Interesting (alarming) police view on incidents

[400bhp]

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.

whaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttt

Your interpretation of the HC is to pass 8ft from the gutter.

Sorry, there's no helping you.

 

[glenn forger]

I will never, ever cycle on dcs again, it's just too scary, drivers seem to pass at insane speeds when there's an empty lane next to them.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

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.

Well, I was replying to 400bhp's assertion that it is unrealistic. It is perfectly realistic.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

whaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttt
Your interpretation of the HC is to pass 8ft from the gutter.
Sorry, there's no helping you.

It seems that you may be part of the problem. It really is not difficult for a competent driver.

 

[400bhp]

It seems that you may be part of the problem. It really is not difficult for a competent driver.

Explain your understanding of the HC because you appear to be backtracking.

Is it (a) a cars width (6 ft) plus 3ft = no less than 9 ft

(b) 9 ft from the kerb, or

(c) something else.

 

[jarlrmai]

I would say this happens 2 - 3 times each time I ride, today was a special offer I guess.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Explain your understanding of the HC because you appear to be backtracking.
Is it (a) a cars width (6 ft) plus 3ft = no less than 9 ft
(b) 9 ft from the kerb, or
(c) something else.

No backtracking here. The HC doesn't specify feet and inches; it says that you should give a cyclist as much space as you would give a car, and there is a picture to clarify what that means. The interpretation is that the road position of your car when overtaking a cyclist should be the same as it would be if you were overtaking a car at the same place.

 

[400bhp]

I'm bored.

 

[newfhouse]

Alexwarrior is a BOSS:

Clever, but you may struggle to use it as evidence. I'm imagining the conversation with an unsympathetic cop where you rely on your homebrew sonar to spur him into action, never mind explaining it all to a magistrate. Having said that, purely for entertainment and research, it would be quite simple and cheap to use Bluetooth to link a similar device to a smartphone logging GPS speed and position. I feel a wet-weekend project coming on...

 

[Radchenister]

Out the country so just a quick catch up likely costing me a packet as starting into a £3 a day data charge when I could have kept quiet but can't resist commenting on these graphic interpretations you guys conjur up as 'factual' - that new measuring image is better and may be more accurate but for it to be right, perspective requires that you project that measurement line to the same height up the door as on the wheel, if you were just a few inches higher than the bottom lip of the door the distance needs to increase. My point is from that angle there is not enough reliable imagery to calculate the distance, anyone who knows a bit about lenses and perspective will shoot your credibility out the water. If you're going to get all legal on someone, then man you better be squeaking clean accurate or you're boogered, in testing if a reprimand was in order here my instinct is that they wouldn't even get onto debating what is too close in the circumstances if the actual proximity is in doubt in the first instance , bonsoir!

 

[oilyormo]

"The HC doesn't specify feet and inches; it says that you should give a cyclist as much space as you would give a car"


I took that to mean that if i would overtake a car with3-5 foot clearance then that would be the same for a cyclist. Not to envisage the cyclist as being the width of a car plus 3-5 foot

Ive no copy of the highway code so I may be wrong and stand to be corrected

 

[Matthew_T]

"The HC doesn't specify feet and inches; it says that you should give a cyclist as much space as you would give a car"

Does that mean that you pass the cyclist as close as you would pass the side of the car, or do you imagine the cyclist as a car?

I imagine most just imagine the cyclist not there and give them 1ft thinking it is safe. "But I didnt hit you did I" "I was nowhere near you".

 

[oilyormo]

I think that imagining a cyclist as being 7 foot wide plus 3 foot o/t distance is a bit ott.
Be realistic. I'm happy with 3 foot clearance.

But I agree that a lot of drivers think its ok to be as close as they can as long as they dont knock you off.

Before I started cycling again (2 years ago),after 30 years as a car driver I am ASHAMED to say that on some occasions I have been that close to a cyclist that I had to look in my rear view mirror to see if I had knocked him/her off or not. Im not alone too!

Cycling again has really opened my eyes to the dangers posed by such close passes.
Plus there's the fear factor that I never appreciated. I've not sh**e myself yet but i've come pretty close at times. believe me !

If a car driver hasnt been on a bike in todays traffic then he/she wont appreciate the dangers.
Education for me has gotto be the key to make the roads safer for cyclists.
Remember the think once, think twice, think bike campaign of the 70-80s for motorbike. Maybe a gvt sponsored campain to educate drivers to the cyclist?
I think that the op's little chat with the driver of the RR will improve his appreciation of cyclists no end, even if he didnt show it at the time.

 

[jarlrmai]

Man i've been saying for ages think bike should be about cyclists as well, would be nice to see posters and ads on the back of buses etc.

However until a car driver like ones in my clip is on a bike and passed close I doubt anyone of them will "get it" my dad recently started doing a few miles on my old hybrid bike and he was shocked at the way he was treated by some drivers.

I really really think there is a vast empathy gulf here.

 

[Hawk]

I would say this happens 2 - 3 times each time I ride, today was a special offer I guess.

I would try riding further because I think the problem is you're seen more like a "stationary obstacle" that drivers need to juuussst miss as opposed to a hazard they need to consciously start forward planning for.

If you're driving along and you see a parked car with its wheels juussstt on the road and there is lots of room on your other side, you'd just move round it comfortably without thinking.

Your aim is to make some drivers come off "autopilot".

Displaying a bright (flashing during daytime?) rear light also seems to trigger hazard perception mode in many motorists, ime.

I have a similar road on my commute and I find the safest place to be seems to be about 2 feet left of the lane divider line.