Invisible me!

[Arch]

Of course, not only did she not look in her mirrors, but she'd either failed to see you as she pulled past you, or forgotten you were there in the space of a couple of seconds...

 

[BentMikey]

Probably didn't register with the stress of turning and the car next to her. I'm sure I'd also have gone like Magnatom did.

 

[Bollo]

Getting too close to dancing automobiles is something I've become more wary of since picking my way through Bolletta's school run became a fixture a couple of years ago. Crazy manoeuvres like Magger's reverser are standard issue, usually into a pavement full of kids. I'm not sure I'd bat an eyelid if a parent appeared out of the ground in a tunnelling machine.

With reference to state of mind and cameras, I'm now quite convinced that I wouldn't ever buy a camera. My view is the fitting of one tends to fixate you into a negative view of cycling and then allow you to dwell on it over and over again. I can't argue that they are occasionally useful but on balance I think their use has more negatives than positives. I know you and others may disagree but I'm clear in my own mind what I want out of my cycling experience.

Magger's vids are a special case as he's become the poster boy for a certain branch of cycle advocacy. If we all started posting our day to day hassles, I think it would start to become self-defeating by potraying cycling as much more dangerous than it really is. It would be like basing the driving test solely on episodes of 'Road Wars'.

You're right - being cammed up can affect your state of mind if you let it. What I've tried to do is get clear in my head why I have a camera. For me its an insurance policy for when things go (and did go) wrong. I've also used it to address specific incidents where I can make a difference, a recent near offing by a courier being an example. In this case, the vid went up to show the MD and came down again when I was satisfied with his response. I did post a few close passes etc when I first got the camera, but the novelty has worn off now. These days, I'll only put up a vid as either a full "name and shame" or if its funny. But the point is that I know its not going to help one bit if I'm offed or assaulted in the search of 'a good story'. It's no good being right and dead.

Grumpy and gloomy - that makes you glumpy!

 

[Crackle]

Glumpy. I like that.

It was your vid I was thinking of Bollo. It's the only really concrete case I've seen of a vid making a difference. I know that sending examples of bad driving to companies is also arguably making a difference but it's not for me, not something I'd do. I'd also argue that there's a downside to it as well. It's one of those little things that turns up the heat just a little bit for everybody. Not in ways that are obvious or even easy to explain, though I'm sure someone like FM could elucidate on the effects of different forms of surveillance in our lives. I don't need to though, I'm happy to deal with it on a more instinctual level and I'm not comfortable with it. It's exactly the same principle in ditching my HR monitor and computer on occasions and just concentrating on the ride, it's the feeling of freedom you get. I also accept that people are better than me at divorcing themselves from such things but I know I would feel encumbered by it.

 

[Night Train]

As a driver I would have approached differently, as I cyclist I would probably have done the same as you.

I remember, years ago, a friend who was reversing a Leyland Martian recovery truck out of a road. Usual two hoots on the horn to say he was reversing and then proceeded. A driver in a Nissan Sunny drove up close behind the Martian, ignoring the watchers waving her to stop, and promptly got her bonnet runover.

 

[magnatom]

Crackle, I'm with you on the dumping gear idea. I know that when I go out on longer rides, I won't have a camera. I'll need to keep the weight down to get up the hills anyway!

I also think it makes another difference. I've had a good number of people personally contact me and thank me for my videos in one way or another. Some have said they learned from my videos, some have said it has helped them to know that they aren't the only ones who have these sorts of problems.

Anyway, as Bollo says I'm a special case!

 

[col]

It was a busy junction and the last thing she would have expected is a cyclist crossing it to end up behind her at that point,she seemed to be giving way to a reversing car by doing the same,you didnt see it and made a mistake,putting yourself in that position then complaining she wasnt using her mirrors is unfair.

 

[hackbike 666]

No need to be so defensive, you're like a cat on carpet for traction at the moment.

Well he knows you are perfect BM.

 

[goo_mason]

It was a busy junction and the last thing she would have expected is a cyclist crossing it to end up behind her at that point,she seemed to be giving way to a reversing car by doing the same,you didnt see it and made a mistake,putting yourself in that position then complaining she wasnt using her mirrors is unfair.

I don't agree there, Col - it's not busy - those are all just parked cars, and when Magnatom set off out of the side road the car that hit him was still going forward. She went very quickly from stopping to reversing, and obviously made the mistake of reversing without looking to see that there was space to do so.

IMHO, the only thing Magnatom did wrong was to fail to spot the silver car pull to a stop and its reversing lights go on, which may have warned him to be aware. But then maybe he did, but didn't expect the dark car to reverse as well since it looked like it was driving around the silver one with lots of room to spare (it's already over the middle line at 19secs).

Whether you think Magnatom should or shouldn't have been in that position, the driver still backed up without checking her mirror - very unwise to do so in the middle of a road, wouldn't you say ? There could have been a bus or a big truck bearing down on her at that point, and she'd have suffered a lot more than someone yelling "Oi !!" at her !

 

[BentMikey]

Hackers, if you carry on being a div, I'll just put you on ignore.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

It was a busy junction and the last thing she would have expected is a cyclist crossing it to end up behind her at that point,she seemed to be giving way to a reversing car by doing the same,you didnt see it and made a mistake,putting yourself in that position then complaining she wasnt using her mirrors is unfair.

Oh golly gosh.. what a surprise... Col blaming someone else for a driver's stupidity/lack of awareness

She's reversing on a road... stands to reason she should check her mirrors first. Sheesh, have you passed your driving test??

 

[BentMikey]

I must admit this topic makes me want to put an airzound on the Fujin!! Drivers react much faster to this than to a shouted Oi.

 

[beanzontoast]

Good job she reversed slowly. If she had been a different kind of person, she might have chucked it into reverse and gunned it back 20 yards, which wouldn't have been nice.

By the way Mag - why is there a vulture perched on your handlebars? You can clearly see two of its toes dangling in front of the lens on the left of the screen.

 

[Crackle]

By the way Mag - why is there a vulture perched on your handlebars? You can clearly see two of its toes dangling in front of the lens on the left of the screen.

It's not a vulture, it's the end of Deaths scythe. Maggers works in mysterious ways

 

[col]

Oh golly gosh.. what a surprise... Col blaming someone else for a driver's stupidity/lack of awareness

She's reversing on a road... stands to reason she should check her mirrors first. Sheesh, have you passed your driving test??

Probably why the car behind her hadnt filled the gap maybe,to let her back possibly seeing what is happening?but then a cyclist rushes across to that gap when there isnt anywhere for him to go,or is pulling into that part of a junction normal when its as busy as that?I couldnt see any safe areas there,could you?