My fault if I'd hit this car?

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nickyboy

Norven Mankey
Cycling down a reasonably narrow lane, some houses on the left, fields on the right.

Lane bends round to the left limiting the forward view. Go around the bend to meet a car stopped facing towards me, about to turn right into a driveway. Now if I'd just hit this car in the act of turning into the drive I guess that's my fault as I should have been going slow enough to stop within my field of view around the bend?

But the driveway isn't long enough to pull onto in one movement, there's a gate. So the driver was going to pull as far off the road as possible, still sticking out a bit on my side of the road. Then get out, open the gate and finally drive completely off the road. So if I'd hit the car at that time, still my fault due to too fast around the bend?

Screenshot (37).png


The driveway is just around that bend but you get an idea of the type of driveway on the left here
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
You should be able to stop in the distance you can see to be safe. Who's to say a child won't be standing on the road just out of sight of your approach?
 
I get much criticism for this, from Mrs A in particular, but I would be right over on the right hand side of that single-track road in order to be able to see as far as possible ahead. I would, thus, be in more or less the same place on the road as I would be if I were driving a car.

What do you think, guys and gals?
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
[QUOTE 3702466, member: 9609"]so I would be modifying my speed and covering the brakes, and as @Apollonius has just suggested, keeping well to the right to let me see further round the bend.[/QUOTE]

This ^^ in spades.
 
You posted on here for an opinion on fault, expect there to be cries to bring back hanging for your crimes.
 
OP
OP
nickyboy

nickyboy

Norven Mankey
It was always my view that it would be my fault. However, I'd consider myself a bit unlucky if I hit a car that someone had left half sticking out into the road

On this lane it's not a great idea to hang out to the right as it is not single track (I know it looks narrow in the picture but two cars can pass OK) so traffic comes up the other way reasonably quickly. So I hang out right on the straightish bit, then pull into the left to go around the bend, covering the brakes of course. But I was probably a bit fast considering the limited forward view. It's about 4% downhill so there is a temptation to bowl along
 
U

User6179

Guest
Would be your fault I think but I think if I had a driveway on a blind bend I would make sure I could enter it from the road without leaving half the car sticking out on the road , there are planning laws where if you had a garage it needs to be 5 metres from the boundary so you can get into driveway without obstructing the road or pavement , would make sense to make gates the same on blind bends or busy roads.
 

w00hoo_kent

One of the 64K
If the lane really is two cars wide (and those arrows in your picture really suggest it isn't) then leaving the car to open a gate and get in isn't something I'd chastise the car driver for (presuming they can do that without blocking the lane) if it takes two bites to get in to the house then that's unfortunate, but again has to be allowed for. Basically whatever vehicle you are in, you need to be able to stop within your vision so while it's unfortunate that that gets tested sometimes it's life. Ease off, ride for vision and be able to stop.

I live in Kentish lanes and so come across similar quite regularly. There are some lanes with corners I'll drive at 10mph because they are tight with poor vision. I'd drive them slower if that made sense. Equally there are some lanes that I choose not to ride because while the lane would be a lovely place to ride the width and vision means I'd not feel safe enough to enjoy them in case the on coming car wasn't driving to sight lines. Anything narrowed than 1.5 cars I'll not cycle by choice.
 

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Could be anything coming towards you at a similar speed to you, so in that situation where you couldn't stop for a parked vehicle you'd be taken out completely if one was moving so +1 for slowing to a speed allowing you to see a distance far enough ahead to stop in [what highway engineers call forward visibility distances, ie they use 24m at 20, 33m at 30, 45m at 40 and 90m at 60 for traffic being able to see far enough to give themselves time set off out of a junction safely with traffic approaching round a bend or obstruction].
 

Paul99

Über Member
Anyway @nickyboy you didn't hit the car, so you must have been travelling at a safe enough speed. ^_^:okay:

You gave a 'what if' scenario, and got the correct answers in response.
 

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
If I were riding I would probably be stuck to the right away from some of the danger. I don't think i would slow massively, I would take the risk and trust my brakes or end up splatted one a car or in the field. However, if I bought the house, the gates would be gone within 5 minutes. Legally I may be in the right to pull out then close the gates, but I don't want my car totalled or to get hit myself.

Its a bit weird that I would take more risks on the bike, but then again I wear a helmet on a bike :blush:
 
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