I wore my hi-vis today...

[Sheffield_Tiger]

...and I finally remembered, within 5 minutes of home, how things go into slow-motion "bullet time". Amazing how much you can think in such a short space of time. My roll was planned, clipping out was sussed out and the opposite carriageway was checked and verified to be clear

Fishtailing and locked up, myself and the car that pulled out of the side road at the bottom of the hill, stopped approximately 3 inches from contact

*phew*

So that's FOUR front lights, and looking like a genetically-modified radioactive banana and I'm still invisible

Then again....judging by the incident on Saturday where a car driver didn't see a 14 foot high lilac & purple bus and put it's bonnet squarely into it's path, I guess I shouldn't be surprised

 

[Brommie77]

Go Ninja - it seems to work for everyone else, the christmas tree approach is obviously invisible.

 

[400bhp]

How do you position yourself on the road when you can see a car in the distance approaching/waiting to turn onto your road from a side street?

 

[GrasB]

Yeah it's amazing how much information & thought you can put into something when someone pulls out without enough room for you. It reminds me of the sweaty palmed moments as I fly down Madingly Hill & a car doesn't quite come to a stop at the Coton/Madingly junction... typically I'll be doing 35-40mph at that point.

 

[BSRU]

Assuming they looked, they either didn't see you because their blind or assumed being on a bicycle you were only going 10mph.

 

[GrasB]

Assuming they looked, they either didn't see you because their blind or assumed being on a bicycle you were only going 10mph.

Look? you're being optimistic, a cursory glance that just showed their eyes down the road for a split second.

 

[BSRU]

Look? you're being optimistic, a cursory glance that just showed their eyes down the road for a split second.

Probably true, although I have drivers look right at me and still pull out.

 

[Davidc]

It's all your fault. You were cycling, he was in a car, so he's blameless.

Why can't you understand that being on a bike you are creating a hazard. Just by being there. No self respecting car driver is going to look your way before pulling out, (s)he might be dazzled by your lights and hi-viz clothes.

And you don't pay road tax, or have to pass a test, or pay congestion charge in London, or pay to park, so what makes you think you have any right to be on the road in the first place?

Now leave me in peace while I go back to reading my Daily Mail.

***********************************************************


BTW - all of that (apart from the DM bit, that was on her passenger seat) is paraphrased from what I got from the mouth of a woman who pulled out in front of me yesterday. I've removed the profanities. I was doing about 12 mph and just missed her. At the front I had a bright battery LED light and a halogen dynamo light going and I was wearing a bright yellow Altura Nevis jacket. it was dull daylight at 4:15 pm.

My only suggestions to her were that she should grow a brain and get her eyes tested. She drove off without looking and a car coming down the road, and the ones behind it, had to do full-on emergency stops. With drivers like your example and mine it won't make any difference at all what you wear or how many lights you have because they just aren't looking where they're going.

 

[pshore]

It's amazing how hi-viz and lights don't always work. Flashing lights, in my opinion help you stand out more.

There an existing thread on SMIDSY avoidance:

https://www.cyclechat.net/

The linked video is really good to help you understand why it is happening. The SMIDSY avoidance technique for motorcyclists can't be used as-is for cyclists due to the lower speeds. I have been playing around with this and so far the best technique seems to be:

1. Check for cars overtaking you. If there are any, there is no need to do anything as the car will be spotted before you.
2. Look for eye contact. If you have it, you have been spotted.
3. At this point you will be quite close. As in the video you need to move across the field of vision so move across the lane to the right hand side. As it says in the video the driver may be surprised by you and slam on the brakes blocking the lane. You need to be on a trajectory that will take you around the nose of the car. Keep on eye out for oncoming traffic. You can also stand up on a cycle to make yourself bigger, stand out from the background and look more assertive.

 

[GrasB]

All well & good but the problem is most people who pull out without enough space aren't SMIDSY they're SMIDBLFY (Sorry Mate I Didn't Bother Looking For You).

 

[Bodhbh]

Someone did to me last year. Hi-Viz and Aye-Ups blaring out. He looked and didn't see, or as I *might* I recall but maybe didn't, someone flashed him out and all previous intelligence reported to the brain got wiped in a split second. I wish people wouldn't flash peeps out of junctions without looking if it might precipitate an incident.

 

[Mad at urage]

...and I finally remembered, within 5 minutes of home, how things go into slow-motion "bullet time". Amazing how much you can think in such a short space of time. My roll was planned, clipping out was sussed out and the opposite carriageway was checked and verified to be clear

Fishtailing and locked up, myself and the car that pulled out of the side road at the bottom of the hill, stopped approximately 3 inches from contact

*phew*

So that's FOUR front lights, and looking like a genetically-modified radioactive banana and I'm still invisible

Then again....judging by the incident on Saturday where a car driver didn't see a 14 foot high lilac & purple bus and put it's bonnet squarely into it's path, I guess I shouldn't be surprised

Well done, it's a great buzz to live like that for a few seconds: Not the sort of buzz I really like on the road though!

SOP for side-turning at the bottom of a hill (for me) is (rear glance) adopt secondary, stand up, prepare to release left SPD, keep brakes in contact with wheel, if necessary slow so I can stop if they pull out (if it's clear when I can see up the road, sit and use the last of the hill to regain speed).

I don't need that speed all the way downhill and can usually regain it easily if safe to do so. Remember that EVERYONE else on the road should be treated as certifiably insane.

Of course the above slowing in front of them irritates some, but I can't win every way (and this has kept me alive a long while).

 

[GrasB]

Someone did to me last year. Hi-Viz and Aye-Ups blaring out. He looked and didn't see, or as I *might* I recall but maybe didn't, someone flashed him out and all previous intelligence reported to the brain got wiped in a split second. I wish people wouldn't flash peeps out of junctions without looking if it might precipitate an incident.

I never respond to people flashing their headlights, you don't know exactly what they mean. According to the HC & my AD training the use of headlight flashers is to warn someone you're there.

 

[fossyant]

Bloody Cyclist !

 

[Browser]

Sorry to be trivial, but I wil try to remember the term 'genetically modified bananna' for future conversations with folk about being visible as a cyclist!
Oh, and the motorists was not looking for you, he was looking forward to getting wherever he was going in a hurry!