Interesting (alarming) police view on incidents

[deptfordmarmoset]

The thing that gets me is that the most dangerous overtakes I've experienced, like in the video, is that the driver is rushing into a queue. His compromising of the safety of another road user got him precisely nowhere. For nothing! Not even an inch. If someone is prepared to endanger another person's security for no gain whatsoever, then is that someone fit to drive?

 

[glenn forger]

Look up the case law on "wobble room".

 

[Boris Bajic]

This is nonsense, a car driver isn't placed at risk by a car passing closely, a cyclist is, for obvious reasons.

You may have interpreted 400bhp's post in an unusual and/or unhelpful way. He does not condone close passes; he just makes a point that is obvious to those of us who cycle and drive on fast, single-carriageway roads.

His point makes perfect sense to me, both as a motorist and a cyclist.

 

[400bhp]

Look up the case law on "wobble room".

No thanks.

See Boris post above

 

[glenn forger]

No thanks.

Fine, remain wilfully ignorant.

 

[400bhp]

:sigh;

Thick

Click-ignore

 

[glenn forger]

The thing that gets me is that the most dangerous overtakes I've experienced, like in the video, is that the driver is rushing into a queue. His compromising of the safety of another road user got him precisely nowhere. For nothing! Not even an inch. If someone is prepared to endanger another person's security for no gain whatsoever, then is that someone fit to drive?

Precisely, absurd risks taken for absolutely no gain. It's the reason I don't ever ride on dual carriageways anymore, I'm positive close passes when the right lane is empty is because of an imagined sense of entitlement. A punishment pass, in other words. At 60mph.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

In the interests of fairness (and we've been here before) I don't interpret the meaning in the Highway code as giving a full car width as a pass. It isn't realistic and makes no sense (otherwise there would be very very few opportunities to pass on a single carriageway-indeed, cars travel closer than this side by side on DC's/motorways)

And yet, in about 350, 000 miles of driving, I have never had any problem with giving cyclists at least 5 feet of clearance when overtaking them.

 

[SportMonkey]

Precisely, absurd risks taken for absolutely no gain. It's the reason I don't ever ride on dual carriageways anymore, I'm positive close passes when the right lane is empty is because of an imagined sense of entitlement. A punishment pass, in other words. At 60mph.

I've never had this, and I do a lot of dual carriageway cycling. The argument is about the definition of acceptable distance, it's arbitrary, I've been passed within inches driving a car too, so the highway code states that is fine for cyclists. You can interpret things many ways, that is where solicitors make their money. Close passes shouldn't happen, but the police need to be fairly confident they can prosecute it.

 

[400bhp]

And yet, in about 350, 000 miles of driving, I have never had any problem with giving cyclists at least 5 feet of clearance when overtaking them.

Your cars are very narrow then. Most cars are a lot more than 5 ft wide. Your definition would be a car width, plus say 3ft to overtake, (assuming a car is occupying the same space as the cyclist).

8ft plus.

Just unrealistic.

 

[SportMonkey]

And yet, in about 350, 000 miles of driving, I have never had any problem with giving cyclists at least 5 feet of clearance when overtaking them.

You're not every driver. Even people who are understanding of cyclists don't understand driving safely around cyclists like cyclists do, and I'm sure not all of us have the same understanding.

I had my wife getting grumpy with me for doing 15mph along the road in to the village as I saw a cyclist without lights on. She realised I was right when an idiot came screaming up behind me on a blind corner, he would have not been able to see the bike at the speed, and with the width of the road etc. he would have almost certainly collected the cyclist.

 

[Hip Priest]

Apropos nothing...whatever happened to Dawesome off here?

 

[400bhp]

Apropos nothing...whatever happened to Dawesome off here?

Changed username.

Same MO.

 

[HLaB]

Precisely, absurd risks taken for absolutely no gain. It's the reason I don't ever ride on dual carriageways anymore, I'm positive close passes when the right lane is empty is because of an imagined sense of entitlement. A punishment pass, in other words. At 60mph.

Dual carriageways are funny/ strange if riding in a group or you are confident enough drivers get less frustrated (can overtake easier), they can be better than another road. I tend to stick away from high speed dc's however, where its harder to be confident/ assertive. Undoubtedly there will be the element in some drivers but the majority IMO are due to delineated muppets not expecting a cyclist (mis attention rather than maliciousness).

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Your cars are very narrow then. Most cars are a lot more than 5 ft wide. Your definition would be a car width, plus say 3ft to overtake, (assuming a car is occupying the same space as the cyclist).
8ft plus.
Just unrealistic.

Well, if a cyclist is riding in a sensible secondary position 3 feet from the kerb and I pass 5 feet from the cyclist, then that is indeed 8 feet. Add the width of the cyclist and it's going to be over 9 feet. If there isn't room to pass with that clearance then you wait until there is. I reckon I've probably lost no more than 10 minutes of my life so far by waiting in this way. There really is no excuse for not giving a cyclist 5 feet of clearance; ever.