Must pass cyclist...

[Ravenbait]

One of the lies drivers tell: they hate traffic jams. Can't be true, otherwise they wouldn't always be in such a damn hurry to join the back of one.

Sam

 

[mark i]

I saw one recently on the way round to the in-laws.
A quiet residential road, parked cars on the other side of the road. I am passing parked cars on the other side of the road to me. Oncoming is a cyclist doing a reasonable speed, not yet reached the parked cars. Behind the bike is a car. The car was so intent on getting past the cyclist they had not registered me or the parked cars. Soooo, they overtake the cyclist, I have "right of way" and am passing the parked cars, they cannot pull in without wiping out the cyclist, they cannot pull in later because of the parked cars, so we end up nose to nose as they did not look beyond the cyclist. Apparently the fact that the other driver ended up on "my" side of the road with no-where to go was my fault...... Never did get that one. Waved politely at cyclist who was shaking his head at two motons ending up nose to nose!

 

[JamesAC]

I saw a "must get past the steam-roller" once. Went to Brighton to see the end of the "Historic Commercial Vehicles" run from London to Brighton a few years ago. The finishing line was a sort of one-vehicle-wide triumphal arch on the esplanade. A steam roller (a real one, with a boiler and coal and steam) was hurtling at about 3 MPH towards the arch.

Just a few 10's of yards short, some twat in a car decides to overtake the steam roller and cut in through the arch. Unfortunately, he'd left it a bit late, and cut the approach angle too steeply. He tried to reverse, and stalled. So there he was, stuck in front of a charging steam-roller.

The guy driving the steam roller did an emergency stop. Have you ever seen 25 tons of steam roller doing an emergency stop? Shove the reversing lever into neutral, wind the throttle shut, then screw down the brakes.

He managed to stop a few inches from the car, which, I think, was a real shame.

 

[goo_mason]

My favourite was last year coming up Groathill Avenue to the traffic lights at the junction onto Telford Road. Traffic ahead is queued up at the lights, but boy racer with his mates in the modded Pug decides he's got to get in front of the cyclist (me) in front of him to get to the back of the queue first. Cue the over-revving of the engine and the sudden swerve out from behind me, only for him to realise that there was a traffic island with a lamp-post on it right in front of him. Anchors were duly slammed on and he screeched to a halt just in time to prevent the wrecking of his pride and joy. The look of terror on his face was priceless, and perhaps the incident taught him to check the road ahead is clear before attempting any overtakes in future.

I had to work hard not to wet myself laughing

 

[Arch]

I saw a "must get past the steam-roller" once. Went to Brighton to see the end of the "Historic Commercial Vehicles" run from London to Brighton a few years ago. The finishing line was a sort of one-vehicle-wide triumphal arch on the esplanade. A steam roller (a real one, with a boiler and coal and steam) was hurtling at about 3 MPH towards the arch.

Just a few 10's of yards short, some twat in a car decides to overtake the steam roller and cut in through the arch. Unfortunately, he'd left it a bit late, and cut the approach angle too steeply. He tried to reverse, and stalled. So there he was, stuck in front of a charging steam-roller.

The guy driving the steam roller did an emergency stop. Have you ever seen 25 tons of steam roller doing an emergency stop? Shove the reversing lever into neutral, wind the throttle shut, then screw down the brakes.

He managed to stop a few inches from the car, which, I think, was a real shame.

Oh, I'd love to have seen that.

I suppose, there was a golden age when boy racers in new fangled automobiles were always trying to overtake steam rollers and road engines like that.

 

[Arch]

BTW, I've steered (the owner was taking care of the rest) a traction engine, and I wouldn't like to do anything quickly in one....

 

[g00se]

I saw a "must get past the steam-roller" once. Went to Brighton to see the end of the "Historic Commercial Vehicles" run from London to Brighton a few years ago. The finishing line was a sort of one-vehicle-wide triumphal arch on the esplanade. A steam roller (a real one, with a boiler and coal and steam) was hurtling at about 3 MPH towards the arch.

Just a few 10's of yards short, some twat in a car decides to overtake the steam roller and cut in through the arch. Unfortunately, he'd left it a bit late, and cut the approach angle too steeply. He tried to reverse, and stalled. So there he was, stuck in front of a charging steam-roller.

The guy driving the steam roller did an emergency stop. Have you ever seen 25 tons of steam roller doing an emergency stop? Shove the reversing lever into neutral, wind the throttle shut, then screw down the brakes.

He managed to stop a few inches from the car, which, I think, was a real shame.

What? Sort of...

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

 

[automatic_jon]

A couple of weeks ago I was coming down the hill, doing about 5 miles an hour over the speed limit. An elderly driver passes me and very literally slams the breaks on and wrenches the wheel across in order to make it into the side road that I was passing. How I didn't end up embedded in the near side door I don't know. How the driver didn't roll her rather upright looking car is even more of a mystery.

 

[Matthames]

I saw an overtake yesterday that at first glance doesn't look too bad, however had the driver done it in a driving test it would of been a fail.

Must overtake video