My mistake, but...

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Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Went for a short ride at lunchtime. Coming out of the driveway at the back of the building (or front of the building behind work, if you prefer) there were vans parked quite close. Stuck my nose out so I could see, would have looked like I was about to zip straight out on to the road to someone coming that way. I wasn't moving that quickly, but it might have given someone a start. My bad, my mistake.

Taxi driver tearing down the road must have been the kind of person who always has a hand hovering right above the horn. I've never seen such quick honking action as that. I was looking your way, I stopped, you saw me, you didn't have to keep honking. My minor mistake, yeah, sorry, don't over react you idiot. I'll bet you rant on about cyclists to your passengers all afternoon after that.
 

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
if he was that startled to warrant that sort of beeping he was clearly driving too fast for the prevailing traffic conditions and his anticipation very poor. after all, if the ceo was late for some meeting and came haring out of the drive it would have been a crash, so you should drive in such a way that gives you a margin just in case a pillock in a beemer does drive straight out of a drive that's obscured by vans.

iirc the horn is only to be used as a warning of your presence. if he keeps honking he's (technically) incorrectly using the horn.

your mistake? not this time.
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
he saw a cycle about to pull out and used his horn

cb implies he might have been slightly at fault

give the cabbie a break ffs, gawd
 

alecstilleyedye

nothing in moderation
Moderator
Tynan said:
he saw a cycle about to pull out and used his horn

cb implies he might have been slightly at fault

give the cabbie a break ffs, gawd

the overreaction implies that either a) the taxi (lets avoid confusion here) was driving too fast for the conditions (driveways obscured by vans or other obstacles requires extra vigilance, did your driving instructor not teach you that?), or ;) the driver's performance was impaired for some reason and he was over reacting.

if cab was in the wrong it implies a more reasonable course of action. would that be a) dart out regardless and hope they stop or :biggrin: wait until a quiet time of day when you can be sure the road isn't busy?
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
I got the impression that it wasn't a simple quick hoot of warning, but a concerted agressive honking...
 

bonj2

Guest
I hate people who do that, I term them "opportunistic beepers" - i.e. people who like to take every opportunity to beep their horn. They basically do it to let everyone else know that they feel slightly aggrieved. (Especially the person that caused the grievance.) My favourite one is where someone pulls out right in front of someone but they don't have to brake because the puller-out is already going quite fast or is able to accelerate to the speed the traffic is moving quickly anyway and they slam their horn on for about 4 seconds despite the fact they weren't inconvenienced in the slightest.
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Honking when I look like I'm going to pull out into his way (it could have looked like it) would seem reasonable. Continuing to honk as you pass is cretinous.

He was going fast enough so that someone coming out of there less carefully than I did would have been hit. So I'd say that he was going just ever so slightly fast considering the imparied visibility caused by the parked vans.

But I could have come to a stop rather more gingerly; I can see why he thought I might have been about to shoot straight out in front of him, even though I wasn't going to do that. So I can see why he'd want to sound a warning. What I don't understand was his lightning fast reaction to get to the horn so incredibly quickly, and what I don't think was appropriate was continuing to honk as he passed.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Yes, it's an interesting fact that some people are so quick to hoot - when in a really urgent situation, the sort where a horn might really be needed, it's often the last thing you should be thinking of doing, after taking evasive action. Like bike bells - they are really best for a warning from a long way off - if something's happening quickly, it's quicker and more instinctive to shout.

I suppose it's the last 'positive' action available to someone frustrated by jams and so on.

Mind you, the other day I was with a friend in her car and we saw another friend outside a shop, and my friend went to bip her horn in greeting (I know, I know, not what it's for...). But being a bit new to the car, she ended up washing her windscreen instead...;) We don't think our other friend noticed the greeting either...:biggrin:
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
I sometimes do a lot of shouting and swearing at other drivers' lack of care especially when it might endanger me

I shouted big time last night when a driver rolled up to and slightly over the give way line of a turning to my left while chatting on his mobile

did I overreact, probably and most drivers and pedestrians would say certainly

I think there's a tendency to demonise drivers and not allow them the same latitude as cyclists

no-one drives slow enough to allow for people pulling out of blind turnings, including cyclists, not and get there before dark, cabbie probably got a bit of a fright and reacted
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
I think it depends on context. Had I actually caused him to need to slow down or stop, I could understand him being upset.
 

domtyler

Über Member
What I want to know is why you feel the need to continually provoke people Cab. This guy was obviously just going about his legitimate business.
 

Tetedelacourse

New Member
Location
Rosyth
I'm amazed at this, especially coming from you Cab.

You concern yourself with safety on the road and are I think it's fair to say quite outspoken on the subject. Fair enough, your prerogative, and you're probably right to be that way. You are always at pains to point out dangerous behaviour when it's reported on here.

Going by your description of the situation, the taxi was right to toot his horn. It seems a reaction to what he thought was dangerous behaviour. Now, WE all know that you cycle a lot and that you seem a conscientious fella, but HE wasn't to know that. So quite apart from him being correct to beep you to begin with, why should he not emphasize the effect your behaviour as he perceived it had on him? Maybe his thinking was it might make you stop and think before doing it again.

As some have already pointed out, horns are used a lot more than they possibly should be and you might have dismissed a quick blast rather than registering this one. Let's face it you would not have began a thread on it here for starters.

As for the post immediately above this one - !!!!!!!! [edit - the one before Dom's I mean] That's a wind up, right? How often do you think motorists feel aggrieved when cyclists complain about their behaviour when, in the motorist's perception the cyclist was neither hit, hurt, or forced to take evasive action? Unbelievable!

A bit more understanding of the other side of a situation would do no harm.
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
I dunno. If you were in a crowded bar and joggled someone's elbow by accident and they said "Oi!" and you said "sorry", you'd hope they'd leave it at that. If they then went on to aim abuse at you, you've feel a bit aggrieved...
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
driving in a straight line with the right of way?

as opposed to pushing out of a blind turning?

why is anything his fault, he's alert and quick on the horn to alert the cyclist
 
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