left-hooked into oblivion.

Safe to say this was a disaster. I wasn't ever actually knocked off but I was brushed past by 40mph traffic more times than I'd care to mention. Traffic streams passing me would just turn left at major junctions as if I wasn't there. The closest passes were rarely from the first vehicle, but quite often from the ones immediately behind, because the leading vehicle didn't obviously move around me so they had no idea I was there.

The big breakthrough came when I rode out with a more hardy cyclist who, although he had little experience of the road compared with me, immediately positioned himself in the left lane such that there was no way a vehicle could get past without hitting him. Not in the middle of the lane, just wide enough that there was no way to squeeze through. What a transformation!

Suddenly, traffic was changing lanes before it got to me, people about to turn left were waiting behind me, and the number of uncomfortable misses I suffered dropped basically to zero. Only the deliberate buzzes remained, but they were rare and, crucially, it's much nicer being buzzed when you have some road space on your left instead of already bumping over yellow lines and drains!

I strongly believe that it is dangerous to ride in the gutter and more to the point, that encouraging people to do so is to put them at unnecessary risk. Yes, you can be hit by someone who has a brake failure - but even if 1:10,000 cars had brake failures that is fantastically better odds than 1 out of every 1 car coming close to knocking you off because they just don't need to pay attention to this bottom-feeding, gutter-hugging figure approaching in the corner of their eye.

Sorry Jimbo, nothing personal but while I'm 100% behind ideas like, pull over to let people past and make everyone's day, I think riding outside vehicles' "roll path" is way more dangerous than riding in it.

i agree... i used to ride very close to the kerb. but then i get a lot of close passes. since i have switched to recumbent most of the time cars tend to leave me a lot of space.....and i ride about 1 meter off the kerb.

 

[Origamist]

i agree. sometime we should learn how to share the road. just slow down and let him pass. it doesnt take much of your time. 3-4 seconds?

That is a narrow lane and wide HGV - slowing down and/or pulling in it does not mean that you would not get a close pass, or in the worst case scenario, clipped by the vehicle ("the cyclist just slowed down/stopped, I could not avoid him").

Turning off at the RaB would have been the best approach, but that's v easy with hindsight.

 

[jimboalee]

I'm not sure it's really worth arguing about, but here's an anecdote from my last (until I switched jobs) 17 mile commute. I would ride for about 5 miles in either direction on the A90. The road is a 40mph single carriageway but with two lanes in either direction and it carries a constant stream of traffic, including buses and lorries. Streetview here and here.

When I first started, I was relatively timid and rode, a-la Jimbo, in the gutter. My theory was that by minimising how much I was in the way of traffic, I would maximise the amount of room I got and have to worry less about being creamed by close-passing HGVs and buses or left-hooked into oblivion.

Safe to say this was a disaster. I wasn't ever actually knocked off but I was brushed past by 40mph traffic more times than I'd care to mention. Traffic streams passing me would just turn left at major junctions as if I wasn't there. The closest passes were rarely from the first vehicle, but quite often from the ones immediately behind, because the leading vehicle didn't obviously move around me so they had no idea I was there.

The big breakthrough came when I rode out with a more hardy cyclist who, although he had little experience of the road compared with me, immediately positioned himself in the left lane such that there was no way a vehicle could get past without hitting him. Not in the middle of the lane, just wide enough that there was no way to squeeze through. What a transformation!

Suddenly, traffic was changing lanes before it got to me, people about to turn left were waiting behind me, and the number of uncomfortable misses I suffered dropped basically to zero. Only the deliberate buzzes remained, but they were rare and, crucially, it's much nicer being buzzed when you have some road space on your left instead of already bumping over yellow lines and drains!

I strongly believe that it is dangerous to ride in the gutter and more to the point, that encouraging people to do so is to put them at unnecessary risk. Yes, you can be hit by someone who has a brake failure - but even if 1:10,000 cars had brake failures that is fantastically better odds than 1 out of every 1 car coming close to knocking you off because they just don't need to pay attention to this bottom-feeding, gutter-hugging figure approaching in the corner of their eye.

Sorry Jimbo, nothing personal but while I'm 100% behind ideas like, pull over to let people past and make everyone's day, I think riding outside vehicles' "roll path" is way more dangerous than riding in it.

This is a masterly post. It has cooled me down.

My route home from work is along the B4100 and A41 through Warwick. They are single lane 50mph limit roads where I ride along the inside tyre track, or Normal position, or Secondary according to CycleCraft. I have no problem and like you, it is only the rude 'buzzes' that disturb me.
Through Warwick, starting at the traffic island just south of the river Avon Bridge, do I become cautious of the traffic behind me.
Over the bridge and onwards to Castle hill, it becomes double lane and I take my room if I need it. At the approach to the Island right by the Castle gate, I roll up the curbside and round the island observing frequently the traffic behind me.
The route I wish is 'through traffic' and means a change of lanes to the right while ascending a 4% hill. I HAVE to be dominant here or I will never get across and be pushed into Jury St. This is where standing up with bum waggling mostly happens .
There might be a queue of traffic waiting at the signal and I ride up the white dotted lane markers to the head of the queue. The exit of that junction is up hill ( still 4% ) and one building has a stone wall jutting out to the curb. Again, I have to be dominant all the way up the 4% to the police station and round to the top of the hill down to Saltisford. More standing up pretending to be Contador.
I turn right at the island, so need to merge to the right across the lane down an 8% to a small traffic island which has an adverse camber so I like to be close to the centre of the island. Super Dominant here.
There is a Pelicon crossing outside Sainsbury's and there is usally two or three cars stopped. Advance up the curbside very cautiously.
The next traffic signal is outside the White Hart Pub, There are two entrance lanes and ONE exit lane. Vehicles are supposed to merge in turn while rolling across the junction. I take a dominant position when I move away, watching the cars very frequently.
It is single lane all the way to Solihull and most of it is now a 50 mph limit.

Solihull by-pass has a section of dual carriageway and the limit has been reduced from 70 to 50 this summer.

The most nervous part of the whole trip is at the lights on the Birmingham Rd immediately after Stanks Island over the A46 trunk road.

The council have put the cycle lane between the left filter lane and the first lane of the straight ahead lanes. I have to exit the island and keep a wide line to get to the cycle lane. Lots of motorists DON'T SEE the cycle lane markings on the road and hoot, shout and curse as I merge across the left filter lane to the cycle lane to go straight ahead.

In the evening, the sun is right in the eyes. Being a regular user of this junction, I know where the markings are, but many out-of-towners are totally oblivious of the bike lane in the middle of the road which has faded terrible.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

^^ When I read a post like that, I really can't see why you're so vehement in your denunciations of CycleCraft. I've never read it, but as far as I know, that's pretty much how they advocate riding.

 

[jimboalee]

I had a look at the traffic lights outside The White Hart. The left lane is left and forward and the right lane is right filter. Cars, in their eternal rush, sweep up the right lane and go forward when a car in the left lane goes left .

That's what led me to think there was two lanes in and one lane exit, which is rediculous. I never go over to the right hand lane there cus I'm not turning right.

Here's the other scary bit. If you've ever delivered to Tachbrook park in Leamington, you'll know it.
A452 / Europa Way.
Mine is the blue line coming from Banbury Road, merging into centre lane for Banbury Road to Warwick.
Red is motorists from Warwick and Europa Way going for the M40.
Dotted red I've seen often where motorist HAS TO get past and cut left in front of me before driving over hatches into M40 channel road.

All in a day's ride.

 

[jimboalee]

This is where the dreadful rear-end happened that caused gridlock all the way back to the HP Sauce factory.

Driver looking to the right when he should have been watching what was in front of him.

 

[ufkacbln]

Surely the obvious way to avoid following drivers going into the back of you is to ride contrary to the traffic flow - problem solved!

 

[ufkacbln]

On a more serious note...

You will have copies of the comments in your "Inbox" - simply post them back up as quotes!