Laura Trott interview about London cyclist

[glenn forger]

themitsky: “Hi, sorry-”
Passenger: “You don’t cycle in the middle of the road.”
themitsky: “Why not?”
Passenger: “You cycle on the side not in the middle of the road.”
themitsky: “Do you want to try it? Do you want to try cycling on the road and see how it feels?”
Passenger: “But on the side, not in the middle.”
themitsky: “If it’s not safe, I’ll cycle in the middle.”

…

themitsky: “Hello again.”
Passenger: “A question, if it’s not safe to cycle on the side, is it safer to cycle in the middle where the cars and everything is?”
themitsky: “Yeah, if I have to. It’s not against – it’s not the law that I have to cycle in the left of the lane.”

Passenger: “But the car have priority over you because we pay road tax.”
themitsky: “No, no.”
Passenger: “Yes.”
themitsky: “No, forget road tax.”
Passenger: “Yes we do.”
themitsky: “Check the website ipayroadtax.com, there is no such thing as road tax.”
Passenger: “What do you mean there’s no such thing as road tax?”
themitsky: “Check the website ipayroadtax.com, check it out.”
Passenger: [indicating car tax on windshield] “This is road tax.”
themitsky: “That’s not road tax.”
Passenger: “What is it?”
themitsky: “It’s a Vehicle Excise Duty disc. It’s only based on how much your emissions are on the car.”
Passenger: [silence]
themitsky: “If you have less emissions on your car it’s cheaper or it’s free.”
Passenger: “Is it really?”
themitsky: “Yes.”
Passenger: “Is that what you say?”
themitsky: “Yes.”
Passenger: “So you’re one is free cos it’s a bicycle?”
themitsky: “Yeah…You’ve got environmental cars which are cheaper because the emissions are lower.”
Passenger: “So why don’t you buy a car then?”
themitsky: “I’ve got a car at home, I don’t need to use it now cos I’m on my bike.”
Passenger: “So if someone cycled in front of you, what would you do?”
themitsky: “If there is not enough space for me to overtake, I wait behind.”
Passenger: “Is it?”
themitsky: “You only need to wait behind for a few seconds.”
Passenger: “But you was in the middle of the road.”
themitsky: “Because it wasn’t safe.”
Passenger: “It was safe, there was nobody else right here in front of you. And it was not about…”
themitsky: “Check the website.”

….

themitsky: “Hullo again….Three things. One, check your licence plate on youtube in two days, I have this all on video. Two, check the website ipayroadtax.com and three, check the highway code.”
Passenger: “Good for you, put it on youtube”.
themitsky: “Check the highway code. There is no law that says I have to be on the left.”
Passenger: “Put it on youtube… [inaudible]… get run over.”

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7enDsD5bpc

 

[Hip Priest]

Mad rush to get past!!! Then all the time in the world to stop and direct abuse.

Works both ways though.

If the driving was so dangerous, then why did the cyclist have time to argue / wag his finger / read a number plate...etc?

 

[glenn forger]

Met Roadsafe response to the above clip:


"Very well done.

Nice calm conversation and, I think well put to the passenger and hopefully driver.

Clearly she is miss informed and so I have reiterated your information and I have sent an extract of the Highway Code.

So I can confirm that as a result of the incident you reported on the 7th of July 2013 where the gold Astra SA05OZC passed close to you, a letter of warning has been issued to the party concerned."

 

[glenn forger]

Works both ways though.

If the driving was so dangerous, then why did the cyclist have time to argue / wag his finger / read a number plate...etc?

Becuase the driving was dodgy, the cyclist didn't slow down till he was brake tested.

 

[Hip Priest]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7enDsD5bpc

I enjoyed that. A calm discussion. No histrionics. The cyclist clearly won that one.

 

[Hip Priest]

Becuase the driving was dodgy, the cyclist didn't slow down till he was brake tested.

If someone made a genuinely close pass on me, the last thing I'd want to do was ride alongside having a barney with the passenger.

 

[jarlrmai]

And the passenger? He wasn't driving?

 

[glenn forger]

If someone close passes then brake tests you don't have much choice. When I'm cycling I'm invariably going somewhere, I don't slow down just cos some muppet wants to play silly beggars. Five or six close passes per commute, usually when I try to AVOID conflict by not taking primary, and, again invariably, I will catch the vehicle at the next lights or junction.

I enjoyed that. A calm discussion. No histrionics. The cyclist clearly won that one.

Would have loved to see the registered keeper's reaction when the letter arrived. It was a stupid, pointless maneuver that gained them zilch.

 

[jarlrmai]

Works both ways though.

If the driving was so dangerous, then why did the cyclist have time to argue / wag his finger / read a number plate...etc?

Lol I was riding up hill at the same time as trying not to go past the car who was cutting me up.

 

[Hip Priest]

If someone close passes then brake tests you don't have much choice.

I don't think it *was* a brake test. They slowed to hear what the cyclist had shouted at them.

 

[jarlrmai]

If someone made a genuinely close pass on me, the last thing I'd want to do was ride alongside having a barney with the passenger.

So I stop and the van driver who is also tailgating takes me out?

Up hill you have to keep a speed to stay upright.

 

[jarlrmai]

I don't think it *was* a brake test. They slowed to hear what the cyclist had shouted at them.

It was clearly a brake test mate

 

[Hip Priest]

So I stop and the van driver who is also tailgating takes me out?

You're missing the point.

If the move was genuinely dangerous, you'd be concentrating on your cycling, not riding one handed having an argument. It seems to me you just like having a row.

 

[Hip Priest]

It was clearly a brake test mate

I don't agree. You shouted something and they slowed to resume the argument / find out what you said.

 

[jarlrmai]

I was expecting the door to come open to be honest, trying to work out where to escape to incase the car came across the road and trying to cycle uphill, stop second guessing things when you were not there.

When someone is unprompted shouting at you from a car your fight/flight takes over you don't have to sit behind your computer and second guess everything, I did not want to stop because of the van behind who was also close, I was trying to get the number on camera in case anything happened and I was also trying to get the guys to leave me alone I was not arguing with them at the end he kind of calms down and they drive off and I actually say calm down mate when I give the thumb signal.

The brake test me when I read the number plate again, if they wanted to slow down to hear me why not left of and move out to let me catch up, it was intended to scare me into falling off or hitting the back of the car.