Idiot and speed humps

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Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Tootling along the road this morning, good pace but not tearing along towards a nasty bit of road where there is a crossroads laid out for traffic calming. Basically a speed hump, and then a raised crossroads where the road narrows on all four approaches on both sides, and of course its about 20 feet past the first speed hump.

Bloke in car comes up to try to overtake, pulls level, realises that theres a car on the other side of the road (parked in a fairly stupid place), has nowhere to go, hits his brakes just before I do.

So, down all down the road after the crossroads he's stuck behind me, although I say 'stuck' in truth he wasn't even that close to me, due to the barrage of speed humps all down that road.

At the end of that road theres a blind corner right followed by a blind corner left and yes, you guessed it, in the run up to the right turn he's revving, and trying to overtake around me in primary position going around a blind left corner. So I yelled a warning at him while taking evasive action (that after all is one of the reasons to be in primary, gives you space), he backed off, then went as hard as he could to get to the red light at the end of the road (30 yards or so) before I could.

I did yell one thing at him after pulling up alongside. "You do know that you're a f***ing idiot, don't you?".

He said nothing in return. Tried not to even look at me. I know, its probably a mistake to wind him up like that. In my defense, he went straight on (same way I did) and I waited to make sure te bugger had gone before I went off. He turned left further on, neither his indicator nor one of his brake lights seemed to work.
 
He's the sort that thinks he's a big man until he comes face to face with you. Then it becomes clear it's all for show. You were probably scaring the poor fellow :smile:

It really is a lack of understanding of the issues that cyclists face on the roads. He would have no idea why you were in the road position you were and he got upset. This is all the more reason why we need compulsory cycle training as part of the driving test!!:ohmy:

By the way Cab, you got a helmet camera didn't you? Do you not have any of this on video?
 

zimzum42

Legendary Member
I always try to pedal a bit quicker in this situation to try to not antagonize anyone following.......
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
I agree. I'd do that too, or if I'm having a slow ride day I might instead pull into a space and wave them past. Generates no end of goodwill.

That still doesn't excuse what happened to Cab though, the driver was wrong to be so impatient.
 

zimzum42

Legendary Member
I'm not trying to excuse the driver, just pointing out that as much as they should try to help us out by not crushing us at pinch points, we should also do what we can to not hold people up.........
 

zimzum42

Legendary Member
(I guessed so) but I wanted to make clear my position before the all cars bad brigade lay into me......
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
magnatom said:
By the way Cab, you got a helmet camera didn't you? Do you not have any of this on video?

Nothing much to see of this on camera I'm afraid. I'd have needed a camera pointing sideways and another backwards.
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
zimzum42 said:
I always try to pedal a bit quicker in this situation to try to not antagonize anyone following.......

I agree, thats a wise course of action. I went as fast as the road conditions (narrow road with parked cars on both sides meaning theres really only room for one lane, that lane covered with speed humps) allowed.
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
BentMikey said:
I agree. I'd do that too, or if I'm having a slow ride day I might instead pull into a space and wave them past. Generates no end of goodwill.

Had he genuinely been held up by me then naturally I'd look for a way to let him past safely. Thing is, all down where the speed humps were, he wasn't being held up at all. His dash to get past me before the speedhumps was neither safe nor would it have helped him, all it would have achieved would be to put him in front of me (holding me up) all down the road.
 

zimzum42

Legendary Member
i do enjoy overtaking cars on roads with humps, they look a bit frustrated.....

in fact, overtaking any moving car is always a minor victory, and a major one if they are doing 25-30+
 

jonathan ellis

Well-Known Member
Location
London
I had a similar experience near my house. Road humps everywhere here
a Merc revved a bit too much and kept smacking the front of the car and the exhaust on each bump.

I was heading down hill at about 27mph and he tried to get past (which would have resulted in me piling into a parked car) so I blasted the airhorn and he hung back.

It just seems a mind set that when in a car, you must overtake a cyclist if there is one in front, no matter the circumstance or conditions
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
I'm surprised they could keep up on a 'humped' road - I can't keep up in my car with any bike - or is it me who tries to avoid trips to the garage to get my suspension fixed ?
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Fossyant, it depends very much on the car and the humps. Some of those daft 'speed cushions' designed to let ambulances through at pace (good thing) can be similarly avoided by hulking great 4x4s and people carriers (bad thing). Then theres the cars with really high clearance (still many 4x4s) that can go over humps quite fast, and idiots who just don't know that the scraping noise is their exhaust and bumbers being ruined...

And as has been said, bikes have to be passed. Doesn't matter if its a road with loads of humps or a bike in front of you at 27mph keeping pace with the car in front of him, theres a certain subset of motorists for whom a bike in front is an affront to their whatnot.
 
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