brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
I've been cycling for 4 months and I've been Ok (touch wood). I've survived so long because I take extra care when I see either a women, bonehead or foreigner in a car. It works for me.
Ideas to making cycling safer in London and towns and cities up and down the land....
- Thread starter The Jogger
- Start date
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Titan yer tummy
No meatings b4 dinner!
- Location
- Beckenham, SE London
Do you look like your avatar?
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
Not really. Do you ?
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
If it's a women, I assume she needs a gap the size of two buses to get her Nissan Micra through so I give her more room. If it's a bonehead I assume he wont indicate and he'll be very impatient and drive too fast so I anticipate this. If it's a foreigner I assume that if they indicate left, they might turn right. These techniques have a proven track record of keeping me alive. Simples
I've been cycling for fifty years, and I have never distinguished between varieties of driver, makes of car or types of vehicle. I treat them all the same and this has so far worked for me. How do you manage to identify foreigners and boneheads?
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
I look through the glass part of the vehicle.
You must be much more perceptive than me. I find many foreigners look just like us Brits, and likewise I can't tell idiots from drivers as clever as you and me without closer acquaintance. "There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face."
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
Please refrain from homophobic, sexist and racist comments brokenflipflop as this flouts the site rules.
Sometimes the make of car is a good indicator e.g. Subaru = bonehead, Wide bore exhaust and 18 inch Amir Khan's = foreigner, Polish number plate = foreigner, Romanian plate = foreigner, long hair and make up = woman, BMW = beware, could tick all boxes including selfish cock. Range Rover with privacy glass = drug pusher using his mobile - take care. There are dozens and it's really useful to spot these just to be safe. Occasionally a nice, thoughtful and considerate person may be driving a BMW but it pays to assume that they're all selfish cocks, who work at phones4u, just in case.
Crikey, thanks for these pointers. I can't believe these tips are infallible though. Are you sure you don't miss a lot of bad drivers? I mean, not all foreigners conform to your prejudices. Surely some Romanians drive British registered cars. Don't some women catch you out by cutting their hair and looking a little mannish perhaps? I think you had better not put too much reliance on your peculiar world view. My advice is to treat all cars the same. Don't trust any of them with your life.
By the way, what is an "18" Amir Khan" when its not a miniature boxer?
gaz
Cycle Camera TV
- Location
- South Croydon
Probably wheels.
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
Correct
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
It's just a starting point. The list is by no means exhaustive. Just follow the main indicators and I've found you can't go far wrong. Yeah, If a woman tries to look like a man, it does make identification more difficult, but then I'd go to different indicators.....is the car pink, is it a Ford KA or a Peugeot 206cc, does she need 7 yards of gap on her side while you squeeze past 12 inches on your side. It may be a peculiar view to some but it's kept me alive for nearly 4 and a half months now.
I really fear you may be putting yourself in danger. Even a someone who looks like an Englishman may prove on closer, too close, acquaintance to be drug dealing woman from Poland. Or perhaps he looks just like you but turns out to have the brain of an invertebrate. Also, I find I am too handicapped to use your system. I cannot tell one make of car from another, except VW Beatles. Where do they come in your hierarchy of competence?
brokenflipflop
Veteran
- Location
- Worsley
As with most safety systems, there is always an element of risk. If I can't pigeon-hole the driver by way of looks or vehicle then my safety model suggests you treat these instances as if it's a foreigner driving a BMW, just to err on the side of caution. As for VW Beatles you've hit on an interesting one there. The classic Beatle should be viewed in the same way as the camper van i.e. polite, friendly and courteous driver. However, the new Beatle i.e. 'W' reg and newer, then proceed with caution and anticipate giving it a wide birth - probable woman driver. You are probably best to treat every driver like a foreigner driving a BMW except in your particular case, you can relax each time you come across a classic Beatle, or not, if it's the "new" Beatle. It sounds complicated but in practice you get used to it.
