Mistaken Identity

[Iceniner]

Ive started to notice people give me a fair amount of room when they over take, the problem is that they start the overtaking too close behind me. This means that they come pretty close to me at the start and the gap between us increases as they carry on overtaking.

This is exactly what happened to me on a ride to a friends. The car was quite close behind, plenty of space on the over side of the road as nothing was coming, he came up very close to my back/right hand side.

I was a bit taken back by it hence the "oi" shout and "idiot" after remark. What made me chuckle was the white van man behind the gold car, lent out the window and looked rather guilty and appolgised with a wave!!! He probably thought i was shouting at him!


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4RC6cPTjkQ

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Be prepared for comments about you not taking the primary to stop this sort of close overtake....

 

[Iceniner]

Looking back at it, i realise my secondary position was quite weak and its something ive made a real effort to adjust since (ive only been commuting for about 6months so ive still got much to learn!). It really shows how important good positioning is. Im not sure i would have used primary as the road isnt that congested although its quite busy.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

I'm not saying you should have used primary... just to expect that maybe some will!

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Maybe the van driver just had a guilty conscience...

 

[gbb]

Your position's got nothing to do with it Iceniner. Dont get sucked into that one.

If you happen to be in secondary because there are no restictions ahead, no junctions, no obstructions etc...why would you need to be in primary? Working on that principle, you'd spend all your riding time in primary, just in case someone is coming up behind you ? That's ridiculous.
The simple fact is some drivers (like everything else in life) are cr*p.
It happens to me occasionally, i always think ....
'why come so close ?...cant you make a simple decision to overtake in good time'...and then i get on.

 

[hackbike 6]

Yes I can see the reason for being in Primary but not all the bloody time!

 

[Amanda P]

...you'd spend all your riding time in primary, just in case someone is coming up behind you ? That's ridiculous.

I'm not so sure. Isn't it called primary because it's the postion you should be in unless there's a good reason not to be in it?

 

[hackbike 6]

Eh?

 

[magnatom]

I would not recommend a primary position on a road like that. The traffic looks like it is moving to fast relative to you (slow coach! ) for you to justify it.

However, it does look like your secondary is a little weak (remembering that it is difficult to judge with the camera). However, it takes a lot of guts to hold a good position on a road like that.

Of course, the close pass was not your fault, just, as is often the case, an inpatient driver who could not wait a few seconds for a safe gap.

 

[Origamist]

I'm not so sure. Isn't it called primary because it's the postion you should be in unless there's a good reason not to be in it?

No. It is not the default position for every road. Read Cyclecraft for clarification. However, the nomenclature used by Franklin can lead to this type of confusion.